Outside, he grimaced at the mess and made certain Kajan did not look upon it. He was not looking forward to his return in a few days, when he would have to clean up the bodies, especially since they would have been sitting out for all that time. Disgusting work.
But delaying their departure to tend the matter now would not do. They had to get the prince home sooner rather than later. So he simply took anything useful the bodies contained, which amusingly included money enough he'd not struggle for quite some time. Thankfully, they found a coupleof horses not too far away. Mounted, the prince well-covered against being recognized, they rode off.
They reached the palace in record time, if half dead and hungry enough to eat their horses. Kajan, poor thing, had not been able to stay awake. They had abandoned his horse at the first rest stop, to a group delighted to have her, and Kajan had ridden with Ramsay the rest of the way to the palace.
They arrived late at night. Nadir rode on ahead to arrange everything, leaving instructions for Ramsay to follow in order to get to the king unobserved. The instructions took him around the palace to the far southeast corner. Given his limited knowledge of the palace, and the more obvious prince in his arms, he surmised he was being directed to yet another secret entrance to the king's private wing.
As promised, Jankin waited just outside the wall, right at the corner. He smiled as he saw them and motioned them forward. Reaching him, Ramsay carefully dismounted. Then, with Jankin's help, he pulled the prince down and bundled him close. Throughout, Kajan remained fast asleep.
"Stay," he whispered softly to Feather. "I will be back soon."
Kajan secured, Jankin pulled a key from a hidden pocket in his pants and used it on an equally hidden keyhole in the wall. In the dark, Ramsay could not properly make note of it, and thought tiredly that he would have to find another way out later.
Jankin pushed the door open and led the way down a short flight of stairs to a tunnel that most likely ran beneath the gardens of which Ramsay had caught the barest sight. Jankin continued onward, through a long hallway, then up another set of stairs that spilled out into a large room. A sitting room, Ramsay decided.
At the far end sat the king, surrounded by the rest of his harem. Nadir smiled briefly, arm rebandaged and in his properharem clothing again. Ramsay ignored all of them, intent only upon the king. Crossing the room, he knelt and placed Kajan in Shafiq's arms, then drew back and bowed his head. "Your Majesty."
"Thank you," Shafiq said roughly, and held his son tight. "Thank you, Ramsay."
Ramsay said nothing, only nodded.
In Shafiq's arms, Kajan began to squirm and mutter, eyes slowly opening. Then they widened. "Papa! Papa! Papa!" He threw his arms around his father and began to cry and apologize and talk all at once, achieving in the end little more than a garbled mess.
"Shh, Kaj, all is well now," Shafiq soothed his son, holding him just as tightly.
Ramsay stood and fell back, keeping out of the way now that his part was done.
"You better not try to sneak off," Jankin said, a knowing look on his face. "Come on, you and I are going to put Feather in the stable where she will be nice and cozy."
Ramsay scowled, but could find no way out of that. He'd simply have to get her there whenever he found an opportunity to leave. So he tore his eyes away from Shafiq, who was still absorbed in his son, calming him slowly, listening to everything he said, somehow able to easily understand the clumsy spill of words. With his son returned, Shafiq looked years younger, almost a completely different person. Astonishing the amount of fear he had managed to hide, and yet how obvious it was that it was now gone.
Fetching Feather and taking her to the royal stable was easy enough, and it gave him a chance to learn more of the palace. Not that he needed to learn it all, he'd never see it again after this, but old habits.
Back in Shafiq's room, Kaj was still speaking, his exhaustion given way to a burst of energy spurred on no doubt by a fear this was all a dream or something.
On one side of Shafiq were the twins, Nadir adding to Kajan's tales where he could. He was curled up in Ender's arms, who constantly caressed and petted his brother, as though assuring them both that Nadir was well.
On Shafiq's other side, Berkant hovered protectively. Ramsay approved.
He was also beginning to feel like an interloper again. His duty was done, his role played out, and he had no good reason to linger. Even if they made him want to smile. Even if they made him want a lot of things, things he had thought he'd buried with his brother.
Jankin was warm beside him, despite the fact they were not quite touching. Ramsay moved away from temptation, stifling a sudden yawn as he leaned against a wall.
He jerked when someone touched him and realized with complete shock that he had dozed off.
That shook him. Badly. Holy Protectors never fell asleep in unfamiliar places, surrounded by unfamiliar people, especially when the safety of the person they protected was tenuous at best. But was it tenuous? Though he should be suspicious of all of them, he could not help but feel that every man in this room was indeed safe. He did not realize until now that the warmth they showed, Mazin had not.
"What?" he finally asked, looking at Jankin, noticing sadly that everyone else was gone.
"Come, my dear old friend. We prepared a bed for you." He held up a hand before Ramsay could speak. "We'll have your wounds cleaned and bandaged again, then let you sleep. The others want badly to speak with you, but will wait until morning."
Too tired to argue, knowing he would need the rest if he was going to slip away in a few hours, he followed obediently along. Thankfully the healer was waiting for them in the room, and it didn't take long for him to tend the wounds, though he clucked disapprovingly and scowled the whole time, muttering about recklessness and stupidity.
"You had better be here in the morning," Jankin admonished, once the healer was gone, as he ushered Ramsay over to the bed. "Truly, Ramsay—stay. You saved Kajan, and Shafiq wants very badly to express his gratitude. He can never repay the fact you brought his son back, alive and safe. I know you and your tricks. Do not sneak out."
Ramsay sighed. "Thank you for the bed. Goodnight, Jankin. It truly was good to see you again."
Jankin smiled and softly kissed his cheek. "You too. Sweet dreams, Ramsay."
