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"Musa, I… need your help," Henry said, breath heavy from exertion. Musa's eyes darted to the unconscious man hanging over Henry's shoulder. There was something familiar about that backside, but Musa didn't get to complete the thought. His attention was drawn to the blood pooling below the man and soaking the front of Henry's armor. Time was clearly of the essence.
"Can you get him to a bed?" Musa asked.
Henry nodded. "I'll take him to mine."
"Good. I will collect my things and join you as soon as possible."
With that, Musa was off. He rushed upstairs and grabbed a bag set next to his bed. After rummaging through it to make sure he had what he needed, he closed it and took it with him to Henry and Hans' shared room where Henry had laid out his soon-to-be patient.
Musa stopped short when he saw who it was.
His white armor had been discarded, making him look like a much smaller man than usual, but Musa wouldn't forget that face— the light shade of blond hair and that crinkled brow. Of all people, Henry had brought him Erik.
"This…"
"I know," Henry said, "but you can save him, right?"
"Can I save him?" Musa repeated Henry's question back at him, mouth agape. Of all the ways Henry's latest encounter with the man before him could have ended, Musa had never imagined this. "Are you mad? Letting him live is dangerous enough, but bringing him back here to the Devil's Den? You know that he would not extend the same courtesy to you if the situation were reversed!"
"I know, Musa. I do," Henry insisted, "but when it came time to deal the final blow, I… just couldn't."
"Then you should have left him. Surely one of his own men could have found him and treated him."
Henry shook his head. "No, Musa. He was alone. I don't think Erik has anyone anymore. And I'm tired of having so much blood on my hands."
Musa took a deep breath.
Killing an innocent was a sin against Allah. Musa wasn't sure Erik was innocent, nor was he sure refusing to help was the same as murder, but Erik had been put in his hands. It was his duty to try, right? But saving Erik could cause more bloodshed in the end if, when he recovered, he took his vengeance against Henry and the rest of Devil's Den residents. It felt like a test—one he didn't have the answer to.
"Please, Musa," Henry said in a quiet voice.
"I… will try," Musa decided. In the end, he was a healer. Perhaps it was not on him to choose who to save or not to save. Perhaps it was his job to simply heal. "But you will have to convince the others not to intervene yourself. I don't imagine they will be happy with either of us."
"I'll manage somehow," Henry said, "thank you, Musa."
"Don't thank me yet," Musa muttered, more to himself than Henry as his friend left the room. "I may very well be dooming us all."
Musa got to work after that, cleaning wounds, changing bandages, and feeding Erik a few potions to help with the pain. A part of Musa hoped that his efforts wouldn't be enough, but it quickly became apparent Erik would survive the night. And then longer still, if Musa kept helping him.
Musa laid a hand on Erik's head. It was warm to the touch. He didn't have anything for the fever on him, but there was an alchemy bench nearby. It wouldn't take too long to make a fever tonic. Trusting that Erik would be out for a while, Musa started to pull away.
"Don't go," Erik mumbled weakly, eyelids pinching together as tears pooled in his lashes.
Musa's hand stilled. Erik leaned into his palm.
"Don't leave me again," he sobbed quietly, "Istvan."
And suddenly, Erik seemed all too human. Musa sighed and then carded his hand through Erik's hair. Erik settled down shortly after, content despite the pain and the muddled nature of his thoughts.
Musa must have fallen asleep at some point because, the next thing he knew, it was dark and Henry and Hans were also there, bickering quietly amongst themselves at the table in the middle of the room.
"I can't believe you got me to agree to this," Hans huffed, "we're really just going to let him live? After everything?"
"I'm asking you to help keep watch because you're the only one I trust to keep his word and not do anything," Henry explained.
"Exploiting my sense of honor…" Hans grumbled moodily. "Well, I'm glad I get to be useful, at least."
"The others didn't take the news well, I suppose?" Musa asked, turning towards them and revealing that he was awake now.
"On the contrary," Hans said, "I think they took it about as good as they ever could. Which, is still poorly."
"Fair enough," Musa smiled.
"Will he be alright?" Henry asked.
"He should be. It will be a few days before he's up and walking again. More still to get him back to fighting condition. I wouldn't rest easy if I were you though. He wants to kill you. It'd be dangerous to underestimate him."
"I understand."
"You should probably get some proper rest while you can, Musa," Hans said, "I'm sure it will only get harder from here."
Musa was sure of that. He followed Hans' advice and headed back to his own bed for the night.
In the morning, Musa returned to Henry and Hans' room. Henry was fast asleep in Hans' bed and Hans was keeping an eye on Erik as he made his way through a book. Musa exchanged greetings with him before looking Erik over for any changes. The man was always pale, but he did seem to have more color to him than he had yesterday. Musa started removing the old bandages to replace them.
"I think I'll go get some food," Hans said, "if anyone tries anything, shout at Henry."
"Alright," Musa nodded, "could you bring some water when you come back?"
"Of course."
Hans left the room after that, leaving Musa effectively alone—at least until he accidentally pressed too hard against one of Erik's wounds. Erik winced and slowly came to.
