Creeping Vines

Rose Elken

“Would you hold still?”

I gritted my teeth as I held onto the arm of the struggling monarch as he tried his best to evade the salve that I wanted to apply to his shoulder.

“You are acting exactly like Jem when I tried to heal him. Why won’t both of you let me do my job in peace? An ten minute job lengthens into a hour’s long work because of your childishness. I could have gone back to my books…”

I sighed as I thought dreamily of the stacks of books awaiting me on my desks, Orion having delivered them when he returned with his brother…a better gift than the blood-soaked stains that Xander had gifted my couch.

“Maybe I do not want you to leave my side---Ow!”

I giggled as the mighty King yelped when I pressed the salve harder against his wound. His flirtatious expression twisting to one of indignation at my actions while he cradled his hand.

“Such sweet words, Xander, yet they do not return me the time you have stolen from me with your carelessness.”

He rolled his eyes before trying to sit up, no doubt to retort against my words. He made it about halfway to the position before he groaned in pain and fell back onto the cushions behind him. I could not help, but laugh at his misery as he glared at me.

“Never in my days would I have thought that a branch would be the reason I see you in my office. I also romanced of a brutal battle that would send you into the arms of my study, blood pounding in my ears as I frantically tried to save the beloved King of Avarelia…. But I guess healers cannot be choosers.”

He sneered at me as he self-consciously held his wound.

“It was an old hunter’s trap that we had laid years ago. How was I supposed to remember where the tripwire laid? I was directing my men when the next thing I know, something hits me square in the chest and I am laying on the ground with thorns in my flesh.”

I hummed in amusement at his rampant justification while I rummaged my bag, holding up different sizes of bandages.

“It seems that I would have to use the larger one for your shoulder, but it is unfortunate…”

I trailed of as my forehead pinched in concern. The playfulness draining from Xander’s face as he thought of the worst.

“That I do not have a a bandage big enough to wrap around your wounded pride.”

His mouth fell open at my joke before he gently kicked with his leg, before groaning in pain.

My laughter died down as I looked at his shirt, rips littering all over it with the tips of thorns jutting out.

“I need to pick those thorns out of you, Xander. Before you move and they burrow deeper into your flesh.”

Xander looked down at himself before smiling. Looking back up at me with a flirtatious expression on his face, his eyebrow suggestively raised as he leaned back, his sultry voice slowly leaving his lips.

“I suppose this means you have to strip me down, Rose… my vulnerable body is at your mercy.”

I scoffed once more before taking a pair of scissors to cut his shirt open.

“Now this just ruins the fun of it.”

He gave a small yelp as I flicked one of the thorns that jutted out from his chest.

“I am your healer, Xander, not one of the women who you can charm into bed.”

It was his turn to scoff.

“Do not speak of the obvious, Rose… I would not have needed to put in even a quarter of the effort to flirt if you were.”

I smiled as I shook my head before waving my tweezer in his face causing him to groan in annoyance.

“Do you really have to pull them out one by one? Is there any other tool that you have in that bottomless bag of yours that can pull them out all at once?”

I placed a hand over my chest as I feigned surprise.

“Is the Great Warrior King, who has survived sword stabbings and horse falls, afraid of removing needles?”

He stuttered as he turned away, pink staining his cheeks as he scoffed.

“It is always the little things that irritate, not hurt, me the most. A sword wound just centralises the pain, this tiny bastards however, tend to be scattered over an entire area.”

I cooed at him as if he were a child, clipping my tweezers at his face for the fun of it before I focused back on my work. Trailing my hand over his firm torso as I marked out the thorns I had to pull out, his abs tightening under my touch.

“Alright, I have them all down…”

I smiled as I looked at him again, stretching out my hand with a concern smile on my face.

“Do you wish to hold my hand to distract you from the pain?”

He rolled his eyes as he took my hand before pulling down so that my face was inches away from his.

“Not to quell the pain, Rose, just that I want to hold it.”

