Chapter Text
Courage.
Law.
Loyalty.
Michael committed himself to these tenets when he took his oath with the crown. His pledge to the god, Torm, allows him his strength to protect his kingdom. That is all he is for, that is all he wishes to do.
His duty as paladin, is of upmost importance to him. His commitment to the crown, his loyalty, is what keeps him secure in who he is. Michael has always bore the strength of gods, he has always been more than a simple knight, his strength and dedication being his safety.
That is until an attack was brought upon Hawkina, and his strength was not enough.
"Back to bed, Sir Michael" A helpful maid within the castle helps bear his weight. She guides him to his room, dropping him carefully onto his bed, where he has been displaced to.
After the attack, his body did not bear the same strength. He was unable to heal himself, attempting to use any magic would only worsen his current position. So he was stuck, useless, thrown to the side until his body decided to work the way it was intended to.
Michael was supposed to be the kingdoms main form of protection, he was the highest ranking in his area across the land. His name was spoken in cities down past the gully's, Sir Michael the Brave.
He didn't feel very brave sitting in his room all day.
A knock sounds through the room, Mike lifts his head to look over to his door. A head pops in, looking around before spotting Mike, then entering and closing the door behind them.
"What are you doing here Sir Dustin" Mike sighs, turning his head away.
"Oh drop the formalities for once, sir Michael, i am simply seeing how you are holding up"
Dustin drops himself onto Mike's bed, squishing Mike's leg that he has to move out from underneath him. There were plenty of alluring things when living in the castle, which Mike got to do with his ranking. With as many alluring, pleasant things there were, there were the downfalls. Like Dustin being able to show up at Mike's room at many moment in time.
"How do you think I'm holding up? I have a pounding headache, my body is covered in burns, and i am fighting off the natural instinct for the open wound in my leg to get infected" Mike pushes himself up the bed, wincing at the pull.
Dustin hums, watching Mike get himself comfortable. "Maybe thats a sign for you to start taking it easy"
"Don't be ridiculous" Mike rolls his eyes, huffing at the blankets getting tangled around his waist. "It is my duty to protect. I will continue to uphold my—"
"Uphold your oath to the crown, showing your dedication, and loyalty" Dustin raises himself to act dramatically, before turning to face Mike again with a flat expression. "I've heard it— we've all heard it, countless times, you need to get a new line"
They sit in silence for a moment, before Dustin starts to smirk, causing the two of them to break out into a fit of giggles. Despite Mike's serious nature, he just couldn't keep it up around Dustin. He supposes, he is a bard for a reason, a highly regarded one.
"By the way, did you hear?" Dustin says once he's caught his breath.
Mike scrunches his face, tilting his head. "Hear what?"
"They've managed to get in contact with Sir William the Wise, he will be traveling here to offer his aid" Maybe it's the fact that Mike is concussed, but he has no clue who Dustin is talking about.
Clearly, the confusion is evident, by how Dustin tilts his head at Mike, tempting a response, but receiving none. "You do know who i am talking about, yes?"
Mike could lie, he could act like he absolutely knows who this, William, is. But he isn't even sure on what race they are, their class, he presumes he must a druid, perhaps a mage, for the kingdom to get in contact.
"I have not the slightest clue" And Mike is honest, it is a self chosen principle he follows. His honesty, is his courage.
"You can't be serious!" Dustin exclaims, jumping up closer to Mike, nearly onto his bad leg, just narrowly avoiding it. "You are" He sits back, hands covering his mouth in shock.
Mike really doesn't understand the issue. There are countless people he doesn't know, it is rare he leaves the kingdom walls, and those times are only for specific outings. He does not pride himself on his knowledge of others, he prides himself on his knowledge of his own home.
"Sir William the Wise, is a traveling cleric, a well rewound one, the most renowned one at that" Dustin is grinning. Mike focuses on the fact that he is a cleric, not a druid, nor a mage.
"How did they manage to get a traveling cleric to bring his aid?" Mike shoves the blanket off of his waist, tossing it to the side.
Dustin shrugs, looking out the window directly beside Mike's bed. "I suppose it has to do with the fact that we worship Torm, that is Sir Williams god as well. It is my understanding all traveling clerics must bring their aid to followers of their god"
"Seems like you know everything pretty well" Mike snorts, Dustin was always saying information like he didn't really know if it was accurate. But he did, he always did.
He was a scholar, smart enough to live within the castle, he knew more than anyone should, and never said quite enough for anyone to understand.
"Well, it could also be to do with you being a paladin. He is extremely hard to even find, always to the next kingdom within a few days" Dustin keeps his eyes trained out the window, as if he were waiting for something.