"Steady," Musa said, gently placing a hand on Erik's broad shoulder, "the wound could reopen if you move around too much."
"You," Erik growled, teeth bared, "the blackamoor."
Musa 'accidentally' pressed against Erik's wound again, causing Erik to let out a sharp hiss of pain. "You are lucky Henry didn't leave you to die."
"I'm going to kill him," Erik huffed, leaning back against the pillow. His rapidly rising and falling chest spoke to his agitation.
"Let's say you do," Musa said, concentrating on cleaning Erik's wound, "then what?"
"Then I kill the rest of you. Anyone that Henry has ever cared about!"
"And after that? You will be at peace? Or will you just be alone?"
Erik paused, his breathing evening out as his tone became more sad than angry. "I'm already alone."
Musa was quiet as he changed Erik's bandages. Erik had nothing. He saw Henry's mercy as a cruelty to be answered in violence. "Henry was alone too, after Skaltiz burned. Was he not right to take revenge?"
"He was wrong to stop." Ah, Erik was mad that he was still alive when Istvan wasn't.
"Do you think that's what Istvan would have wanted for you?"
Erik grit his teeth, biting back a swell of emotion that Musa saw clear as day regardless of his efforts.
"It wasn't," Henry's voice came from behind. He'd apparently woken up sometime during their conversation. "Before I killed him, Istvan begged me to spare you. It was the one thing he asked of me."
The tears came regardless of Erik's wishes at that point. Musa could tell he found it humiliating, crying in front of his enemies. So he decided to give him some privacy. He went to Henry and asked if they could speak outside. Henry looked Erik's way, but Musa reassured him Erik wouldn't be going anywhere just yet. A few seconds after they closed the door behind them, Erik broke into open sobs. Both Musa and Henry could hear it through the door.
"I did that to him," Henry muttered quietly, leaning against the balcony's railing. "But what else was I supposed to do? Just let Istvan go? After everything he did? After everything he would continue doing? He wasn't ever going to just stop. I admit I wasn't thinking about that when I killed him, but I… I don't know."
Musa put a hand on Henry's shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "There is no easy answer, my friend. Sometimes we just have to live with that."
"Is this a mistake, Musa? Am I making a mistake?"
Musa glanced back towards the door. "No. I can not promise that this will end well, but I do not think mercy is a mistake. You have given Erik a chance and honored an enemy's last wish despite the danger it may bring to you."
"I'm not worried about the danger it might bring to me. I'm worried about what it could cost the rest of you."
Musa was thankful that Hans chose that moment to return because he didn't have the right words to comfort Henry. Luckily, Hans' presence was seemingly enough to brighten Henry's mood. Musa accepted the water Hans brought him and headed back inside. Erik had his back turned towards the door.
"I have some water for you to drink," Musa said gently. "And if you're hungry, I can send for food."
Erik didn't answer.
The next few days were a bit of a struggle, but not because of Erik. The worst Musa had to deal with there was coaxing him to eat. It was the members of the Devil's Pack that were the problem. They grew more restless the longer Erik was there and Henry and Hans grew more frustrated keeping them away.
Musa tried not to think about it, to focus on healing Erik and going about his daily prayers. Erik never commented before or after Musa prayed, but if Musa wasn't mistaken, it did interest him. Then again, what else was there to distract him from his boredom? Musa supposed some conversation might help on that front.
"If I may ask, what happened to you after your first duel with Henry?" Musa started, "why didn't you stay with Sigismund's army?"
"There was no point," Erik answered after some hesitation, "he retreated and it became clear I wasn't going to get my revenge under his command."
"So revenge really is all that matters to you?"
"Istvan is what mattered to me," Erik said sharply, "and now that he's gone, revenge is all I have."
"That is a bit of a problem for me, seeing as Henry is my friend."
"You should have chosen a better friend."
"You think I have a lot of choices?" Musa asked, "most people take one look at me and all they see is the color of my skin. You certainly did." Musa's eyes narrowed as he repeated the slur Erik used not so long ago, "blackamoor."
Erik didn't reply to that, but he at least had the decency to look a little ashamed.
"I don't blame people for their first reactions. I understand that I am quite striking—in multiple ways."
It was meant to be a joke, but Musa didn't actually expect Erik to find any amusement in it. Thus, he was quite surprised when Erik smirked.
"Aye," he agreed.
All of Musa's bluster vanished and he became flustered for a second or two. That wasn't… it couldn't be, right? It was more likely that Erik was taking a jab at him instead of paying him a genuine compliment. Musa decided to proceed as if Erik hadn't interjected at all. "Henry was a little shocked too, at first, but he was more curious than anything else. And he came through for me when it mattered. He saved my life."
"Did he?"
"Yes. There was a murder at Sigismund's camp and I was the main suspect. Despite us being on opposite sides at that point, Henry went out of his way to prove my innocence."
"I suppose that's why you betrayed us and attacked me then?"
"I did not want to hurt you, but I could not let you kill Henry either."