I shot back up and cleared my throat, letting my hair fall like a curtain to hide my pink cheeks, refusing to admit that he managed to get under my skin. He laughed at my reaction before the door to my study swung open causing Xander to groan as he realised who he was.

“Wonderful, another vulture to feed on my misery.”

I turned to smile at Orion as he sauntered in, his smile earing a close resemblance to a cat that had gotten the cream as his gaze fell on his brother.

“Forgive me, brother, but curiosity took the better of me. I was waiting outside in case the situation took a dire turn, but all I heard was groans and giggling, so I had to make sure that Rose here….”

He ruffled my hair which led to me pinching him with the tweezers, a yelp of pain leaving him as he cradled his hand.

“Was not taking advantage of my dear brother, so I had to come in to protect his virtue.”

I let out an incredulous scoff as I looked at the two brothers.

“Who in the world are you both to speak of virtue? Do you both have any left?”

Orion smugly smiled as he shook his head, not a single drop of shame on his face. I turned to Xander who innocently tilted his head with a clueless expression on his face.

“You wound me, Rose.”

Orion rest his head on my shoulder as he peered over to take a look at Xander, sniggering as he saw the numerous thorns I had to remove.

“This is going to be an even better form of entertainment than if I had caught the two of your fornicating.”

I tossed a bandage at his face, snickering once more as he ruffled my hair and moved to draw up a chair by his brother’s side. Watching with eager eyes as he gestured for me to continue.

“Two of the most respected and feared Royals by my side, and yet, it is like I am watching over children.”

Xander laughed before grimacing as I pulled out the first thorn, his brother continuing the laugh for him.

It took half of an hour to extract the forty-seven thorns that had claimed purchase Xander’s torso. I rolled my eyes at Orion’s form on my desk, he had laughed himself to the floor before going to my desk for support, wiping away the tears of laughter at his brother’s misery.

I wrung the cold towel in my hand before wiping away the sweat that had beaded up on Xander’s face as a result of the extraction.

He sighed in contentment at the touch of the cool fabric while I smiled down at him, brushing away gently at his hair that, due to his sweat, was plastered on his forehead.

“You are an angel, Rose.”

I laughed as I turned to soak the towel in cold water.

“Now you call me an angel, a while ago you had another set of choice words you used to describe me.”

Orion let out a loud laugh as he fell back onto my desk, the memory of it tickling him silly.

“I was a poor patient in pain, Rose, delirious even… you cannot take them to heart.”

I hummed before placing the towel on his forehead, taking up a small jar of miniature bandages that I moved to my lap.

“My heart bleeds for you, Xander.”

He hissed in annoyance as I placed dots of salve on the pin-pricks before covering them with the bandages. Wiping my forehead as I leaned back to admire my work.

“You should be healed in no time, Xander, unless you meet another nasty evil tree branch.”

He smiled before his eyes took on a flirtatious gaze once more.

“Have you not read fairy tales in your childhood, Rose? The only thing that can truly heal a King is a kiss from a fair maiden.”

I raised my eyebrow as I took in his expression, smiling as I played along.

“Are you in a great pain, Xander?”

He leaned back with his eyes closed, face contorting with a hilarious expression.

“I am practically on my death bed, Rose.”

I pursed my lips as I thought through my next move again, smiling as I leaned down to press my lips softly against his cheek.

Getting quickly to my feet as I saw his expression, mouth agape with wide eyes as he looked at me. I did not wait before gathering up his ripped shirt, and dirtied rags as I raced to the door.

“Rose—”

“Help your brother back up to his room, will you not, Orion?”

“Rose!”

He just silently nodded as he looked at me with an expression that mirrored his brother’s.

“I advise that he at least rests in bed for a day, not even leaving for court in order for me to ensure that no infections will spawn from his wounds.”

“As your King, I order---”

I did not even turn back as I ran out of the room, taking deep breaths with my head down as I walked past other officials, not wanting them to see the pink on my cheeks as I increased my speed to reach the servant’s who were in-charge of the washing.