After confirming with his partner, Jurao took his leave of the gardens to get to his work for the day. An hour or so after he’d begun, Feyl breezed into his office, and Minaz with him.

“How did the rounds with the priest go?” his best friend asked, flopping into one of the chairs across from Jurao’s desk.

“He is traditionally minded,” Jurao replied, “But Braelin stood up to him well enough, and the gardens support him.”

Feyl chuckled, “So, what were the two of you discussing before Milve’s arrival?”

Minaz snorted, “Yeah - Hujur said you jumped out of your seat like a Ringed Grass Leaper.”

“Ah,” Jurao nodded, feeling his face start to flush again, “I had asked Alae for help in explaining queerplatonic relationships, and I mentioned that I had felt sexually attracted to Braelin previously during the conversation.”

“You hadn’t mentioned it before?” Minaz raised her left brows with a wry smile.

“Why would he have?” Feyl snorted.

Jurao nodded, “Indeed - it simply had not come up in previous conversation.”

“Alright,” Minaz leaned forward, “But that couldn’t have been enough for you to jump out of your chair and still be… gods, you really are blushing.”

The King hummed, then set his work aside, “Just before Hujur arrived, Braelin asked if I was, perhaps, interested in having sex with him.”

Feyl started laughing, “And what did you tell him?”

“Nothing,” Jurao shrugged, “Hujur came through the door before I could respond.”

“Fuck,” Minaz chuckled, leaning back again, “Did he say whether or not he was interested?”

The King shook his head, “No, he only asked if I was.”

“Perhaps I should find another place to be this evening,” Feyl suggested with a grin, “Unless you think you might have questions.”

“Well,” Jurao said, feeling his face heat further - but it felt as though a soft wall had erected itself in his mind, preventing him from considering further.

However, before the conversation could continue, Gaele burst through the door, shouting, “Your highness!”

Jurao rose from his seat - they were clearly panicked, and if it were enough for them to charge through his door, the news could not bode well, “Lordis Gaele, what-”

“Braelin! He, oh, uh,” they shuffled back from the doorway, uncertain, “I didn’t - uh - mean, I mean, I-”

Jurao was around his desk and in front of them in a moment, placing a reassuring hand on their shoulder, “Gaele, it’s fine - breath.”

They did - squeezing their eyes shut and taking a few deep breaths before gathering themself enough to say, “Braelin collapsed earlier; he’s at the medical wards now.”

“Thank you,” Jurao said, patting their shoulder before taking off.

“I didn’t…” they started.

But the King was moving too fast to listen - whatever it was, he could hear it later.

By the time he arrived at the Noble Wards, Braelin’s family was there speaking with Kloy - Vajur, of all people, standing nearby.

“My lord,” Kloy said, looking up, “Braelin is currently in surgery - I was just letting his family know.”

Petal had been trembling next to Owren, but glided over to Jurao at the acknowledgment - climbing onto the King’s back with ease.

Jurao allowed it, the weight making little difference to him as he asked, “Surgery.”

“Yes,” Kloy sighed, looking at the door behind him, “With a few human specialists physicians I recently hired - I noticed before that some kind of shard was embedded under the scar tissue on his chest. I thought it was too risky to attempt removal when humans only have one heart, but I believe something jostled it, causing his collapse. Vajur brought him in, and we rushed him into surgery. I am only assisting, which is why I came out to make everyone aware of the situation.”

The Royal Physician was dressed in a simple, undyed tunic with sleeves tied against his wrists and his hair pulled into a low bun under a cloth wrap - typical surgery garb, as far as Jurao knew.

“Vajur,” the King looked to his spymaster.

“I,” he shifted his weight uncomfortably, tail twitching, “I’ve been… monitoring Braelin to make sure he wasn’t plotting anything. I’d intended to end my surveillance today, so I just happened to be nearby, is all.”

“I need to get back inside,” Kloy said, “But please feel free to wait here until we’re done. I’ll update you all as soon as I’m able.”

