Although he enjoyed the time he spent with his family for the next few days, especially with Sparrow, Jayden was still concerned about his people being out in the middle of the desert, facing the unknown. Not even his Aunt Angela knew what was going on out there. He was sure that his mother didn’t want him going out there, but she was in no position to argue with him and he had his father’s blessing. Besides, he was a capable warrior and knew how to handle himself. Besides, both his father and sisters were there to look after the Queen and the youngest prince while he was out.

But who would be protecting the others if he wasn’t around? He didn’t want to have that on his conscious, not if he could have done something about it. So when the time arrived, he packed his things, prepared his horse and gave his goodbyes to his family before riding off towards the location of the camp that Belle was at. It took half a day of riding before he found it, and met with the guards with a letter with his family’s seal. “I’ve been sent here to help, perhaps you may tell me where Belle Rose is?”

They pointed him to her tent and he stationed his horse and proceeded to head inside the tent but refrained. “Belle? You there?”, he called out, figuring that she may had wanted her privacy. 

Belle was busy as always taking care of the soldiers who came to see her. So when she got a bit of a breather she went back in her tent and laid down. She had blood all over her dress and her blonde hair was a mess from the heat. The healer fell asleep with no real care in the world.

It was sometime after that the knocking on her tent pole happened. “I’m coming… I’m coming.” She yawned and got up as she rubbed her eyes and opened the flap to the tent. “Yes?” She said it so sleepily before her blue and silver eyes latched onto Jayden’s form. “J-J-Jayden…” She panicked as she let the flap almost slap forcibly shut. “I didn’t know it was you or I would have… straightened up… more?” She got a brush and started to brush her curls out.

“Come in… Please… I just… I was startled. I didn’t think you would be coming out here. It’s dangerous Jay you should go home. Things have gotten really bad… There's all these undead mummies, a ghost city, and now Mother has to put a barrier up around the outpost so we can at least sleep at night."

Her reaction wasn’t…what he had been expecting in the least. He found himself nearly laughing at his cousin. As he calmed down, he entered the tent and look around for a moment. Clearly they were working her like a dog these days. Her appearance spoke loudly of it. “No need to get straightened up, it’s just me.” He waved it off as if his appearance here was nothing.

Her words brought a slight chuckle from his lips when it came to the danger. “And this is why I’m my mother’s son. I don’t run from danger- I’ve been trained for years to be a soldier and some undead and a city that popped out of nowhere.” He wasn’t fearless by any means, but he was ready to do what he must for his family and home. "Suppose that this is what Aunt Angela was speaking of when she said that this was a worse problem than mere raiders."

“Besides, I would have told you to go home yourself if you could. I’m here to help make sure you lot get home safe and sound.”

“It’s rude to be a mess in front of family… Or so my mother says.” Belle chuckled a bit as she tiredly tried to straighten herself out. “It’s no problem Jayden. I don’t particularly like people I know seeing me as an utter disaster.”

Belle flashed him a smile and she tilted her head. “How is Toya? She was barely able to stay awake the last time I saw her. I do hope she is feeling at least a bit better.” Her voice was a bit nervous showing she wasn’t completely over what had happened. “And I’m a trained healer for years… No undead are going to keep me from my job so I guess we’re just going to have to work together… Now, aren’t we?” She grinned a bit before losing it to his last sentence. “Yes, it is a lot worse than she had thought though. They can now pinpoint exactly what caused all of this and Mother feels terrible.”

There was that smile again as he opened his mouth. “You know I wouldn’t leave Jayden. I have an oath I took as a healer. I take it very seriously, also running away seems kind of cowardly. If you are here at least I have protection. Besides, I’ve traveled to the worst parts of the slums in Vilpamolan by myself and made it back alive… I think a few mummies won’t bother me.” She chuckled. “You can always stay right close if you have to.”

Jay kind of shrugged it off, he wasn’t too worried about those sorts of family traditions. He didn’t t feel as though that really mattered on the battlefield. There was plenty of time to worry about it after the fact, but he refrained from speaking it out of respect for his cousin.

“She was faring alright, still spitting out hellfire even though she needs my father’s help to move around. But nothing’s been able to tear Sparrow out of her arms unless he’s with Father. Think she’s got a new favorite son.” It was of course a jest, but he knew how special boy Rosenites were among the families, particularly with the White Roses. 

Jayden nodded and crossed his arms. Of course he knew that she had her obligations just like he did, and neither were going away from here any time soon. “Well, guess we are stuck together then. Figured as much, Belle.” Soon his hands moved to the back of his head and paced around a bit. He was a bit confused about how this invasion of sorts had to do with the gods, his aunt in particular. “Why does she feel bad about it? It’s not like Aunt Angela can control this situation.”

