I Will Be the Greatest Knight

Only when Irene’s boot and bloody stocking were completely off did they see the state of her foot. It was purple and bruised. It seemed inflamed and would likely get worse without the sturdy boot holding it in place. That much was certain by the way her leg swelled where the boot once cut it off.

Irene was on her elbows as she watched Henry taking care of her leg. With everything else going on, she had been indifferent to her own pain.

It wasn’t honorable. It was idiotic, considering that if you were too gravely injured, you couldn’t help the others in your party.

"I have to see if you were actually injected with venom," Henry explained.

"How will you—"

His answer came in the form of action as he lowered his mouth to her leg. Even though Irene cried out in pain, he began to suck at the wound. It was risky, but it would tell him if there was anything other than the metallic taste of her blood.

He would leave then and there if there was venom, but his mouth left her leg, and he sat back on his heels, relieved. There was blood dripping down his chin that he wiped away quickly.

"Nothing," he explained. "Just blood."

Using one of the cloths they had brought with him, he wiped his face.

"Good," Irene responded, still somewhat horrified. Her leg was raw.

"I’ll wrap it up," he continued. "I don’t believe it will need stitches since the holes were tiny."

Irene nodded.

He wrapped her up as expertly as she had taken care of him before. After all, he had been in situations that required that knowledge as many times as she had. Taking care of others injured was not a mystery to him.

However, Henry did wish they had Siverly so that they could both be healed and move on.

When her wound was safely wrapped, Henry gently patted her knee.

"I will cook us something to eat," Henry explained as he stood up.

"But you’re injured," Irene argued.

"My waist compared to your leg is nothing," he persisted. "I can walk with this, and I’m stitched. You need to elevate your leg and hope that it doesn’t get worse."

She wasn’t in the mood to argue.

"I’ll get out of these clothes, then I will lie down," she explained.

Henry offered only a nod before he went outside to get some of the frozen meat they had been slowly chipping away at. It turned out that hunting an entire deer was excessive in the moment, but completely necessary now. They never expected to stay in this little cabin. They were especially not expecting to find the wyrm here.

Irene hobbled to where she had left her other clothing in a heap. Anything would feel better in travel clothing because they were far more flexible than her leather riding pants.

She then put her things in the right order, unlike the way she did when she was under the effects of the wyrm’s magic. Having things put away was a necessity in such small space.

Realizing she was organizing things, Henry turned towards her, interrupting his cooking. He raised his eyebrows, and Irene sighed heavily.

"Don’t babysit me," she insisted.

"Just lie down," he responded and turned back towards their meal.

Irene used a roll of blankets that had gone unused since they were sharing a bed here and put it at the foot of their bed so she could hang her injured leg over it. It would be good enough for now.

As she lay there, she turned her head, watching Henry’s back as he looked after their meal. Luckily, they were smart enough to keep water thawed while they were there. Even though the fire had gone cold when Irene left, it wasn’t enough for the water to freeze, so getting it to boiling to cook their food wasn’t difficult at all.

Even though Henry was being stern with her and insisting that she lie down, she didn’t feel that he was mad at her or frustrated with her. Despite the guilt that ate away at her heart because of the last few hours, she was relieved that his love and devotion to her remained steady. Right now, she needed it.

Once the meal was finished, it felt as good as food from the palace. It satiated an entire day’s worth of hunger before the two knights could finally settle in for the evening, unsure of their plans going forward.

"What next?" Irene asked the mostly dark room as she and Henry lay there.

"A few days of healing," Henry admitted. "I don’t want either of us facing the dangers of traveling right now while we’re both on the mend."

"I agree," Irene responded. "If we can summon Blade, we ought to tell the others to return. I think it’s safe to say we don’t need help now."

Henry reached beside him and laced his fingers with Irene’s.

"We need a break," he admitted. "It was supposed to be our first winter as newlyweds where duties were few. There would be plenty of cuddling and sharing blankets by the fire. The chairs in the library would start to dent in the shape of our backsides."

Irene laughed at that and squeezed his hand.

"Then we will take a break," Irene responded.

But it turned out to be more than that.

The following day, Henry sent a letter with Blade to his men. By that point, they were most likely in position to come if they were called.

However, the note said something far different than what they were expecting.

"Sir Felix, or whoever this pertains to,

Return to the Duke’s Tower and resume winter as you’ve always done. Go to your families and relax for a couple more months. Only come back after the snow has melted.

My wife and I will be doing the same from this region. Don’t worry about us.

We have much to tell you when we return.

Duke Henry Mattson"

Thus began winter break.

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