"And yet, you won't do what you have to to stop me now."
"I think about poisoning you every day," Musa admitted, "it scares me to think what you might do. But I want to believe that the violence between you and Henry can come to a peaceful end, that it doesn't have to end with one or both of you dying."
"A peaceful end," Erik muttered, "I can't even imagine what that would look like."
"Well," Musa started, "you have plenty of time to think about it."
"Istvan raised me to fight. I don't have many skills beyond that."
"You could always use those skills to protect instead of harm. And nothing is stopping you from learning new skills. If you had an interest in healing, for example, I could teach you a thing or two."
"Sounds difficult."
"It can be," Musa said, "but it is worthwhile."
Erik slipped into a thoughtful silence and Musa let the conversation end there.
The more Musa did it, the easier it became to talk to Erik. It became increasingly clear that Istvan had been the man's whole world. He had no real loyalty to Sigismund's cause. He'd merely followed Istvan's lead. Erik's dedication was admirable, in a sense, but it was also a little sad. He hadn't ever taken the time to figure out his own wants and desires.
He'd have that time now, if he wanted it. Musa was even hopeful he'd take it.
That hope wavered the following day when he returned to the room and found Erik with a dagger against Hans' throat. Henry had his hands held up, pleading with Erik not to do anything. One of them must have let their guard down. Musa couldn't blame them considering how much effort they'd been putting into watching Erik and holding back the Devil's Pack, but it was disastrous.
"Stay back," Erik ordered, pressing the dagger into Hans' skin and drawing a bit of blood.
"I will not come any closer," Musa said, holding his own hands up to show he didn't mean any harm. Henry gritted his teeth. It was clear one of his worst nightmares was unfolding before his eyes. "But Erik," Musa said, his heart racing as he tried to keep his voice calm, "what is this supposed to accomplish?"
"He took Istvan from me," Erik growled, glaring in Henry's direction, "it's only fair I take something from him in exchange."
"Then take me," Henry said, "take my life, if you have to. Just leave Hans alone."
Erik shook his head and tightened his grip on Hans. "That's too easy. I want you to suffer, the way I've suffered."
"Erik," Musa tried again, "Henry has suffered. You know this. And I know the pain is still fresh for you, that it aches like it will never go away or lessen."
"That there's a hollow in your heart that can't be filled," Henry added quietly. Erik grimaced, his grip loosening ever so slightly. "Killing Istvan didn't help. Killing Hans won't either."
"You are the one who gets to decide," Musa said, "whether or not there's been enough hurt. Whether or not the violence ends here or continues ripping the two of you apart. Istvan wanted a life for you. A real life."
"This is all I have left," Erik said, voice breaking.
"No," Musa said, "it may feel that way now, but it's not true. At the very least, you have me." Musa didn't know if that'd even appeal to Erik, but he hoped it would. Musa had imagined a future where they could be friends. Now was the moment that would determine whether or not that future was still a possibility. "But you won't if you kill one of my friends."
Erik took a deep breath and put the dagger down, allowing Hans to leave his grasp and go to Henry who took him into a hug.
There was an uproar from the Devil's Pack when they found at what happened, but Henry, Hans, and Musa himself all came to Erik's defense. Erik mostly stood by awkwardly as he awaited judgement. But there was none to be had in the end. He was allowed to stay and to exist. At first, it was under a wary gaze, but with time, everyone started to come around.
Erik did take Musa up on his offer to learn a bit about healing. He wasn't a natural, but he worked hard at it. Musa wasn't surprised at all when Erik got a little emotional over the first 'thank you' he received from a patient.
"What do you think?" Musa asked one day, pulling Erik aside to talk about his future, "is healing people something you want to keep doing?"
"I don't mind it," Erik said. That was something, at least. "But… I think there's something I want to do more."
"What?"
"You said I could use my skills to protect."
"Bodyguard work then?"
"Yes."
"You'll be good at it. I'm sure there will be many opportunities to find work—"
Erik took Musa by the wrist, waiting until their eyes met to firmly say, "you."
"Hm? Me?"
"I want to protect you," Erik clarified, his cheeks turning a shade of pink. Musa was glad blushing didn't show up as easily on his own skin because he was certain he was doing it too.
"I couldn't pay you much."
"I don't need you to pay me. Just let me stay by your side."
"I… are you sure?" Musa asked.
"I want you to be able to keep helping people and I can keep others from harming you while you try to do that. It's a fairly obvious conclusion, I think. And… I like you." The red color on Erik's face deepened.
"I like you too, Erik," Musa smiled.
"Oh, um, yes," Erik responded, completely flustered, "because you're my friend?"
"Because I am your friend," Musa nodded, "but maybe it could be something more too?"
Erik's lips curved into a sheepish smile.
Musa was grateful Henry had taken a chance on Erik and that Erik had found it in his heart to be merciful in return. He knew it couldn't have been easy for either of them, but the results were worth it. That little bit of faith had turned what should have been more bloodshed into this. This warmth spreading through Musa's chest.