The Darke King

The Stranger

Haldir's freckled fingers bent rapidly as he motioned for the next patient. "Come on over, child."

The young blonde-haired man was hardly a man at all, and Haldir gave him a quick smile. "What seems to be the problem?"

He shrugged his shoulders and leaned into Haldir's ear. The Viking huffed through his nose and nodded, then pointed his thumb over his shoulder to the Dining Hall. "Go ahead. The soup's quite good today."

As the next patient stepped forward, Haldir lifted his chin. "My, that's quite a bruise." While he did a quick assessment of the woman before him, the tingly hand of Fate pulled his eyes right to a small group of men standing together in the triage line.

The foggy sensation that he'd met them before poked at him, and he shook it off before he narrowed his eyes at them and tried to place their faces.

It wasn't like Haldir to forget anything, and the little voice in his head whispered for him to take notice. "Eason!" Haldir turned to the knight manning the dining hall doors and motioned to him with his head.

Eason nodded and glanced back over his shoulder at a lovely young traveler before he came to stand beside Haldir. "Do you need something?"

Haldir's eyes shot back to a man with shaggy shoulder-length hair staring at Rosemary. "Those three men standing together. Have you seen them before?"

With a twisted lip, Eason hummed through his nose. "Un-un. That one seems to be quite interested in the queen, though, doesn't he?" His head tipped to the side as he sized them up, and his hand slapped the old man's back. "I got her."

Before he got more than a few steps, Haldir grabbed his elbow. "Who's with Sigrid?"

"Not to worry." Eason slid from his grasp, and his hand rested on the hilt of his sword. "She's with her Uncle Mage in the nursery."

Haldir's fingertips rubbed at his lips, then he sighed and waved to the next patient. When the shaggy-haired man stepped to Haldir, he gave him a lift of his chin. "Good morning." Before meeting Haldir's, his eyes rolled over the foyer's paintings and tapestries.

"What seems to be troubling you?" Haldir scanned the young man's form, and his arms wove across his chest. "You don't look very sick to me, but if you're looking for a meal, you can eat and be on your way."

The young man's hand balled into a fist in front of his mouth, and he forced a few coughs in Haldir's face, then cleared his throat. "Can't breathe."

He held the stranger's eyes a moment more and nodded to Rosemary. "Go on." As he passed Haldir, he grabbed the man's arm, then lifted his finger to him. "Be respectful. She's your queen."

With a jerk, the man released himself from Haldir's hold. "Of course."

He pushed his hands through his hair as he approached Rosemary, and Eason hovered over her shoulder. Her warm smile greeted him as she looked up from her seat. "What seems to be the problem?"

He leaned in closer as his hands rested against the table, and he coughed into his shoulder. "Rightie then." She nodded and rummaged through her bag as Eason pushed his hand into the stranger's chest. "Back up."

The shaggy-haired man's hands went up in front of him, and he shifted on his feet, then his eyes dropped to Rosemary. "You don't remember me, do you?"

"Hmm-mm." After she found the bottle she'd been looking for, she handed it to him, and his finger swept over hers. The creepy, queasy sensation came to her belly, making her lean into Eason for comfort when she snatched her hand away and shook her head. "No, I'm sorry. I'm afraid I don't." She pointed her finger at the bottle. "Take one of those every day and night and come back if you aren't better in a week."

He shook the bottle in his hand and smiled as he tapped the table with his fingers. "Yes, I'll do that." His chin brushed his shoulder as he peeked back at her. "See you again soon."

Eason matched his steps as the man left the castle, then returned to Haldir. "Did he say anything?"

The chainmail on his chest jingled as his arms crossed, and his shoulder shrugged as he inspected the last few patients. "He asked if she remembered him, and she said no."

"Hmm." Haldir's nose wrinkled as his eyes shifted to Eason, and like a gunshot going off in his mind, the stranger's face became clear to him. "Fuck." His shaking finger pointed at his friend. "Don't leave her side."

His feet beat against the floor until he reached the front doors, then Haldir leaped from down the stairs to the cobblestone path below. The guard rushed down the stairs, and Haldir slapped the back of his fingers against his armor as he searched the crowded town below. "The man who just left, the one with long white hair. Did you see where he went?"

The guard pointed out toward the forest path. "Three of them went to the South road."

With his heart pounding in his chest, Haldir hurdled over carts and dashed around townspeople until he came to the tree line in time to see the men slip into the thick forest darkness on horseback. "Oh, shit. It's you, isn't it?. It can't be."

Haldir slapped his hand on the guard's shoulder when he reached the doors again and lifted his chin to the woods. "If they return, arrest them. Call for me immediately."

Unlike the other Realm folk, Haldir was just a human, really, and he bent from his waist as he stepped through the foyer to catch his breath. When Eason crouched beside him and placed his hand in the middle of his back, Haldir looked up to him breathlessly. "It's him. It's the bastard who attacked her; I'm sure of it."

Eason closed his eyes and shook his head before pushing himself up and whistling with his two fingers. His hands clapped together as he headed into the dining hall and yelled inside. "It's time to leave, the clinics over. You may take your food with you, but it's time to go."

Her brows furrowed with worry as Rosemary came around the table and grabbed onto Haldir's arms. "What's wrong?"

A fake smile flashed back at her, and he shook his head. "Nothing for you to worry yourself over, Your Majesty." He motioned to the hallway with his head. "But I think it's best to stay in your suite with Sigrid until Daniel returns."

Her little shaking fingers covered her belly, and her bottom lip quivered, but Haldir dipped his knees and shook his head as he took her chin in his fingers. "I'm just cautious. You know me; I'd let nothing happen to you. Would I?"

She cleared her throat and shook her head as his thumb wiped the tear from her cheek. "No."

"No." Haldir's hand wrapped around hers, and he pulled her into his side as his eyes scanned the foyer while the guards ushered out the remaining refugees. "Never again."