"Just our luck then?" Mike sighs, leaning back against his pillows.
"Your luck. You are going to be his top priority" Dustin drags his eyes away from the window to look at Mike.
Mike stills, taking those words in. "Why? There are countless civilians in need of healing— and all of our forces are down, they need healing for in case another attack were to happen"
"None of them are paladins. None of them have a direct connection to Torm" Dustin's eyes narrow. "You have severe injuries, potentially life threatening. And if we have you back at full health, then he can have two healers, not just one"
Their kingdom had taken hit after hit, disease, attacks, lack of trade. They had lost most of their magic users, some moving away, some becoming lost.
"When does he arrive?"
"From what I've heard? Tomorrow"
Mike sighs, taking a look out of his window. His room looked over the kingdom, giving him the view of civilians going about their normal days. The people managed to bounce back from the attack, rebuilding the stalls, and stores that were torn and burnt down.
He wonders if the news of a cleric arriving tomorrow has spread, he understands just how quickly word gets out of the castle. He doesn't even want to think about what they must think, what they must be saying about his current condition.
"I shall leave you to rest" Dustin stands up, stretching out his back.
"No, Dustin— im so bored" Mike whines, throwing himself back, which he regrets by how his bandages move, rubbing against his burns.
Dustin rolls his eyes, walking to the door. "If you are so bored, i can send Maxine up here to give you company"
"Go on, and ill tell her that you called her Maxine"
Dustin buffers, halting at the door. He turns his back, smirking at Mike. "Touché, Michael"
The door still opens, and Dustin leaves, leaving Mike alone as he has been. But now, a new thought is thrown into the mix of the never ending marbles rolling around his mind.
His dishonor, his pain, his oath, his people, his crown, and now, a cleric.
He will be healed, he will no longer burn and feel his skin bubble up and peel away. His leg will no longer bleed and tense up as the muscles attempt to fuse back together. His head will no longer pound, and leave him dizzy as he stands. He will be able to fight, to protect, again.
Tomorrow.
— —
Mike is woken up by a knock on his door.
Shortly after, there are people entering his room, quiet chattering between them.
"This is Sir Michael, our kingdoms Paladin" A voice booms, one Mike recognizes as his king, King Henry.
Mike sits up on his bed, moving his blankets out of the way, to face his King, and the man he's brung into his room.
"Greetings, I've heard much about you on my travels" The man tips his head in a bow, offering Mike a smile.
"You, as well..?" Mike attempts to remember who might be standing in front of him. The knock to his head has not done any good to his memory.
"This is Sir William the Wise" King Henry interrupts, shooting Mike a strained smile.
Mike nods, eyes trailing back to William. "It is a pleasure to meet you, i apologize it isn't in better circumstances"
William laughs lightly, nodding his head, clasping his hands together in front of him. Mike takes this moment to take in what he's wearing.
A dark purple cloak, decorated with little silver stars, that trails down to the floor, covering all underneath. All Mike can see of his clothing is his sleeves, draping long butterfly sleeves. They are falling down his wrists, exposing the fingerless gloving he wears to continue up his arm. Mike wonders just how far up they go.
His eyes finally land on the hat on his head. A brimless, pointed hat, that bears the same color, and little silver stars as his cloak. It makes him look more like a wizard than a cleric.
"I am simply happy that i am able to offer my aid. May i see your injuries?" William reaches a hand out, tilting his head.
Mike swallows, feeling suddenly quite nervous at the idea of this stranger having to look at his body. "I would have to undress"
William nods, eyes trailing subtly over Mike's form, before he turns to King Henry. Mike feels his body heat up, and he's not entirely sure its from the burns scattered all over him.
"Would i be allowed to be in the room alone with Sir Michael?" William clasps his hands back together. He looks up at the king with the most confidence Mike thinks he's ever seen.
King Henry looks at Mike, then back at William. "Is that better for your process?" William nods. "I will allow it then, i expect information to be relayed back to me on how long it may take to heal my paladins injuries"
"Of course your honor, i will seek you out as soon as i am done" William bows, deeper than he did when meeting Mike.
As soon as the door closes behind the king, William turns back to Mike. He takes off his hat, placing it on his bedside table "Is this alright here?"
Mike nods, so Will continues to unclasp the front of his cloak, sliding it off and folding it up to place beside his hat. Now mike sees Williams garment that was underneath. Draping sleeves that poked out from the cloak, a single clothing piece that went from his neck to just above his ankles.
It was a darker purple, no decorations, no detail, the material was flowy, clearly made to be easy to move in, unlike most of the garments he came across in the stores.
