PeaceMaker

"Just a moment…" Axel responded, tightening the hold of the bandage. He needed to wrap the wound multiple times, so the bottom layer had to be the tightest. He knew it was going to hurt, but it was for his prince's good.

Dominic shuddered intensely, the pain wiping his mind clean and sending his mind down a spinning tunnel as his vision blurred further.

"And…" Axel muttered absentmindedly as he wrapped the last pieces of the bandage around Dominic's arm and then quickly taped it down. He slapped Dominic's arm playfully, "you're done, your majesty!"

Dominic's head turned drowsily as he tried to find balance in the spinning world around him. "It's over?" he asked, his voice slurring slightly.

"Yup!" Axel nervously grinned, wondering if he had taken the king to be's kindness for granted. "Would you like me to move on to cleaning your other wounds?"

Dominic laid down on the bed, waiting for the dizziness to pass. "No thank you, Axel," he rejected immediately, "give me some time to recover first before your next treatment."

"Haha…" Axel chuckled hesitantly, wondering if that translated to a death sentence before giving a deep bow and exiting the room.

Litian locked eyes with Axel for a brief moment then looked away quickly, feeling slightly threatened by the cold stare his gray eyes gave her.

"What is it, Litian?" Dominic asked, wondering why she hadn't left with him, "did you have something to tell me?"

Litian stared at Axel's back for a moment before turning back to Dominic. "In all honesty your highness, I don't think you should use him as a doctor," Litian suggested as she greeted him with a bow, "there's something about him that just gives me… shivers."

Dominic looked at Litian through the tiny slits his eyes could afford to open to, "I would love to accept your request but sadly," he raised his left hand shakily and pointed to the wound on his right arm, "I need the best doctor I can get to heal these wounds."

Litian looked at the bleed marks that stained his outfit and at the bandage on his arm. Although he had changed outfits from his war-gear a while ago, his cuts had bled through his clothing already and were in severe need to be taken care of. She looked away and sighed, "fine… just be on guard."

"Are you commanding your prince?" Dominic teased.

"I-" Litian blushed, then deeply bowed, "I WOULD NEVER, MY PRINCE!!"

Dominic let out the faintest chuckle and then looked up at the ceiling of the tent silently, "how's it looking out there?"

Litian's blush disappeared immediately and she stood up straight, the color on her face darkening. "there's a lot more than we thought there would be…" she muttered, clenching her hand into a tight fist, "the death toll is a lot higher than we expected it to be." Litian stared at her feet, tears forming at the edges of her eyes as she clenched her fist even tighter. "There are so many people… so many friends… so many soldiers that were found dead."

Dominic stared at the ceiling longer, his eyes slowly focusing on the dirt brown of the ceiling.. "Sigh…" he exhaled, "I expected it… but it sounds much worse hearing it myself."