"Little One!"
A deep and worried voice struggled to reach Rehan. He lifted his closed eyelids slightly dazed. Then his head dropped to the other side, so that he could see the entrance where an old man was hurrying towards him. The old man was also dressed in a leather coat. This time it seemed to be white and not brown like all the others Rehan had seen till now.
"Get away from him, slowly."
A commanding tone suffused the tense atmosphere. Rehan knew that the order had not come from the old man who was still looking at him worriedly. After his last two words directed at Blitz, he hadn't said anything.
In this moment the fingers over his pulse vein loosened and retreated and with it the cold that emanated from them. A restrained sigh finally freed itself from the child's mouth and the tension eased. His completely limp body was pulled into a warm hug and shielded by the fabric of the white coat. So, it wasn't possible for him to see who was talking.
"Boy, everything will be fine. We'll take you back to my tent. We're terribly sorry about what happened to you."
The concern enveloped Rehan and surrounded him like a protective barrier that shielded him from the outside world. Nevertheless, he did not forget that he had fought for the well-being of the leading female role just before. He was able to express himself somehow and told the old man about his conviction to protect his sister. The latter nodded reassuringly and patted him twice on the back.
"We will bring her to my tent too. Don't worry."
The man seemed to be looking in a certain direction before turning and leaving the tent. Rehan would have loved to see who this new adult had looked at. Instead, they went back to the tent Rehan had crawled out from with great effort. Now, at least, he knew who was the one previously using this unorderly space.
* * *
His thin body was carefully placed on the bed and shortly after a new blanket covered him. Then the older man joined the little boy, sat down on the edge of the bed, and smiled gently at him.
"I am Cheng and take care of the sick and injured of our group." he introduced himself and Rehan thanked heaven for finally having someone who acted like a normal person. He briefly twitched with the corners of his mouth, to show Cheng his benevolence.
"You don't have to make an effort, little one. Don't force yourself to do anything. I really have to apologize for Jasper. He is extremely suspicious of you and your sister. He's only worried about us, his family. You will surely understand that feeling."
The boy gently nodded, but did not hide the negative feelings he had towards his supposed first helper. After all, Jasper had been very friendly in the beginning and then made a 180-degree turn. For the child's understanding, the fear he had felt weighed much more. Cheng determined those feelings and lowered his eyes apologetically before raising his voice again.
"Would you like to tell me your name too?" he continued, looking at Rehan. Rehan in the meantime thought for a moment, then spoke softly: "Blitz."
It was so quiet that the adult barely noticed it and had to ask again before fully understanding the name.
"So, Blitz... And your sister? What's your big sister's name?"
When Rehan was about to answer, the entrance to the tent was opened and two men entered. A wooden bed frame and a thin mattress in tow. They greeted Cheng briefly and placed the frame directly at the head end of the bed on which Rehan was lying.
"Those two are Marshall and Hermann. They take care of cooking delicious food in our small camp. Thank you both." The adult explained calmly and gave the men a smile. He had in mind to take away the fear Blitz might have because of the strangers entering without any notice. After what had happened a child would still be very sensitive to any big or small stimulation. But not everyone was as cautious and direct as Jasper.
Both men left the room as soon as the bed had found its place and said goodbye. Not a second later another person entered. To Rehan's dismay he couldn't see them from his position. He only noticed that someone was using the bed that had just been brought in.
"Thank you, do you still have the water tub?"
"Put it outside. I'll get it in a sec." Answered the voice of the person who didn't show themself. It was the same voice that had previously ordered Thea to retreat. Rehan started guessing and hoped he was wrong.
"Blitz, you're going to take a bath. You absolutely have to warm up. You're also sweaty and can't put on new clothes, if you don't wash up. We can't just let you walk around the whole day with only a piece of ripped underwear."
It was very obvious that Cheng didn't even consider the shred that Rehan wore as underwear. The boy could only laugh bitterly – on the inside, of course. On the outside he grimaced and tried to move, but was gently nudged back by two fingertips.
"Don't try at all. You will be bathed. I will not allow you to move a single finger. We're going to take care of you. You deserve that after protecting your sister like a little hero."
Dejected, Rehan lowered his eyelids and covered the short, expectant glitter in his eyes with the honey-coloured thick eyelashes. Not everything went according to plan, but at least he was in a room with Brie and could instruct her when she woke up. He didn't like the idea of being bathed, but it wasn't anything earth-shattering either. He just worried about his improvised bandage. The leaf was already torn a little bit, but thank God still big enough to hide the scales.
Rehan sighed again inwardly as the open entrance closed, hiding the inside of the tent from the prying eyes of the other mercenaries.
The unknown person put the water tub down with a slight splashing and rumbling sound and then came to the bed that Rehan was occupying. Another face came into view and Rehan wanted to face-palm himself.
"How are you?" The person asked him. Rehan could clearly see the caring glitter in the cold blue pair of eyes. White eyelashes framed the icy blue, like snow that had settled on the ice of a clear lake. The straight short hair gracefully fell over the forehead of the young face. A nose seemingly carved out of marble and slightly curved light eyebrows, which intensified the warm expression that was only meant for the little motionless boy. The familiar warmth didn't match the child's overall cool look.
Rehan swallowed hard.
This was the son of fate, the future partner of the female lead! The one this pure soul was supposed to look at was certainly not Rehan but Brie! The poor girl who was probably sleeping in the other bed.
'Please, if you could be so friendly and change beds? Go to her!' Rehan thought helplessly and turned his gaze to old man Cheng.
"He's fine, but he's too weak to answer."
The adult bailed Rehan out – somehow at least – and smiled apologetically at Romeo.
"Understandable." replied the frosty boy, who wasn't as frosty as he pretended to be.
Rehan knew that the whole 'frosty attitude' thing was just a facade that Romeo had to maintain in order to be accepted as King of the Yang Empire. The white-haired male lead was actually a happy child, full of love, adventurousness and curiosity. He had grown up in the palace as a friend of the prince and together they had struggled through thick and thin until they were told – at the age of 10 – that they had to choose between their feelings and their responsibility as heir to the throne. In the Yang Empire, the law had always stated that a king should not have closer feelings towards anyone. So that none of the kings judged unfairly.
When Romeo saw that his friend was having a hard time making his decision between feelings and duty, he felt responsible to help him somehow. In his kindness Romeo then took the first step, just to make it easier for his friend the crown prince. Once Romeo had gone through the ancient contract ritual with conviction, the prince also followed suit. After their vows to never let others realize their true feelings, both boys set out together to take on this difficult trial. They separated two cities later and Romeo moved north, where he came across and joined the Beaver mercenary guild.
A year had passed since then, and said Romeo was now sitting on the floor of an extravagant tent, running his hands through the wet hair of a little boy to make foam.
'You obviously are having fun! Doesn't that violate the magical pact you signed?'
With one eye closed and one slightly open Rehan looked at the grinning face of the older one and began to pout. This in turn elicited a hearty laugh from Romeo and the rubbing over Rehan's head only got stronger.
If Rehan remembered correctly, Romeo had never been so open in the actual course of things, due to the pact and despite his affection for the leading female role. It just didn't make sense that this serious and principled Romeo threw his values overboard so easily. In his head Rehan cried out: 'Didn't you catch the wrong person? My poor sister!'