𝐌𝐘 𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐕𝐀𝐍𝐓

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐘-𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓

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     "Your Highness!" Basile exclaimed in relief when spotting Adrian emerge from the tree line, however his relief quickly fading to shock when seeing (Y/N) covered in blood being supported by the prince.

"Quick," Adrian demanded, carrying (Y/N) over to Sofi. "You need to fix him—now."

"Sire, we need to keep moving," Basile however urged, his dark eyes flicking upward every so often when seeing a shadow dart away in the foliage, out of his line of sight. "As much as I worry about (L/N)'s condition, the longer we stay here, the more that you and everyone is at risk. We can't take that chance, so we must leave this area immediately."

Adrian stared at Basile.

His glare cut deeply and swiftly.

Basile's brow twitched.

"We're not moving until (L/N) is treated," Adrian uttered lowly with a gravitas of authority behind his words, watching as Basile lowered his head in compliance before once more turning back to Sofi. "Fix him. Do anything to save him."

"Of course, Your Highness," Sofi nodded as she then began to lift (Y/N)'s shirt to get a better look at the wound, startling when (Y/N) instead grabbed her wrist to stop her movements, her forehead beaded with sweat, furthering Sofi's increasing worry of her condition. "Attendant (L/N), please let me do this—you'll bleed out of you keep this up!"

"Not... here..." (Y/N) croaked out.

Sofi inhaled sharply at that.

"What are you waiting for?" Adrian snapped. "It doesn't matter what he wants, just fix him!"

"Apologies, Your Highness," Sofi shook her head, on hand resting on the (Y/N)'s shoulder. "But I'll have to move Attendant (L/N) to a more private location."

Before Adrian could say anything, Sofi helped (Y/N) to her feet, placing her arm around her waist to support her and move her into another small clearing away from the prying eyes of the group. Setting (Y/N) down after the strenuous effort she exerted, Sofi paused to catch her breath before immediately kneeling by her side. (Y/N)'s eyes fluttered with each passing second, yet she remained awake, Sofi finding herself admiring her strength and resilience.

"Thank you... Miss Broin," she croaked out. "I needed... others away..."

"Why?" Sofi frowned. "Is something wrong?"

Instead of saying anything more, (Y/N) unbuttoned her shirt and removed the blood-stained material to reveal her bandaged chest that showed not a man, but a woman.

"Y-You..." Sofi gasped, placing a hand over her mouth in shock as she could only stare at what was suddenly revealed. "You're... a woman?"

"Yes..." she nodded with a cough, her hand still clutching at the wound in her side. "Now... please... can you take care of this?"

"Yes...?" She blinked before realizing (Y/N) was talking about the sliced skin, jumping into action by using a cloth to wipe away the excess blood and loose bits of skin before dabbing with a sterilized cloth to further clean the wound, finally timidly revealing a needle and thread. "T-This might... hurt a bit, but please stay still..."

(Y/N) indeed did flinch when the needle was inserted into her skin, even having to muffle her screams with her hand, but she grit her teeth and endured the pain. Exhaling in relief after Sofi cut the the thread and leaned back on her knees, a signal that she was done, (Y/N) took only one more second to rest before shrugging her shirt back on, an action that alarmed the other.

"What are you doing?" Sofi questioned, frantically standing from (Y/N)'s actions.

"I can't just stay like this," she replied, re-buttoning her shirt, her jaw tightening in hopes of ignoring the searing pain. "Imagine if someone found me. They wouldn't be as accepting of my true identity as you, and that's why I trusted you enough to do this, even at risk of said identity."

"Yes, but... you need to rest," Sofi retorted, placing her hands sternly on her hips. "Keep moving and you'll risk tearing open the stitches."

"That's a risk I'm going to have to take."

"What!?"

     "Look, Miss Broin, I appreciate how much you care for a patient's well being, I really do," (Y/N) sighed as she turned to face Sofi, the girl's frizzy hair shifting slightly when cocking her head, the moonlight seeming to kiss her dark complexion. "However, we need to keep moving. The longer we stay here, the more chance those bandits will find us. Maybe worse—Queen Jannali's scouts who might already be on their way due to that explosion."

Sofi let her gaze fall to the floor.

"We need to go," (Y/N) insisted.

"Yes, but, please... just take some medicine before you exert yourself anymore," Sofi firmly replied as she pulled out two white pills to place into (Y/N)'s open palm. "These should help lesson the pain, but it also causes drowsiness, so please inform His Highness that you will need to rest soon. If not, and if you overexert yourself, you could risk passing out, or you could risk tearing out those stitches. "She pinched the bridge of her nose, murmuring, "I really don't want to see either of those two events befall you, so I urge you to be careful."

"Thank you," she smiled before popping the pills into her mouth and dry swallowing. "And I always am careful, Miss Broin."

Before Sofi could say anything more, the rustling of bushes and the cracking of leaves drove hers and (Y/N)'s attention to the left of them. Immediately, (Y/N) drew out her sword and stepped in front of Sofi to protect her, her eyes narrowed as she waited with baited breath. Then, in barely the next moment, she held her sword to a stranger's neck, her eyes widening when seeing who it was.

"Well, Attendant (L/N)," Basile raised an eyebrow. "I have to say I am not surprised by you so blatantly threatening me like this."

"Ah, Advisor Oman..." (Y/N) cleared her throat as she sheathed her sword. "Apologies."

"I'm not so aggrieved, as during these times we must always be aware," Basile hummed as he straightened his vest and then glanced into the darkened forest. "However, we must not loiter any longer. We've been found."

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