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It was late at night when the knock came. The knock was so quiet, and it was only the one, so Chikara almost thought it was just his imagination. The even fainter thump however, convinced him it was not his imagination and there was someone out there that needed help. Probably urgently.
Mai had been napping next to him, but roused when he stood up, his chair scraping against the floor. “Huh?” She asked blearily, but he barely heard her, occupied grabbing his strongest staff and a healing potion as he summoned his shoes and coat.
She was quick on the uptake, which, she kind of had to be, since she was technically his body guard, so she grabbed her knives and trailed behind him as he went to open the door, staff tucked under his arm and potion in his hands.
He opened the door cautiously, immediately looking down when he didn’t see anyone. Sure enough, there was a guy crumpled right in front of the door, like he’d passed out right there. Based on the thump, he probably had. He was also, far more alarmingly, bleeding. A lot.
“Help me get him inside,” Chikara called back to Mai, tucking the potion into the pocket of his coat and dropping his staff. He’d pick it up afterwards. For now they needed to get this guy inside.
Once they had him inside on Chikara’s table, several things became glaringly obvious. One, he was rich. His clothes, though torn in a multitude of places and pretty grimey, were obviously of high quality, and he was wearing several rings that implied noble birth. Two, whoever had done this to him had not wanted him to survive. His injuries were severe and extensive, and at least three of them had been poisoned, while a couple others had been cauterized as they were made, producing burned tissue that was particularly difficult for a witch to deal with. Three, it was impressive he was still alive. The aforementioned injuries, along with signs of malnourishment and dehydration, all pointed to potentially a long time held in captivity before he somehow escaped.
Chikara got to work as soon as he was down, carefully coaxing the healing potion down his throat to hopefully take care of any internal injuries. Mai for her part began working on the poisoned and burned injuries, laying one of her knives on his chest, and holding the other in her left hand while her right lay on the first of the injuries. A quiet murmured prayer to her patron, and as she pulled her hand away from the injury, a blob of twisting greenish purple poison came away with it. Chikara silently summoned a bowl, and she dropped the poison into it, then moved onto the next one.
Chikara summoned several of his stronger healing salves, and started at the guy’s head, gently smearing the salve across the cuts on his face and neck, before moving down to the poisoned injury on his arm Mai had dealt with.
“Poison done, do you want his clothes off or the burn wounds handled first?” Mai asked, not removing her knife from on his chest yet.
“Clothes, I need to see the extent of this, there could be more under his clothes.” Really, Chikara was worried about his back. Most of this looked purposeful enough he was concerned about a high chance of lash marks.
“Hope he’s not too concerned about them!” Mai said, the tone almost reaching cheery, but it was a little too concerned as she grabbed her other knife and carefully began cutting his clothes off, Chikara helping sit the guy up to get a good look at his back.
Chikara was right, and he wasn’t pleased about it. Mai hissed when she saw it, but returned to cutting off his pants to make sure there wasn’t anything hiding under there. They left his under pants on for now, but if necessary they’d also come off. Hopefully it wouldn’t be necessary.
“Prop him up for me while I get salve on these, then return to the burned wounds, I’m a little less concerned about them right now,” Chikara instructed, summoning a thick but soft towel and carefully wiping away the blood caked onto his back, trying to get a good look at the injuries.
It wasn’t good, Chikara was surprised he’d been able to wear a shirt. They’d have to wrap it up, but he needed to get salve on both it and the wounds on his chest and stomach before they could wrap him up. At least most of it didn’t appear to be bleeding too much anymore.
The guy unfortunately started stirring as Chikara finished wiping salve on his back, fingers twitching as a warning before he lifted his head slightly. “No, no, stop, just don’t hurt him,” he mumbled, and Chikara exchanged a concerned glance with Mai, who adjusted so she could still hold him up, but also turn his head towards her.
“You’re on the outskirts of the Everlight forest, near Misami river. You collapsed on the doorstep of the witch Ennoshita Chikara. I’m Nametsu Mai, the Paladin of the Sun. We’re trying to help.”
