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Aphmau stared at the body lying before her in horror. She tried to listen to Ungrth telling her about how he had saved Laurance from the Nether and how they had both been wounded in the escape, but she couldn’t draw her attention away from the mangled form that her brain refused to let her believe was the same man who had sacrificed himself to save her and Castor those weeks ago. She snapped back to reality when she heard Laurance scream. Garroth had tried to lift him up and Laurance had started kicking and screaming for them to leave him alone. Aphmau breathed a sigh of relief, he had looked dead lying there on the ground. Garroth was not deterred by Laurance’s protests and carried him all the way to Aphmau’s house where he placed him on the bed in the small spare room.
Garroth ran to fetch Cadenza while Zoey set to work trying to tend Laurance’s wounds but every time she got close he started shouting and crying at her not to touch him. Cadenza screamed when she saw the state Laurance was in and ran over to embrace him resulting in her being slapped across the face by Laurance. Ungrth had told them that crossing the realm barrier might have impacted Laurance’s sight, but no one had been prepared for him to treat his own sister like that.
“Laurance?” Cadenza asked through tears. “Laurance, it’s me. You’re safe now in Phoenix Drop, with me and Aphmau and Zoey and Garroth, please let us help you.”
“Don’t touch me.” Laurance said in return, his own voice shaking.
“Laurance, you’re hurt. We have to touch you to treat your wounds.” Zoey told him. “Without getting a closer look we can’t know the full extent of the damage.”
“Cadenza can do it but the rest of you have to leave.” Laurance said.
Aphmau opened her mouth to argue but Garroth had already pulled her out of the room and Zoey followed her out. Garroth returned to his patrol, but Zoey and Aphmau stood vigil by the door, wincing every time Laurance screamed or Cadenza sounded like she was crying. Eventually Cadenza came to tell them she had done the best she could, and that Laurance was asking for Aphmau.
She entered the room, sat by Laurance’s bedside and reached for his hand, but he jerked it away from her.
“Sorry. I don’t like it when people touch me.” He told her.
“Oh. That’s ok.” She said, smiling through concern.
Aphmau tried to strike up a conversation, but Laurance didn’t really feel like talking and she didn’t really feel like filling the silence. They sat awkwardly for about 10 minutes before Laurance drifted off into what looked like a restless sleep. She left and found Cadenza sobbing quietly outside the door.
“Oh my Irene it was awful. I know I should be grateful to have my brother back at all when I thought he was dead, but by the Matron I didn’t want this for him.”
Aphmau wrapped her arm around Cadenza’s shoulder. “It’ll be alright, he’ll get better. We’ll make sure he does.”
“Physically he might heal but what about emotionally? What about his sight? He’s blind too. He didn’t even realise it was me in there at first.”
“Then we’ll help him if he’ll let us.”
Cadenza nodded.
***
A few weeks later
“Come on Laurance.” Cadenza coaxed. “It’ll do you good to get out of this room and go somewhere.”
“I don’t see why I should go to the baby shower for some people I don’t even know. I’m fine here.” He protested.
“Because you’re a resident of Phoenix Drop now which means you have to start participating in village activities.” She reached out to help him out of bed then pulled back when he flinched. It was hard to get used to not touching her brother, especially when he needed her help now more than ever.
“I’ll go on one condition.” Laurance told her, climbing out of the bed. “You stop fussing. I’ve been getting better at walking on my own, I can’t rely on you forever.”
“I don’t mind if you do.” She told him. The words were out of her mouth before she even registered them.
Laurance responded to that comment by throwing a pillow at her with incredible aim given he couldn’t see the target.
This managed to elicit a laugh from Cadenza. “Fine I’ll stop hovering.”
“Also I want to move out.” He said.
“What?” Cadenza looked up from her preparations to stare at him.
“I can’t keep living in Aphmau’s basement. I’m going to talk to Garroth about moving into the guard station and seeing if he’ll let me retrain as a guard once I’m fully healed.”
“Oh. Is that what you want?” She tried to hide the disappointment in her voice. She had half hoped that these new circumstances would put an end to her brother risking his life constantly.
