Wild Tide [Soo-ho]

chapter 6

"Tsss..." Lana hissed in pain, wrinkling her face. The Hwarang physician, Ah-ro, looked at her apologetically and continued dabbing a creamy paste onto her cut. Lana was actually surprised that the doctor had turned out to be a woman, and a young one at that. She had thought that with so many men around, women would not be as welcome.

"Is it bad?" Lana asked quietly, and Ah-ro glanced at her in surprise.

"No." She replied. "It's long, but not deep." She finished with the mixture, then glanced over the cut critically. "Can you move?" She rolled her shoulder to demonstrate, and Lana attempted to copy the movement. As soon as her shoulder lifted, the white paste parted with an unpleasant squelch and fresh blood poured out of the wound and over her already stained tunic. Ah-ro tutted, pressing a cloth against Lana's collarbone to stem the bleeding. Lana sighed; the cut may not have been deep, but it was proving to be more troublesome than she thought. Soo-ho must've unwittingly sliced through a vein.

Ah-ro brought Lana's hand up to the bandage, and Lana held onto it obediently. She pressed down a little harder, wincing when she noticed blood seeping and spreading over the fibres of the cloth, and looked away. In the meantime, Ah-ro brought over another box of supplies and began explaining something that Lana couldn't understand.

"Slower?" She asked bashfully, and Ah-ro rummaged through the box in response. After a short while, to Lana's horror, she took out a hooked needle and some string.

"I'm sorry." Ah-ro apologised, expertly threading the needle. Lana blanched, following Ah-ro's movements and suddenly feeling very sick. She could take cuts and blood, but needles were her downfall. She hated the sight of them under a person's skin, and she hated the prickling pain that came with being stitched together.

"Please, no." She murmured, her head spinning as Ah-ro came closer. Clearly sensing her fear and discomfort, Ah-ro retreated a little and handed her a dried plant, mimicking chewing.

"Eat." Lana did as she was told, hastily biting into the leaf. It was bitter and altogether not pleasant, but she would've happily chewed through a whole pile if it meant not feeling the needle. She closed her eyes as Ah-ro neared her again, and whimpered when the needle sunk into her skin. The thread felt coarse as it tore through her over and over, and Lana felt tears fall down her cheeks at the pain. Perhaps it wasn't as bad as it could've been, but it was still ten times worse than the cut itself.

When it was over, Ah-ro replaced the white paste that she had used earlier. Lana exhaled slowly through her nose, her whole arm throbbing, and wiped at her eyes with her healthy hand. Due to the placement of the cut, the bandage had to be run across her chest and around her back, but once it was on Lana felt a lot better.

"Thank you." She said to Ah-ro, testing out her shoulder. This time, the movement didn't seem to be affecting the cut, and she sighed in relief.

"Come back in two days." Ah-ro ordered with a small smile, and Lana nodded.

"I will. Thank you!" She confirmed, making sure to convey her gratitude. Ah-ro was truly incredibly skilled, and had a great bedside manner. One day I'll tell her that myself, Lana thought briefly, stepping out into the cool evening air. The sun was beginning to set, and she wondered whether she should make a trip to the ships or just go to the palace and get some sleep. She always felt a little bad that she and her family were accommodated by kings and queens, whilst the rest of her people lived their whole lives on the ships. Alas, it couldn't be any other way; there were simply too many of them.

"Princess." Lana jumped at the sudden voice, then smiled upon realising who it was. She'd completely forgotten that there was one more person she was hoping to see tonight.

"Soo-ho." She returned, her smile slowly dropping as she noticed that he didn't seem to be in a good mood. She wanted to ask him what was wrong, but couldn't find the words. With an internal groan, she reminded herself to visit Master Arno and get some learning materials off of him as soon as possible.

"Are you alright?" Soo-ho asked, pointing to her wrapped up shoulder. Lana glanced at the bandage - it definitely looked worse than it was. He must feel guilty, she realised with a pang of sadness, even though he had no choice.

"I feel very well." She tried to reassure him, wiggling her arm. "See?" She tried for a smile yet again, but he stepped up and placed his hand on her shoulder, effectively stilling her. She gazed up at him in wonder as warmth seeped through her tunic and into her skin, spreading and tingling uncontrollably. She wanted to say something, but words got stuck in her throat and she could only stare.

"I'm sorry." Soo-ho finally said, removing his hand. Lana found herself instantly mourning the loss of his touch.

"No." She shook her head with a smile, not entirely sure how to convey that he didn't need to apologise. He'd beaten her in a fair duel. It looked like he wanted to say something else, but in that moment a group of Hwarang emerged from around the corner, laughing and shoving each other playfully. Soo-ho stepped away, putting a more respectable distance between them, and bowed.

"Goodbye." He turned to walk away, and something lurched in Lana's heart.

"I see you soon?" She repeated the phrase from yesterday, and a small half-smile graced Soo-ho's face.

"Yes, princess."