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Thudding in Duke’s head and chest was the only thing keeping him going, along with the memory of fire and yelling burnt into the back of his eyelids, flashing every time he closed them.
His breaths came out ragged and frantic, the only sound in the woods around him, so dark and quiet compared to the brilliant light and sounds it emitted in the day.
But it wasn’t day, and Duke couldn’t find the path.
Just keep going, his mind chanted, just a bit further until a village.
Surely one of the four surrounding villages just an hour's walk away would appear soon? Duke hadn’t taken a moment to rest, not when rocks and sticks drew gashes in his bare feet or when the occasional wolf’s call rang out a bit too close for comfort. Surely the hours Duke was certain he'd been stumbling past trees that looked the same and crashing through bushes, he’d gotten at least close enough that calling would help?
Frustration built alongside his exhaustion. Thirteen years raised in these woods. How many times had he travelled with his father to the village over for supplies or livestock? How many times had he gotten lost as a child with his friends only to memorise every tree and path to get back home?
A cry of desperation and anger pulled itself from the deepest part of his chest as he tripped on something. He didn’t know what it was but didn’t give himself the time to care. Stumbling forward, Duke squinted at the treelines, a hitch in his throat.
Was that– Could that be a campfire's light?
Hope hitched and Duke steeled himself in determination, not wanting exhaustion to take over before he even knew if he found help.
Duke took a step forward, than another, than–
Iron met flesh with a sickening crunch.
White hot pain was all Duke felt. When he opened his eyes when had he closed them? he was met with a faceful of dirt and grass.
The thudding, so clear and present in his head blocked out his hearing, dizziness twisting everything into swirls of confusion.
Then the pain.
Duke opened his mouth to scream and it felt like glass shards dragging down his throat, ripping sensitive skin. Still, he couldn’t hear it past the swirling in his ears, the hissing drowning out his own thoughts.
Despite the trembles wracking his body and everything in him screaming to just lay there, not to move, Duke dug his fingers into the dirt and dragged his upper body around.
The second his leg moved the slightest bit, the pain flared up again and earned another uncontrollable noise from the young man. Duke only then noticed the tears streaming down his face, when that had started he didn’t know.
Gritting his teeth, he pulled himself just a bit further, twisting just so he could see what was currently crushing his leg.
Moonlight seemed to illuminate the scene with perfect, horrific precision.
An animal trap, clamped around his right leg, iron teeth around broken skin and blood.
Duke wanted to throw up, not just because of the pain, but because he could see the flesh and bone past the blood and iron. His leg was twisted in a horrific way that no leg should even be able to do.
Screams had turned to sobs, the shaking of his body making the thrumming, overwhelming pain just that bit worse.
All Duke could do was press his face into his arms, trying to muffle the sound of his crying.
A sound caught his attention, something that made him pause, head lifting just enough to peer up. Duke gulped at the clear rustling, silently praying it wasn’t a wild animal.
Something burst out of the trees, making Duke flinch and let out a pitiful noise. He was distracted though by the horrified gasp of what most definitely wasn’t an animal.
“Holy– Someone help! I need the carriage over here!” It was the voice of a man, and when Duke looked up he could see black hair and blue eyes through his swimming vision. The man pulled closer and kneeled at Duke’s side, breath hitching. “Hey hey, kid, you’re going to be okay. Are you awake?”
Duke’s wide eyes and shaky breathing seemed to be enough for the man because he nodded his head. Another crash of someone coming through the trees had both of them looking up.
“Jay, you help distract him okay? I’m going to look at the damage.” The first man moved before getting any confirmation. Duke didn’t have time to worry about what was going to happen to his leg before the younger man seemed to shake off his shock and sat right where the other man used to be.
A strained but kind smile appeared on the stranger’s face, but Duke had his eyes on the wave of armoured men coming out of the trees. Light illuminated the area and that seemed to push at his dizzy mind.
Oh right, light… What did I need light for? Was it the light or– help. I needed help. My village–
“Help.” Duke croaked, his mouth dry and raw. He grasped onto a jacket blindly. “Please–”
A pair of gentle hands held onto his hand, weakly clutching onto fabric. The second man came into view again. “Hey hey, it's okay, we’ll get you out of this okay? You’re going to be fine.”
Duke shook his head, or the best he could in his position. “No, no, my family.” He coughed, the movement sending another wave of pain up his leg and getting a pathetic whimper out of him. “A raid, there was so much fire and screaming–”
The young man hushed him kindly before turning away to address someone outside of Duke’s narrowed view. “You, gather your squad and head towards–” He cut himself off and turned his head back to Duke. “What’s your village’s name?”
“Goldwick, north of Willow Valley.”
“You heard him.” The older boy commanded, nodding to who Duke assumed was a soldier of some kind.
Who is this guy? Can’t be that much older than me… Duke frowned, deciding speculating wasn’t going to help with anything. “Who are you?” He whispered.
“Jason, and my brother is Dick.”
“Oh.” He breathed, blinking owlishly.
