Pain came first, followed by everything else. My eyes opened, letting warm light stream in. I tried to groan, but ended up coughing instead.
There was a figure in front of me, even as something pressed against my lips. I drank the water as best I could. A small glass didn't feel like nearly enough. I might have been a little overeager, because I started coughing all over again.
I sat up straight, hoping that would ease the coughing somewhat. All it did was make me feel a little dizzy instead.
"Shh…easy there. No sudden movements, you hear me?"
I recognized Anias easily enough. She was the kind of woman it would be hard not to recognize, no matter the crowd or place.
A quip came to mind, and died on my lips at the genuine concern in her eyes. I tried very hard to be still after that, and was much better at taking more reasonable sips.
The lightheadedness still lingered. Memories came in flashes. The fight. The aftermath. The people hauling me away. Just how good winning had been at that moment.
It was hard to believe it wasn't all a dream, despite the evidence I could very acutely feel.
"How long was I…you know." I gestured with my left. My right ached every time I tried to move it.
"Two days." Anias answered matter of factly.
"Two days?!" I exclaimed, before immediately starting to cough again. "Sorry…sorry…." I swallowed and looked at her. "Two days? I was out for that long?"
Anias snorted as if that was the funniest thing she'd heard all day. "You're lucky it was only for two days. Your hair was more red and pink than white."
It took me a few seconds to absorb this. "I didn't…think I was that hurt." I said finally.
Anias looked at me, and then slowly, very slowly nodded in a way that could only mean that we'd talk about it later.
I turned my head, gasped and backed up into the backboard of the bed. "What…what the hell is he doing here?!" I pointed.
Right in front of me, apparently asleep on a chair…was Damian Peyne. The entire reason I was in here in the first place was just…sitting there.
"Did I not tell you to not make any sudden movements?" Anias sighed.
I just looked at her, before gesticulating towards Damian who didn't seem inclined to wake up.
"That's…well…."
----------------------------
Damian Peyne ached. Every breath came with a shaking gasp when he remembered to breathe with his mouth. When he didn't…he was lucky not to choke on his own blood.
People crowded around him, lifting him up. Healers moved towards him, the pale green glows from their hands already doing quite a bit to deal with the worst of the pain. Everything still hurt, but Damian was at least sure he was doing better than the girl in front of him was.
Esra Veyne looked like…well, she looked like somebody had tried to really hurt her. Blood covered the girl's face. Damian wasn't even sure how she was seeing straight, surely some of it must have gone right in her eyes.
Yet, none of that had really mattered when Esra had attacked him. She'd attacked him with little to no regard for her own safety. The girl had headbutted him. If there was one thing everyone knew about a headbutt, it was that it was painful for both parties involved, no matter how you did it. This girl hadn't even flinched.
Damian had been afraid for a moment. That was probably the moment where he'd lost.
Despite his rather public defeat…Damian found himself smiling. He moved forward, jostling himself away from the many hands tending to him.
His gaze met his father. His father slowly nodded. Damian nodded right back.
He approached Esra. The girl's eyes were wide open, though whether or not she was still conscious was…questionable.
Damian knelt in front of her own one knee. A hush fell over the crowd as soon as he did, with dozens of people all staring directly at him. Damian only had eyes for the girl.
"I swear on my name, and my father's name, and my father's father's name." Damian said solemnly. "That I will serve Lady Esra Veyne to the best of my ability. As my father served her father. As my grandfather served her grandfather. As the Peyne's always serve the Veyne's, so too shall I serve her."
It wasn't quite what he'd had in mind, but there was blood at the back of his head. He covered his hand as best he could, before using said blood to cover his forehead. It was as strong an oath as any retainer could give their Lord.
Damian didn't mind how today had turned out at all.
----------------------------
I stared at Anias for a long moment, certain that either I had misheard her, or she was playing a very unfunny joke on me. Anias' lips didn't even twitch. My heart sank.
A thousand questions raced through my mind, my mouth struggling to find one to voice.
"What?" I finally asked eloquently.
Anias sighed. "Well, if you're this surprised, imagine how surprised we all were. It looked like something straight out of a fairy tale. I think your father almost tried to strangle the young Lord."
That was something I would have definitely liked to see for myself.
"But…but why?" Of all the questions I had, that was the most pressing one.
"Ugh…."
We both turned to look at Damian.
"You can ask him yourself." Anias said as she made her way to the door.
"Wait…you can't just…."
Anias winked at me, and then she was gone, leaving me alone…with Damian. I let out a very long sigh and turned towards Damian, his eyes only just flicking open.
There was a brief, awkward moment where the two of us just stared at each other. Then, Damian shot up, as straight as any arrow.
"My Lady!" He put an arm to his chest, going down to one knee. "I am relieved to see you are awake and…well?" He framed it as a question.
"No thanks to you, yes." I raised an eyebrow. Despite what Anias had said, I still hadn't quite believed her. Now…well, now I was starting to.
"What…why…why is this happening?"
Damian looked confused. "It's just the duty of a retainer to check to make sure their Lord is-"
"Yes, that part." I pointed out. "You…actually swore yourself to me?"
I only vaguely knew what that even meant, mostly from half formed memories of my former life and Esra's.
"I did." Damian said it matter of factly, as if it was the most normal thing in the world.
I let out a very long sigh. "Explain. I thought you hated me. Isn't that the entire reason I'm in this bed in the first place?"
Damian finally looked a little sheepish. "Err…I didn't hate you. I simply didn't know what you were made of. So I just…had to find out for myself I suppose."
"That sounds like our fight was just a test." I said dryly. "Please tell me it wasn't something that…that stupid."
The boy's cheeks turned a faint red. "You…you are aware of the rumors of yourself, right? More shadow than person, a girl who doesn't leave her room for months. I heard some of your servants muttering about a white haired ghost at night! A girl who, from everything I could gather, had no qualifications to be a ruler of any kind, let alone being the heir to this entire province!"
I knew the rumors well enough. They stung all the same. Most of those rumors were about Esra…though perhaps I had played some part in them. Maybe I shouldn't wander around the halls at night?
"That still doesn't answer me….what changed? One fight where we beat each other up is all it took?"
Damian's face was unreadable as he looked at me. "You were…impressive. Not in terms of skill, anyone could tell you didn't have any skill to speak of."
"You do remember the part where I beat you, right?"
Damian ignored me and went on, almost as if he hadn't heard me. "It was…there was a determination there that…." He looked up at me, and now I could see the emotion on his face plainly enough: admiration. "...like even if I had chopped off your legs, it wouldn't matter. You'd have just crawled at me instead."
"You make me sound like some kind of monster." I did recall a kind of haze settling over me, as if my body had moved without me actually being there to make it move. Just remembering it now was a little…unsettling.
"I'm just saying you were impressive. Nothing like what any of the rumors had said. After seeing that, I couldn't help but swear my fealty to you right there and then."
It was almost impressive how someone could say something so earnest without feeling embarrassed at all.
"I think I liked you more when I thought you were an asshole." I grumbled under my breath. "So…what now? You're gonna follow me around all over the place like a lost little puppy?"
"I'm going to try to."
I stared at Damian, hoping against hope that I could spot any sign that he was joking. Damian's face was smooth.
I groaned loudly.