Chapter Text
“Are you sure he’ll be fine?”
Karkat rubbed his eyes, unwilling to open them yet.
“I’ve been monitoring him closely and changing his bandages as needed. Besides his cough, which is lessening, he’ll be fine once he wakes up fully.”
He vaguely remembered being woken up a few times. That explains why his surroundings felt so off. He was in the infirmary, the memory of the night before flooding back into his waking brain.
“I just want to be sure. He’s been through a lot, and I don’t want to push him if he needs more time to heal.”
Karkat froze, his mind now registering the voices. That was the prince.
“This would have been a fantastic attitude to have a few weeks ago, but now it is unnecessary,” the physician said.
There was a long moment of silence.
Karkat wanted to cough, but he didn’t want to alert them he was awake yet.
“I-I’m sorry, highness, that was out of--”
“It’s fine. You’re right. I will do better to take your advice into account, so if you say he is fine to go out, I’ll trust you.”
“He’s not ready for battle of any sort, mind you, too exhausted, I’d wager. But if you’ll just be in meetings and on horseback, there’s no cause for concern.”
“Very well. Send him to my study when he wakes.”
“Yes, highness.”
There was the sound of a door closing, and Karkat finally let out the cough he’d been holding back.
The physician was at his side a moment later, handing him a cloth to hack into. It came away littered with black, but not as much as the previous night.
“Eavesdropping, are we?” the physician asked, amused.
Karkat shrugged sheepishly.
“Yes, well, you were bound to hear it eventually, since I’ve had to assure him you aren’t on death’s door ever since you stumbled in.”
Karkat’s brow furrowed. “He was here last night?”
She chuckled. “No, all yesterday. Not surprised you don’t remember it. You’ve been in and out, mostly out, since the night before.”
Karkat frowned. He didn’t like losing a whole day. “What else did I miss?”
“Nothing important. No imps, if that’s what you’re fearing. His highness mostly just sent off notices to various nobles he’d need to meet with, and spoke with his advisers. Even let his clerks do some paperwork, from what I hear.”
Karkat’s laugh quickly turned into a cough.
“Yes, I’m afraid that will keep happening for another day or two. Perhaps I should commission some masks if imps are to become a real issue.” She sighed. “Imps in Skaia, of all the strange and terrible things.”
They were silent for a moment, then she shook her head, “Well, Prince Diederik requested you as soon as you were ready, which I’m sure you heard, so let me check over you and change your bandages one more time and you’ll be good to go.”
Karkat nodded, and let the physician prod and examine him all over. Most of his bandages didn’t need to be put back on, since everything had been fairly shallow. The only thing that really irked him was his instructions not to wear his undershirt until his cough went away, just to be safe.
When the examination was done, he slipped off to his room to change into something more loose and layered, then made his way to the prince’s study.
There was a knock on the door to Dirk’s study.
“Come in,” he said.
The door opened and in stepped Strider.
Dirk stared at him.
“They wouldn’t let me see him,” Strider said.
“I-I instructed that they make sure he rested with no interruptions. I didn’t consider--”
“How is he?”
“He’s fine. Should be out today. We’ll be busy, but I can tell him--”
“No. That’s fine. He’s fine.” The tension left Strider’s shoulder and brow as he sighed.
Dirk wanted to say something else, but worried about breaking this… whatever it was.
“I--”
Strider cut him off with a look. “Keep him out of trouble, majesty . Don’t fuck this up.”
Before Dirk could say anything else, he left.
Karkat turned into the hall that led to the prince’s study and smacked right into someone.
He let out a shout and a grumbled, “Watch where you’re going,” then looked up and saw it was Dave.
He tried not to beam. “You’re back!”
Dave smiled as he straightened his clothes back out. “So are you. Feeling okay?”
Karkat’s body took this question as a good time to cough, more black gunk coming out onto the cloth the physician gave him.
He waved off Dave’s worried look. “I’m still fine. This’ll go away in a day or two. Everything else was minor.”
Dave hugged him tight, then released him when he started coughing again. “Sorry.”
Karkat waved that off too.
“You’re one lucky motherfucker, to come out with a couple scratches. Or unlucky for you to have gotten mobbed to begin with. I can’t tell which.”
“How about ‘extremely brave and talented to keep them all off me’?” Karkat offered.
Dave smirked. “Yeah, that, too.”
Karkat swatted him. “What are you doing here anyway?”
Dave shrugged. “Hoping to bump into you, I guess. They wouldn’t let me into the infirmary.”
“Yeah, well, apparently I was fuckin’ out basically all yesterday so you didn’t miss anything.”
“That’s what I hear. The captain’s worried about you, too. I’ll let her know you’re okay.”
“I’ll try to see her when I can. I don’t know what his majesty has planned for me.”
“That makes two of us,” Dave muttered.
Karkat gave him a questioning look.
“It’s nothing. Just try not to attract any more trouble, okay?”
“No promises,” Karkat laughed, this time managing not to turn it into a cough.
Dave clapped him on the shoulder. “Well, your liege awaits. See you around, ‘Kat.”
“Bye, Dave.”
He watched Dave go, trying not to think about how odd it was to see him in this wing of the castle. Wasn’t any of his business, he supposed.
He knocked on the door to the study.
“Come in,” the prince said.
If his voice sounded shakey, Karkat pushed that aside, as well.
Karkat pushed open the door and bowed. “You wanted to see me, majesty?” When he straightened, he saw the prince looking at him curiously, thumbing the thin, pink scar on his cheek.
