Sir Cillian had ordered that Isiah and Rina be put to work, looking after those who had been injured. Of course, Isiah had no possible way of doing so and instead was asked to help prepare Liman for the coming battle, leaving Rina to treat the wounded in the infirmary alone.
It was easy work with the healing stone, but it was slow and she couldn't heal all of them at once. Sometimes, they protested and demanded that she heal some of them before the others, but there was a system she could work off. Those who were the most injured, those closest to dying, were the ones who were healed first. It was only fair. Most of the ones protesting were the people conscious and barely injured and so she ignored them as best she could.
None of them knew who she was, just that she had some magical ability to heal them all and of course, that meant they thought they could take advantage of her. Sitting by the beds of those barely able to keep their eyes open in the large dining hall of a mansion not far from the stronghold, Rina ignored the yells and jeers from the angry soldiers.
She had been there for hours and was utterly exhausted, but she still had a long while to go. There wasn't much time to get all of the soldiers from the other battles healed up and ready to fight what came next. It wasn't fair on them, being healed up just so they could fight again, but they didn't have a choice. The end of the war was coming and they needed to be as ready as possible.
Being in the infirmary was good practice for the healing stone, but she was restless. All she wanted was to get ready for the battle. The Ishini army was only a few days away and she was sitting in a posh mansion with a bunch of dying people, given no opportunity to train and refine her skills. She hadn't even been given the chance to ask Sir Cillian about it, just pushed into the infirmary the moment she said she could heal people.
She wanted to fight for her country, her people, her family. Healing people felt good, but it wasn't enough for her, she wanted a chance to kill those who had wronged her. She couldn't just sit back in the infirmary and let people die without trying to defend them. As soon as she was done healing everyone, she would rest and get started on training.
The worst part about it all wasn't the impatient men and women waiting for her to come to them, but the fact that using the stone left her exhausted after hours upon hours of nonstop work. Not even Isiah had used his stones for as long as she had. Maybe he should have. It would have been good practice for him. If he couldn't use his stones for more than an hour or so, then how was he supposed to be the Beast? There wasn't enough time for everything that needed to happen.
She yawned and stretched her arms high as the stone finished its work on the group nearby. Most stayed asleep, but some woke, bleary-eyed and confused to pat down their bodies for injuries. Some of them, the ones she had first healed, had marvelled at their limbs, which had once been gone. She had grown them back, which had taken a long time, but she couldn't leave them limbless.
One of those she had just healed stared up at her, a hand on her shoulder, which had once held a near-fatal wound. "Who are you?" the young woman asked, her voice full of awe.
"Someone here to help," she answered and stepped away from the group of beds. In a matter of hours, all of those she had healed would be awake and told to get straight back into armour.
"Doesn't really seem like it!" someone from the front of the room yelled, getting a few cries of agreement from those around them. Rina rolled her eyes and smiled at the woman staring up at her. It didn't matter what the others thought, she would get to them eventually.
The woman sat up and grabbed the hand that wasn't holding the healing stone. "Thank you. I owe you my life," she whispered.
Rina shook her head. "No, no, you don't owe me a thing," she said and squeezed the woman's hand before letting go. "There are others I have to get to. Rest for now."
She seemed happy enough with that, lying back against the makeshift bed. Many of them lined the room and it wasn't just the dining room, it was every room on the first floor of the mansion. It belonged to some minor lord and under the order of the Lady of Liman, they had given it up for the many injured people that had been carried to the town.
The room itself would have been beautiful when it wasn't used as a makeshift infirmary. Massive chandeliers lined the ceiling, illuminating the white walls and their golden trim. It was obviously a room used to the many parties people like her father held, but at least they had enough sense not to throw one in the middle of everything.
"Are you finally going to get around to me now?" the same person as earlier asked when she stood.
With pursed lips, she strode over to him. He was an older man with wrinkles around his eyes and mouth, his greasy hair matted to his forehead. She bent down to face him properly, smiling sweetly at him. "How about, sir, you wait a few more hours while I heal people who actually need it?" she said, raising an eyebrow at him. "What have you got, a broken arm? You don't even need to be lying here but here you are. Let me heal those close to death before I bother with you."
Someone cleared their throat behind her. "Your Highness?" Sir Cillian said, raising both eyebrows at her when she looked at him. "Is everything alright?"
"Quite," she answered. Usually, anyone who disrespected her got what was coming to them, her brother included, but those around her were injured and she wasn't in the mood to start arguments.
The old man behind her gasped and choked. "Your Highness?" he repeated in shock but she didn't bother to look at him. He would treat her with respect once she got back to work, only because she was the Princess and not because she deserved it.
