"Wait," he says, but I keep walking. "I command you to wait for me!"

I come to a halt and turn around slowly.

A tree branch hanging in front of my face obscures my vision. I push it away and see Hadrian a dozen of paces away, his pale face clearly visible even though it's almost completely dark down here.

"Do you think your commands still work on me?" I say.

He shrugs. "It's worked. You've stopped."

I start to turn away again.

"No, wait," he calls, beginning to limp towards me. He's developed the limp in the last hour or so and since then he's been constantly falling behind "Wait." He comes closer and leans with his hand on a tree. The wind ruffles the leaves above us, and when I look up, I catch a glimpse of a few stars. When I look down, there's nothing to see but the dark tree trunks and the underbrush and my troublesome companion scowling at me.

"Cheer up," I say. "I saved your life today."

"Not killing someone doesn't exactly equal saving their life." He rubs his face. "Apart from that, I'm beginning to suspect you just decided to kill me in a more cumbersome manner. Why forest? Where are we going? Do you even know it yourself?"

"I do."

"Then why don't you tell me?"

"Because you're being a prick and it's pissing me off." I turn around and begin to walk.

"Come back," he says. "You'll tell me where we're going this instant, or I won't take another step."

"Fine. Don't."

"I will go back to the town!" His voice is getting quieter as I walk away.

"Fine with me," I say over my shoulder. "If you can retrace our route of the last few hours in the dark, without steering into a swamp or running into a pack of wolves, I'm sure by morning you could enjoy Rollo's warm welcome."

For a moment, the only sound is the crackling of dry branches and the rustling of rotten leaves under my feet.

"Or maybe you could just fly," I add. "Like the fairy that you are."

From behind me comes a groan of exasperation, and then the sound of his hurried steps.

"Wait," he calls. "I'm --"

There's a sudden noise that makes me start and look back. At first, I can't see him, but then a string of curses brings my attention downwards, and I find Hadrian sitting on the ground, rubbing his right foot.

"This damn forest," he moans. "This damn, damn forest."

"What happened?" I walk over to him.

"What happened?" He squints up at me. "This damn forest happened! You happened, a damn fucking idiot who decided to navigate it in the dark."

"And more to the point?" I say, although from the way his dirt-covered right foot seems to be at a slightly wrong angle I can already guess.

"Some kind of a pit...a hole under the leaves...I don't know." He returns his attention to his foot and probes it with his fingers, then draws in a sharp breath. "I slipped."

I let out a long, exasperated breath. This day has been as long for me as it was for him, why can't he just not create any more problems than we already have?

"Don't you make such faces at me!" He looks up at me furiously. "I'm hungry, I'm tired, I can't see a fucking thing, I don't know what the fuck is going on!" His voice is rising with each word until he's almost yelling. That sets off some night bird above us, and the flapping of its wings make him go quiet. He looks up into the dark sky, then at his foot again. He tries to move it and hisses in pain.

"Let me see," I crouch down and pull his pant leg higher, exposing his ankle. It's clearly dislocated, although not too badly, the angle only slightly off. I have seen our local doctor fix this for Oliver a couple of times. Oliver was prone to such injuries, always climbing where he shouldn't have. Always dragging me after him. Most of the time I was able to catch him when he slipped. But sometimes, I wasn't there, and he fell.

I shake my head. I won't think about Oliver now.

"Keep still," I say, positioning myself in front of Hadrian and taking his boot off.

"No...don't touch it."

"Shut up." I place one hand on his ankle, the other on his bare foot, and try to move it around a bit, to get a feel of it.

"Wait... don't... aaargh!" He leans forward and grabs my hand, tries to unclench my fingers. "Don't you even think of doing anything," he whispers fiercely. "You're not a doctor."

"You're not getting a real doctor here," I say. "I'm your best shot." His attitude is beginning to get to me, and with my patience at its rock bottom I can't summon any sympathy, even given his pitiful state. If I'm going to do something, I better do it now, before he really begins to struggle.

"Prepare... and... now!" I tighten my grip, and the next moment I twist and pull.

He lets out such a yell that the forest comes alive around us. Flapping of wings comes from all the directions as shadows dart above us into the sky. From a distance comes the yelping of a fox. As the sounds begin to subside, I look down at Hadrian, who's lying on his side, hugging his knee to his chest, whimpering quietly through his clenched teeth. From what I can see of his ankle, it looks straight, if a little swollen.

"Let me see," I say.

"Get away from me," he moans, his eyes squeezed shut. "Get the fuck away from me."

"You're welcome." I get up to my feet, brush myself off, and take a few breaths of the fresh night air. Then I look down and offer my hand. "Get up, we need to go."

Still lying on his side, he opens his eyes and gives me a scorching gaze.

"You have to be kidding me," he says. "I can't walk."

"Get up."

He stares at me a little longer, then lets go of his knee and grabs my hand. I pull him up and he winces and growls in pain. Once on his feet, he sways and grabs my shoulder for support. This contact seems to make him even more uncomfortable than the pain, for he hurriedly lets go of me and tries to put his weight on his injured leg. He manages to do that, although judging by his sharp intake of breath, it still hurts like a bitch.

"You're good to go," I say.

"I hate you," he says.

"I know," I say. "Put your shoe back on."

He sighs and bends down to pull on his boot, cursing under his breath. After he manages to put it on, he straightens up and tries to walk, favoring his hurt foot so much that it looks more like he's hopping on one leg rather than walking. After a few steps he pauses, grabbing a tree for support, and frowns at me.

"Don't you dare to laugh," he says.

"I'm not a laughing type."

"Yeah," he says, "I've noticed that." He tries to make another step, then shakes his head. "Look, I'm not being a drag on purpose, I just really can't walk like this."

I force myself to take a couple of deep breaths before I answer.

"Hold on to me," I say. "Yeah, like that." I make him put his arm around my shoulders and wrap mine around his waist. He feels surprisingly thin under my hand.

He makes a face but doesn't protest. I pull him forward and we begin to walk. I'm not exactly a good fit to serve as a crutch, given that I'm taller than him, but we manage to advance, with him mostly hopping on one leg and only occasionally stepping on the injured one.

"It's not long now," I say.

"Not long...till... where?"

"Until your new home," I say, and he shoots me an anxious glance.

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