Other riders had passed by, not deterred by the exiled prince’s crashing through the bushes. The white hart was their quarry, their king’s command.
Leander called out, panic colouring his tone. “Jarryn!”
Following the source direction of the haze of pain, Leander jumped from his own horse’s back and abandoned her, trying not to lose his footing as he raced down the slope in search of the prince. He heard the sound of groaning, and he knelt down as he found Jarryn already pushing himself up.
Jarryn’s gaze was unfocused as he tried to sit up, gritting his teeth against the sharp, stabbing ache in his ribs.Leander could feel it potently too, and he winced as he knelt down, speaking unnecessarily. “Are you hurt?”
For a moment, Leander felt a tendril of surprise from Jarryn, who clearly expected a smug comment, something about his recklessness.
Instead, Leander’s face was tight with concern as he knelt beside him, hand outstretched, hesitatingly, as if scared to touch the other man.
“Don’t move,” Leander ordered, his tone surprisingly calm as he visually assessed Jarryn’s posture as well as Aesthesically taking stock of his injuries. “Can you breathe?”
Jarryn winced, struggling to draw in a full breath. “I’m fine,” he muttered through gritted teeth, though his voice betrayed the lie.
“Don’t be ridiculous.” Leander pressed a hand against Jarryn’s side, testing for broken bones. The prince hissed in pain, causing Leander to pause. “Looks like you might have cracked something.”
Jarryn exhaled sharply, as he glanced up at Leander, frustration flashing in his eyes. “Thanks. My horse?—”
“Your horse is fine,” Leander interrupted, cutting off his excuses, and setting the prince’s mind at ease as to its wellbeing. “It’s back up on its feet, resilient creature that it is.” Leander jerked his head to glance back up the hill, where Jarryn would be able to see the two horses grazing quite merrily at the grass where they had been left. “But you’re not getting on it until we’re sure you can ride.”
Leander instantly felt Jarryn’s pride flaring in his chest. “I’m not helpless, Leander. What do you know of mortal injuries, anyway? I can handle?—”
“Handle what? Snapping your ribs completely?” Leander’s eyes were hard, but there was something beneath the sharpness. It wasn’t mockery, but genuine concern.
“You are aware that this happens often? People are dismounted in hunts all the time. You show your inexperience by stopping to assist me when you should be securing the kill of that hart.”
“You’re more important than some godsforsaken deer,” Leander muttered as he rocked back onto his heels and watched as Jarryn winced as he tried to move again.
“Yes, I am. But every other member of that hunting party knew I would be alright. They will be back for me later. You should have stayed with them.”
Leander’s brows furrowed. “They couldn’t have known that you would be okay.”
“It’s just the way things are done, Leander.” Jarryn shrugged.
For a moment, neither of them said anything, Leander having no quick retort to ‘it’s just how it’s done.’
The sounds of the forest were all around them, birds chirping, scuffling of animals in the undergrowth, and the distant howling of the hounds leading the rest of the hunting party towards their prize. They hadn’t caught the hart yet, it seemed.
Leander stared at the sky, feeling the sharp, cold bite of his situation. He was stranded here, with Jarryn at his mercy.
“You were reckless,” Leander said after a few silent moments had passed, quieter now. “You always are when you’re trying to prove something. Whether it be verbal or physical… is it a princeling thing, this need to always win?”
Jarryn opened his mouth to fire back a retort, but the words died on his lips.
Leander’s expression wasn’t accusatory. It was… tired. His gaze drifted away, momentarily checking that the two horses hadn’t wandered off. Even though Jarryn wasn’t ready to ride yet, they would need those horses.
Besides, that stallion was Jarryn’s favourite thing in the world, by his own admission. Leander would not be responsible for losing it.
As Jarryn rearranged himself to rest his back against a tree trunk, his brow was now the one to crease in thought as if he was grappling with something far bigger than this hunt. He swallowed. “You’re saying I’m trying to prove something to you?”
Leander’s eyes flicked toward him, his gaze sharp as steel. “Maybe not just me.”
The silence between them was thick with their grievances, the weeks of rivalry and resentment built on misunderstanding and woefully unfounded accusations.
At least… as far as the prince knew.
The festering emotions between them hang heavy in the air. Now alone, with nowhere to go, Leander was willing to force the matter, while Jarryn was in pain and loose of tongue.
