Lucien trudged towards the infirmary, his knees wobbled. He took quite a blow when he tumbled down the hill, which was the only reason why he survived and his squad didn't. They had gotten information that the Valorian chief commander and some of their top army generals were hiding out in the mountain east of Arvenia.
Lucien knew that his best shot at winning the war against Valoria was taking out their chief commander and top generals, which would cause their troops to be in disarray and make them easy to defeat. What Lucien did not count on was that it was an ambush. A plot to kill the best men in the king's army.
Lucien had walked into the trap with the best of his men, in hopes of bringing victory and finally earning his position as the commander of the King's army. He had overheard the rumors and grunts of other top soldiers who had earned the position of Chief Commander but did not get the position because the king chose to favor his young son, who had only been in the army for eight years.
Lucien shook his head to remove the awful thoughts from clouding his thoughts, not that it helped. Oblivious of the rock in front of him, he tripped and fell, but two strong arms caught him, one holding each side of his shoulder.
"Lucien, what are your eyes? Decorations?" Soren joked.
"He is probably blind from defeat," Draven laughed.
"I am very glad you both are in the mood for jokes," Lucien snarled as he straightened up.
"So what happened?" Draven queried as they led Lucien toward the infirmary.
"I've been relieved of my position in the most shameful way you can think of." Lucien winced when Draven inadvertently touched his broken arm.
"Don't be dramatic Lucien. Look on the bright side, you are back home with your boys, and the brighter part is you don't have to sleep with one eye open here," Soren jabbed his shoulder lightly.
"You don't understand. This was my shot at earning my position at the king's side and also proving to everyone that I am deserving of my position as the crown prince," Lucien huffed. And to prove his worth to his mother, he added mentally. He wanted her to be proud of him for once, he wanted to come back victorious for her. But that would never happen. He sighed.
"You don't have to prove anything to anyone, much less those old grunts parading about in expensive clothes, who have never seen a battlefield all their lives!" Draven said,
"Acting like they could have done any better if they were in your position," Soren added. "Enough with the sad talk, you are home now and I am sure Cleopatra will want you to herself for the rest of the day. So prepare yourself, tomorrow evening we feast!" Soren said, raising a balled fist to the sky, at the end of his sentence.
Lucien shook his head and feigned distaste, he knew better than to appear too eager for a party in front of Soren.
"Come on, it would be fun," Soren whined.
"It's not up for contention, we will see you tomorrow evening," Draven said with finality. "I've got errands to run. Good to have you back Lucien." He tapped Lucien's shoulder and left.
Soren helped Lucien to the infirmary before leaving.
Lucien staggered into the infirmary, holding on to the wall and bed stand along the way for support.
The infirmary was empty, except for an errand boy that was cleaning the floor. He attempted to help Lucien but Lucien turned down the offer with a wave of his hand.
"Where's Augustus?" He managed to ask, talking was becoming more difficult.
"He left early, I'll get the nurse. She's still around," the boy said and hurriedly left the tent.
He came back a few minutes later, "She is on her way. Do you need anything else," he asked with his head slightly bowed.
"No, you can be on your way." Lucien moved to one of the beds and lay on it. He lifted his left leg onto the bed and then lifted his right one. He placed one pillow behind his back comfort.
"Help yourself why don't you," a female voice said irritably.
"What can I say? You shouldn't have left your post, I could have died," Lucien smiled smugly turning to face the nurse.
His jaw hung ajar when his gaze fell on the slender nurse, whose hair was packed tightly in a ponytail. She had big green eyes, red lips, and a small pointy nose. The stern look etched on her face did not deter her beauty.
"Wow!"
"You've never seen a female soldier before?" She asked when she got to his side. She wasted no time to start examining him.
"I have, as a matter of fact. I just haven't met one as pretty as yourself." She looked oddly familiar like he had seen her somewhere before.
Levina rolled her eyes. She knew his type, ready to mix sugar in their words, whatever it takes to get into her bed. "I'm glad you can find you strength to flirt," she replied coldly as her hands worked expertly to unwrap the blood-stained material holding up his hand. He winced when the material came off.
"I am trying to make a good impression," he chuckled playfully.
"Don't bother ." She lifted his arm and examined it. She made a face when she touched the fractured bone.
Lucien saw the momentary change in her expression and smiled knowingly, "I have been through worse."
"And I have seen much worse," she retorted. "Do you need something to bite on?"
"That wouldn't be necessary."
She looked at him as if considering not to put the bone back.
In a swift movement, she snapped the bone back into place.
"Ahh!" Lucien cried through his gritted teeth.
Levina scoffed as she applied ointment around the arm. Lucien watched her treat him, quietly, wondering where he had seen those green eyes before. Then it hit him.
The girl in the market 10 years ago. She had exactly the same eye color as the girl in the market.
Could she be the same girl? He wondered. What are the chances of a village girl becoming a nurse in the royal infirmary? Not just any nurse. A military nurse. It was very unlikely.
Ten years ago, he had sneaked out of the castle to see the city, his father had told him it was not time yet, but he could not wait.
In the village, he had seen her trip and fall and injure herself; he couldn't forget her 'cause she had the prettiest eyes he had ever seen.
He didn't know that people had green eyes until that day, it was very rare. He had tied her wound with his handkerchief and before he could ask of her name, the palace guards had caught up to him.
This was the second time he was seeing those eyes.