Aftermath

Elenore felt as if her head was being crushed underneath a carriage as she woke up. But even worse was the pain in her chest.

"Thank God, you're finally awake," she heard Adrian's voice.

She tried to get up, but her whole body felt heavy.

"Keep lying down, for now," Adrian said, sitting at the edge of the bed.

"What happened?" Elenore asked.

"Well, I don't think the horse saw you in its dreams," Adrian said.

Elenore felt the bandages wrapped around her chest. "Did I break a rib?"

"The nurse said you're really lucky, you only got bruised outside," Adrian said, fiddling with his fingers.

"Oh, that's good," Elenore said, gently touching the painful area. She then remembered suddenly about her father. "What about Father?"

"He's really angry," Adrian replied.

"He disarmed Rian and demoted him to be your personal attendant," Adrian said.

"How can he do that? It wasn't his fault," she blurted out.

"Well, he didn't fulfill his duty that Father assigned him to do," Adrian said, looking at her.

Elenore turned her face away from his gaze, but his red cheek caught her attention.

"And as for me, you can see what happened." He turned the red cheek toward her.

Her ears began to burn. She turned her face to hide them from him.

"I am sorry," she muttered.

"I came here to inform you that you will be coming with us to meet the governor tomorrow," Adrian said.

"Me? But why?" Elenore asked.

"We don't have enough soldiers to protect you and us at the same time," Adrian replied. "If things don't go as planned, we all need to be together." He paused. "That's what Father said."

"I don't think you will have anyone to help you with your dress tomorrow, so just be prepared."

He stood up. "I'll take my leave then."

Elenore wanted to thank him, but the humiliation would not allow her.

The door clicked shut, and Elenore finally turned her face toward it.

She sat up in the bed, her chest stinging from the movement.

She looked around the room. It was small, plain, and completely uninteresting. Beside her bed was a table on top of which both of her small blades were placed. Nothing in the room offered comfort or distraction.

Her mouth felt dry. She scanned the room for water and spotted the water jug placed across the room.

She pushed herself off the bed, the pain in her chest stinging with each movement. The cold from the floor seeped into her body through her bare feet. Her head felt heavy with each step, but she reached the jug, which was unfortunately empty.

She stared at it for a moment, then looked toward the door.

Taking a steadying breath, she moved slowly across the room and pulled it open.

Rian stood beside the door without his armor, in just plain clothes with his hands clasped behind his back.

He turned toward her, but Elenore lowered her head and tried walking past him. He stepped in front of her path and bowed.

"My lady, you are injured. Let me know, I will assist you with anything."

She held the jug toward him without raising her head. "I... I need water."

"I will bring it in a moment." He took the jug from her hands and rushed away.

Elenore retreated into the room and sat on the bed. After a while, Rian returned with the jug filled with water.

He poured water into the cup carefully and handed it to Elenore, then waited silently for her to finish.

Elenore handed the empty cup back. Rian headed toward the door after placing both items on the table.

Elenore stopped him. "Wait! Rian, I have something to say to you."

He turned to face her, their eyes met briefly before Elenore looked away.

Her ears burned. "I apologize for getting you demoted." She expected a response from Rian, but the only answer she got was silence.

She slowly looked up toward him. He stared at her, eyes wide and mouth slightly open.

"That's all I had to say."

"I apologize." Rian lowered his gaze toward the floor.

"You don't need to apologize. My Lady, I failed to fulfill the only duty I had."

He dropped to one knee, bowing his head. "Rather, it is I who should be apologizing for letting you get injured."

"Please get up," Elenore urged.

Rian rose on command, standing rigid.

"You are free to go," Elenore said.

Rian bowed his head and exited the room, making the silence loud again.

Elenore got up from the bed and slowly moved toward the single window in the room.

The sky had turned red as the sun had set.

A voice rose through the air, singing a song. It was a soft, melodic tone which Elenore found quite soothing. She leaned closer to the window, searching for the source.

People began emerging from their homes, all of them moving in the same direction, toward the building where the song was coming from. Among the crowd was the governor walking with his men. All of them entered the building.

She thought that the building must be similar to the orchestras or theatres she had heard about that nobles went to. However, the commoners were also entering with him.

The singing stopped, and the people slowly disappeared from the streets into the building. The orange sky faded away, covered by the dark night.