He didn’t really seem lucid, as he just started mumbling again, so Chikara summoned something to put him back to sleep, waving it under his nose to make sure he breathed some in. He mumbled one last thing, a name, Koutarou, before his head dropped again, and his breathing stabilized somewhat.
“Let’s hope he’s a little more lucid next time he wakes up,” Mai said, going back to her previous position to avoid getting in Chikara’s way as he moved to be able to get salve on the guy’s chest and stomach. There weren’t as many injuries here, mostly just the big one that Chikara had swiftly and painfully closed as soon as he realized it was the the main injury he was bleeding from. It was closed, but it wasn’t healed yet. He wasn’t out of the woods yet.
“Yeah. It’ll probably be a long night though. Help me bandage this, then you can lay him down again.”
Once his torso was bandaged and he was laid back down, Mai set one of her knives back on his chest, and went to take care of the burn injuries on his arms. Well, do what she could for them anyway, which was mostly remove the burnt and dead tissue so Chikara’s magic could actually work. While she did that, Chikara focused on smearing salve on the injuries on his legs, which weren’t many, as they appeared to have been mostly protected by his boots. The same couldn’t be said about his face and arms, which were scratched to the sky and back by the thorns on the path to Chikara’s house.
He should survive at this point, but he had a long road ahead of him. It’d be a long time before all of this healed, even with Chikara’s help.
Chikara and Mai took shifts through the night, sitting by the guy’s side and keeping a close eye on him. Chikara was reasonably sure he’d survive, but it didn’t hurt to keep an eye on him, especially when last time he’d woken up not even conscious of where he was.
It was early in the morning when he woke again, Chikara had been just thinking about starting breakfast when he noticed the guy’s eyelids fluttering and his fingers twitching. They stilled again after a second, although not like he’d gone back to sleep, more like he’d forced them to still so he could play at still being asleep.
“You’re somewhere safe,” Chikara said, clearly startling him, as he flinched, then immediately hissed, evidently feeling all of his injuries. “I’m Ennoshita, I’m a witch. You arrived on my doorstep late last night. I assume you don’t remember that?”
He gave up on pretending to sleep, opening his eyes and going to sit up, but Chikara stopped him with a gentle hand on his chest. “I wouldn’t do that. Stay laying down. You lost a lot of blood.”
For a second Chikara thought he’d push through and sit up anyway, but after a second he relaxed slightly, just enough Chikara felt comfortable removing his hand and sitting back again.
“Where am I?” He asked, voice raspy.
Chikara summoned a glass of water from the kitchen, and on second thought, summoned a straw as well, offering it to him. “You’re in my house for one, but my house is on the outskirts of the Everlight forest, near Misami river. Like I said, you arrived late last night and collapsed. I’ve done what I can to care for you, but without knowing the extent of your injuries I could only do so much. May I ask your name?” The guy had drank half the glass, so Chikara pulled it away. He could have the other half after he’d rested a bit. They needed to take this slowly, in case of invisible injuries.
“My name is Akaashi Keiji.”
The crown prince. He was due to succeed his father soon, something must have happened. Chikara was only barely aware of the news from the capital, as he was on the very outskirts of the kingdom, so it was no surprise he hadn’t heard anything yet. He tended to get his news from people passing by.
“I’m impressed you made it all the way from the capital,” Chikara said instead, although that did explain the malnourishment and dehydration.
“I was caught several times,” he replied grimly. “Things did not begin this poorly.”
The name from earlier must have been the name of someone who helped him escape.
“Should I be expecting violent company?” Chikara asked instead. If so, he needed to get Mai up and warn her. She was kind of the only line of defense for his house.
“I don’t know. I apologize if so. I can move on if necessary.”
“You’ll remain here until I allow you to leave,” Chikara informed him sharply, perhaps too sharply by how he flinched. He would not take it back however. “You will not leave until your wounds are healed at the very minimum,” he continued, although less sharply.
“I submit to your care,” he murmured formally in response.
Chikara nodded, and stood. “Are eggs for breakfast alright? I’m afraid we don’t have a whole lot else.”
