A HENRY STORY 2: Trials Of The Fallen Prince

XXX. Adrift

Neither of them could discern how long they had spent nestled together, lost in the otherworldly sounds of the jungle and enthralled by the subtle play of shadows cast upon the walls by the hanging vines.

"Know you how long we have slept earlier?" Thanatos spoke first.

"No," replied Henry. "At least we were not devoured in our unwatched sleep."

"I want you to forgive yourself for that," his flier insisted. "Please forgive yourself for everything that no one else blames you for any more."

Henry said nothing. He knew he had other concerns at the moment, but he had never found forgiving himself for anything all that easy. "I must get up," he said instead, rising gingerly. "I must search for food and water; we mustn't run out of either."

"Henry, you are in no condition to—"

"One of us must." Henry cut him off. "And your condition is worse than mine."

"You must not hurt yourself for my sake any longer," mumbled his flier without looking at him. His concern was evident and unconcealed, and it sent a spear of a kind of emotion through Henry's heart that he couldn't immediately place.

"I shall not hurt myself." He dropped to his knees in front of Thanatos and rummaged through his backpack, producing his water bags. "We should empty these so that I may refill them."

They quenched their most dire thirst, then Henry rose again. "I promise you that I shall do my very best to not be hurt."

His bond opened his eyes to narrow slits, clouded with a mixture of pain and concern. "And I shall do my very best to have faith in you."

***

Despite his worry for Thanatos, Henry found himself absent for over an hour. He had nothing but his intuition to guide him on his search for sustenance and neglected to mark his path back.

When he finally burst through the curtain of vines at the entrance again, though, he did so with newfound enthusiasm. "Death!" he called, rushing toward his bond. "We must depart at once! I found—"

"Henry!" Thanatos cut him off; his head shot up, and his wings attempted to snap open. "Have you any clue for how long you have been gone? I assumed—"

"I am unharmed," assured Henry, although he felt the ache in his abdomen acutely now. "Forgive me for making you worry. But look what I found!" He dropped three large fish in front of Thanatos. "And not only food and water." He dropped two full water bags next to the fish. "Also the perfect temporary shelter. It lies half an hour from here, with ready access to water and a grove full of delicious golden fruit—the kind that Hamnet showed us during the quest—only a hundred feet or so further."

He settled against the wall and shook out of his backpack a load of fruits, eagerly picking one out and taking the first bite. When the sweet, delicious juice entered his mouth and dripped from his chin, Henry shut his eye and reveled in a fleeting instant of pure joy.

Only when he directed his gaze back at Thanatos did his bliss abate. His flier had not even touched the food. "Death?"

He did not respond, and Henry hastily stuffed the rest of the fruit into his mouth and poked his flier in the side. "Death, you must eat. You look like something has chewed you up and spit you out again," he teased, poking him again. "Come, you will feel better once you have eaten. And if you like, I always have more painkiller for you."

"I wish for my head to remain clear."

"Fine." Henry eyed him with growing concern. "But you must still eat. I thought we had established earlier that we would like to attempt living," he said quietly. "To live, you must eat."