Tipping the Scales

21

Lukas awoke to pain. His entire body was pulsating with a dull ache. It didn't feel like bruising or cuts, it felt as if he had expended all his energy and his body was protesting. He struggled to open his eyes, the dim lighting causing a fresh burst of head ache ringing around his skull.

He tried sitting up and gasped – a searing pain erupted from his belly, right around his scar. He fell back down, cursing his lack of ability to do anything. Ignoring the resonating aches, he had nothing to do but think. He tried to remember what had happened – he had been fighting Erik. Beyond that, he had no recollection of events.

Lukas tried to gain an understanding of his surroundings – he was definitely inside, as the air was silent. He was laid on something soft and plush, his head propped up on what felt like a pillow. He would have been comfortable had he not been feeling utterly exhausted.

Lukas tried his eyes once more, finding his eyes were more accustomed to the light, enough so that he could overlook the pounding within his head. He was in what looked like a bedroom, though unlike any he had seen before. It was larger than Lukas' entire dwelling back in Rosehallow. The bed itself was gigantic, dwarfing him within its furling silk sheets and deep, plumped up pillows. Everything else in the room felt outlandish to him. Large wooden furnishings laden with flashy ornaments and colourful silk trimmings lined the walls.

There was a knock on the impossibly large wooden door. Lukas tried responding but could only manage a grunt.

A man burst into the room and marched over to the bed. He was middle-aged, with what looked like a set of fake, out of place grey hair placed on his scalp. He wore a smart white linen shirt with a black blazer and clopped across the wooden floor in posh black boots.

"You are awake?" He spoke down at Lukas over his upturned nose. Lukas managed a nod, unsure why he had to confirm his lucidity with his eyes wide open. Without another word, the smartly dressed man turned and marched back out.

After a few moments he swung the door wide open again, holding it to allow an entourage of men and women to enter. They were all tidily dressed but not smart like the first man, instead they wore spotless white smocks and aprons.

"Get him dressed and in that chair," the smart man clapped the others into action.

Lukas tried to protest as a pair of women sat him up and essentially dragged him out of the bed. His muscles and bones groaned as they pulled him to his feet. He looked down to find he wore nothing but cotton undergarments, but was in too much pain to be embarrassed. A man brought over a silk white overall. He allowed himself to be dressed, too tired to object, and was sat in a chair in the middle of the room.

The man leading the servants pulled up another chair and sat across from him. Finally addressing Lukas directly, "please, allow us to make you look somewhat presentable. In the mean time, I'm sure you have lots of questions so let's get them out the way." One of the servants started measuring Lukas' proportions, wrapping a length of string around his waist. Another pair of women began remaking the bed, as if covering any trace they had been slept in by Lukas.

Lukas cleared his throat. "Where am I?" He spoke weakly.

"You are in the Carnelian Palace."

"The Royal Castle?"

"Yes."

"Why am I here?"

"You were brought here after you fell unconscious at the Ascension Exams."

"But why?"