Seth ran and tackled Bardulf to the ground, punching his King in the face a few times to help him snap out of it. He noticed a few of his friends rushing towards the Luna from the corner of his eye and hoped she would be fine, hoped she'd live.
Nose broken and eye black, Bardulf just laid there, staring at Seth for a long moment. His eyes, or as much as Seth could see, didn't have the blankness to them anymore, they were in fact, in despair.
"Are you back?" Seth hissed.
"Where is she?" the King croaked. "Where is Philippa?"
"Going to see Dezra."
The King shook his head. "No! Don't let her go there! Please!"
Seth glanced around for those who had taken Philippa and saw them just exiting the ball room. He put two fingers to his lips and gave a harsh whistle. Kobe looked towards him and Seth shook his head. Confusion flitted across his face before Kobe redirected the group back inside.
Seth looked back down at his King. "Okay, she isn't going. But she needs help!"
Bardulf started to sit up, spitting blood from his mouth and searched for Philippa. Seth stood beside him, waiting to see what would happen. It was the cold chill that told Seth something was wrong right before Bardulf lunged towards his wife.
"No!"
Kobe saw the King lunge and quickly grabbed the Luna and spun so his body was protecting hers, hugging her to the floor. He felt the King's claws slice through his back but did not balk as Stephan and Flik threw the King backwards. Kobe breathed and soon, his back healed. He chanced a glance behind him, then took off towards Dezra's chambers.
Bardulf, stuck inside without any control of his body, fought to get to his wife, to help her. The thing inside him, controlling him, was strong, but he had to be stronger. He was grateful for his men's duty to their Luna and to him. They tried to restrain him the best they could, but somehow, he always managed to shrug them off. He had hurt Kobe, he knew that, but wasn't afraid for the man's life. He would heal fast, unlike Philippa.
Philippa...
He had to help her!
The beast inside him raged, the power inside it growing until Bardulf noticed everything was at a standstill. The thing inside him shuddered and then suddenly left leaving him breathless. He crashed to the ground on hands and knees, panting. Closing his eyes, he soothed the beast, but it would not calm until their mate was in sight and in reach.
"My wife!" he growled. "Where is she?"
"We won't tell you until we are sure you're back," Flik hissed.
Bardulf was about to growl something out when Seth answered for him. "That's him. I felt the thing leave." To his King, Seth said, "Kobe took her to Dezra."
Shifting into his beast, Bardulf ran full speed towards the door that Ernest just managed to open before he broke it. He skidded up the stairs and followed the blood trail. His mate's blood trail. Blood he had drawn. Bardulf would never forgive himself for that.
He was on the floor of Dezra's chamber when he slowed down. His ears pricked up. From inside the chambers, he heard Kobe speaking. "What do you mean, poison?"
"Whatever food was given to her had been poisoned. Because she's human, her body cannot heal itself as fast as yours or the King's. I need to make an antidote quickly or we'll lose her."
"What about her back?"
"As long as she does not move, it should be fine."
Bardulf shifted and knocked softly. Kobe opened the door and tensed. "Please, let me see her," the King said softly.
Recognizing his King, Kobe stepped aside. Bardulf went to the bed Philippa was laying on and knelt beside it, tears in his eyes. "She will be fine as long as she stays asleep," he heard Dezra say.
"It's my fault!" he hissed. "I did this!"
"No," the healer said. "You did not. The possessor did. The Luna will understand that when she wakes."
He looked at her, at the healer with strong words. "This was supposed to be a day of happiness! Why can't she just have one day where nothing goes wrong?"
Dezra frowned and he could see that she was wondering the same thing. "We will give her another, my Lord. We will give her a small one this time and she will not go through another horrible night as she did tonight."
Bardulf did not move from his spot by the bed for the rest of the night, hoping and praying Philippa would not hate him for what he had done, would not be afraid of him.
The next morning, Dezra checked on Philippa and made sure the wounds were still closed, then left Bardulf alone with her. He continued to kneel, even though his body ached, and his clothes were covered in blood. He didn't care, only wanted Philippa to wake, only wanted her to smile at him, to use her hands to tell him about her day.
