Two Of The Same Piece || Book 1 (The Beginning)

CHAPTER 28

Rave rested her head against the bed, her hand still intertwined with Leo's. She sat on a mattress on the floor, her bandaged legs protesting whenever she moved. She couldn't bear to leave Leo's side, even for a moment. She didn't even chaperone the funeral preparations for the Bellans who had been killed in the attack. Irene, thank the gods, had done it for her. Irene had been the emissary while Rave healed.

Taiskin would come a little earlier than originally planned. They had very quickly decided that it should be a smaller wedding celebration. It would be morally wrong to just ignore this event. Josephine said her men were investigating the situation. Much of the Thinlinyte courtiers and nobles had found excuses to be elsewhere until further notice. Bellan courtiers bluntly refused, according to Irene.

Rave had tried her hardest to remember if she had seen the people who had tried to capture Rina. She was blinded with rage, she had just killed without thought. She didn't remember seeing any emblems, but the warriors weren't just normal bandits. They had attacked a castle and mostly gotten away with it. Rave had a feeling she was going to find out who it was quick enough.

Poor Rina had locked herself with only her most trusted ladies. Rumors had run rampant even before the dust settled. 'Rina had been raped.' 'No, Rina had tried to run away with her lover.' And other nonsense like that. For even in confinement, the ugly words had reached her, through Irene. Rave knew Rina had barely been hurt. Irene and she had nearly lost their limbs trying to save her.

Rave had tried to keep herself busy, trying to make time fly but it didn't happen. Leo had yet to wake up. Each passing day was torturous. It was clear that he was in pain. Rave could feel it. He slept restlessly. He was lucky that his wounds weren't that deep, or that they didn't hurt any of his organs.

Sometimes, just to relieve her worries, she laid her head in his chest and listened to his heartbeat. "Why can't you just wake up?" She lightly hit his chest.

Rave was regretting coming back here. And she wondered if letting Rina, a pawn of Lina and Sonia, into Bellayong was a mistake. Josephine wasn't one to worry about. The Duaetiven sisters had little to lose and a lot to gain. Rave should be by Josephine's side, whispering in her ear of all that she had seen and heard. But that would mean her leaving Leo. she couldn't do it, not even for her country.

-

Her solitude was broken when Taiskin arrived. She was needed, so she made the long journey to the gardens and greeted him. Irene had helped her back immediately, while Taiskin was invited to a small feast in his honor. And now he sat with her, letting her rest her head on his shoulder.

"How long?" Contyer asked, sitting across from her on the mattress.

"Nearly a week and a half now."

"That's a long time, he should be awake by now," Taiskin said. She was glad he came, even if they weren't on the best of terms.

"The priestess did all she could. We can only wait now." Irene sighed, leaning against the wall, holding Rave's hand.

"We will wait, no matter how long it takes," Taiskin replied. "Did you get a chance to see the attackers?"

Rave shook her head. "They only wore black, but they were trained. They weren't anything regular." Rave was exhausted too, it helped to have her siblings here to shoulder some of her responsibilities.

---

Leo shivered as Rave pressed a cold towel on his forehead. "It's too cold." He whined.

She shushed him, "You still have a fever. The longer you are sick, the more I worry." She said.

Leo felt awful whenever he saw Rave. Her eyes had sunken on her face, she looked so tired. "Will treating me like a child heal me quicker?" He tried to joke.

She threw the cold rag on him. Leo yelled as the cold rag hit him. "No, but it does make me feel better to torture you a little bit." She caressed his cheek before hitting him playfully. "Get well soon, we have a wedding to celebrate."

"So it's set then?" Leo asked.

"Of course. As soon as you are well enough to travel, we have royal orders to head to the pleasure villages to prepare it for Taiskin's stay. Until then, he and Rina are 'courting' each other." Rave explained.

"Then I should get better quickly, huh?" Leo laughed, "Taiskin will have me punished if I keep him from his marriage."

"Hanara might just thank you though. She sent a letter degrading Taiskin. Apparently, Taiskin can take his hopes of marriage with her and shove it where the sun doesn't shine." Rave giggled. "She got very creative with her insults." She paused and laughed again. "Just wait, they'll be married by the end of the year."

"How Hanara of her," Leo said. His sister wasn't always very diplomatic when it came to her wishes. Maybe a little courtesy on her part could be advised, not that Leo would actually tell her that. He valued his life.

"Taiskin will have to take a Bellan wife at some point, and who better than the head priestess of Ravi?" Rave nodded to herself. "Bellans will never be pleased with a foreign princess like Rina as the first queen. Or her children as the heirs."

"But we are half Raynerian?" Leo raised his eyebrow at her. He had never completely understood why foreign spouses of the Bellan royal family couldn't be the first consort, or why their children couldn't get the throne even if they were born first.

"Does Hanara seem any less Bellan than any of us? There is enough Bellan blood inside her. She talks, looks, and behaves like a Bellan, regardless of her parentage. She was born and raised her."

"Poor Rina, if only she knew her dreams of being the only Queen of Bellayong are false." Leo shook his head.

"She should have studied Bellan culture, or paid attention when she was in Bellamin." Rave rolled her eyes. "No one ever called my mother just Queen. She is and will be Queen Consort."

"You shouldn't say it out loud here. What if someone hears?" Leo said anxiously. Rave knew these walls had ears.

Rave waved him off, "It doesn't matter. While I wish for Hana to marry Taiskin, there is no way to know if they will."