“Anything is fine, I’m not picky.”
Chikara nodded again. Akaashi was laid out on his kitchen table, which was also kind of the dining room table, since Chikara’s house had a very open layout in the front rooms, and this was his largest table, so it was also his work table. He’d permit Akaashi to move into one of the more comfortable chairs to eat, but for now it was better for him to be laying down. The table was enchanted with several spells that made it comfortable to lay on but easy to clean, so it was always used for patients with a high chance of bleeding through the bandages.
“What happened?” Chikara asked as he began breakfast. Mai would probably get up when she started being able to smell it cooking, although if she didn’t get up herself by the time he was done, he’d get her up. He wasn’t going to let her sleep in today, not with the risk of aggressive company. Normally he would after such a long night, but he needed protection right now. It was her job.
“A coup. My cousin thought he would be better suited to the throne and launched a coup the day before my coronation was to occur. My father was killed, my mother imprisoned, and I barely escaped. His men caught up to me several times, but I managed to escape each time, although, obviously, not unscathed.”
“Do you have a plan for what you’ll do about it?” Chikara asked curiously, partially just keeping up conversation to keep him awake. They needed to get food in him, and they needed to check injuries. Both required him to be awake.
“If I cannot negotiate, it will be war,” he replied tiredly. “The majority of the common people prefer me, as my mother was not of the noble class. They consider me to be much closer to being one of them than my purely highborn cousin. I would have the support of the common people. My cousin was only able to pull it off this time because the nobility have become restless. Should it come to a fight, I will win. But it will not be without cost. Ideally, I will be able to negotiate, and it will come to a peaceful conclusion.”
“You do not believe it will?” Chikara asked, impressed he was hoping for a peaceful resolution, despite the death of his father. Most people would cry for war to wreak bloody vengeance.
“I do not. My cousin is a prideful man. He has been that way since we were children. I do not believe he will step down, even if he is going to lose. He would rather die fighting than live a coward.”
Chikara went to respond, but Mai beat him to it. “Sounds like a fool,” she said, entering the main room, already dressed for combat. “I heard most of it, don't bother catching me up. Hi, I'm Mai, I'm that idiot's only protection against anyone getting mad about the fact that he's a witch.”
“You're my only protection because you're the only person who's taken offense with my lack of active defenses,” Chikara shot back, finishing the scrambled eggs he was making and dumping them out onto three plates. He would cook up more, probably with some vegetables in a bit, but this was a good start.
“Witches haven't been outlawed in nearly three decades, I'd be surprised if there were any people getting mad about witches,” Akaashi said, frowning.
“Oh you'd be surprised,” Mai said dryly. “It's common in smaller towns that were affected by the wild wars.”
“That's why my house isn't near any of them,” Chikara reminded her. The wild wars had been a set of three major conflicts over territory with some nearby large covens. They had been violent, and had given a very bad rep to witches in the kingdom. But it had been decades since then, and relations were far more amicable now. “Help me get him into a chair, it'll be easier to eat sitting up.”
“Why are you so unconcerned about the possibility of violent retaliation for housing me?” Akaashi asked as they helped him get into one of the chairs that were enchanted similarly to the table. They looked like wood, but felt like a soft couch when seated.
“Because this house is under my protection,” Mai said simply, eyes flashing with holy light for just a second before it disappeared. “And my protection is not to be crossed.”
He looked briefly confused before his gaze fell on the sun etched into the center of her breastplate, then realization dawned. “You are the paladin of the sun. It has been wondered in court where the paladin of the sun is. The paladin of the moon is known, but this explains why the paladin of the sun was not.” Very few paladins roamed the land, as a god only chose one at a time. A new one was only chosen when the previous one had died.
“I didn't become the paladin of the sun until after I decided to become this guy's bodyguard. So my name isn't exactly out there,” Mai agreed, accepting the plate of eggs from Chikara as he distributed the plates as well as forks. “That's fine for me, at least for now. I'm content with a bit of a slower lifestyle. Who’s the paladin of the moon?”
“Shimizu Kiyoko. Are you familiar with her?”