“I know…you don’t need to tell me you won’t leave. Even if I was to ask you. But I’ll take your word for it and will make sure that you and everyone else gets home safe and sound. If I don’t try to, I fear the wrath of both our mothers.” He chuckled a bit, but he knew that to be certain that there was some truth in those words. “So, what were you doing in Vilpamolan anyway. You don’t seem to fit the tough customer profile. But hey, maybe I shouldn’t worry about you after all… ”

Belle chuckled just a bit at hearing how Toya was doing. The woman had fire and brimstone in her blood that much was for sure. “She’s a damn good mother Jayden. Of course, she wouldn’t let Sparrow get away that easily. A mother dragon is what she reminds me of most.” There was another chuckle as she thought of how vicious the White Queen could be but how docile she was with her mate and children. It was an interesting thing really. “I don’t know, I think she would throw a tantrum if something even remotely happened to you bad or otherwise.”

Thinking on the situation Belle just shrugged. “It has to be because this is old god magic. It’s a lot more powerful than gods like my mother. The legends the older gods have is what makes people terrified. People won't soon forget when a god missteps. Often they blame the others. I think Mother is worried about people blaming her for not being able to do enough.”

It was her healer’s duty to stay with the camp. Even if Jayden had pleaded with her she would have refused to go home. A soft smile crossed her lips and she nodded. “You are a good knight Jay. Your mother and father trained you just right. I also worry much more about your mother’s wrath than my own.” She offered a chuckle. “Vilpamolan? Well, I do a lot of traveling and healing in areas that often don’t have enough silver to pay for a high-end healer. It helps me get experience and helps spread my mother’s faith as well. She lets me use the tiny healer offices around Canelux so I can have places to stay while I’m there. The last time I was in Vilpamolan I ended up having a guard on me so it’s not that I’m scary as much as I just don’t know any better.”

She was sure that it didn’t make him feel any better hearing that but it was what it was. They spent a lot of time together in the camp. Often it was because Belle would be assigned to go out into the desert and retrieve people. Jayden had often volunteered to be the one to go with her so it ended up being a lot more time than she originally thought. They ate their dinner together mostly so the other had company.

One particular night Belle had completely forgotten to meet him for dinner near the food tent. Instead, she was in her own tent. Blood covered most of her robes today as she dropped them. It had been an emergency. Blotches of blood had soaked through her clothes and got all over her skin. She kicked the robes away and let her hair out of the bun it was in. Blood had managed to get there as well. Beetles were a pain and more often or not it caused more messes than it was worth.

Taking a cloth she got the cool crisp water from her washbowl and began to make sure the blood came off. She was so focused on it that she missed whatever commotion happened on the outside of her tent. There was just too much blood on her skin for her to care.

“I see. Aside from Aunt Angela, I really don’t know too much about the gods as a whole. Not really a detail my folks cared too much to elaborate, but it's still fascinating.” He heard tall tales and stories about them and could see with a more thoughtful mind as to why the goddess might have been worried. Despite not being well educated on that matter, it didn’t take too much to know that there were many people that disliked them for various reasons. “But I understand her concern over this matter. Hopefully this ends as soon as possible so that we can move forward.”

Of course he was concerned about her well being here since she was family, but Jayden also knew well enough that she wasn’t going anywhere due to her obligations. Not that he faulted her for it- he was very much in the same boat. He did chuckle a bit in surprise but she was right- he was his mother’s son and with her blood and his father’s training, he learned to be a strong individual as well as a knight. “Well, at least you are smart about it. Not many people are prepared to go about and help for the greater good.”

The days went by and when he wasn’t on patrol, he was sure to oversee that Belle was doing alright and even volunteer to escort her on retrieval missions. He also made sure to send word out to his folks about his well being whenever he could from those that were heading to and back from Sularia. He was sure that this conflict would come to an end soon enough so in the meantime, he made sure to be better acquainted with Belle over time. It hardly surprised him that his family didn’t have too much to do with hers, considering how their mothers were with one another and knew that his was especially reluctant to want anything more to do with his aunt.

—-

Today was a particularly rough day and finally his shift was over as he rode back to the camp. After making his reports, he yawned widely and dragged himself over to where he could smell the delicious food being cooked. Strangely, when he made it over to the tent, Belle was nowhere to be seen. It was odd because they would usually meet up here around this time, but sure enough, his search around the area produced no results.

Perhaps she was back at her tent? He asked around and someone did mentioned that she indeed headed back there as soon as she arrived back from her duties.

“Hey Belle, is everything alright?”, he came through without knocking. It was something he had made a habit of and thought nothing of it until he saw that she was naked. Immediately his hands covered up his eyes and his cheek were flushed red. “Sorry! I’m sorry! I didn’t know…” Jay was cursing his luck know, he should have known better that something was up if she had rushed back here so quickly. “You weren’t attacked, were you?” His voice still carried the embarrassment from his rudeness.

