It was dark outside.

Darling laid asleep for a few moments more before finally opening his weary eye, looking around quietly. From what he could see with the moonlight shining in from a nearby window, he was in the infirmary. There were hazel-colored walls all around him as he looked down at the white bedsheets he was sleeping under. Darling went to move his hand, finding every joint stiff with slumber, and sat himself up right.

Immediately, he winced, hissing under his breath at the horrible ache in his chest.  Darling carefully rubbed in that area, feeling the fresh new bandages beginning to be soaked in red before letting his hand fall to his side as he looked out the window. His gaze fell over the stars that sprinkled the sky and the clouds which hung in the air, and Darling began to realize that life would simply move forward, whether he died or not.
It stung, but he accepted it without issue, his hands subconsciously feeling his wound once again.

And then he turned towards the door to his left, a nice little dark-wood door with a gold handle, and watched the handle turn before opening. At the threshold stood a nurse with horns and four eyes, looking over a few papers before stepping in. She made it halfway into the room before finally looking up, nearly dropping every document when she saw Darling.

"Oh, you're awake! How are you feeling?" She offered a kind smile, the intention  backfiring due to her sharp teeth.
Darling opened his mouth to speak but he felt his voice had gone and his chest convulsed, bloodied coughs dribbling out along with small specks of blood. The nurse's smile fell quickly and she hurried over, setting her papers down on a nearby table and grabbing a small rag. She bent down a bit and held the cloth to Darling's face. "Never mind, you don't have to tell me."

She helped Darling wipe some of the blood away before she gently grabbed him by the arms, careful to not touch his bandaged torso or shoulders, and laid him back down comfortably. "I need to go get Ms. Violet and tell her you're awake. Please try to relax while I do." the nurse nodded after that and made her way to the door.

Darling opened his mouth. He tried to ask, but his voice was garbled and raspy, barely comprehensible. The nurse only looked at him with a sad smile, her fingers dancing on the doorknob. "Don't worry, I'll be back shortly." And then she left.

Darling sighed, shifting around his bed in hopes for comfort.
He wanted to ask her if Cynric was alright. If he was safe.
If he was able to save him in time.

He squeezed his eye-socket shut.
The nurse said that she was going to get Violet.
Why not Cynric?
Wouldn't he be more concerned...?
Was something wrong?
Was he dead...?

Or did Cynric not care about him anymore?

Darling felt his eye-sockets sting.
If Cynric gave up on him, then he understood why his majesty would.
Look at him...
He's small, weak, and hideous.
Nothing compared to his king, a man with passion and heart.
The king was probably better off forgetting him-

"Darling."

Darling's eye-socket shot open, immediately finding Cynric. He was right beside him, a hand brushing the bandaged side of his face delicately. The tears the smaller withheld up until now had finally began to fall as he stared at his king.

Darling couldn't bare the way Cynric looked at him.
It was filled with so much concern and anxiety, yet a strange sense of relief flooded his eyes in the form of tears. Dark areas under his majesty's now dull-green eye-sockets told of countless nights of insomnia and fear.
Any trace of a smile vanished from his face and was no where to be found.

He looked so...

Darling tried once more to speak, to feel the words in his mouth, but his throat had resisted and made each sound painful.
It hurt, but he wanted to feel the word, to know if it was the right one.

His king...
He looked so...

"Br..o...ken." Darling had managed.

Cynric's eye-sockets widened just a fraction before falling back. He leaned down and touched a hand to his throat, slowly allowing his knees to touch the ground. Once he was level with the bed, Cynric closed both eye-sockets and relaxed, a soothing warm glow coating his hand and seeping into Darling's throat.

The smaller could feel his magic quell the pain throbbing there and help return his voice to its original state, his breathing easing a bit at the sensation. It only was for a few minutes, but Darling was grateful nonetheless. "Than..k y..our."

Cynric planted a soft kiss on his forehead, humming quietly. "Get some rest..." He mumbled.

To be continued.....