“Hey, I would at least have given him a black eye or something.”
“Sure. Sure.”
He reached towards me and playfully pinched my leg. “Thanks for taking care of me, though.”
“Well, I did get you into trouble with the King of Norrandale after all.”
“Who knew you could be a bad influence?”
I used my finger to scrape some ointment out of the little pot before taking hold of Lance’s chin. “Hold still now.”
I dabbed a bit of the ointment on his lips and placed the pot on the table next to his bed. “You can put this on every day. It should feel better within a couple of days.”
I handed him a small bottle of tonic. “And sip this slowly. It will help with the pain.”
Lance pulled out the little cork and downed the entire bottle of pain medicine.
“I said sip. That stuff will make you sleepy.”
He cringed at the bitter taste.
“You’re pretty good at this, you know?”
“What, nursing?” Lance gave a nod.
“Thatcher would get himself into trouble sometimes and it was usually me and Cai who looked after him.”
“Well, if I should be getting into any more fights, you’ll be the first person I call on.”
“I’d prefer if you didn’t get in any fights at all.” I started gathering the bloody cloths and bowl.
“That’s true. I can’t risk my looks. It’s the only thing I’ve got going for me.”
This made me look up at him. “That’s not true.”
“No?” He lay back on the bed with a groan. “You think I’m more than just a pretty face?”
“Yes,” I said, after a breath.
“Right, of course, I’m a selfish and conceited prince with bad habits and low morals.”
“Sometimes,” I replied with honesty, because I hated lying. “But you also care a lot for your family and your kingdom. You’re very smart, maybe even too clever for your own good. You’re good with animals and you’ve been a good friend to me.”
“I hadn’t realised you’ve been paying so much attention to me.” He was trying to be witty, but I saw in his eyes that I’d struck something.
“Don’t flatter yourself.” I patted his leg. “We can’t have your ego getting any bigger than it already is.”
His eyes were slowly starting to close, the tonic taking its effect. It would probably knock him out for a couple of hours but at least he would feel better when he woke up.
“You should get some rest.” He turned to his side, and I took a nearby blanket and draped it over him.
Lance gave a low hum in reply, nestling into his pillows.
I stood up from the bed, making sure that nothing was lying around.
When I turned to leave, Lance’s hand shot out and took hold of my wrist. His eyes were still closed.
“Gwen, there’s something I need to tell you,” he said in a sleepy tone.