"What did you want, Cillian?" she asked, stepping away from the shocked people on the beds around them.
It took him a moment to respond, staring at her in a way she could decipher. "We have decided that in the coming battle, you are to stay here and look after anyone who is injured," he said, looking far prouder than he had the right to.
For a long moment, she was frozen in the middle of the room, hundreds of eyes on her, waiting for her reaction. "What-" she said and cut herself off with a shake of her head. "Come. Away from here."
Without giving him a chance to reply, she stalked from the room and stood against the wall in the hall outside. Her fists were clenched tightly, her nails making crescent moons in her skin. How dare they suggest that she stay back while people died. Isiah would be out there, fighting even though he couldn't, she couldn't leave him out there alone.
The moment Cillian came out, two soldiers at his back, she glared at him. "I'm not staying here," she said and crossed her arms over her chest. "You can't make me."
"You sound like a child," he replied, disappointment in his eyes and voice. "You are not a Warrior, Princess, not like your brother, you can't fight. It is better for everyone if you stay here and help those wounded."
It was a stupid suggestion, the dumbest she had ever heard. What was the point in forcing a competent fighter to hide when they could be out defending the town? "Benj would have died if I hadn't shown up when I did. We both know that I am the better fighter. Why force me to stay here when the people fighting aren't trained to the same degree I am? Don't you need as many people as you can get?"
"I don't need the Crown Princess dying in battle. It is safer for you here than out there, don't you understand?" Cillian growled, a sneer on his lips. It was what he had always done, used her position as the Crown Princess as an excuse not to let her do things. He would train her properly, wouldn't allow her to go through a ceremony. She was surprised he hadn't brought up her hair like Benj had.
"The number of injured people that would be brought here would be nothing compared to the ones left out in the streets," she cried, her hands moving about furiously. She pointed out one of the many windows that showed a view of the town that would soon be under siege. So many people would lie dying in the streets while she hid in a mansion. "Surely it would be better for me to be out there with them."
If it had happened two months ago, she would have willingly stayed hidden somewhere, despite her training, but things had changed since she left Ziya and she wasn't the same person. But Cillian didn't seem to care. His face twisted into one of irritation and anger and she wanted to slap him.
"You will stay here, Princess! That is that!" he roared and she shuffled back in surprise. The look on her face did nothing to stop his tirade. "You are not a Warrior! You will never be a Warrior! When the battle starts, you will stay here and do as you are told!"
"I am stronger than you think!" she cried, clenching her fists to stop from doing something she shouldn't. "Ask Isiah! I'm the reason we've made it so far. I am a Warrior and I am better than you."
"I don't trust the words of an Ishini. This conversation is over, Your Highness. Get back to work," Cillian said with a shake of his head. He acted as if he was better than her, stronger than her, but he wasn't and she would prove that to him.
He was walking away from her, but she would stop him. "Sir Cillian! I challenge you to a duel!" she yelled. He froze and even the soldiers escorting him seemed surprised.
"Oh, Princess," he said when he turned back to face her, shaking his head at her. "You wouldn't be able to handle the embarrassment." With that, he walked off, disappearing down the hall and leaving her to fume in silence.
She was not the same person he thought she was. She'd changed since leaving Ziya to sign the peace treaty, but none of them seemed to notice. There was no way she was going to sit around when there would be people injured and dying in the streets, she wasn't that kind of person anymore.
It didn't matter what Cillian said, she was going to fight for her people. Isiah couldn't, it was against everything he believed and while she hated it, she still respected it. Cillian and the others didn't; all they wanted was to force him to fight because he had the ability to destroy their enemies. He was the Beast, but that wasn't what he did, so she would do it for him. She would kill as many of their enemies as possible and show Cillian what she could do.
When she walked back into the dining hall, all eyes landed on her. They must have heard the conversation, the yelling. Her cheeks heated up and she took a deep breath as she strode back to the next group of people that needed healing. Her fight with Cillian had given her enough energy to continue for another few minutes.
The awkward silence continued as she patched up those nearest to her and she knew she had to say something. All the people around her would be forced back into armour the second the enemy neared the town gates. She had to be there with them, show them that she was their Princess.
"I will fight for you," she said, her voice carrying across the room. "If you are injured in battle, I will be there, on the streets, looking after you. You are my people. I travelled through Brenmar and Minisia, fought against King Harudan's men to get back to you. I won't abandon you now."
None of them said anything, but the awkward air disappeared. They trusted her to do what she promised. When the time came, she would be out there with them, Cillian's orders be damned. They needed all the people they could get. The end of the war was coming and she wouldn't be hidden away while it happened. She would be out there, fighting and healing, even if it killed her.