“I didn’t even know he was injured,” Meir’ril said, sitting in a chair nearby and staring at the floor.

Kloy frowned but nodded to Jurao before taking his leave.

“He didn’t want to worry you,” the King said, feeling numb as he took his own seat, “You or Ayelma.”

“We spoke of it,” Owren sighed, tapping his cane lightly on the ground, “Fool boy didn’t mention it was still hurting him.”

The words were harsh, but the tone was soft and empty.

“He mentioned it to me,” Jurao offered, not sure what exactly to do with himself, “But I had not realized it was so… severe.”

Petal patted his face gently, settled around his shoulders like a cowl.

Ayelma was pacing, biting at her nails, “Ugh! He’s always like this! I knew there was a reason he kept rubbing that spot on his chest; I knew it!”

“Aya,” Meir’ril said gently.

“I know!” she sighed, falling into the seat next to her brother - then up again a moment later, “I know, but I just…”

Gaele reappeared - practically dragged by Minaz, with Feyl and Alae following after.

“What happened?” the valet asked, “And would you please tell Gaele you aren’t upset they told Braelin’s family he was injured before you.”

“Of course not,” Jurao said, glancing up, “They should be the first ones to know.”

Minaz helped the young lordis into one of the other chairs around the room, “See? It’s fine.”

They nodded quickly, then asked, “Will… will he be…?”

“We don’t know yet,” Jurao replied, “He’s in surgery.”

Gaele nodded again, looking as numb as the King felt as they looked at the floor.

Minaz sighed and looked at her partner, “And what are you doing here?”

“Vajur brought Braelin in,” the King said.

“I was just nearby,” Vajur huffed, “And that Crushfern doesn’t have any carry strength.”

Minaz snorted, then reached out and bumped her forehead against his, “Good job, stormy.”

“Whatever,” her partner replied but didn’t pull away.

Alae hummed uncertainly, “I’ll go back to the office in case anyone shows up.”

“Thank you, Alae,” Jurao said.

He and Feyl didn’t so much as do their customary exchange of mean smiles as they passed each other - and Feyl came to sit next to his best friend.

“I’m sure he’ll be fine,” the valet said, taking one of Jurao’s hands in his own, “Kloy made sure to hire the best.”

“Was a bit surprised to see an imp,” Owren said and sniffed, “‘Spect you’re right, though - fool boy wouldn’t die before his staff is all trained, anyway.”

Meir’ril chuckled drily, “If it’s up to him, certainly not.”

They lapsed into silence as a group - Minaz and Vajur excused themselves after Hujur arrived, and they told him the situation. Ayelma alternated between pacing and sitting, one leg constantly bouncing as she did.

At one point, Milve arrived and asked, “I heard… he collapsed.”

“Yes,” Jurao stated, “Braelin is currently in surgery.”

The High Priest hummed, then turned, “I will appeal to My Lady.”

“Who was that?” Ayelma demanded.

“Milve, High Priest of Iescula,” Gaele answered, “Braelin is her Beloved, so she may be able to help.”

“Beloved?” Meir’ril asked.

“He carries her favor,” Jurao explained, “She is our goddess of plants and sieges.”

“Ah,” Meir’ril nodded, eyes falling back to the ground.

“Demon plant goddess,” Owren sighed and tilted his head, “Well, he was always fascinated by the idea of demon plants. Always treated plants more like pets, and that one’s the most animal-like plant I’ve seen yet.”

Jurao reached up to pat at some of the fern tendrils on his shoulder, “Yes, it is similar.”

They lapsed into silence once more - a butler bringing a cart of food for the midday meal and clearing the mostly full plates soon after.

It was some hours after that when Kloy finally emerged again, looking exhausted but smiling as he said, “We’re done, and Braelin will be just fine - Doctor Zede said the shard missed anything vital, so after a few weeks of rest, he’ll make a full recovery.”