Mai considered it while she took a few bites, which thankfully prompted Akaashi to begin eating as well. “I’ve met her at least once. Makes sense she ended up the moon’s paladin.”
Akaashi raised an eyebrow, but whatever his question was, he didn’t voice it.
Mai answered anyway. “Like recognizes like. I didn’t realize at the time, but now that I’ve heard it, it makes sense. It’s not common knowledge, but a paladin is chosen before the previous one dies, it’s just the powers that don’t come in until the previous one dies.”
Chikara would guess she had some mind reading ability, but she didn’t, she was just good at figuring out what someone would be asking even if they didn’t actually ask.
“I see.” Akaashi said politely. “If I may ask, what happened to my clothes?”
Chikara was honestly surprised it’d taken him that long to ask. Most people asked as the first thing they said. Not that this happened all that often, few people collapsed on his doorstep half dead, but when it had happened, they were usually more concerned about their clothes.
“I’m afraid we had to cut them off, so as not to aggravate your many injuries. Once your injuries are re-dressed I can get you some clothes. I should have some in approximately your size.” Chikara had a lot of clothes in varying sizes, in case of someone needing to stay after coming in with only one pair of clothes.
Akaashi nodded, evidently not particularly bothered by that, which was amusing. Most people were rather more bothered by it. “I see.” Maybe it was how many bandages he had on, it wasn’t like he was all that much less covered then when he’d collapsed on Chikara’s doorstep.
“Well, I’m going to head out and keep an eye out for stuff, call if you need anything,” Mai said, standing up and dropping her plate in the sink. “I’ll shout if anyone approaches, Chikara should come out, Akaashi, stay in here. We’ll handle it.”
Most people backed off when finding out Mai was a paladin, but failing that, she would fight. When she fought, she won.
Chikara took Akaashi’s plate when he was finished, dropping it into the sink alongside his own. He’d wash the dishes later probably, for now, it was re-dressing Akaashi’s wounds.
“Do you have any internal injuries? Broken bones, organ damage, ingested poisons?” Chikara asked, summoning a numbing salve, his healing salve, and more bandages. Akaashi watched them all zip into his hands with great interest, taking a few seconds to respond.
“I do not believe so. They were more interested in things that would scar.”
Chikara raised an eyebrow, but didn’t question it. Akaashi was a very attractive man, they were probably attempting to make him less so, although it was unlikely anything would scar with Chikara’s help. Except the large injury on his side, that one would certainly scar. Injuries always did when Chikara closed them by force. “Good to know, those are harder to heal than external injuries. How much do you want to help with this?” Really, it was a nice way of saying how much are you physically capable of assisting, since most people would rather do at least some of it themselves, particularly with injuries near more sensitive areas.
“I will do my best to assist,” he replied solemnly, although the tips of his ears were turning red. Perhaps he was not as unflappable as he seemed.
Fortunately, they were almost done when Mai called for Chikara. They had company.
Akaashi looked distinctly nervous when Chikara glanced at his face. They were just finishing up the injuries on his hands, so Chikara swiftly finished up with the salve, giving Akaashi a reassuring smile.
“I’ll be right back. They won’t know you’re here.” Chikara made it policy to not tell anyone if he had someone in his house unless his patient agreed. Particularly if they appeared on his doorstep half dead.
Chikara put on his coat and grabbed one of his staffs, more for intimidation than anything else, and grabbed his hat from its hook by the door, putting it on before slipping outside.
There was a fairly large force gathered outside on his front lawn, Mai standing in their way with her knives held loosely in her hands. She didn’t trust them. Chikara didn’t either, especially since they were blatantly flying the flag of the crown.
“Hello, is there a problem?” Chikara asked, going for calm and faintly confused. He was practiced at turning away people who wanted to hurt his patients, this would be no different.
“There’ll only be a problem if you make it a problem. Are you hiding the traitorous former crown prince?”
Chikara leaned a bit more heavily on his staff, tilting his head up to look down at them more. “I don’t think whether I have any patients at the moment is any of your business.”
