Reaching the building where Loraz was, he followed behind Vestin closely. He clutched his bag with a firm grip as he walked, and his mind raced with how much help they would be. Vestin opened the door to the room Gidens was in and saw Loraz sitting by his side wiping off sweat and carefully cleaning his wounds. As Loraz looked up she saw Robert walk up behind Vestin and her eyes got big. She thrust her hand forward and motioned him closer.

"Quickly hand me the bag so I can get started. It's much worse than I thought."

Robert pushed past Vestin and handed her the bag.

"Here...is there anything else I can do to help? I studied a bit the first year at the school."

"Actually, yes. I'm going to need you to hold him down. He has a broken leg that is healing improperly and unfortunately, I don't have any other choice but to re-break it and set it back into place." Loraz said.

Robert looked down at the man lying in bed covered in wounds. To have survived the torture he suffered must have seemed like a gift from the Ancestors.

"How is he still even breathing? His treatment looks botched. Are all these wounds the results of the attackers? The unfortunate fellow."

"Gotte saw to his treatment...he's the best doctor in our village. If not for him Gidens would be dead." Vestin said.

"The treatment he received was very good seeing as you don't have much of what is needed to give him a chance at a full recovery." She looked over at Robert and then pointed to a clean cloth she had set aside, "Robert you come hold this cloth for him to bite down on. Vestin you can try to hold him down, so he doesn't move much. Just be careful he needs a few stitches around his chest and his rib cage is bruised."

Grabbing hold of him as carefully as he could, Vestin braced himself to hear the screams of an innocent young boy.

Robert grabbed the cloth and held it to the lad's mouth and looked over at Loraz.

They locked eyes and she could tell he was about to say something.

"You can ask me anything you want after this is done. I need to focus on this young man."

"Right...then after we finish here."

After a glance between them, Loraz began working on the lad and his injuries.

Starting with an herbal paste, then the antidote for the poison, and finally working her way to broken bones and stitches. One by one she went down the list of ailments the young man had and retreated them. Occasionally, having to hear Gidens' cries fill the room. Several hours passed and finally, she had completed everything that she could to ensure a full recovery.

"Alright. The worst part is over with. Now we have to relocate him to a proper bed."

Vestin looked up at her and shook his head.

"But this is the best room they can afford to pay for. The others must share rooms or must find lodging wherever they can. I had set up something with the barracks here, but they didn't want the injured to stay there so we had to find somewhere else."

Loraz took a damp cloth and cleaned off the blood from her hands, arms, and face. She handed the cloth to Robert and picked up her hooded cape.

"Understood. I will call for transport immediately."

Vestin grabbed hold of her arm and pulled her back to look at him.

"Wait, what are you talking about? Where do you plan on taking him?"

Loraz sighed as she pulled away from him then flipped the cape around her shoulders and looked Vestin in the eyes.

"Unfortunately, I will have to let the school know that I have come off school grounds without the proper protocol. I will explain to Madim the situation here and we will get these men into proper accommodations."

Vestin looked at her then grabbed the bridge of his nose and exhaled heavily. He looked over at Robert then back at Loraz.

"What do you mean to inform the school? Didn't they process your ID for entry into the city?"

"ID?" Loraz paused for a moment and looked at Robert then back at Vestin, "Oh, you mean the way they do the servants and military. No, the royal students aren't allowed outside the school. Well, not without the proper escorts. Robert posed as a soldier, and I stored myself away under his hooded cape. Luckily it has magical properties, so we didn't get caught."

Vestin looked over at Robert again and shook his head as he motioned him to come closer.

"Under your cloak? How did a plan like that even work?"

Loraz held up her hand as if to dismiss the conversation.

"It's not important right now. If your other friends wish to see him, they must do so quickly. He will be transferred tonight as my guest. I will see that the others have beds in the barracks.

Vestin looked back at Gidens and saw him resting peacefully for the first time in days. His breathing was steady, and treatment looked as if a professional doctor treated him.

"Are you planning to bring him into the castle?"

Loraz looked back at the boy. So young and yet enlisted into a war that would help decide his future.

"Yes, as my guest. We are allowed to do that. I will talk with Madim, first to get a medical carriage. I will be seeing his care personally with the help of the Royal Physician. For now, let us all rest up, it has been a long day."

Robert stepped forward and placed a hand on Loraz's shoulder.

"We should get back to the school then, Loraz. We'll have a lot of explaining to do when we inform them of the lad."

She placed a hand on his and shook her and smiled.

"Yes, but before we head off, I would like to speak with their medical doctor." She looked back over at Vestin, "Could you bring him here for me?"

Vestin nodded his head and walked out of the room.

Loraz turned to Robert as she fixed her cape and fiddled with the buttons.

"Now what is it that you wish to ask me?"

Robert shook his head as he looked at her face. He could see how exhausted she was and didn't want to put any more stress on her. How could he break the news of his father to her at a time like that?

"We can discuss it later after you are rested."

Looking him in the eyes she tilted her head to one side and raised an eyebrow.

"No, we can discuss it now. The look in your eyes made it seem like something happened. Was it Vestin?"

He chuckled a bit. She always could tell when something bothered him.

"Aside from the fact that he blames me for all your misfortune, nothing has happened between us. I just wanted to know if your heart was still in the same condition as before."

She smiled a bit and giggled. That wasn't what he wanted to talk about. She could feel it, but she played along with his coyness.

