"You should start taking off your dress."
Belladonna frowned, attempting to move away from him, but finding her feet refusing her command, her whole body was, in fact, refusing her command.
Eli did not observe her nervousness and if he did, he didn't show it as he went into the room and placed his mask on the bed. He moved through the space like he owned it, it was a sight to behold. One Belladonna could not fully appreciate because of her racing heart.
He looked back at her and arched her a questioning eyebrow.
"You should have undressed by now, Donna."
"All of it?" She managed to ask and he frowned, looking at her with deep assessment.
"That gown especially. You have to change that, it is stained with dirt." He covered the distance between them in three large strides and held her wrist, leading to her wardrobe. "Did you fall on your way to the den?"
Belladonna's brows knitted into a line as she tried to remember if that had happened.
Had she?
Oh, she had!
She had fallen, but it almost seems like it hadn't happened at all, because of how much her mind was set on getting to the dungeon in time to save Lytio.
Eli observed her face and how it brightened with realization. That only made him angrier with Lytio and insecurity reared its ugly head, jealously taking over his heart and doing the dance of envy but he pushed it right back, suppressing it instead into the far back of his mind.
He wasn't a child to allow something like this to tick him off so easily, but he found himself clenching his fist around the tiny wardrobe door and not throwing it off its hinges as he pulled it open, was suddenly a herculean task.
"I want to redress your wounds. Come to bed when you are ready. I will not look." Then he paused. "If you need my help---"
"I will be fine on my own, thank you."
He nodded, then left without sparing her a glance, and she heaved a sigh of relief when she realized that what she feared wasn't what he had in mind.
A lot had happened tonight, she was glad that no one had died, but there was still so much to worry about.
Belladonna had selected the first sleeveless nightrobe she could find. She was a little nervous and the fact that Eli seems to be tensed, with anger lacing his words and actions, didn't help.
She rushed into the bathroom, returning shortly with the blue, armless nightrobe on. It was knee length.
Safe.
Then she went to the bed and in silence, he redressed her wounds.
Flipping the first aid box shut, he said, "You must rest. Completely rest. Please, do not push me to take extra measures for that to happen."
"Extra measures like what?" She asked from plain curiosity.
He stared straight at her. "Tying you to the bed."
Oh. Well, she didn't want that.
He was gruff and his usually sweet demeanor was rough around the edges.
He pushed the first aid box to one corner of the room, muttering something underneath his breath, before he grabbed his mask and headed straight to the door.
"Is there something I can use for the body ache?"
He stopped, looking at her.
"Like an herb or..."
"Too much will have an effect on you."
That meant she had already been given before.
"Oh." She sighed in defeat, falling back into bed.
There was silence for a moment before she felt his presence by her bed, he slid down on one knee, heaving a sigh before he asked, more relaxed.
"Where does it hurt?"
"Mostly my legs. My head too but I think that is just from the vase." She tried to laugh it off but his frown only deepened.
Why was he so angry?
He stood up, rolling up the sleeves of his vermillion robes, setting aside his mask, then he settled at the end of the bed and started massaging her legs.
The tension seemed to seep away a little, she could feel it but his shoulders were still tensed, although his hands were gentle as he applied just the right pressure to get things done.
Whatever rage he felt, he was trying not to pass the aggression of it, on her.
Could this be because she had tried to save Lytio? Of course, he didn't know about her reasons yet, and this seemed like the right time to tell him. So she told him everything without leaving one out. She had not forgotten to include the poison part too and she had been surprised when Eli told her about Mayti and how he had handled it.
He had caught the glint of pride in her eyes and despite his anger, he stored that look away in a place where the memory would remain safe forever in his heart.
He felt pity for him, yes, but was it enough for him to feel that he deserved complete escape from punishment?
No.
One should suffer the consequences of their action. Using the past to justify their present wrong should not have an excusatory effect, instead, a diminishing one at best.
"We went out to seek the one with the White Aura."
"The what?"
His hands stilled on her legs and he looked up at her, explaining everything Kestra had told him to her, and how it had been difficult to even find anyone with such aura or relating to it. How the trail they had followed had led to a dead end thrice.
Three times!
"There are two possibilities. One being that the essence had lacked so much life, it had tampered with Kestra's sight, or that this person is really good at hiding." He ended.
Belladonna let out a sigh.
Neither was good.
If Lady Kestra wasn't able to see who actually was behind this, then there were more attacks coming, that is for sure.
If the person was really good at hiding too, then it meant the same thing.
Either way, she was still at risk of getting killed... and falling asleep during this conversation.
Eli's hands were so relaxing.
"Do not worry, my Donna. No harm will come upon you."
"Do you do this all the time?"
"I have had my fair chance to hone my skill."
Belladonna didn't even want to know more about that, afraid she wouldn't like what she would find if she dug deeper.
"Don't you think it would even be better if you had your gloves off?"
His hands stilled momentarily on her skin before they continued their work of wonder.
"I can not."
"Wh--" she had started to ask when she suddenly remembered the reason.
Those poisonous lines that designed his hands, hidden away with these gloves, would kill her.
Belladonna was forcing herself to stay awake and when he stood up she tried to find out things from him, asking about what he would do to her family but he had told her to sleep and let him take care of everything.
She didn't want to but sleep was a more powerful warrior than she would ever be.
"You do not want me to take Lytio's life, am I correct?"
"Yes."
"Then I will not touch his life." He pulled the blanket over her, and tucked a pillow by her side. Then he pressed a kiss on her forehead "Goodnight."