“It’s all I’ve ever wanted. I’m not going to let this minor setback stop me from doing what I love.”
“Well then I’ll support you with whatever you need.” She told him, setting her own feelings aside.
“I thought I told you to stop fussing.”
This time it was Cadenza’s turn to toss the pillow at Laurance. “Come on we’re going to be late.”
***
About a week later
Garroth awoke to the sound of screaming coming from the next room. He jumped up and was by Laurance’s bedside in an instant. From the way Laurance was tossing and kicking it seemed that he was in the throes of a nightmare. He had had them often since returning from the Nether, although less frequently now than when he had first got back and been living in Aphmau’s house. Garroth had never seen him as bad as this though, instinctively he reached out to shake Laurance awake, remembering his aversion to touch only after Garroth’s hand had already made contact with his arm.
Laurance went still and then suddenly his free hand was at Garroth’s throat with remarkable speed and precision. He was probably used to waking up and having to defend himself in a split second Garroth realised with horror. Garroth removed his hand from Laurance’s arm and used both of his to clasp the hand around his throat, not removing it but moving it ever so slightly so that he had enough room to speak.
“My name is Garroth Ro’Meave, I am the head guard of Phoenix Drop.” He said, remembering something his mother had taught him. “You are Laurance Zvahl, guard of Phoenix Drop, former head guard of Meteli. We are in your room in the Phoenix Drop guard station and you are safe.” Garroth felt Laurance relax his grip and he removed his own hands, feeling Laurance’s drop from his throat.
Laurance was still antsy though and his breathing was erratic, Aphmau was out of town with Kiki and fetching Cadenza would mean going through the residential district and alerting the other villagers that something was amiss, not to mention that either option would require leaving Laurance alone which Garroth was reluctant to do in his current state. He took a deep breath and decided he would have to try and help Laurance himself.
“Laurance, can you tell me four things you can feel?” He asked, sitting down next to Laurance on the bed.
“What?” Laurance turned to look in his direction.
“Feel your surroundings, tell me what you can feel.”
“Uh, a blanket, stone walls, wooden bedposts, a piece of straw sticking through the mattress that’s poking me in the leg.” After saying that last one Laurance reached down to pull out the offending piece of straw.
“Good, what about three things you can hear.” Garroth watched him go still as he strained to listen.
“Your breathing, the wind, and there’s an owl out there somewhere.”
“Two things you can smell.” Laurance quirked an eyebrow at him like he was trying to figure out what Garroth was doing.
“A candle and sweaty clothes.” Laurance said poking Garroth gently.
Garroth laughed. “Final one, one thing you can taste.”
Laurance thought for a moment. “Blood.” He said finally.
Garroth moved closer, alarmed, and noticed that Laurance had split his lip. “Your lip’s bleeding.” He said passing his handkerchief.
Laurance took it. “Thank you.”
“It’s nothing really.”
“No, for this.” He swept his arms encompassing the room trying to convey everything Garroth had helped him with.
“Oh. Right. Would you ever tell me what happened down there to make you so afraid.”
“Why?” Laurance asked. It wasn’t accusatory like Garroth had expected but curious, as if he genuinely wanted to know why Garroth might want to know what had happened down there.
“Because I can’t protect you if I don’t know what to protect you from.” Garroth told him truthfully.
“Trust me this isn’t the kind of thing you can protect me from. Even if you are a Ro’Meave and a head guard.” Laurance grimaced.
“I’d like to at least try.” Garroth had been prepared to drop the subject if Laurance had asked but something about the way Laurance was responding to his questions seemed like he wasn’t ready to shut Garroth down immediately and it made Garroth want to keep digging a little while longer.
“Why?” Laurance asked again.
“Because you live in Phoenix Drop now which makes you someone I’m responsible for. I want to be able to take care of and protect all Phoenix Drop residents.”
“Even if I did tell you, you wouldn’t be able to handle it.” Laurance said it casually, the same way someone might announce that it was raining. Like it was just a fact, unchangeable and not warranting any further discussion.
“You don’t know what I can and can’t handle. I reckon I know what it was like better than you might think.”