"My dear Robert, are you jealous of an old friend?"

He looked down at the cloth in his hand and then back at her. His eyes softened as they met hers and he had to admit to himself that he might have lost her to someone else. Then again, he might have never really had her from the start. He could easily tell her goodbye if it would help her reach happiness.

"Loraz, he is more than just an old friend to you. He is the one who has had your heart for so long that you don't know how to love anyone else."

Loraz walked up to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. Resting her head on his chest she took in his scent and listened to his heart race.

"Does my heart still race when Vestin is nearby? Yes, it does, but I wouldn't call it love. I am not sure how I feel about either of you as of right now. All that I know right now is that both of you are very important to me."

Robert pushed her away and stepped back from her. His eyes were a bit moist, and he clenched his fists at his side.

"You still refuse to admit anything that is in your heart."

Loraz sighed and placed her hands on her hips. She licked her lips a bit and looked up at the ceiling briefly then back at Robert.

"We are not destined to pick our marriage partners, Robert. You of all people should know this and yet you still believe that if we chose to unite that it will be approved, and blessings would be given." She stepped closer to him and leaned in as if to whisper, "Father isn't the only blessing we need to approve of us. We also need the blessings of The Council, which we do not receive until the night of The Ritu Banquet. The final word will always belong to the queen principle, Madim."

"Fine, continue to stand there and pretend like we haven't had a connection between us that was more than friendship." He moves away from her and then turns to place the cloth he held down next to the window, "I may love you, Loraz, but I will not wait forever for you to choose what you want."

Loraz grabbed his arm and pulled him to face her. Tears slowly formed in the corners of her eyes.

"What do you want to hear from me? That I have slowly grown fond for you, but my heart is confused, and it still wavers with love for Vestin. If that is what you want to hear then, yes. I do feel something for you, and I am also still very much in love with Vestin," She looked down at the floor as the first of her tears fell and she wiped them away, "I asked for one thing before we started this partnership between the three of us and that was to put this triangle romance to the side. Not indefinitely, but just until I figured things out with everything else that is happening in my life."

"So, I am to just hold onto your words and pretend like nothing is going on until you feel like thinking about it." Robert pulled away from her and shook his head, "You can't keep leading us on like this, Loraz. Your emotions aren't the only ones at stake here."

"For valley's sake, Robert, do you not understand that right now my mind has to be focused on regaining my status as princess of Serenity." Loraz looked over at Gidens. A young boy whose life was put on the line to find her, "I have people who are depending on my victory to bring back the peace they once knew, that they wish for, that they pray to the Ancestors every night for. The very peace that they so very much deserve. So, I apologize if my asking you to wait until I free my people from darkness worse than death is a bit much, but as of right now I can't give you what you want. My heart is torn between the past and the future."

Loud clapping was heard and Loraz turned around to see Vestin standing in the doorway with Gotte.

"Spoken like a true queen, but my princess be advised that matters of the heart tend to slip away if you leave them unattended for too long." Gotte smiled and looked at Vestin, "This war will not be won in a matter of minutes, hours, days, or even months. Decide one battle at a time while it presents itself, it will make future decisions much easier to find."

Her face red, she took a deep breath, looked over at Robert with longing eyes then walked over to Gotte.

"We should discuss the treatment for your friend here. Come you can walk me out to the front door. We have much to talk about," She looked back at Robert, "We will finish this conversation another time."

"Should I be at your room for tea, or would you prefer to meet in the garden?"

"The garden. We can finish our conversation then," she looked back over to Gotte, "Shall we."

She walked past Vestin without even making eye contact and he grabbed her by the arm.

"Lo, do you intend to pretend like I didn't hear what you said?"

She looked up at him and smiled.

"Vestin, I know you may have heard everything that was said. Given what your friend over here said, it would be clear to anyone that it is likely that you did. My words go for you as well."

Gotte placed a hand on Vestin's shoulder and shook his head at him. He then extended his hand to Loraz and said,

"Your Grace, come we can talk about the patient as we walk. "

"Yes." She looked over at Vestin, "We shall also talk more about this matter later."

She threw on her cloak hood and walked out of the room.

Both men looked at each. Robert, rendered speechless, just stared at Vestin.

Vestin inhaled deeply then upon releasing it rushed up to Robert and punched him once across the right cheek.

"Why do you always have to push her into a corner?"

Holding his cheek Robert balled up his fist and returned the gesture to Vestin and knocked him to the ground.

"Because I was admitting defeat. She may love me, but it will never outweigh the love she has for you. I for one will not stick around to watch the two of you."

Vestin looked up at him from the floor.

"What do you mean by that?"

"My father is sick, and my presence has been requested. I must return to Mossca. I haven't told Loraz about it and I don't plan on it. Once I leave it will be easier for you to make your move."

"So, you're just giving up on her? You're just a coward."

"Maybe you're right, but as long as she is happy. Just don't waste this chance that I gave you."

"Like I needed your help with this."

"Goodbye, Vestin. Don't you ever make her cry?"

Robert walked past Vestin and Vestin grabbed hold of his leg as he passed.

"I will not take such a cheap shot. We will fight for her heart fairly. So, take care of your father and return. We are not finished here."

Robert smiled and reached a hand down to Vestin.

Vestin grabbed it after a short pause, and he was pulled to his feet.

"I will hold you tothat," Robert said then left Vestin standing there rubbing his chin