Our second world- Book two: War is coming

Chapter 27

~Mary~

"Oh my goddesses! Haren, I'm so sorry!" Elise exclaimed, ignoring the horrified look from the soldier that had knocked her over.

Haren stood quickly after sliding me off his lap and I made to follow him, but he sat me down with a firm "no" as he left.

I wanted to follow him anyway, but the cold glare he gave me the first time froze me to me seat. When I turned around to see why August hadn't followed him instead, I found that he was just as shocked as I was.

Across the table from me, Silver stood up so quickly and forcefully it surprised all of us. Without a word, he left with a scowl on his face.

There were several questions floating around my head, but the one that burned strongest in my mind was: why did he push me away?

I decided I wasn't going to find out by sitting there and stood up to follow after Silver.

"Where would He go?" I wondered as I made my way down the hall. My thought was interrupted by a loud voice around the corner. I stopped walking to listen. Hopefully whoever it was hadn't noticed my approaching footsteps.

"I told you I'm fine, Silver." It was Haren.

"Clearly you aren't, Haren. You may be able to fool the others but you can't fool me. Or did you forget I was there? That I saw first hand what happened to you?" Silvers voice was full of venom. I'd never heard him speak this way before," you can't keep pretending you're fine when you're not!"

"Why does it matter to you?"

"You almost died!"

"And you think I don't know that?!"

"Daddy?" I peaked around the corner, scared for what I might see.

Silver had Haren against the wall with a deadly glare. Haren returned it just as strongly despite the color slowly draining from his face and labored breathing.

Both boys seemed surprised to see me standing there. I took a careful step forward; afraid if I got too close they'd yell at me.

"Did you hear?" Haren demanded.

Mentally slapping myself for flinching at his words, I nodded slowly," y-yes."

Haren didn't say anything, but motioned me forward.

I was unsure of what he would do, but I slid one foot in front of the other and slowly made my way over to him.

As soon as I was within reach, he grabbed me by the hand. It made me even more confused when he didn't do anything else. He simply slid down to a crouch while keeping a strong grip on my hand. It took a lot of effort to avoid reflexively pulling away.

"Are you cooled off enough now to listen to what I have to say?" Silvers question broke the silence after a minute or so.

Haren made a sound like a laugh and raised his head from his knees," if anything, my fever is worse."

I could tell Silver was trying not to smile at my fathers failed attempt at humor; I was too.

"Then can I take you to medical so Elise can look at your injuries?" Silver replied.

"Let me do it." I said before I even knew the thought crossed my mind.

"Fine." Haren finally gave in and let Silver support him while he walked.

I was a little jealous, but since I barely came up past Harens waist, I'd have to leave it to Silver. I was, unfortunately, short for a nine year old.

When we got to the medical ward, it was dark and empty. All the soldiers were gathered in the mess hall for the ceremony.

Haren sat down on one of the closest beds and Silver went to find a match to light the lantern while I got a roll of clean bandages and a bottle of disinfectant.

When I got back over to Haren, Silver had lit a lantern on the table by the bed and sat down on one of the chairs against the wall. I pulled the other chair up to the bed and waited for Haren to take off his coat and shirt.

I held in a gasp when I saw that his lower torso was wrapped in bandages; his right side slightly soaked through with blood. As I removed the bandage, I saw that a large gash ran from about his hip to just under his ribs. It had several stitches despite evidence of magic healing and the injury had opened slightly. After I soaked the new bandage with disinfectant, I began gently wrapping the wound.

Haren let out a small hiss when I first pressed the cold material to his skin, but made no other noises. His face twisted in a few grimaces though.

I was honestly a little surprised when he didn't make a sound as I tied off the bandage.

"How's that?"

"Good thanks," He said with a grin despite the fact that his breathing was still uneven. He seemed to be struggling against a headache judging by the hand he used to massage his temple," So the plan is to leave tomorrow morning. Silver, make sure your squad is ready to go."

"Yes, Sir." Silver gave a quick salute and stood up," You should make sure you get some good sleep tonight so you're rested enough for the trip. I don't know about the others, but I do not want to be the one carrying you the whole way back." Silver teased, turning to leave.

Haren stuck his tongue out at Silver. When he left, he leaned back on the bed and covered his eyes with his arm.

"Ok?" I asked softly, running my fingers through his slightly tangled hair.

"Honestly, I feel like shi--" He glanced at me and quickly corrected himself when I raised an eyebrow at him," crap. I feel like crap."

"What can I do?"

"Pain meds," He said," Know where they are?"

"Can I go without you?" I asked when he handed me the black ring he used to travel between the worlds.

He nodded," Know how to use it?"

"Yeah," I answered, hopping off the bed," Shouldn't take me long."

He muttered something I didn't catch as I found myself standing in a different dark room. One I'd only ever seen once before.

A pool of moonlight spread across the floor as a cloud moved to uncover the almost full moon. With that soft light, I could clearly see the rest of the room in grayish hues.

Quietly, I slipped through the door and walked down the small hall. Counting three doors down to the bathroom. It was dark like the rest of the house and I looked for the lantern to light. It took me a minute to remember that the lights were controlled by switches. I ran my hand over the wall and felt around for it. When I flipped it on, the room was thrown into a bright, yellowish light. I had to blink a few times for my eyes to adjust. When they did, I reached up to the mirror hanging on the wall and swung the cabinet it was attached to open.

Two shelves were inside and each had a multitude of white containers and bottles. It wasn't hard to find the one I was looking for since it was near the front. I grabbed it and jumped off the counter with a soft thump. There was a plush rug on the floor that muffled the sound of my boots.

When I got back, I found that Haren had fallen asleep sometime while I was gone. I put the bottle on the table by his coat and pulled the chair back up to the bed. Resting my head on the mattress, I gradually fell asleep.