The adopted Princes of Gotham, sons of King Bruce. Notoriously kind hearted royals who both came from lives of humble origin. There was of course scepticism from anyone who hadn’t met them, talk of them being secret bastard children from how closely they looked to the King. He had heard whispers of, despite the kind outer display the King and his sons give, they’re just as cruel and horrible as most past monarchs.
But as Duke looked into sincere blue eyes, he had a sudden realisation, something so obvious that only just dawned on him.
Duke could have died. He could have bled out with no one to find him until somehow some poor soul stumbled across his decaying body. That single fact brought both fear and relief to him with the realisation of how lucky he’d been.
No matter what the gossip and papers said about the princes and king, the simple fact was that they had saved him when it would have been easy to ignore, to fall into willful ignorance that the faint screams were just wind.
But Dick had been the first person to run towards his sounds of distress, Jason close behind. That showed more bravery and compassion than what he’d seen in most people.
The line of thought was swirling and Duke couldn't keep up with the stream of confusing and disjointed thoughts. It was like his brain was grasping onto any semblance of distraction.
“Hey hey, don’t fall asleep.” Jason’s voice pulled him back from the darkness creeping around his vision, something he hadn’t noticed as his thoughts got sluggish.
Blinking harshly, Duke tried to focus on the sounds around them. A strange noise was coming nearer and just as he registered it, a horse drawn carriage pulled around a set of trees.
The first man, Dick, appeared by Jason’s side, smiling gently despite the situation and chaos all around. “Okay kid, we’re going to have to put you in the carriage. I won’t lie to you, It’s going to hurt a lot, but in order to get you to a doctor, we’ll need to.”
Duke swallowed, frowning. “What about my village?”
“I’ve sent our most competent soldiers to help.” Jason places a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “But right now you need to get medical attention and Gotham is closer than Goldwick.”
What…? No, that couldn’t be the case. Gotham is hours away. How long had I been running–
Oh. That's why it had felt like so long running, I had been running for hours, somehow missing every. Single. Village on the way.
Tears of anger and embarrassment choked Duke up. The knowledge he could have gotten help for his family so much sooner clawed at his skin and made him want to scream and cry. Was his family even alive anymore? Would he have to go home to an empty and burnt husk of a house with the weight of their deaths on his shoulders?
“--kid? Hey, come back.” A voice is pulling him out of the overwhelming dizziness. His breaths are coming in as sharp and fast, but he still can’t seem to get the air he needs. “Can you tell me your name?”
Blinking hard, Duke focuses on the question. “Duke.” He gets out past ragged breaths.
“Okay good, Duke.” The voice is kind and soft and firm arms are pressing against his shoulders, grounding but not overwhelming. “Can you tell me how old you are?”
“Thirteen.” He closes his eyes shut tightly.
Duke registers a third hand rubbing his back in gentle circles. “You’re doing amazing, okay? Can you remember what my name is?”
Swallowing, Duke opens his eyes, gaze landing on the younger of the two faces in front of him. “Uh, Jason and Dick?” His eyes flick to the older man, still that gentle smile.
Jason’s shoulders drop a bit and his smile gets less strained. “Perfect.”
Dick pulls his hand back from where it was rubbing Duke’s back and his expression turns sympathetic. “Duke, do you think you’ll be okay enough for us to move you to the carriage?”
Frowning, Duke looks to the side. He can’t quite see his leg, but he can still feel the pressure of the trap. His leg has gone almost numb, with pain still travelling up further.
“Wouldn’t you want to remove the trap?”
Jason and Dick share a look, both grimacing. Dick sighs and rubs his face. “I was going to wait until we got to the doctors because they might have a sedative of some kind, but…” His eyes fall back on Duke.
“If it’s about pain,” Duke gives them a sardonic smile. “I think I’d rather just get it over with now.
The Princes shared another look, but this time Jason sighed and moved to stand up. “If you’re sure…” He looked down at Duke, and when the teen nodded grimly, he moved to kneel by his leg.
Dick got closer and grabbed Duke’s hand in his, squeezing lightly. “Squeeze my hand, it might help the pain a bit.”
“Ready?” Jason asked, and Duke squeezed his eyes shut and nodded, already crushing Dick’s hand.
Burning pain struck him, and Duke curled in on himself with a gasp. His eyes shot open but black still swam in his vision. Murmurs of reassurance above him echoed along the sudden rise of his heartbeat.
“It’s off!”
Even though Duke didn’t feel a difference in his pain, the relief of knowing it was off had his body relaxing and hand releasing it’s crushing grip.
“Jay, grab his legs, be careful, I’ll carry his upper body.”
Exhaustion rendered Duke useless as the two Princes picked him up as gently as they could be. A few moments later, he was being laid down on soft leather.
Darkness closed in and Duke didn’t think he would be able to do anything about it this time. Even the pain started to fade away as his eyes closed on their own accord.
A hand laid on his forehead, someone sitting beside him. “Sleep kid, you’ve earned it.”