Patrol 4: Storm & Calm

Chapter 22

Vania awoke, gasping, feeling her hair and clothes stick to her sweaty skin. Eddin's arms held her tightly in place against his chest. Eluri and Prant both paced nearby, chittering and whining.

"Eddin?" Vania whispered, then swallowed against the soreness in her throat.

His arms relaxed and he sighed. "Vania."

As she slowly pulled away from him and sat up, trying to adjust her robe from sticking to her skin, she looked over at his serious face. As he also sat up, she caught a glimpse of angry red dots across his chest, a flurry of bruises in various shades of black and blue, all clustered around the spots. Angry red lines like claw marks also crossed his chest. "Are... you all right?"

"I'm fine," he replied. He leaned back against the side of the bed.

Prant and Eluri first peered at her, then jumped into his lap, whining and crooning. Eluri nuzzled against his chest. Eddin winced and gently held up his hand to stop her.

"That... doesn't look fine," Vania said quietly, long fingers toying with the threads of the rug. The colors of the rug blurred as her eyes filled with tears. "Did I hurt you anywhere else? Did I hurt anyone else?"

"No," he replied. He reached over and drew her into his arms. "You didn't hurt anyone. It's all right. It only last a few minutes. Ten at the most."

"Why... didn't I wake up before it happened?"

"I don't know," Eddin replied softly. "If I had to guess... You were probably just too tired."

"Then how come... I could attack you at all?"

"I don't know." Eddin sighed and kissed the top of her head. "It's all right."

"How?" she demanded as she sobbed. "How is this all right?"

"No one was hurt. The episode was short. It was only your second one, so the time between them is long." He chuckled. "You weren't armed this time, so you could only attack with your hands and your teeth, and I luckily had forgot to remove my earplugs, so your screaming hurt, but didn't damage my eardrums."

Vania sobbed again and gasped out with shaky breath, "This isn't funny."

"No, it's not," he agreed quietly. "But, all in all, it could be worse."

She sobbed, saying nothing.

As he gently held her, he asked softly, "Would you like me to ask Derry to come?"

She shook her head.

He sighed and held her in silence.

After her sobbing finally stopped and she managed to take a normal breath, she sat up and asked, "Do we need to worry the servants called the authorities, thinking I was murdering you?"

"No."

"Or that we have really weird... fetishes?"

"No." He pointed toward the door, where a set of runes were etched. "The doors and walls are spelled to block sound. No one can hear what we say or do in the room unless we want them to."

"Oh." She sighed, letting her head sag against his shoulder once more. "That's why none of them came knocking, asking if we're okay."

"Right. Plus, you know, we uppity nobles like our privacy. The servants are trained to ignore strange sounds coming from bedrooms."

She blushed as she snickered. "That's awful. You're horrible."

He smiled at her. "Yes. But, at least it made you smile."

She sighed, one hand very gently touching the red marks on his chest. "Does any salve or something help?"

He shrugged.