–"So, what happened after Lucifer took me away?"– Ravenna's words echoed in Michael's mind. He both wanted to tell her everything, and wanted to tell her nothing. He began to speak, but then Ravenna noticed his bandages.
"Oh, Michael! Your bandages look terrible! You've bled through. Let me clean you up, and then we can talk more about what happened while you were gone, okay?"
Michael let out a breath that he had not noticed that he held. –This gives me more time to think about what to tell her…I would hate to upset her any more than the news is going to…– "Thank you for taking care of me, Ravenna. I know it can't be easy for you."
Ravenna left the infirmary room to boil some water to ensure it was clean, and Michael carefully unwound the bandages around his chest and back to prepare for her return. The bandages stuck slightly to the large wounds on his back, and a hiss escaped his lips as he pulled the bandages free from his skin. A fleeting moment of loss ripped through his heart as he realized that he would never wrap his wings around Ravenna again, or have her sleep beneath his wing the way she loved. But the feeling of loss was replaced as Ravenna entered the room; he lost his wings, but he had the woman. Ravenna was here, and he no longer had to hide.
The young healer observed the wounds on the angel's back, and took a clean cloth and dipped it into the hot water. She wiped the dried blood from his skin, careful not to disturb the healing that had begun. Michael's wounds had begun to heal over where they were thinnest; closest to his waist. The lacerations were still open and inflamed at the widest part closest to his shoulders. Ravenna meticulously treated the man she loved, and he felt her affection in her work. She prepared another long set of linen bandages, and began to wrap Michael's torso, being sure to wrap up and around his shoulders and across his chest, creating a shallow V-shape under his neck.
Satisfied with her work, Ravenna put away her supplies, and went back to the kitchen to brew more ginger tea to help with his pain. Michael sighed with relief; – at least she isn't offering me that terrible willow bark again.– She soon returned with two cups of tea on a tray, and much to his disappointment, a large leaf was next to the cups with a shard of the willow bark. He frowned at the willow, and Ravenna laughed at him, making it impossible for him to continue to be upset at the bark. He obediently placed the willow bark in his mouth, and tried not to make a face as he chewed. She placed the tray on the bed next to Michael, as she sat on the chair next to his bed.
"It's alright to hate it, you know. Grandmother always warned our patients that the bark was bitter and kind of, well, awful. But it worked for most people, so until something better is available, terrible tasting it is."
His mouth full of the terrible medicine, Michael could not reply right away. Ravenna passed him the leaf, telling him it was okay to be rid of the bark he hated so much. He carefully spit it out, and wrapped it in the large leaf, placing the leaf on the edge of the tray as he was instructed. Ravenna passed him the ginger tea, and took a cup for herself.
"Michael? Your Brothers were here, before you woke up. They left a parcel for you. Did you perhaps want to change into something clean?"
Michael's eyes widened; being in clean clothes that were not ripped and dirty would be a dream. "You know just what a man wants to hear, my dear."
"I'll go get you some clean clothes, then, I will be right back." Ravenna left the room, going to get the parcel that she had moved to her bedroom. As she carried the package back to the infirmary room, she was incredibly grateful that his Brothers had thought of coming to bring his things to her.
Michael took the parcel from Ravenna, looking into the bag, curious to see what his Brothers had brought. "What's this?" He pulled a scroll from the package.
Ravenna gasped; she had forgotten that she had replaced the note from the Brothers into the parcel. She pressed her lips together; she was worried Michael would be upset with his Brothers for telling her that he loved her.
Michael's ice-blue eyes watered as they scanned Gabriel's flawless script. –Please take care of our Brother. We entrust him entirely to you. He loves you more than you could know.– He looked up from the parchment. "Did you…did you read this?"
"I did."
"...They're right, you know."
Ravenna, not knowing what to say next, placed her hand along Michael's jaw, kissing him deeply. Feeling the split in his lip and the fresh blood that her kiss brought, she retreated, running her thumb across his lower lip before kissing his forehead.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Michael took the clothes from the bag, pulling free a pair of clean undergarments and his favorite black silken sleep pants. "Ravenna, um, do you mind giving me a moment? I know you've already seen everything when you peeked at me in the lake," he smirked and winked as the healer turned bright pink at her memory. "But I think I want to try to do this myself."
"I'll…I'll bring you some more water and a clean cloth to freshen up." Ravenna left the room, embarrassed that Michael had teased her about their time at the waterfall outside of Graenwood. She brought him the water and cloth, and took her tea to the parlor to give him some true privacy.
Michael soon emerged from the infirmary room, wearing the sleep pants and a smile. His torso remained bare except for the bandages, which covered him completely with the amount of damage the Ruler had done to him. He carried his teacup, and slowly limped his way to the parlor.
"Michael! Are you sure you should be up? I can come back to your bed, don't exert yourself, you've been through so much, take the time to rest!" Ravenna dashed over to the angel, who accepted her help, but insisted that he wanted to go to the parlor.
"I really would like to come sit out here with you, my dear. I'm stiff and sore, but I'm ready to start moving. I've never stayed in a bed that long in my life! I feel so much better already just being clean and changed." Michael carefully lowered himself on the sofa next to Ravenna with her help. "Before I tell you about my miserable time in the Kingdom, please, tell me about your time with Lucifer. Did he take good care of you? Were you safe? Were you happy? I need to know I made the right choice sending you to his realm."
Michael grasped Ravenna's hand, and their fingers intertwined as if their hands were made for each other. His thumb stroked hers, and she felt her body relax with such a simple gesture. "I was kept safe in Lucifer's care. He performed some extensive blood magic on the room I was given, and that meant nothing could realm-travel into or out of my room, anything or anyone that tried would have been instantly killed. He said he took his promise to you seriously about keeping me safe. His demon, Edward, he was very kind to me. He took the time to explain how the Lost are judged, and the paths that a Lost person can take. Actually, the Judgements of a Lost person was how I found out…found out about…" Ravenna sniffled, trying to get her emotions in check. "I'm sorry. When I was there, I spoke to a man I knew from the village, and the coachman that worked for Peter Jones. The village man, William Reed, he was Samuel's father. He told me that Samuel and my grandmother had…that…that the coachman had killed them…" Ravenna's tears began to fall, her grief overcoming her again.
Sniffling, Ravenna attempted to continue her story. "William had killed the coachman for murdering his son. I swore to Lucifer that William was a good man, and he agreed to turn William to a demon. The coachman was judged too, and he became Lost. William was just so heartbroken that he was never going to see his wife or Samuel again."
Michael reached over, and wiped the tears from her cheeks, just as he had when he had first rescued her. Ravenna leaned over, and placed her head on his shoulder gently, careful not to agitate any of his wounds.
"I'm sorry to hear about your grandmother. I know she meant the world to you. When I can walk further, will you please take me to where she is buried? I would love to meet her, even if it's a little…late. It would truly be an honor to be introduced to someone who meant so much to you." Michael carefully began slowly stroking her hair to comfort her, glad that she couldn't see the small grimace of pain from moving his shoulder. –My physical pain pales to her emotional pain, I must be strong for her.–