Three days passed without a sound from the Luna. The decorations were stripped from the ballroom and the people had left the castle, leaving it painfully empty. Even Bardulf's men had vacated the premises, only checking in every few hours. But when seeing no change, they left again.
On the fifth day, Bardulf was on the bed beside his wife, having got up there a couple days ago by the demand of Dezra, and he laid there, stroking her hair. He stared at her face, seeing it peacefully in sleep, stared at her back which was healing better than he could have hoped, and stared back at her face.
His eyes fluttered shut, exhausted and yet not wanting to sleep but he must. He was going to lose his mind if he didn't.
It seemed like only a few minutes had gone by when he was woken up by a soft touch to his cheek. He inhaled deeply and opened his eyes to a pair of hazel ones.
Bardulf blinked, then sat up. "You're awake!"
Philippa managed a smile and used one hand to ask him if she could have some water.
The King reached over her to the table and grabbed the goblet, then stared at her, wondering how she was to drink it.
From the door, he heard, "Her back is healed well enough so you can ease her up."
He looked up and saw the healer. "Are you sure?"
Dezra nodded. "She's been awake for a few hours now, letting you sleep. She's already eaten."
Bardulf looked back down at his wife and saw the worry in her eyes. He carefully eased back down and pulled her into his lap, facing up. She gasped a few times but did not want him to stop. When he finally had one arm under her head, he put the water to her lips. She took it without hesitation, and he was pleased to see her drinking her fill. When she was done, she carefully reached up and wiped a tear from his face.
She asked what was wrong.
"I hurt you," he croaked.
Philippa rolled her eyes, then slowly told him the same Dezra had. She then told him he couldn't have known what was happening and that she didn't blame him.
Bardulf leaned down and kissed her softly. "I'm sorry, all the same."
She smiled.
He looked up to the healer again. "Can I take her?"
Dezra nodded. "I have left some supplies in your chambers to use when needed."
"Thank you."
"Please don't fret anymore, my Lord. She will live. She is strong."
Bardulf carefully carried Philippa up to their chambers and laid her down. Then, with her permission, he stripped her of the ruined gown and went to the armoire for a light night dress, only to see her gown and the reason she wore Marlene's. He gave a low growl at the ruined fabric and tried to settle down as he got her night dress and strode back over.
As soon as Philippa saw him, her eyes widened, and her body went rigid. Bardulf stilled and saw fear in her, then closed his eyes and breathed deeply. When he opened them, he said gently, "I'm sorry. Please, don't be afraid of me. I just saw something I didn't like. But you are not the cause."
She relaxed, but the fear never left her eyes. He sighed and set the dress on the bed, then sat down, his back towards her. Dropping his head in his hands, he felt himself break down.
Philippa was unsure of what to do right now. She heard her husband crying and saw his shoulders tremble, and yet, she didn't know what to do. He was always the strong one, always the one put together while she cried. How could it be the opposite?
Carefully, she reached up and grabbed his arm, pulling it. He looked at her. She made some movements with her hands and he chuckled. "Don't remind me, my sweet. I do not like being so helpless."
She smiled and gestured towards the night dress a question in her eyes. He stood and proceeded to help her into it, then climbed in and held her close, careful to not hurt her any more than she already was.
They stayed like that for the rest of the day and through the night. When they woke the next day, Philippa was able to sit up and eat with Bardulf behind her as something to keep her steady. They fed each other food and Bardulf told her how he was able to fight off the possessor. She smiled and clapped her hands. It was then that Bardulf realized she could make noise, not by voice, but with other parts of her body.
"Philippa, do you want to try something?" he asked gently.
She looked at him with curious eyes.
"The next time you are asked a yes or no question, I want you to clap once for yes, two for no. Do you understand?"
She clapped once.
He smiled. "We'll find more combinations, so you don't have to do so much moving, and we'll teach the men too."
She smiled and clapped once. Then she asked him if she could bathe. He nodded and set the tray of food aside before carefully getting up to go start the water. When he returned, Philippa was trying to stand up.