“Oh yeah? What does a prince of O’Khasis know of hell.” Laurance laughed like it was a joke, but Garroth just smiled thinly.
“From the age of six I was raised to be the future lord of O’Khasis. I always hated it. When I came of age, I begged to be allowed to go to the guard academy. The first time I asked my father beat me black and blue.” Laurance said nothing so Garroth continued. “The last time I asked my father took his belt off and struck me with it until I bled. I don’t know how long he would have kept going if my mother hadn’t intervened. Somehow she managed to convince him to let me go and she had me pack my bags and leave that night before he changed his mind. I still have the scars.”
Laurance was still quiet and Garroth thought that might be the end of their short conversation when he spoke up again. “Would you show me?”
Garroth hesitated and then lightly touched Laurance’s hand. “May I?” He asked and took Laurance’s nod as consent. Garroth lifted his shirt and guided Laurance’s hand to his back. Letting go when it settled.
Laurance winced as he explored the patchwork of scars. “Your father did all this?”
“Now you know why I ran.”
“I tried to run, once. I didn’t get very far. Gene gave me this for my troubles.” Laurance lifted his own shirt to show Garroth a broad ridged scar on his stomach. Garroth felt bile rise in his mouth. He hadn’t seen the extent of Laurance’s wounds before.
“You should’ve seen me before Irene did her work. I was a mess.” Laurance said, he must have felt Garroth flinch.
Garroth said nothing.
“How did you manage to run? I can’t imagine your father would let you go without a fight if he was willing to do this to you.” Laurance asked, returning his hands to Garroth’s scars.
“Mother came to see me the night before I graduated the guard academy. She told me that father had arranged my wedding for the following day. He wasn’t planning on telling me about it so that I wouldn’t have time to do anything. She gave me the name of a friend who was lord of a tiny village no one had ever heard of and told me to get gone.”
“And that’s how you ended up here?”
“I stayed just long enough to graduate officially and then I left. I was always scared of what my father would do if he ever caught up to me.” Garroth’s voice was shaking.
“But you’re still here. He knows where you are, and he hasn’t come to get you. That’s got to be a good thing right.” Laurance put a hand on Garroth’s arm to steady him like Garroth had done for him.
“Mmm maybe.” Garroth didn’t sound too sure. “People say I look just like him you know?”
“Is that why you don’t like mirrors?” Laurance asked suddenly.
“Hmm?” His question caught Garroth off guard. It wasn’t what he had expected Laurance to ask.
“Cadenza told me that there are no mirrors in this place. I said it’s not like I need them but then she wondered why you didn’t. It’s because when you look you see him too right? Same reason you wear that stupid helm all the time.” Garroth searched Laurance’s face but saw nothing, but sincerity reflected back at him.
“I wear that helm because it’s standard guard armour.” Garroth told him defensively.
“Dale doesn’t wear one.” Laurance replied quickly.
“Dale’s reckless.”
“And you aren’t?” Laurance smirked.
“Shut up.” Garroth shoved him playfully and then winced, waiting for Laurance to react to the touch but he didn’t.
“They tortured me. In the Nether. I know you said I was only gone a few weeks, but I think time must move differently there because it felt like months. I was kept in a cell and every day, I assume, it was kind of hard to keep track, someone would bring me out and torture me to try and get me to bend to the Shadow Lord’s will. Usually it was Gene, sometimes Sasha, I met Zenix once.” Garroth flinched at that. “I don’t know why they tortured me for that reason, I’m fairly certain someone down there could manipulate memories. They could have used that to make me loyal. I think they just enjoyed having a punching bag.”
Garroth sat silently taking in everything Laurance had just said to him, a little taken aback that Laurance had actually told him. He didn’t think Laurance had told Aphmau or Cadenza about his time in the Nether. “Thank you for sharing that. I’m sorry you had to experience any of it.”
“Huh, looks like I was wrong about you. You could handle it after all.”
“Told you I could.”
“You know you’re really not so bad Garroth Ro’Meave.”
“You’re not so bad yourself Laurance Zvahl.”
They both smiled. After that Garroth returned to his own room and they both went back to bed.