Aidric nodded. “They did not seem very organized,” he said. “The garrison commander says that they are fools who live in the trees and set upon those they think are easy prey. Why they should attack seven heavily armed knights is beyond my comprehension. But they attacked and paid the price. No one walked out alive.”
“You have the bodies?”
“Eleven of them and counting.”
“Good,” Jareth said, grunting in pain as Orion took a sharp dagger and cut the wound where the arrowhead was barely protruding. “Get this over with. Be quick about it.”
Orion tried. He truly did. But the arrow shaft came out in pieces and he was forced to dig for a big chunk that had come off in Jareth’s shoulder. Fortunately, the projectile had missed anything vital, and once he dug out the piece of wood that made the arrow whole, and a piece of cloth that had been torn from Jareth’s tunic, he doused the wound repeatedly with wine and let it bleed heavily to wash out any further impurities before binding it tightly with the boiled linen.
Through the entire event, Jareth never uttered a sound.
When it was over, they moved an exhausted Jareth to a chamber with a bed in it belonging to the garrison commander. It was messy and smelly, but the bed was a good one. Desdra headed off to the kitchens to find Jareth something to eat as Orion and Stefan and Aidric carefully settled him in the bed.
“Now,” Orion said, “you must rest. You can stay here for a couple of days, time enough for the wounds to heal over a little and for you to regain some strength, before we move back to The Feast. How do you feel?”
Jareth eyed him. “Like you dug pieces of wood out of my back,” he said. “I’ve had arrow wounds before. That one was not simple.”
Orion shook his head. “It was not,” he admitted. “If the piece of wood had not remained in you, it would have been much easier for us both. As it was, it was more complicated than I had anticipated. I am sorry for that.”
Jareth laid his head back on the pillow. “You could not have known,” he said. “But there is more chance of poison getting into my blood now.”
Orion nodded faintly. “Time will tell,” he said quietly. “I cleaned it out heavily with the wine, but sometimes that does not work. We can only pray for the best outcome.”
That was the truth. Given how Orion had been forced to dig into his back to find the wood, it was very possible that Jarethwould end up with a fever, but they would have to wait and see. For now, the situation was stable and Jareth could begin healing.
All thanks to that annoying, arrogant knight.
And Jareth knew it. He watched Orion as the man tightened up his bandages. “Orion,” he said hesitantly. “Your care has been exemplary. And for the conversation we had, I appreciate that it must have been difficult to tell me, but know that after this, I will do better where you are concerned. We all will.”
A wry smile crossed Orion’s lips. “You mean that I have earned my way into the group by digging wood out of your shoulder.”
“You have shown a side to you that we did not know,” Jareth said. “You’ve been something of a buffoon up until this moment. Now, we know differently.”
It was a fair statement, one Orion couldn’t disagree with. With a simple nod, he excused himself, leaving Jareth lying flat on his back, surrounded by the remainder of the Six.
“What was that about?” Aidric asked, moving over to the bed to check the bandages. “What was difficult for him to tell you?”
Jareth sighed faintly. “He confessed that not one of us has really been kind to him since Henry decided he was to be part of the Six,” he said. “He feels that we have such a tight group that there is no room for anyone else, and the only reason he’s been irritating is because it is the only time we notice him.”
Aidric’s brow furrowed. “That is not true.”
“Truly?” Jareth grunted. “Think about it. Have we ever truly embraced him like a brother? Like someone who belongs? I do not think so. I do not think he was wrong.”
Aidric was forced to reflect on that, remembering Orion since he became part of the Six and the interactions they’d had with him. Had they ever gotten to know him? Probably not. The man had been such an arrogant boor that Aidric, personally, hadn’treally tried to befriend him. He was simply there and they accepted that.
Perhaps there was a grain of truth to what Jareth said.
“Then we shall have to examine our behavior and make amends,” Aidric said. “Especially since he used his skill on your shoulder. I think we owe him something for that.”
Jareth reflected on that. “His opinion was that a man wasn’t truly accepted into the Six unless he proved himself,” he said. “I think he just did.”
Aidric gave him a lopsided grin. “I will agree,” he said. “He performed admirably.”
“He did.”
That was about all Jareth could manage at this point. He closed his eyes after he spoke, clearly exhausted from the injury, and Aidric took it as a hint.
“Rest,” he told him. “We are going to check the woods in the area to see if there are any more outlaws. I shall speak with the garrison commander on the matter, and any other security matters he might have. Do you wish to speak with him as well when you are feeling better?”
