Favorite of the King

Chapter 41

Yvaine blinked her eyes open and groaned. Her head throbbed, still, and there was a terrible screaming pain in her side. She raised a hand to the wound, not bothering to look. When she pulled her hand in front of her face, it was covered with blood.

Yvaine let her head fall to the ground again. She was laying in an old den of sorts. The floor was made of dirt and stone lined the walls and ceilings. There was a hole where a door had once been. Now, it was covered with metal bars. Sunlight drifted in between them. She could see into the Telmarine's camp from the opening.

She had no clue how long she'd been asleep. Her eyelids felt heavy still, but she fought to keep herself awake. Yvaine shivered a bit. A soldier walked past the barred opening. He paused and watched her for a bit. The man spat at the ground before continuing on.

She wasn't left alone for long. One of the bars was pulled from the ground and Batur entered the cramped space. He carried some bandages and a waterskin. Yvaine blinked at her father, waiting to see what he would say.

"Your friends are all right for now. King Peter called a retreat shortly after you were taken," Batur whispered. He handed her the waterskin. She struggled to get her fingers to wrap around it. Finally, she clutched it weakly and managed to drink. Her father began to inspect her wounds. He shook his head, guilt filling his gaze.

"Did you know about this?" Yvaine rasped.

"I had no idea that Hakan planned to attack during the duel."

"But you knew that he would." She couldn't keep the accusing tone out of her voice.

"Yes, I knew there was no way he would play fair."

Yvaine closed her eyes and winced. Batur began wrapping the bandages over her wound. He'd attempted to clean it with some water, but she didn't think it had done much. "Why didn't you send a message? That was not an attack. It was a slaughter. He went back on his word with Peter."

"It was too risky. If I had tried to get a message to you, it would have been found out. I've been lucky enough to avoid the executioner's office already."

Yvaine fought back tears. She wanted nothing more than to yell at her father, but she knew it would solve nothing. "What does he mean to do with me?"

"He's ordered us to keep you alive for now." Batur sighed. "That may be difficult. I don't want to scare you, but you should know. He used a poison on you to make you appear dead. That poison won't fade from your body for a while and it will be working against you. Your stab wounds are already becoming infected as well."

"That explains the green I saw on his dagger." Yvaine focused on flexing her hands.

"You really married King Edmund?"

Yvaine glanced up. Batur's gaze was unreadable. "Yes, I did."

He closed his eyes for a second, then gave her a small smile. "I told you I'd be brave enough to let you go. I will hold to that." He brushed some hair out of her face. "I'll be back with some food as soon as I can."

He left the makeshift cell quickly. Yvaine let her tears fall at last. They think I'm dead. No one will come for me and I don't think Father will release me. I don't understand why he's choosing to obey Hakan. It makes no sense.

The sunlight gradually began to turn into darkness. Yvaine drew comfort from the few stars that she could see outside, when they appeared. There seemed to be fewer people walking around the camp, although she didn't know why.

Batur returned by the time the moon had risen. He carried some food with him. Yvaine ate rapidly as soon as he set it down. "Where is everyone?" She asked. The dirt walls contorted around her. She blinked and they went back to normal.