duty. (boyxboy)

chapter 9.

I received so many comments asking me to update so here it is, FINALLY. This is the longest chapter yet so hopefully you guys can forgive me. I forgot to tell you before but I actually have a pinterest board for this story if anyone wants to see how I envision Duty. My username is 'tapedpages'. Enjoy!!♡

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"He's waking up."

Several voices sounded when Forven regained consciousness. Followed were excited gasps and murmurs from all the people in the room. Forven's bedroom, which had been so quiet seconds before, was now filled with noise.

The first thing he noticed when he woke up was how dry his throath was. He felt as if he hadn't had a drop of water in weeks. His lips were cracked and his tongue felt like cardboard in his mouth.

The next thing was the voices all around him. At first he couldn't make out what all the people in the room were saying, but after a few seconds the sounds became more clear.

"Oh thank goodness," was the first thing he could make out. It was Aywin, releasing a breath of breath of air.

Forven then slowly opened his eyes, but squinted heavily when the light was too intense. It took him a minute to adjust to the brightness in the room.

His memories came flooding back in the moment he became aware of his surroundings. The kiss with Alre, the arrow, the blood. God, there had been so much blood.

He slid his hand down his upper body until he could feel the thick bandages where they had been wrapped around his torso. It had all been real, then.

"My dear, can you hear me?" asked his mother, taking his hand. Forven nodded.

"You gave us quite a scare, brother," joked Orym, but Forven could tell that his little brother, too, had been very worried. There were blotchy red spots all around Orym's throath. He pinched the skin there when he was nervous.

"Forven!" Squeaked his sister Thalia, who was gripping the sheets on Forven's bed tightly. As if Forven was in any state to leave it.

"Forven," sounded the voice that he had been waiting to hear. Forven looked up to find Alre with a distraught look on his face sitting at his bedside, clutching the sheets in his hands. There were dark circles underneath his eyes.

"Alre," Forven tried to say, but immediately started coughing. The tensing of his abdomen made him wince. He brought his hand up to his mouth, albeit with difficulty. His arm felt very heavy.

His mother mumbled something about lying back down and taking it slow, but Forven wasn't listening. He had his gaze fixed on Alre.

"I'm so sorry," Alre whispered.

"don't be a fool, Alre, it wasn't your fault," said king Jonas.

Alre shook his head. "I should have seen... I should have... Have seen it. The arrow. I could have pulled him away."

"Alre," said Aywin in a stern voice, silencing his apologies successfully.

Orym put his hand on Alre's shoulder. "stop talking like that, brother. If anything, he made it here alive because of you."

"He's... right. You saved my life," was what Forven said when he decided to try and talk, but his voice came out so raspy and so dry that it sent him into another coughing fit.

"Shush, you should not talk. Here, drink something, my dear," said his mother, rubbing his back and handing him a glass of water, which Forven happily accepted.

"N-no, I mean it. Alre, I..." Forven was having trouble finding the right words. Tiredness suddenly washed over him, despite being awake for only a couple of minutes.