12 years later…

In the middle of the night, Gary left his dormitory as quietly as possible. It was hard because his arm hurt so badly, and he wanted to scream in pain and frustration. But he swallowed his screams and silently walked out.

He walked to the medical supplies room. No, not the one in near the military. He wanted to go to the main supply room. It was a rather long walk. As soldiers they rarely wander off to the other parts of the palace. It was either in training base, or they’d be out on patrol. But he passed by the main supplies room before and he vaguely remembers where it was.

A few wrong turns here and there and voila! There it was.

It was dark, as expected. Who would be in the supplies room this late?

He lighted a small candle as he entered the room. He didn’t really know what herbs to use. Of course, he had been injured many times, but it wasn’t like he would ask the physician about the herbs. He could only use his sense of smell to recognise the herbs, so there he was, rummaging and sniffing at the baskets.

“Who are you?” a lady asked, as she walked in. She had been arranging the herbs and left for a moment, only to return to see a man rummaging through her things.

“I…” Gary looked at her, frozen in fear. If she reported him… He mentally scolded himself. How is it that the door wasn’t locked! Someone must have been there.

The lady looked at him, and saw that he was terrified. She also saw that he was clutching his arm, and his lips seemed pale. Not from fear, but more of pain.

“You are injured?”

Gary nodded slowly. She approached him like how a vet approached a frightened animal.

“Sit down,” she told him gently as she patted a spot near the candle, so there was enough light.

Then she noticed the badge in his belt.

“You are a soldier?”

Again, he nodded. But he said nothing more, so she didn’t question.

She helped him undress and it made him feel awkward. After all, she was a lady. All the physicians in the military were males. But to her, he was just another patient, and she undressed him calmly, as if it was nothing unordinary.

The only time when she made a sound was when she saw the wound. It looked like an arrow wound, and it was infected. The pus was turning yellow. It was badly grazed too.

“What happened?” she asked him, her voice full of concern, like a mother asking about her son. When Gary didn’t reply, she didn’t press him either. Something that was ingrained into her since the first day she entered the palace.

He winced when she cleaned his wound and applied the herbs. Her mind was bustling with questions. Why did he ignore the wound? Why did he not go to the military doctor? Why did he risk getting caught by coming here? She knew he wouldn’t have replied anyway, so she remained silent as she treated him.

“It was during practise a few days ago,” he started softly, almost inaudible. She glanced up, but the fingers never stopped moving.

“An arrow shot me, and I fell off my horse. But it was pretty chaotic, so no one really noticed.

“I know, I could have went to the military doctor, but I couldn’t risk it.”

She raised her eyebrow