"Is this too informal? I find it easier to work without the bulk" William offers a shy smile as he looks at Mike, who has not moved from his spot.
"No, not at all. I am not in any formal attire, i do not expect you to be" Mike's shirt was loose, low cut, something that wouldn't suffocate his skin. Similar with his pants, he looked nothing like a paladin, he looked like a simple civilian.
William smiles more at this, moving to stand in front of Mike. "Sir Michael, i understand this may be uncomfortable for you, but i do need to see your injuries in order to know how long it will take to heal you"
Mike takes a deep breath, before attempting to stand. His body stumbles, nearly falling as he tries to gain his balance. William places his hands out, gently resting them at Mike's side to help him stabilize.
They freeze, eyes meeting for a moment, before William pulls his hands away, brushing his shoulders as he looks away.
"My stability is not, like it was before" Mike explains, as he reaches for the hem of his shirt.
"That is expected in your position, you have an injury to the leg correct?" William keeps his eyes trained on something in the corner of the room as Mike strips his shirt off, tossing it behind him onto his bed.
"Yes, i was stabbed in my thigh" Mike starts to pull the bandaging off of his torso, wincing as it tears away at skin.
William, hearing the noise, looks back now. "These burns, they are from your armor?" He reaches forward, offering his help with the bandages.
William's hands are gentler, they dont tug the skin away as much, leaving it raw and red. It still stings, and the burning amplifies at the contact, but wether it is simply his gentle hands, or his magic, the process comes easier than it usually does.
"My chain-mail, and my chest-plate, yes" Mike can smell faintly, the scent of vanilla, presumably from William's hair.
"You do not wear under-garments?" William continues to question, pulling away at the last of the bandaging.
"I do, but it is thin, and the heat caused them to burn up, some of it melting to my skin"
"That makes sense why your skin is still so irritated then" William rolls up the bandage, placing it down before closer inspecting the burns. "Loose bandaging should not make the skin pull away like this, so either you were bandaged too tight, or your burns are more severe than I've been lead to believe"
William's hands ghost Mike's skin, not quite touching, but tracing the areas in which the skin is the most irritated.
"Does your skin still feel hot?" William pulls away, taking a step back to look Mike in the eyes.
"If feeling like im burning alive is hot, then yes" Mike laughs weakly.
William nods, eyes inspecting Mike's body from a distance. He seems to be taking mental notes, internally writing down everything he sees to know what spells, and practices he will need to preform in order to nurse Mike back to full health.
"This next question is going to be- impolite, i apologize" William's eyes come back up to meet with Mike's, his face wearing slight awkwardness.
Mike can't help but feel surprised. Everything he has known about clerics, how noble they are, has lead him to believe that this one in front of him would be a lot more stoic. Instead he is warm and inviting, despite how polite he is.
"I already have my shirt off in front of you, I'm not sure it can get more impolite than that" Mike attempts to lighten the moment, but Will's face just screws up slightly.
"Well— I am going to need you to take your trousers off"
Mike feels his face heat up, potentially more than his body already is. William, despite his awkwardness, seems to be doing just fine. He isn't the one that is having to strip, Mike supposes.
"For-the- your leg, i need to check the wound" William quickly gets out, smiling before his face drops and he looks away with wide eyes.
"Right, of course" Mike's voice is strained.
He clears his throat before pulling his trousers down just below his thigh, holding them in place.
"You need to re-dress it, one moment" Will steps over to his cloak, searching around in it before pulling out more bandaging. "May i?"
Mike gives a small nod, and William starts to take the dressing off of his leg. It hurts more than the pulling of his burnt skin, and the feeling of air hitting the wound stings. William doesn't take long, gliding his fingers slightly around the area, before placing fresh bandages.
"At least your leg seems to be healing correctly" William mutters before pulling away, placing the old dressing with the old bandages.
Mike stands there awkwardly, not knowing what he is supposed to do next. "Uh, Sir William—" William hums, looking back.
"Oh! you can pull your trousers back up! I'm sorry" William sputters, his hands dancing around the air.
Mike huffs a small laugh while making himself more decent. "What about my shirt?"
"I just need to re-apply your bandages, then of course. I am not far from finished with accessing you" William smiles, grabbing his bandages and getting Mike to raise his arms before beginning to wrap them around.
"Then you will begin your magic?" Mike questions, causing Will to shake his head with a laugh.
"Not today, no"
"Why not?"