He looked down on the papers on his desk and straightened them absently. “Yes, we have a lot to do this upcoming week. I have already sent out requests for the farther out lords to come in, or send someone who can speak on their behalf, but we can still meet with those in and around the city.” He moved the stack of papers to the side and stood up. “Lord Egbert will be our first stop, today, so let’s--”
Karkat’s stomach let out a loud growl. He felt his face redden as he very intently looked at something on the wall rather than Prince Diederik.
“Let’s… go get you some food. Forgive me for not taking that into consideration.”
Karkat just blinked at him, unsure whether he should protest, but the prince was already heading out the door, so he quickly followed behind.
It was between the usual breakfast and lunch hours, so the dining hall was blessedly empty when the two showed up.
A servant who was lounging in one of the chairs bolted up and bowed.
“Fetch us whatever the cooks have ready. Leftovers from breakfast will be fine,” his majesty said.
“Right away!” The servant bowed again then darted off to do as he was instructed.
The prince went to the head of the table and sat, gesturing for Karkat to take the seat on his right, which Karkat did.
There was an awkward silence between them, broken only by Karkat’s occasional coughing.
Prince Diederik finally cleared his throat and said, “So, Sir Vantas, how are--”
The servant came back with a cart loaded with food: Breads, fruits, eggs, cheeses, and hams piled high with a pitcher of watered down wine to accompany it.
The prince’s lip quirked down as he looked at it, but he thanked and dismissed the servant who brought it.
He loaded up his plate and Karkat followed suit, and tried not to be embarrassed when he realized how much more he grabbed than his majesty.
Karkat immediately dug in, but the prince tried again, “How are you feeling?”
“Fine, majesty,” he said.
This was once again punctuated by a cough. He could not catch a break this morning.
The prince frowned as he coughed and said, “I was told that would go away shortly. I hope it isn’t causing you too much discomfort.”
Karkat shook his head. “I’m good for whatever you need me for, majesty.”
Prince Diederik nodded, taking a few bites of food -- a far cry from the several eggs and pieces of ham Karkat had already downed.
“I believe I have been stealing your free time, including your day set for training tomorrow.”
Karkat shrugged. “‘S fine, majesty.”
“I don’t wish to be your sole focus. Your duties and relationships outside of this new position are equally important,” the prince said, as though choosing his words carefully.
“We’re all busy, majesty, especially with these f-- with these imps, I imagine. I did see Dave, though, so that’s…”
He noticed the prince shift in his seat when he said his friend’s name, and he immediately regretted it. What was going on between those two?
No.
He promised Dave he wouldn’t pry.
“You are… close with Sir Strider, then?”
“We’re friends, if that’s what you’re asking,” Karkat said warily.
Prince Diederik nodded and picked at his plate some more, until he saw Karkat was finished with his. “More?” he asked.
Karkat shook his head.
The prince gestured to the waiting servant to take their plates away, then stood up. “Best be off. Lord Egbert is expecting us.”
Karkat stood as well and followed Prince Diederik out of the castle and to a waiting carriage.
The prince climbed in first, while Karkat hesitated.
“I should… get my horse,” he said.
The prince poked his head out of the carriage. “It will be easier for us to talk. I wish to learn more about your fights with the imps before we get to the Egbert estate.”
Karkat bit his lip, then followed the prince in.
The first several minutes of the ride went in silence, Sir Vantas anxiously tugging at the ends of his shirt and readjusting his sword, coughing occasionally into a cloth that was slowly growing greyer as the day went on.
Dirk didn’t want to overwhelm him with more questions, but maybe they would take his mind off the ride. Plus, he said that’s why he wanted the knight in with him, so best live up to that.
“You said you didn’t know how many imps you fought?” Dirk prodded.
Vantas shook his head. “No, majesty. I lost count after the third attack.”
Dirk raised his eyebrows. “Do you know how many times you were attacked, at least?”
Karkat started ticking off on his hands. “Twice before the inn, once at the inn, but that was a smaller group, another… Three, four times before the capitol? Nothing when I got within five miles of it.”
Troubling that they were so far into the country, but not as troubling as it could be.
Dirk was pleased to see the knight’s fidgeting had quieted, though.
“How close were you to the border when you were first attacked?”
“Not close, majesty. Aradia was still with me. She had me come back after we were attacked.”
Dirk sat up straight. “Aradia? Is she okay? Why didn’t she come back with you?”
“She wanted to warn those at the site of what was happening. Said I would be faster without her, anyway.”
Dirk must have still looked worried because Karkat added, “She can handle herself. She saved my a-- saved me in the first fight.”
Dirk nodded. He knew Aradia could take care of herself, still… Well, nothing to be done about her decision now.
They sat in silence for a few more minutes, and Vantas’s nervous energy started up again.
Dirk sought his mind for a question that wouldn’t push too hard, like he thought he had gotten close to when he asked about Strider, and he cursed himself when what came out was, “Why did you become a knight?”
Vantas looked at him, not quite glaring, but not happy. “Why do people keep asking me that?”
“Simple curiosity, Sir Vantas. You’re free to not answer.” Definitely pushed him too much.
Vantas chewed his lip again. “I wanted to protect people. Serve a greater purpose. On my own terms.”
“Some would consider serving others to inherently be on someone else’s terms.”
Karkat shook his head. “It’s still my choice. I can choose to disobey, to leave, it’s not like…”
He trailed off and looked out the window.
“It’s different,” he finished.
Dirk didn’t press him further.