IV. The Impact of Her

~ Thirty-Nine ~

We ventured further into the forest to get as far away from the tunnel as possible.

Soon, we reached a clearing and made camp. The soldiers, as well as the horses, were too exhausted to continue.

The griffins nestled down as well. The captain directed them to where they could rest, especially the one that carried James.

I hopped off Wonder and ran to the captain. Carefully, he helped as James laid back onto one of the griffins.

"James," I said as I knelt beside him. The captain immediately examined one of James' arms. "What's his state?" I asked as I turned to him.

The captain didn't respond. Slowly, he stretched James' arm. Immediately, he arched his back as he groaned for a moment. The captain shook his head as he settled James' arm on his torso.

I asked once again, "Captain, what's going on? What happened to him?"

"His Majesty broke his arm. It must have happened when he was dragged along with his horse," the captain replied as he took off his coat. He continued, "Right now, there is not much that we can do about it. All we can do is to prevent it from becoming worse than what it is now."

The captain pulled out his knife and sliced the sleeves off from his coat. One sleeve, he carefully slid over James' arm. The other one, he cut it into two and turned it into a make-shift sling. Gently, the captain put it under the injured arm and tied it behind James' neck.

He observed what he made briefly before he added, "That should help His Majesty for the time-being. For now, he must rest. Once we arrive at our destination, I will have his arm attended by their designated healer."

I nodded as I looked back at James. I kept my gaze on him as I replied, "Thank you, captain. I will watch over the king. You may rest."

"Are you certain, Your Highness?" the captain asked. "You can rest for a while. I still have some strength to watch over everyone."

I gently waved my hand as I kept my face away from him. My lips shook slightly as I held back my tears.

The captain stayed by my side for a while before he walked away. Once he was gone, I sat closer to James, careful not to disturb him. His eyes remained closed as he rested on the gryphon's wing.

James' current condition was too painful to see. His clothes were torn as the result of what happened. Some parts of his clothes were even torn to shreds because he was pulled and scratched. Cuts were visible everywhere, especially where his skin was heavily exposed?

And finally, his broken arm.

My jaw clenched as I continued to stare at it. Guilt rose from within me as I continued to blame myself.

Someone - a few people, to be specific - were hurt because of me and my stupidity. If we stayed in the castle, James wouldn't have been subjected to such a life-threatening situation.

This journey nearly cost James his life. He was willing to sacrifice himself in order for us to escape. But he didn't have to do that. He still had his powers. He could have easily overpowered those corpses. But for some reason, he didn't do anything.

'Why, James?' I thought to myself as I stared at him. 'Why would you make such a reckless decision?'

Unable to contain my emotions any longer, I pulled my knees to my chest. Slowly, I buried my face into my arms and sobbed. I tightened my lips to silence my cries. Nobody needed to hear the cries of a helpless, worthless prince.

"Why are you crying?" My head shot up as James spoke out of nowhere. With his eyes still closed, his brows furrowed as he adjusted himself from the gryphon's wing.