He ran over and gently lifted her into his arms. "I know you can move, my sweet, but standing might be too much for now. Just let me worry about getting you from one place to another, okay?"
She clapped and he set her down on the floor and helped pulled the dress over her head. She held onto him as he threw it aside and examined her back, but not touching it. It did look a lot better than it had, completely sealed shut, but it still filled his heart with guilt knowing he'd done it.
A tug on his arm made his eyes turn towards her face. She had on a worried expression and he sighed. "I'm sorry. I just hate myself for doing that to you."
With him holding her, she told him to forget about it, that she didn't blame him, and that it was the past. When she was done, he kissed her and carefully set her in the warm water. She gasped as the liquid touched her wounds but shook her head when Bardulf started to pull her out. Even though it was painful, it helped sooth the muscles.
Bardulf sat beside the tub as she washed herself and made sure she wasn't in danger of slipping under. When she finished rinsing the soap off, she turned to him with questioning eyes.
He smiled. "What?"
She pointed at him, then in front of her.
Bardulf immediately shook his head. "I will not bathe with you. I don't think you're ready for that type of closeness yet."
She scowled.
But Bardulf shook his head. Philippa then glared then got an idea into her head. She pointed towards some bottles of soap on a shelf and gave him a pleading look. He went over and grabbed one then came back. Before he knelt though, she splashed him with as much water as she could.
Bardulf was wet. He looked down at himself as water dripped from his hair and nose, then to his wife who was laughing at him. He knew what she wanted, and he swore he wouldn't do it, but now...well, she already got him wet and it wasn't like she hasn't seen him nude.
He set the bottle beside her and backed up. Philippa frowned at his backing away, then her jaw dropped when he began to undress in front of her. She didn't dare look down, so she kept her eyes firmly on his face and chest. He grinned and walked over, climbing in front of her and sinking into the water. Then, to her shock and delight, he splashed her.
She shook her hair out of her face and glared at him, which made him laugh. Then, she splashed him, and they went on for a while before Bardulf swept her up and carried her dripping to the bed. She laughed, holding onto him as he shook his hair out, sprinkling her with more water.
Then, he suddenly paused, and she frowned, looking away from him to see what was wrong was Seth, Flik, and Varg were standing at the chamber entrance, gaping at them. Philippa widened her eyes and wrapped her arms around her husband's neck, pressing herself against him to hide herself.
Bardulf, on the other hand, didn't care about his nudeness and glared at the three men. "What are you doing here?"
Flik cleared his throat. "We came to see what all the ruckus was up here. We thought a fight was happening, then you walk in with her in your arms and well..."
"We're leaving," Varg finished and pushed the other two out, shutting the door.
Philippa glanced back to make sure they were gone then relaxed, her back hurting. She shook Bardulf's shoulder and he looked at her. Pointing to her back, she let him know what she wanted.
Bardulf set her gently on the bed and wrapped her in a blanket, then put on some trousers before sitting beside her. "Let me see, my sweet Philippa."
She rolled carefully onto her stomach and he pulled the blanket down. Her back was bleeding just a little, but she didn't tear anything open. He grabbed some clean linen and blotted away the blood, then put on a soothing salve Dezra made. He heard his mate sigh and felt better. When finished, he grabbed a loose dress and helped her into it then began to run his fingers through her hair.
A knock on the door sounded and Bardulf let them in. It was the same three men and they walked cautiously inside. Seth was the first to speak. "How do you feel?" he asked Philippa.
She clapped once.
Bardulf chuckled. "That means good."
Flik went towards the bath chambers and whistled low. "I see you two were fighting...with water!"
Philippa clapped once, a smile lighting her face. Seth laughed and looked to his King. "How about you?"
"I'm fine. I have taken care of myself."
Philippa rolled her eyes and tried to explain to Seth that she had to make her husband get into the bath by splashing him. Flik interpreted and the men laughed while Bardulf nuzzled his wife into silent laughs.
"Well, while I hate to break up the happiness," Varg said, "We want to know what you remember, Bardulf."
"Everything."
They all went silent, even Philippa who went still in his arms.