“It’s our business if you’re housing a traitor,” the lead guard snarled. “Because that’s treason.”
“In times of war or peace, a healer’s hut is neutral ground, patients are to be treated without bias and without judgement. Those sheltered by a healer cannot be arrested until they are released,” Chikara quoted the recent Healers amendment to the laws. “I’m a registered healer, even if I was housing him, you would not be able to take him.”
“And this area is under my protection,” Mai added, eyes flashing with holy light again, longer than they had in the house. “You will be facing me if you try anything.” She raised her knives threateningly, the hilts twisted so they could see the suns engraved in the bottom of the hilts.
The lead guard almost looked like he was going to fight them on it further, which made Mai grin, anticipating a fight. He took one look at her feral baring of teeth and immediately backed down. Wise choice.
“We’ll be back, with the king if necessary,” the lead guard threatened as his subordinates turned to go.
“If what I’ve heard is true, the king is dead. I don’t think he’ll appreciate you disturbing the sanctity of his resting place to drag him all the way out here.”
That almost made the guy snap, but Mai put an arm out between Chikara and the men. “To get to him, you go through me.”
He growled, but didn’t push it, turning and finally leaving.
Once they were out of sight, Chikara sighed, slumping slightly. “Annoying. You’d think they’d read the laws.”
“I don’t think most people know the full contents of the HA,” Mai said diplomatically, sheathing her knives. “Get back to your patient, I’ll keep a watch out here just in case, although hopefully that got them to back off.”
“Hopefully,” Chikara echoed, heading back inside.
“Did I hear you subtly imply my cousin isn’t the king?” Akaashi asked as Chikara hung up his hat and put away his staff.
“He took the throne through a violent coup and did all of that to you, he isn’t the kind of king I’d follow,” Chikara replied bluntly, waving a hand at Akaashi’s newly bandaged form. “And he seems to be hiring bullies, the lead guard out there looked like he just loved exerting power over people.”
Akaashi’s mouth twisted. “He does. Especially when they are helpless before him. He is one of my cousin’s favorite lackeys.”
“I’ve never met him, and I never plan to, but I don’t think I’d like your cousin very much.”
“Very few people do, even among the nobility. He panders to their fear of being usurped, their fear of the common people being just as important as them. They follow him because he promises they will become richer, not because they like him.” Akaashi’s frown was more pronounced now, brows furrowed and gaze distant. “He doesn’t care what he must do to be on top.”
“I gathered from just the summary of events,” Chikara said dryly. “I’d say I wish you luck, but you aren’t leaving for at least a week, so I’ll save it.”
“Could be worse,” Akaashi settled on, face smoothing out. “I appreciate your help.”
“I’m a healer, it’s my job,” Chikara replied, shrugging and going to wash the dishes. “And I enjoy it. It feels good to help people.”
“That it does.”
For how he’d come in half dead, Akaashi healed quickly, the week flying by. Chikara had grown fond of his deadpan snark in the time he’d been there, the way he somehow seemed to slot right in with Chikara and Mai, like he was always meant to be there.
Plus, he needed help. So really, the conclusion was obvious.
“You really don’t have to do this.”
“I know,” Chikara replied simply, laying the last ward down over his house. It’d keep it intact and almost frozen in time while they were gone. “This will always be here though, and I can’t have you undoing all my hard work in five minutes just because you had no backup.”
“And maybe I want to go see the paladin of the moon,” Mai added cheerfully, checking the straps on her backpack. “And I want to punch your cousin’s face in.”
Akaashi sighed, long since resigned to this. “I know, you said. I just wanted to make sure you knew. I appreciate your willingness to uproot your lives to assist me.”
“My house will be here when we’re done,” Chikara replied, shrugging. “That’s what all those wards are for. We’re not really losing anything.” Only thing they may be losing is the sense of normalcy, the sense of domesticity, but they could always get that back when they settled back down. And a war would wreak things anyway, it always did.
They were just hoping that with both paladins currently known on his side, they’d be able to sway his cousin to give up, or at least mitigate the casualty count.
They’d just have to see. But whatever happened, they could manage it together.