One of the guards stared at his hunched form in the light. “M’lord? Are you all right?”
Now, the whole realm could know Jaki had been stabbed, and he wouldn’t care. “Get the physician. I was attacked.”
The guard darted for the Castle, and the other took the bridle. “M’lord, you need to come down. Nice and easy. There’s a bench-”
Jaki told himself he’d be fine, and he just had to stay up for another minute or two so he could find a spot to sit. When he slipped down, the ground tilted, and his surroundings blurred. The guard rushed to grab him and help him into the gatehouse. A brazier was lit, and the warmth was nice. It would have been better if everything weren't swimming. He’d never been so out of it, and it wasn’t like being drunk.
“Sit on the bench.” The guard helped him down and moved aside his cloak. “What happened?”
“A man on the street,” Jaki mumbled as he slumped over. “He tried to yank me off my horse. Stabbed me. Hit me in the face too.”
When the court physician came along with a couple of other guards, she pulled off the scarf and exclaimed at the amount of blood on it. She had to stick her finger in the wound to make sure it was fully healed. That was unpleasant, to put it mildly. Jaki almost wanted to punch something.
Before long, it was all sealed up, and the pain was gone. He didn’t even have a scar. He mentioned his nose, and the ache also vanished when the woman put her glowing hand on it for a few seconds.
The healer couldn’t fix the blood loss, so he was still lightheaded when he forced himself to sit up and lean on the wall. The guards started on the questions. Did he see who attacked him? Was there anything to tell the person apart? Did they speak?
“Give him a minute,” the physician told the guards. “For Elira’s sake, he just got stabbed. I can tell you this. The wound was deep, but it wasn’t neat. They also didn’t get his heart or lungs. I’m guessing this was someone with a long knife and not much actual experience at fighting. They must have been fast to get a hit on him, but their handiwork leaves something to be desired.”
It was because Jaki never expected Lumi to stab him. “I don’t think they realized who I was. I pulled my dagger, and they ran.”
One of the guards grunted and rubbed his chin. “So it’s someone quick but not skilled, and they must have been too scared when you pulled your weapon. That’s always good to know.”
“I didn’t see anything about them except a dark cloak,” said Jaki. “They were average height, and I'm only assuming it was a man. It could have been anyone, and it was probably a homeless person. If you go looking tonight, you won’t find them. There was nothing special to tell them apart.”
“Maybe they have kids,” one said quietly. “A man will do a lot when he’s desperate.”
It was the closest he’d say to the facts. Iceland was dying, and Elswere needed the Crown. He’d needed to stop avoiding war, put the bottle down, get off his ass, and do something because the people of a dying Kingdom would resort to violence to feed themselves. Moving away wasn't an easy option for everyone.
People usually don’t like to correct or say what royalty should do in their hearing. Jaki couldn’t command his Father anyway.
He stood and waited to let his head calm.
“M’lord, do you want help?” asked one of the men. “Maybe you should sit for another minute.”
“No. I can get up to my rooms by myself. Thanks.”
He stepped outside and cringed at the blood on his side since it was sticky and half-dried. The physician followed, and he slipped a few coins into her hand.
“I doubt anyone else will be stabbed soon. Take the day off tomorrow, will you?”
“Thank you, m’lord!”
She was paid well as a court physician, and he knew she had a sister. Rising prices had affected everyone, and she was surely helping to support her family.
“If you come up to my rooms and answer some questions, I’ll give you more,” he said.
She paused, and he looked down at her. She was likely wondering if he meant actual questions, or something else.
“Only questions,” he said. “You’re not in trouble or anything.”
“All right, Your Highness. Erm, I need to get you a tincture since you lost a lot of blood. You should eat sweet things and drink water too.”
“I'll take the tincture. I don't think I can manage food at the moment.”
“If you can, try to eat something before you go to bed.”
The steps leading up the hill that the Castle sat on were tiring, and he remained quiet as they crossed the yard and entered the main grounds. She hurried to her workroom and caught up to him before he entered his sitting room. He peeled off his gloves, went to the sideboard, and tapped a crystal lantern to make it brighter. “Do you want anything?”
