The sun shone down mercilessly as Lucien hobbled to the infirmary. He hated summer for the excruciating heat, he found solace during this period by going for a swim at the river with Draven and Soren, but in his current condition, swimming was not an option. To add to his troubles his conversation with his father in the morning, after breakfast replayed in his head over and over.
..."I just got information that you were intentionally misguided." His father began, taking a sip of the wine in his cup.
"How do you mean father?" He had asked, shocked at the thought of having had a traitor amongst his men.
"The information you had gotten with regards to the whereabouts of the Valorian chief commander and generals, was all part of a plot to kill you and defeat Arvenia."
Lucien had stared at his father dumbfounded, how was that even possible? Sure there was squabble amongst the troops every now and then, but they still were family and they had each other's back. How was it possible that there was a traitor in their midst?
Lucien balled his fist in anger, he had lost several good men and brave soldiers for nothing. "Who is the traitor?"
"Ansell." ...
...
When Lucien entered the infirmary, the tent was crawling with nurses and the wounded. He looked around the infirmary, searching for the green-eyed nurse from the previous day with his eyes while responding to the greetings of the people.
"Don't mind me and go about your day," he pleaded.
He managed to find an empty bed and settled into it. "My lord, I will go and get the royal physician for you," a fat, brunette nurse said to him.
"No I don't want Augustus. Bring me the nurse with the green eyes and black hair."
"Levina?" The girl asked;
Lucien saw the distaste flash through her eyes momentarily.
"Is that her name?" He asked trying to contain the excitement in his voice.
"Yes, my lord. But I am afraid she is occupied at the moment," she replied while fiddling with her fingers. "But I can attend to you if you wish," she said shyly.
"I prefer you bring Levina to me," he stated with finality.
"Of course my lord," she nodded and turned to leave.
"Wait," Lucien called her back. "Don't tell her who is requesting for her."
The nurse looked at him confused but nodded before she disappeared into the crowd.
Levina just finished cleaning the wound of one of the wounded soldiers when the short nurse came in. "Levina, you're needed in the other tent. A patient is asking for you," she grunted.
"Attend to him yourself, I've got my hands full here." Levina moved to the wash bowl and washed her hands.
"I would have, but he insists that you attend to him," "I can cover for you here," she added.
Levina could hear the annoyance and disdain in her voice and was not surprised by it at all. Some of the nurses here disliked her, for reasons best known to them, but Levina never let that get to her.
"Where is he?" Levina asked after a while.
"He is on the bed close to the entrance."
Levina left the tent and headed to the other tent. Whosoever that was asking for her better have a good reason for encroaching into her lunch break, she thought grumpily.
When she entered the tent and looked at the bed at the entrance of the door, she sighed in frustration. The flirt from yesterday, she thought.
"I should have known," she grunted, as she moved closer to him. It was crazy of her to think that she would never see him again.
"What can I say? I like being treated by pretty nurses," Lucien smiled with a mischievous grin on his face. He looked so boyish and really cute when he smiled, she thought. Almost immediately she deleted the thought from her mind. She cannot afford to see these soldiers as anything more than patients.
"Emily is pretty enough, why didn't you let her attend to you?" She asked taking the band-aid off his arm.
"Because I want only you to touch me."
"You are going to have to try better than that," Levina replied coldly.
"I wasn't even trying, pretty. Would you like me to try?" Lucien chuckled, peering into her face.
"What I would love is for you to shut up and let me work," she raised her voice. She hated how daring and overconfident he was, but more importantly, she hated that her cheeks were starting to turn red.
A soldier on the adjacent bed gasped in surprise. Lucien looked at him and motioned for him to keep quiet.
"Why is it a crime for a nurse to tell her patient to keep quiet?" Levina asked directing her question at the soldier. He looked at Lucien but did not reply.
"That's what I thought," Levina muttered angrily.
"You didn't say it sweetly;" Lucien continued undeterred by her reaction. Levina ignored him and started massaging his arm. Lucien winced, and a smile appeared on the side of her lips. She was enjoying it, he could see that.
When she finished massaging his arm, she replaced the band-aid and moved to examine his knee.
"Tell me where it hurts," she ordered without sparing a glance at him. She pressed his kneecap lightly and looked at his face for a reaction. When he didn't respond, moved lower, and then applied pressure, Lucien winced and she took her hand off.
"It also hurts somewhere else," Lucien said with a frown.
"Where's that?" Levina examined his knee to see if she could find the spot that was also hurting.
"Here," Lucien said. She looks up and found Lucien clutching his chest. "My heart hurts."
The soldier beside him laughed.
"I will not be wasting my time with you anymore," she stood to her feet angrily. "The royal physician will attend to you from here."
"No wait," Lucien grabbed her hand.
Just then Augustus entered, he had heard that the prince came in for a checkup and he came to attend personally to him, but was shocked at the sight before him;
"Levina!" he yelled, his gaze on resting on the prince's hands on hers.
Levina jumped, she could see the fear in his eyes, but why was he terrified? Did she do anything wrong?
"Step away from the prince," he hurriedly pulled her away and stood beside the prince.
She looked at the man on the bed, staring cluelessly at Augustus and then at him, her heart somersaulting in her chest. The... The prince?