He is Waking Up
Dorian gazed at the people surrounding his bed and staring down at him. His blurry vision made it hard to make out the faces that looked at him.
He recognized Elric first, then Mia, and a knight—oh, it was Aaron, Mia's personal knight.
The first question that popped into his mind was: Why was he here, and why were they looking at him with eagle eyes? Oh, he remembered his encounter.
"How long was I out?" he asked.
"Four days," Elric answered.
"Four whole days!?" He bolted from his bed, but a sharp pain in his abdomen prevented him from fully standing.
He had missed the birthday and his bestowing.
"Just kidding, three hours actually," Elric chuckled.
"I wish Ralph had killed you," Dorian snarled.
Then he realized Elric was there. How was he awake and looking fine? And how was he himself fine? It had been only three hours, Dorian thought.
"Don't worry, Mia was able to take us to the Bishop. He patched us up as good as new, so we can still make it to the party."
Bishop Peter of the Rosa Duchy was one of the best healers in the empire, and since Mia was the Duke's daughter, she was able to make an immediate appointment.
Healing Dorian was not hard for him. Healing Elric was a little more complicated. Elric had broken multiple bones, many of his muscles and skin had been torn, and even some organs were bleeding. What kind of games did children play these days? He thought.
He also had several instances of internal bleeding and broken teeth, so there was only one way to treat Elric and make him available for the party, but it came with strings attached.
He would use an advanced spell that would heal him, and in return, he would suffer severe fever and intense body pain, then a second spell that would store the pain until the next day, but this would double the pain. This would give him time to make a specific pain reliever that could ease the pain.
If it had not been Bishop Peter who healed him, or if he had not been brought early enough, the situation could have been far different—life-threatening, you might say.
"Um, the guards—what happened to them?" Dorian asked. He remembered that it was not Ralph who injured him but one of his men, who looked like a squire.
"Dead," Mia's knight responded. He usually didn't talk too much.
His appearance was intimidating. He had a colossal muscular build, about 6'4". He had dark hair and multiple patches on his face, hinting at injuries from past battles.
In the fight, Ralph's guards had soundproofed the place as an extra measure, and as they came to Ralph's rescue, they reflexively deactivated it.
Mia and her knight, Aaron, were close by. They rushed to the scene as fast as they could when they heard screams and multiple thumping sounds. Aaron arrived first and witnessed a disgraceful display—a squire beating up a young boy.
He tried to stop him, but then he saw Elric's lifeless body on the floor. This man had no shame or honor, and he was better off dead than alive for the sake of the community. In an instant, he sliced his skull horizontally in half.
"Enough of that. He just woke up. Rest up, Dorian. You wouldn't want to be tired for Tasha's party," Mia finally spoke.
She had been quiet the whole time. Dorian noticed she was down.
"Hey, Mia," he greeted. "You don't seem very happy."
"Who said I am sad?" she replied. "...I won't be able to come to the party. Elric said it's a special day for you, your bestowing, but my dad told me I can't come."
Dorian was upset by the news, but he also knew she would never skip his party if she could; she couldn't defy her father. "But I wanted you to be there. I want you to be by my side."
"Huh?" Mia shouted. She was startled and lost her composure, her face red, heart racing, face hot. The little thing Dorian said made her all flustered. "What do you mean?"
"Elric told me what it means to like-like someone. I don't know about the butterflies in the stomach or things of that sort, but I thought a lot last night.
"One thing I know is that I want you by my side forever. It is greedy, but I want you to be mine and only mine.
"I had the best dreams last night. I was in this field where all of us were together. I don't remember much, but I know I looked all grown up and had a beard and looked kind of yuck, but you... You were perfect.
"Your smile was comforting. It felt like perfect bliss, and I saw our kids running in the field, and we chased after them. We had no cares in the world.
"Elric was there, too. He was sitting with Mom. She was getting old. She had some gray hair.
"Elric was handsome and looked really smart too.
"We also had a cute puppy. She was white. She ran around Elric's and Mom's legs.
"And for a moment, it seemed like that was my paradise, a life with you, Elric, our children, and Mom. I want nothing more, so yes, I like-like you. I want to be with you forever and have babies with you. We will buy the cutest ones from where they sell them, and that will be my dream come true."
What Dorian said led to different reactions. First of all, Aaron just left the room. He wanted to leave the children to their business.
Mia, who usually reacted awkwardly to any misunderstood romantic undertones in Dorian's messages, just stood frozen. This was sudden information overload.
She just left the room without responding. Then Elric looked at Dorian straight in the eyes.
"Dorian, you know what? You are... bad. It's not fair. You are bad." And he left the room.