"They are in the palace infirmary. Cole was badly injured in the inn's collapse, and Philip is there with him so the doctor can make sure his stitches do not come loose."
"They are alive?!" Rose could not believe her ears. She had seen the building fall on Cole. She had abandoned Philip to fight the vicious bandit.
She had carried the guilt of their deaths, never wanting to forget their sacrifice.
"How do you think we got word of the attack to know where to look for you?" Caitlyn was genuinely curious.
"To be honest I hadn't given it much thought…" Rose felt foolish. "I guess I assumed a villager had brought word. I don't know."
The more she considered it, the sillier she felt. Those people would have sooner let them be eaten by wolves and taken their valuables than help them. The thought of one of them sending word to the palace about a decimated inn was beyond absurd.
"Philip and Cole made it back here? How?" Rose could barely stand the news. Part of her thought that she must still be dreaming.
"Philip dug Cole out with what was left of his strength and then wrangled the horses. As you were riding Fireball, he had to take Belle all the way back to Burke with Cole draped across his stallion on a lead. I've never seen a more mismatched horse and rider than Philip and Belle. He was very desperate indeed to not stop and find a more fitting mount." Caitlyn explained.
"Belle is here?!" The second surprise was not as shocking as the first, but it still caught her off guard.
"Didn't you see her in the stables when you arrived?" The more questions the brunette asked, the more distracted Rose realized she had been.
Because Borit had suddenly appeared, the thought of looking into Belle's empty stall did not even occur to her. Although if it had, Rose probably still would have avoided doing so.
'That's why Caitlyn offered to go for a ride. She wanted me to have some time with my precious horse.'
"I had a lot on my mind," the princess admitted. "I did not think she would be there, so I did not think to look."
Rose stood. She knew what she had to do. And she had to do it now. Her motion was so swift and sudden that the other two in the room did not immediately react.
The door to the princess's chambers flung wide, startling the guards stationed at the door. One of them nearly drew his sword to protect himself only to drop to his knee as the princess passed.
Rose's two shadows quickly fell in line behind her as she rushed down the hall. When she finally began her descent down the stairs, Ethyn and Caitlyn also caught up to the fleeing royal.
"Where are you going, Your Highness?" Ethyn tried not to sound flustered. He had planned to ask at least a few questions of how he should act in public with the princess, but her sudden burst from the room meant he would have to learn as he went.
"To the infirmary, where else?" Rose needed to see the sight for herself.
As she came down to the bottom of the stairs, Rose's path slowed for a more regal gait. Courtiers were already filling the palace for various tasks and the princess did not want to seem overeager.
Caitlyn came up beside Rose. "Would you like for Sir Samberg to join us or follow behind?"
"What? Oh... Please join us, Sir Ethyn." Rose invited the man to stand next to her. It would set the tone for his standing moving forward. If the princess was willing to show him respect, others would follow suit.
"Thank you, Your Highness." Ethyn assumed his position to the Princess's left. As he was right-handed, it was the best place for him to be able to draw his sword without accidentally cutting Rose with his blade. Not that he hoped he would ever need to do that.
"Now, if I may be so bold as to ask…who are…" Ethyn searched his mind for the names he had heard, "Who are Philip and Cole?"
"They attended me both at the palace and on my most recent outing." The princess laid a heavy emphasis on the last word.
"Oh, so they were the ones that…oooh." Ethyn began to put the pieces of the puzzle together. Rose had mentioned that her entourage had been attacked, but she had not delved into the details with him. "And you thought they were dead?"
Nodding, the princess furrowed her brow. "It seems I was wrong."
"May I suggest we take the long way?" Caitlyn nudged her mistress as they came to the main hall.
"Good idea." The princess altered her course. The chances of someone wanting to stop and talk in the main part of the palace were high, so that even though it was the shorter route, it was a longer time to travel.
And in the less traveled halls, the servants knew better than to disturb the princess and her group. Those that didn't bow and wait for her to pass scurried into side passage ways to avoid making her feel uncomfortable.
Only a woman in a soldier's uniform with a steely gaze gave them a curious glance before bowing respectfully. In the unfamiliar halls, Ethyn kept his eyes trained for danger. Something in his mind bothered him about the woman, but at the pace they were moving, he did not have enough time to ponder what the actual issue was.
The infirmary was on the ground level of the castle. Whoever had built the palace centuries ago realized the importance of easy access medical care and had made sure no one who was injured or sick would need to use stairs once they had reached the healers.
There were no guards in front of the infirmary. Why would there be? If a royal was sick the doctor came to them. And courtiers and nobility had their own guards to follow them around if they should fall ill at court.
So no one announced the princess's entry or even took much notice as she entered with Ethyn and Caitlyn.
"Watch the door," she told her two extra shadows. Without a word, they posted themselves so that no one would disturb those within.
The infirmary was sparsely populated. Because it was summer, there was less sickness overall and none of the palace staff had had any serious injuries as of late. The army had their own doctors as did the rest of Burke, but Rhodri had not wanted to let the two men who had protected his daughter receive anything less than what the palace had to offer.
"Where can I find the soldiers Philip and Cole?" Rose finally asked a healer after scanning the room.
Startled, the woman dropped the bandage she was rolling and dipped a curtsy before leading them to the men.
-------------------
Philip and Cole had received their own room within the castle infirmary, which was usually used to quarantine. Rhodri had given them the gift of privacy so that only the doctor could disturb them as he saw fit. But what had started out as a kindness quickly turned to boredom and inactivity. Philip was done waiting for his comrade to heal.
The dark-haired soldier sat on a chair in the room. The sling in which his arm should have been hung loose around his body as he fiddled with his boot. "Blasted thing won't go on so I can get out of here!" he muttered angrily.
Beside him on a cot, Cole lay with an amused expression. "It would help if you didn't use your injured arm....and if you put your shoe on the right foot."
Philip looked down and frowned. "It is on the right foot!" Pulling off the shoe angrily, he lifted it to launch it at his companion. There was a disturbance at the door. The dark-haired soldier quickly dropped the boot and stood at attention when he saw Rose enter.
"Your Highness!"
Beside him, Cole also tried to rise, but he was immediately stopped by a feminine gasp. "No!"
Rose ran to Cole's side and gently pushed him back onto the cot. "Don't you dare rise just for me."
Ethyn took one look at Cole and Rose together, and he furrowed his brow. 'This could be a problem.'