William finishes wrapping up, tearing the bandage at the end before tucking it. It is loose around Mike's body, much looser than he was wrapped up before. He takes a moment to take Mike's old bandaging and tosses them in the bin in the corner of the room. Mike reaches behind him to grab his shirt, throwing it over his head.
"I only just arrived today, my energy is not what it needs to be for my spell work to be of its best. Today is about figuring out what i need to do, and what supplies i will need to have, as well as how long it will take until you are able to return to your duties" William explains as he steps back in front of Mike.
"I heard you hit your head?" He continues.
"Yes" Mike attempts to process that all while giving a coherent answer.
"Do you know if you are concussed?" William tilts his head.
Mike nods. "Mildly, yes"
William hums, doing a twirling motion with his hand in the air. Mike takes the motion as prompting for him to spin around. Slowly he shifts foot to foot, spinning on the spot, Will places a hand lightly on his shoulder stopping his movements once he is facing the opposite direction.
"Do you remember hitting your head?" His voice comes softer now, as his hands reach into Mike's hair to part it, exposing the nape of his neck.
"I do, it was the same place i got these burns" Mike straightens himself up more, rolling his shoulders back, feeling out of place not looking at who he is speaking to.
William's hand come's up Mike's neck, resting at the base of Mike's head.
"Do you mind telling me about it?" Williams hand is cold, shockingly so.
Previously Mike thought that it was just how hot his skin was that was making his hands seem frozen, but now that they lay on his neck, where there are no burns, they still feel like ice.
"Many homes, and stores got set on fire, i was ensuring that everybody was getting evacuated. There was one home, where the family believed their children were still inside, so i went in to grab them" Mike retells the night that left him like this.
"Were the kids there?" William's hand starts to move, his fingers pressing in deeper to his neck.
Mike winces slightly at the pain causes, but continues. "They were, Well— one was. I grabbed her and got her out of the house, during that process something, im not sure what fell onto my head.
"After i got the little girl out, we still didn't know if the other child was still inside, so i went back in. The heat, and my leg wore my down. I guess whatever fell on my head didn't help either, and i ended up stuck"
Williams other hand comes to the nape of his neck, both hands pushing into the muscles there. The sharp ache his fingers caused when they pressed in started to ease off after a couple moments.
"The other child was not there?" William's voice is distant, more focused on his task.
"No, he had ran to safety when the attack started" Mike's shoulders start to drop, his posture easing involuntarily.
William hums, his hands pushing in harder, focusing on specific points for longer. When he hears Mike wince, or see's him freeze up, he focuses his attention onto the spot that caused that reaction until the tightness eases off.
"What are you doing?" Mike decides to ask, having not a clue what this could be doing.
"You are concussed, meaning you took a hard hit. When your head is hit hard enough to gain a concussion, your neck is also injured during the process. I am trying to feel exactly how bad it is" William eases his hands off, one moving into Mike's hair briefly, before pulling the hair back together at the back.
"You have very long hair" William comments, his hands lingering at the ends.
"I simply never bother to cut it" Mike turns back around at a light tap on his shoulder. "What is the damage looking like?"
William's eyes scan over his face, before he steps over to the bedside table and starts to pull his cloak back on.
"Your neck is not looking too bad, some misplacement, but nothing that shouldn't bounce back easily" Once his cloak is fully on, Mike feels like he is out of place in such casual attire.
"What about everything else?"
"You are severely injured, but it is nothing i haven't been able to heal before. You should be back to your duties in a month's time" William places his hat on, turning around to look at Mike.
Mike can't believe what he's hearing. "A month? Aren't you supposed to be some renowned healer?"
This was, ridiculous! Mike was the kingdoms paladin, he could not be out of commission for a whole month, he had already been bed ridden for the past few days. That is already a few days too many.
He is the main protector of this kingdom, he is the strongest and the most dedicated. If another attack were to happen, he needed to be ready and able for it.
"I am" William doesn't seem taken aback by this response. "But i cannot just heal you purely with magic. You are human, you need to be treated and cared for as such"
Mike fights the urge to roll his eyes. He may be human, but he is not just a human, he is so much more. "You are also a human, so how does it work for you?"
William shifts in place, eyes falling to the floor. "I must also be treated the same, when i am injured" His eyes come back to lock with Mike's, his hands clasping together in front of him. "But i am not the one that is injured, you are"
Mike knows there's no point in arguing, as soon as William leaves to tell the king how long he needs to aid Mike for, that will be it. He will be stuck to whatever protocol they place him to, keeping him trapped in the castle until his month is over.
"You should rest now, i will come back to see you tomorrow, Sir Michael" William dips his head in a shallow bow, then heads for the door.
Mike just had to wait for tomorrow