“We’re keeping him in the wards for tonight, though,” an imp - presumably Doctor Zede, added. They stepped around Kloy, standing a little over five and a half feet tall, with dark brown skin covered in freckles under blue slash-like markings. Their coily, brown-black hair was pulled into a low horsetail, which they pulled out as they went on, “Hello, I’m Zede - I handled most of the surgery. We pulled a small crystal shard out of Lord Braelin’s chest - I suspect it to be magical in nature, but we’ll need to test it to confirm.

“He can be moved back to his quarters tomorrow but will need to stay on bed rest for at least a week and refrain from any heavy lifting for a month,” Zede went on, “I’ll have pain medication prepared for him by then. Any questions?”

“Can we see him?” Ayelma asked, running up to the doctor.

“Yes, but be quiet,” Zede replied, “He is still asleep and needs the rest.”

“This way,” Kloy said, “He’s in one of the private rooms.”

“I’ll go let Hujur and Minaz know,” Feyl said, putting a hand on Jurao’s shoulder before taking off.

“I’m too old to keep worrying like this,” Owren sighed, getting to his feet with a groan.

Meir’ril had been right on his sister’s heels, so Jurao offered his partner’s uncle support to walk after them.

The older human snorted, but accepted the offered arm, “Never thought that boy’d find a partner - but if he did, I knew they’d be a good ‘un.”

Jurao smiled briefly at the compliment and noticed Gaele hanging back.

“Um,” they said, looking down as Jurao caught their gaze.

“I’m sure Braelin wouldn’t mind if you checked in,” the King said.

Owren snorted, “I’d say not - speaks very highly of you, and the gardens will keep for few more hours.”

Gaele nodded, shuffling awkwardly behind them.

As Kloy had said, Braelin was in one of the private rooms in the healing ward - he’d been dressed in a simple tunic and appeared to be sleeping peacefully in a bed much too large for him with plain sheets.

Jurao helped Owren to one of the seats against the wall - Ayelma was sitting on the edge of the bed with her head in her hands, her brother seated next to her and patting her shoulder. Gaele remained by the door and soon bowed a little before leaving - appearing more at ease after confirming Braelin was alright with their own eyes.

Jurao walked around to sit on the edge of the other side of the bed, finally feeling like he could breathe again. He reached out and gently smoothed back his partner’s hair - Petal shuffling down from his shoulders to curl itself by the man’s feet.

“Thank the gods,” Ayelma breathed, “I couldn’t stand it if we’d lost him so soon after finding him again.”

“Yeah,” Meir’ril agreed, misty-eyed, “That… yeah.”

What would I have done, Jurao thought, If I had lost you?

He didn’t know, but he was sure it would have hurt for a very long time.

It wasn’t much longer before another doctor arrived - an ogre who knocked before stepping into the room. The rare kind of elf with demonic heritage, the opposite of an arcane demon. They were about eight feet tall, with powder blue skin and the stripes common to Autumn Elves. Like demons, they had small tusks and black sclera - but their hooves were cloven, and their singular horn in the center of their forehead was very short. Their straight black hair was split into two braids over either shoulder.

“Hello, I’m Zede’s partner, Yashile,” they greeted with a slight bow, “I have determined the nature of the crystal shard she extracted from Lord Braelin. It is from a magical weapon known as a Shard Spear - if he had been in close contact with the wielder of the weapon, they could have used its magic to cause much greater harm. Fortunately, now that the shard is removed, there will be no lingering effects.”

“Fucking Ferrick!” Ayelma huffed - but quietly.

“Whoa, Aya,” Meir’ril frowned.

“No,” Owren almost spat but refrained, “She’s got the right of that.”

“Thank you, doctor,” Jurao nodded.

Yashile nodded to the room and took their leave.

They remained as long as they were allowed - but Kloy did arrive during the evening to ask that they all go to sleep for the night and leave Braelin to his rest.

Jurao found Feyl waiting for him in his suite.

“Do you want me to stay?” his best friend asked, “I know I slept better next to you when… well. You know.”

“I would appreciate that,” the King replied, nodding as he headed straight for his room.

It helped to feel Feyl’s back pressed against his own - but sleep was still difficult to find that night.