Wild Heart

Rose Elken

“You do know you have to stay still if you want me to heal you.”

The wolf I had been tending to in the Lykos Castle growled as I applied a salve of various herbs to his wounds, placing his jaw around my hand, making me aware that he could bite my hand off if he wanted to.

“If you wanted to, you would have already done so.”

The wolf huffed as I gently pushed his maw away, flopping to his side as he exhaled deeply.

“I know it stings, but you have to bear it if you do not want an infection to spread.”

I cooed to him while I stroked his paw, trying my best to distract him from the stinging.

“You truly are an odd one, Rose.”

I did not even raise my head as prepared the cloth to wrap around the salve.

“I believe this is the tenth time you have told me that, My King. It starts to lose its element of being an insult after the fifth.”

The wolf growled as King Xander moved closer to us, trying to pull himself from the ground so as to move between the two of us.

“It was never an insult, Rose, just an observation that amazes me each time I have to say it. Most of the women in my court would balk at the thought of having to go into the forest alone, but yet you do so without a second though or having a care that you would be trudging through mud in order to get the herbs you needed.”

I let out a soft laugh as I recalled his expression when he caught me carrying an armful of herbs back into my study, mud staining the hem of my dress and rips from thorns littering my sleeves.

“You have been generous in allowing me access to all the books in your library, My King, but those are merely documentations of men who have never left the comfort of their studies… many of their recordings are either too vague or missing.”

I handed him a copy of one of the guides that I had been pouring over.

“The author states that peppermint oil should be administered to those who suffer from indigestion, when in actual fact, peppermint oil can be toxic to those who use it in the long run. He should have instead written that the leaves of the plant itself be administered instead.”

I heard King Xander hum before I felt a body lean against my back. I turned my head and dropped my jaw as I realised that he was using me as a back rest to lean on while he read the book.

“My King, do you not think what you are doing now is something highly improper for a ‘man of your standing’.”

He must have caught the sneer in my voice as he laughed before playfully hitting me on the head with the book, leaning back even further causing me to have to hunch over to accommodate the extra weight.

“I am the King of Avarelia, Rose, what I deem proper is proper.”

I scoffed at his words before slapping a hand over my mouth. He noticed my actions and laughed even louder.

“There is no need to mind your speech with me, Rose, it provides a nice change for me when someone actually speaks to me sincerely of what they think instead of cautiously with honeyed words in an attempt to garner my favour so that they can get what they want out of me.”

I hummed as I took his words into consideration.

“Thank you for the honour, My---”

“And there is no need for the honorifics, Rose. You address Maxwell, Stephen, and even Orion by their names, so why do you not do the same for me?”

I stuttered as I tried to understand his question, the tone of his voice matching one of a left out child.

“You are the King, the whole kingdom knows you as that, even Stephen address you by your title.”

I felt a vibration that worked its way up my spine as he hummed, flipping the pages of the book aimlessly.

“Well then, as your King, I hereby order you to address me by my name from now on, it would be an offence should you address me by my title.”

He got up before grabbing my waist to turn me so that I faced him directly, his eyes trailing to the wolf as it growled at his actions.

“Why does your pet hate me so?”

I raised my eyebrow at him, my head tilting as I gave him time to process his question once more.

“My… Xander, I do not think you would be kind to the man who wounded you.”

He smiled as I addressed him by his name before he pondered my statement, lifting me up slightly as I yelped in protest before he placed me by his side. My mouth agape as I he stretched his hand out towards the wolf who bared his fangs, head moving back readying to strike.

“I apologise for what I did to you.”

My jaw dropped even further as the wolf sniffed Xander’s hand before returning to lay on his side.

Xander turned to look at me smugly before using the tips of his fingers to close my jaw. He opened his mouth to say something before the door to my study swung open.

“Rose, I was wondering if you wanted to accompany me on a walk in the gar---”

I stilled like a hunted deer as Stephen’s voice rang through the room, he too doing the same when he saw the position that his brother and I were in.

I stuttered as I stood up flustered while Xander laughed, leaning back on his elbows as he drank in my misery.

He left me to frantically try and come up with a way to explain myself before he chose to be merciful. Getting to his feet, and dusting himself on nonchalantly.

“I will return soon to receive to enquire about the health of my esteemed guest, Rose. I expect him to be treated like royalty.”

My cheeks were stained with pink as he bent down to take my hand and place a kiss on the back of it. His lips lingered before he stood back up, walking to clap Stephen on the shoulder before leaving the room, stopping only to turn with a wide smile.

“I expect you to continue to follow the order I gave, and do compile a journal of the errors you have found. I would like to bring it up with my court if we are indeed administering the wrong sort of treatment to my people.”

He once again left me speechless before my eyes wandered to Stephen’s who looked upon me reproachfully.

“What order?”

I shook my head as I gathered my thoughts, rubbing my hands on my apron in an effort to hide my nervousness.

“Oh, nothing worth worrying about. Your brother just ordered me to address him by name instead of his title.”

I moved to stroke the wolf’s coat one last time before sitting behind my desk, stacking back my books as Stephen walked to stand in front of me.

“Even I have to address him by his title when I speak to him… Why would he let you call him by his name?”

I shrugged my shoulders as I opened my journal to pen down the errors I had picked up from the other books. My annoyance piqued when Stephen slammed his hand down on my journal causing my pen to strike off a phrase that I was writing.

“What did he want in return? More than that even, when has he ever paid attention to your work?”

I raised my eyebrows at the anger in his tone, treading carefully as I searched his expression.

“He wanted nothing, Stephen. He just wanted me to treat him in the same way I treat Orion, Maxwell, and you. And I will have you know that he is interested in the welfare of his people, as good king should be.”

He kept his hand on my journal while he pondered my words.

“You address Orion and Maxwell by name as well?”

I hummed as I looked for a rag to clean the spilled ink while I felt his eyes burn a whole into my skull.

“I thought you would have noticed, Stephen.”

He made no remark as he moved his hand from my book, watching me silently as I mopped up the ink.

“You should be cautious, Rose. Xander does not give anything without being sure that he would get something in return…so what does he want from you?”

I shrugged once more as I placed the rag to the side.

“He just wants someone to be honest with him, and to be treated like everyone else. That is not a crime, Stephen.”

“I never said it was---”

“Then I would appreciate if you would stop interrogating me as if I was an accomplice to a crime.”

There was a tense silence between us before I sighed, breaking it.

“You came here to ask me something. What is it?”

He scoffed before turning to leave, stopping at my doorway just like his brother.

“Oh, nothing worth worrying about.”