It had honestly slipped her mind. Normally it had been the best part of her day but today had been rough and uncaring for her feelings. Bags had started to form under her eyes from the sheer exhaustion. Though she jumped and covered herself with the wet cloth as best she could as she turned away from Jayden. Her face was now fiercely flush as she got a blanket and tied it around herself. The blood was still dripping from her where she had started to wash it off. “No… You didn’t know.” Her words stumbled a bit.

She was quick on her feet as she came over to him and hugged herself to him. At the moment where she was at her weakest, she let her sobs come out. “No, but…” She buried her wet hair and face into his chest. Her arms were gingerly around him even in her great distress. “It was terrible Jay.” Her dark blue eyes looked up at him as the tears streamed out. “I’ve never seen anything like this before. The beetles they…” She shook her head and put it deep into his chest.

“They ate a man from the inside out Jayden. That could have been you… I was so scared when it got called. You were out patrolling and suddenly the call for clerics came in… A patrol unit got ambushed and I was so scared but I couldn’t look for you. I had to deal with those things before they infested the camp.” Her words began to choke as she hugged herself to him. “I was so scared. The blood…” She shivered as she began to pull at her hair to get it out. “It’s from… those things bursting out.” She wept as she began to collapse under her own weight. “I want it off.” She rubbed her eyes gently as she lost the reserve she had held all day.

“Help me get it off.” These beetles were one thing that the healers especially young had never dealt with. They unnerved even the strongest of people.

Great, this would be a lovely situation that he would have to explain to his folks. While his father might have a good laugh out of it, his mother, on the other hand, would likely scold him, but not because he was peeking at his cousin (which he certainly wasn’t trying to do). He remained at the door, though his own back to was turned to Belle while she covered herself up and when he heard her speak, Jayden hesitantly turned to face her again.

Gods, this was awkward.

But all his embarrassment was scattered to the wind when she came over to collapsed onto him. “Belle…” He called to her softly as he heard her crying and slowly wrapped his arms around her for support. “What happened?” He hadn’t seen her like this before and something must have stirred her greatly today, but what was beyond him. All he knew was that something got to her.

“Beetles?”, he repeated before recognizing what she was talking about. If it wasn’t the mummies they had to look out for, it was those damned bugs but from what he picked up, it was just tales spoken of how dangerous they were. He hadn’t believed in the rumors before, but what she was telling him made him think twice now.

He sighed softly as he stroked the back of her head as she explained what happened. “Don’t worry, I wasn’t near any of those things. It’s unfortunate for the victim though. But as you can see, I’m still alive and kicking” He tried to smile through the ordeal for her sake. He had worried for her about being on the frontlines, and the experience she just went through didn’t help matters. She was too shaken up by what happened to them and he kneeled down to keep her from falling to the ground.

“Belle, look at me. Look at me.” Jay brought his hands up to either side of her face and nudged her to look him in the eyes. “Don’t worry, we will get it off you, just breath.” He stood back up and went to fetch one of the damp cloths before he came back and started to try and clean her hair of the blood. “It won’t be too long before this is all over, and we won’t have to think of the bugs or the undead here or anything else. We will return home safe and sound, no matter what. I promise you that.”

Through her panic, it was his voice that calmed her down. Belle looked up at him with heaving breaths and nodded to him. His hands were warm and soothing. Looking at her further it could be seen where she had roughed her face up with the cloth in an attempt to get it off. After he got the cloth they sat on the ground and he helped her clean her pale blonde hair. She was really quiet until he began to talk to her more.

“Promise?” She looked up at him and smiled a bit. She nodded a bit more and leaned into him. She didn’t care if her body only had a towel on. Taking labored breaths she just closed her eyes as she leaned into him after taking his arms and wrapping them around her. It felt safe and she didn’t want to admit it but once in a while she would look up at him and blush a bit. “Will you stay with me tonight, please? It would make me feel safer.”

She gripped his hand and brought her face up to kiss his cheek. Her forehead now rested against his cheek as she shivered now. The cold desert air was now settling in but she was too weak to get up as she pulled his arms around her more. “Don’t leave me alright?” Her stomach growled lightly but she ignored it. It was the last thing on her tired mind as she sank into his arms and put her head on his shoulder and neck. He smelled like all Rosenites but there was that lycanthrope and sweat smell. Most likely from his time out in the desert today. It smelled good.

“I just want to be over so we can go home. I dislike war but… I am a healer too. I am just startled by something I’ve never seen before. It upsets me more that I panicked about it.” Her voice was so soft as she spoke to him about why she was so upset. “That I was so unprepared for it. To watch my mother swing in like it was nothing… I know she has so much more experience over me but I’m still envious of her. I just want to be strong.”