Classy, Controlled Chaos - The STEAM Team Adventures

🛟 Asphyxiation [2/4] 🛟

King Arthur's POV:

A few hours after I woke up, I was off to check in on the royal guard.

Tia, still shocked from the whole nearly-drowning incident, pressed herself up against me like a remora to a shark's underbelly.

She was clearly uneasy about not leaving my side, being adamant about staying just within my reach.

We were both walking down the hallways leading to the barracks, conversing about the events we had today.

"So we're preparing to attack Spiritvale?" The captain asked, now dressed in her normal sailor uniform.

"Yes, Tia." I replied, patting her on the back. "They've been targeting our harbors, but each time, our army has thrown their attacks off course. We're not attacking, we're countering."

She gave me an indignant squeak. "Same thing, it's about war..."

"I should teach you a couple battle strategies," I said, watching as she nuzzled my side in a show of trust. "You'll need some more knowledge on hand-to-hand combat, plus it's been a while since we last sparred."

"I'm going to fold you, old man." Tia gave me a cocky grin, clearly feigning overconfidence. "Watch me win the next match we have; You should see how powerful I've gotten."

"Big words don't fit in that tiny mouth of yours," I joked, affectionately ruffling her hair.

She gave me a mischievous look. "Oh yeah, speaking of things that fit in my mouth-"

"Blizzard..." The sound of Edward's pained voice cut her off, startling us both.

"Prince Edward?" The captain called to him, slightly concerned. "You okay?"

I opened the door to the barracks, the color draining from my face.

His knight was pinning him against the wall, trying to get a decent hold of him.

Before knowing what was really happening, I instinctively put my hands over Tia's eyes.

"Your Majesty, please hold still." Sir Blizzard grunted, pressing his hand against his thigh. "The bleeding won't stop if you keep moving."

"I'm really sorry, Blizzard, it just hurts a lot..." The prince whimpered, awkwardly covering his face at the sight of me. "Father, please forgive me for this show of weakness..."

I noticed the wrap of gauze that the knight was holding, attempting to wrap it around his counterpart's leg.

"What happened, though?" I asked, slowly lifting my hands away from Tia's face.

"Sparring incident." Sir Blizzard replied, gently lifting up Prince Edward's injured leg. "Apparently the arming sword we used was not dull enough and His Majesty got cut."

"I was wearing my armor, though-" Edward protested, his sentence cutting off in a yelp of pain. "Heaven almighty Blizzard, please be gentle..."

"I am, I promise you." The knight soothed him, his tone oddly comforting. "Just hold still for a couple more seconds."

I slowly turned to Tia, and her face was a deep shade of rose.

Leaning down, I saw things from her angle, and I wasn't shocked that she was blushing that hard.

"Get your head out of the gutter," I snapped, giving her a playful shove. "He's fixing him up. Edward was injured."

She didn't even respond to me, holding a hand up to her face.

That was when I saw the royal blue blood dropping from her nose.

"Aaaand we need a medic." I sighed, scooping her up into my arms. "You two do what you gotta do. I'm taking this one to the infirmary."

By the time we actually got there, the captain was dripping all over herself, desperately trying to stop the flow of blood.

"How does this even happen?" I ask her. "Does this normally happen when you get flustered?"

"This has never happened before," She mumbled, flicking her whale tail. "It doesn't hurt, but it's certainly annoying."

I gave her a lighthearted chuckle. "I wonder about the questionable thoughts that go on in that 'creative' mind of yours."

"That's one way to put it." Tia sighed, keeping her hand on her face and covering her nose.

One of the infirmary's sorcerers, Beluga, greeted us with a bow. "Good morning Your Majesty and his lovely acquaintance. What may I do for you?"

I set the captain down on the nearest patient bed. "Severe nosebleed. She's lost a lot of blood."

Beluga nodded, offering her a couple of tissues while she spoke to me. "Any other symptoms? Feeling dizzy, nauseated, getting a headache, etcetera?"

"I'll let Tia answer that." I replied, watching her slowly recover. "I'm trusting you, Beluga, not to tinker with her maliciously in any way, shape, or form. Don't you even try to use magic on her."

The shortstack sorcerer nodded, hidden under his white cloak. "I will not, Your Majesty."

"Good." I nodded, gently laying a hand on Tia's shoulder. "You stay in here and rest. If anyone hurts you, beat them up, then call me in to finish them off."

She offered a fist bump, and I gladly accepted it.

"You." I turned to face Beluga. "If I hear anything from her that you used your magic on her body or her mind, I will not hesitate to throw you into the harbor and make you live up to your name. I mean that respectfully."

He gave me a nod, visibly trembling.

I dipped my head. "Thank you."

Striding out of the infirmary, I made my way down to the royal guard barracks to check in on everyone else.

At first glance, it seemed like no one was there, with everyone out on duty.

Then I noticed something... There.

Laying down on one of the lower bunk beds was Prince Edward, fast asleep with his right thigh wrapped in bandages.

It was clearly Blizzard's fine handiwork; He was known for his versatility on the field.

I walked on my heels, soundlessly approaching him, taking a couple mental notes of his appearance.

He was sweating, maybe from shock or a developing fever from the injury. I don't know much about medicine but it's probably either one of the two.

A small set of bite marks along the side of his neck were slightly red, still fresh... Hopefully I was just imagining things.

I did a double take, and they were still there.

I'm starting to think whatever Tia saw might have actually happened.