Grandpa Ben was slumped onto the floor. He had blood dripping down on his face. His brown shirt was smothered with blood. He looked exhausted. He was left to die here.
“Grandpa Ben?” I knelt beside him as I turned him around.
He groaned as I laid his back on the side of the counter. He struggled to open his eyes and when he saw me, he uttered, “Robert?”
“Young man, is everything all right in there?” the old lady called, worried.
I peaked up from the counter and replied, “Yes, madam. It’s Grandpa Ben. He’s gravely hurt.” I looked back at Grandpa Ben and saw his bleeding arm. “Don’t you worry, Grandpa Ben,” I grabbed my knife and tore a long piece from my shirt. Gently, I wrapped it around his wound, “I’m here, I’ll take care of everything.”
“Robert…” he reached out his hand towards me.
I held his hand, slowly putting it down. “Rest yourself, Grandpa Ben. You mustn’t move that much.” I shouted to the old lady, “Kindly call the doctor, madam!”
“That won’t be necessary.”
My eyes widened as I heard a familiar voice. I slowly stood up and James stood by the door. The guards stayed outside whilst the old lady was gone.
“What are you doing here?” I asked as my jaw clenched. “And where’s the old lady?”
“We sent her on her way. Don’t worry, we weren’t rude to her,” he answered as he walked towards me. “The question is what are you doing here?”
As Grandpa Ben gave another groan, I knelt beside him once again and searched for other injuries.
James appeared from behind me. “Who is this?”
“It’s Laura’s father, Grandpa Ben,” I tore another piece from my shirt wrapped around Grandpa Ben’s head in an effort to stop another wound from bleeding. “I don’t know what happened here but clearly, people were harmed. I need to bring him to the nearest doctor in this place.”
James sat beside me and reached out for the old man’s hand. He checked his pulse before putting a hand over Grandpa Ben’s head and closed his eyes. After a few seconds, he said, “He needs immediate care. Waiting for a doctor to arrive isn’t ideal. We have to take him with us.”
“With us?” I asked as he took off his coat.
“Guards!” he bellowed as he put his coat around Grandpa Ben. He stood up as the guards arrived. “We must bring this man to our castle. He needs immediate care. One of you, fetch for the Medicine King and hurry.”
Two of the guards rushed back to our realm whilst the remaining five took care of Grandpa Ben. In one flick of a hand, James created a cot from the ruins of the bakery so Grandpa Ben could be transported without pain.
As they carried him out of the bakery, a piece of paper fell from Grandpa Ben’s hand. I quickly grabbed it before following James.
“Please, be careful with him. He’s in a very fragile condition,” he reminded the guards.
“Yes, Your Majesty,” they started walking as James headed to his horse.
“James,” I called.
“We can talk later, Robert but right now, your friend must be brought to the castle before it’s too late,” he said before mounting his horse.
I grabbed Wonder and we began our journey back to the castle.
♔♔♔
Time seemed to have stopped as we waited anxiously by the guest room. The Medicine King was already here when we arrived and the guards wasted no time to bring him to one of the guest rooms.
James, on the other hand, stayed by the windows, unbothered. I walked up to him, “James.”
“Hm?” he turned to me, brows arched.
“Thank you for helping Grandpa Ben. I didn’t expect you to do that,” I said.
“Just because I’m unenthusiastic to help, doesn’t mean I would be numb to everything,” he replied as he faced me completely, his hands behind him. “I know that this man shouldn’t have been dragged into this mess. He doesn’t deserve it.”
“But why were you at the bakery? How did you know where I was?” I asked.
He sighed before answering, “The captain told me what happened. I also spoke with the guards who survived the incident.”
The image of three dead guards haunted my mind once again. My heart, still shattered, continued to break as my mind persisted in remembering such a horrific sight.
“I know this isn’t the right time to lecture you but that was poor decision-making on your end,” James continued. “Perhaps, the culprit already planned on raiding the bakery and our guards did their duty of protecting the innocent. The enemy has everything planned by the looks of it.”
“I know, James,” I nodded as I hung my head low. “I’m aware of my idiocy but I never meant for others to get hurt. I didn’t know that this would happen.”
Silence joined our short conversation before he put a hand on my shoulder. “We make mistakes and I can’t judge you for that.”
I looked back at him, surprised. He would have scolded me more if this were a different topic. He doesn’t easily forgive me for my shortcomings. Why the unexpected response?
The door of the guest room opened and we immediately ran up to the Medicine King. “How is he?” I asked as the Medicine King closed the door.
“Thankfully, he’s stable. I have stopped the bleeding and all he needs now is rest,” he answered.
I sighed out of relief as James continued, “Does he have any internal wounds?”
“No, which is another thing to be thankful for,” the Medicine King smiled. “I am quite surprised that he survived the kind of mistreatment he was given. He seems to still be a strong person.”
“Thank you, Medicine King,” James smiled.
He then bowed and went on his way. “Oh, and another thing,” he turned back around. “He also told me to tell His Highness to read the note he left behind.” He gave another bow and walked away.
“What note?” James asked as he looked at me.
I quickly reached into my pocket and opened the note that fell from his hand. The note read:
Happiness does not come without a price.