An unhappy wince crossed the boy's face after hearing the king call him a child and he focused his attention on the wounded shoulder instead. The wound was longer than the child's arm. It wasn't more than a scratch, but the heat, swelling and lines indicated infection. It was too soon for that. "You know this is poisoned, don't you?"
Everest closed his eyes lying flat in the shallow water with his shoulders and upper chest lying out on the pool's sloping ledge. "You look tired, sire." The king groaned low in agreement. There was a tiny sheen of sweat breaking out on his forehead and upper lip. "Your side is bleeding..." Little hands pressed at the shoulder around the length of the scratch. "It isn't poisoned, though." That was all he heard. Everest tried to stop himself from falling asleep, but it did little good.
Brayden felt the king's face. "Oh, boy...you are not doing well here." The tiny lad ran to the linen closet and took out a small rag. He ran back and scrubbed at the wound desperately trying to get the poisons out of the raw flesh. "Come on, come on..." The wound started bleeding. Brayden pushed at the edges as hard as he could. When he was satisfied, he dressed both wounds properly. The one on his side really had needed stitching.
Much later, Brayden realized the poisons had begun to defeat the king's immune system and desperately he had to run the edge of a knife along the swollen skin and to press out more of it. It oozed a clear fluid that he guessed was the poisonous venom.
He knew if he could get enough of it out without further damaging the king, Everest would have a fighting chance as his own body and magic fought to counter the deadly toxins. Brayden slowly redressed the king's shoulder carefully.
"My lord," he called to him repeatedly shaking him hard to wake him. "King Sinedien, wake up, please..." All he got were a couple of muffled complaints which really worried him as a fever set in.
"My lord, please," he kept begging, "just help me get you to bed. You cannot sleep here! You will turn over and soak the dressings!" Finally, his persistence paid off when Everest crawled out of the water and stumbled over to his bed. Thankfully, it wasn't far to go or they wouldn't have made it before Everest collapsed.
Brayden took towels and dried him as much as he could. There wasn't much help for it. The king was dripping onto the sheets. Trying to move him was exhausting to someone as small as the boy tending his wounds.
Brayden lay back on the bed when he was done worn out by his efforts to make the much larger adult comfortable. Brayden stayed by his side all night making him drink sips of water when he was able and occasionally tearing off small pieces of the bread to feed him. Everest woke up delirious and tossed about as he slept, even with Brayden trying to hold him down to the bed to keep him from falling into the floor.
Toward morning, the fever grew more severe. To make matters worse, the head master was beating on the door angrily trying to find him. Brayden covered the bandages with the sheets and curled up against the man's chest trying to keep as much bare skin showing as he could pretending to sleep just as the door burst open.
The house master's horrified gasp of shock nearly made him grin, but Brayden was too scared to try one just that second. The large man's muttering made his skin crawl in terror. Brayden practically prayed for him to leave without coming up closer to the bed or trying to wake Everest. Had he cleaned up the blood smears on the pool's ledge, the boy wondered frantically. Just then, he heard the door close behind the huge slave keeper and relaxed in relief.
Brayden got up to run to the pool in order to check and wet a clean cloth. He began to bathe the king in an effort to lower his temperature. Brayden ran the linen over the king's bare skin thoughtfully. The child knew he was too young for this new Everest to seriously consider keeping and he also knew he was too male for the old Everest to be keen on, but he liked the gentle man he had suddenly turned into.
"Who are you, Everest Sinedien? I don't know who you are lately," Brayden whispered as he leaned down and touched his lips to the king's fevered skin. "I don't mind. I like the new king you have become."
Sighing, Brayden knew he would have to leave the room. He didn't do it until he had bathed every drop of the toxic sweat off of Everest's skin, though. He didn't know when he would be able to get back to the room if the headmaster caught him out of it.
When he finally slipped out of the room, the entire house was in an uproar. Brayden snuck into the kitchen as quiet as a mouse to get more food and water for the king. Quiet wasn't good enough, Dev was lying in wait for him there. "You were supposed to help me make breakfast, you little worm!" Dev wouldn't let him escape grabbing his arm painfully in a tight grip.
Kiev came up behind Dev and Brayden jerked at his arm afraid they were about to gang up on him. "Hey, Dev lay off!" Dev looked as startled as Brayden that Kiev would come to the boy's rescue. "I helped you, so it is okay. Besides, Shriv said he was in Everest's room all night. I already know how moody he has been lately, so the boy has probably had enough trouble this morning." He pushed past Dev to gather up half of the stuff Brayden had gathered up. "Come on, kid, I'll help you with that." Dev stared at them both dumbly as they left the kitchen together.
"I can get this. You can go away now," Brayden protested warily.
"It is fine," Kiev stated ignoring Dev's snicker. "Everest is in a foul mood. You shouldn't have been left alone with him in the first place."
"I said I don't need your help," Brayden hissed upset with him. "Please, just give me the stuff and go away." He couldn't let Kiev know the king was ill.
"Look, I am trying to help you. Everest is...I don't know what his problem is, but I assure you he can be in a sweet, charming mood one second and a complete asshole the next! You are far too young to have to deal with that kind of stuff!"
"I am nine," the boy snarled at him moving along the halls trying to lose him by walking faster. Kiev sped up in exasperation. "I can probably take care of him better than you can!" He turned to glare at Kiev who stopped startled by his sudden angry assault. They were just outside the door to the king's chambers. Kiev glanced at the doors in fear.
"I didn't mean to imply..."
"You did," the boy protested.
"Listen, you little mutt," Kiev growled growing angry by his attitude, "I meant grown up business, not servant stuff!" He grabbed him as swift and unexpected as only a cat can move by the arm and shook him. Brayden jerked away not liking it that the older male could catch him like that. "You will deserve it if he throws you down and has his way with you. I was trying to warn you and help, but you won't listen, you stupid brat!"
"He isn't gay," Brayden whispered turning suddenly pale as he realized what the other servant was saying. Obviously he wasn't the only one to notice the king's sudden shift in attitude.
"No," Kiev asked belligerently. "I thought that too, but you know what...I was wrong...and so are you." He turned around striding away from Brayden after he laid down the items he had helped him tote. Kiev turned back at the end of the hall. "Just be careful, fang face, he is fast and strong."
"Thanks for the warning, catnip," Brayden drawled irritated.
"Fur ball," Kiev snarled as he turned again to leave, but he stiffened mid-turn when he heard Brayden whisper 'kitty, kitty' behind his back. "See if I ever try to help you again," he warned in a low, dangerous growl.
