Malcolm groaned weakly as they carried him up the stairs.

"It's going to be fine, Mal." Angus murmured, gripping his hand. Bon watched with concern.

"Phil. Slow down." He said angrily. The blonde looked at him questioningly. "You'll hurt him if you run up the stairs so fast." Phil blushed a little and nodded. Soon they arrived in a room. Angus marveled at how clean and beautiful it was. Malcolm was laid on the bed and a girl was already standing there. She wore a simple orange dress and Angus quickly realized that she must have been one of the maids. She had long brown hair and also brown eyes and smiled at the boys. Angus guessed she was about his age. Bon smiled at the girl as well. "This is Linda. She works in the kitchen and she'll take care of Malcolm, as long as he's sick." He said. Angus nodded, still perplexed as he had rarely seen girls, but he was pretty sure this had to be one of the most beautiful in the world. Phil said goodbye and left the room. "Come on Ang. We should...we should go. Linda's fine with Mal." Angus was still standing in the room, staring wide-eyed down at his brother. Only now had his mind realized that Malcolm was dying. He would have died if the patrol hadn't taken them here.

"No, Bon, I...I want to stay with Mal." He said, looking up at the taller one.

"We can check in later. You should wash up, change into something clean and eat something, Angus." Bon said worried. Angus turned his head to Malcolm again.

"Go." The older one whispered weakly. "I'll still be here later." Bon chuckled a little. Angus nodded and the two made their way out of the room, closing the heavy wooden door behind them. Linda placed a bucket of water by the bed and looked down at Malcolm. "So your name is Linda?" Malcolm asked quietly. She smiled and nodded.

"Yes. Who are you?" She asked as she rolled him onto his side.

"M...Malcolm...ah!" Malcolm let out a cry of pain as she began to unwrap the makeshift bandage from his torso.

"Sorry." She said. But something in her voice made Malcolm think she wasn't that sorry after all. When the wound was exposed, you could tell it was ovulating. It didn't smell nice and she didn't look good either. Malcolm bit his lip hard as Linda began cleaning the minor wounds from dragging behind the horse. Her hands worked gently and Malcolm relaxed a little again. "How old are you?" She suddenly asked into the silence. Malcolm turned his head slightly and met her ebony eyes.

"16." He murmured. She smiled.

"I'm 14. I work in the kitchen, like Bon said." She said a little proudly. "What are you doing here? Where do you come from?"

"I...I'm a farm boy. I found Bon a few months ago. He was badly injured. Angus and I took care of him so he could go back home. A week ago we were attacked and our house and fields were burned. They killed our cattle. We...ah...shit." Malcolm let out a curse and inhaled sharply as Linda cleaned the arrow wound.

"I'm sorry, but it has to be done." She said quietly. Malcolm took a deep breath and tried to calm down himself. "And now you're here?" Linda asked, looking at him curiously. Malcolm had to chuckle a little. She seemed very inquisitive and not at all like most girls who were described by Bon.

"Yes." He nodded. "Ah!" He bit his lip hard again. "Are you having fun torturing me or what!?" He gasped as fresh blood ran out of the wound and Linda carefully wiped it away.

"No." She giggled. "I'm trying to be as gentle with you as possible. You're just a cry baby." Malcolm glared at her, which made her giggle. When she was done with her work, she put on a new bandage and covered it up. "Rest. I think Bon will come back later. You need rest." Just as she was walking out the door, she heard a faint:

"Thanks, Linda." Linda smiled a little as she closed the door behind her, cheeks flushing. This boy was so cute. His hair, his body, his demeanour and most of all... (Linda closed her eyes smiling) ...his eyes. They took her breath away. They were green like the pine forest and so piercing. Sure he was ill, so his eyes weren't wide open, but Linda smiled imagining how special they must look when he was healthy.

*

At the same time, Angus was in Bon's room. He looked around wide-eyed, studying the various paintings, gasping sharply as he flopped onto the bed. Bon, who had been rummaging in his closet, looked at him worry.

"What's going on?" Angus closed his eyes, smiled and curled into a ball on the bed.

"I've never lain on such a soft mattress in my life." He sighed contentedly. Bon giggled.

"Well, better get used to it." With that, he closed his closet door and handed Angus a clean white embroidered shirt. "Here. Put this on. I wore this when I was your age. I'm sure it will fit you." Angus nodded and changed his clothes. Then he washed himself off.

"What do you think your uncle is going to do with us?" Angus asked worriedly, looking up at Bon who was standing in front of him.

"I don't know." Bon giggled. "But I will pray that you may stay here and that he trains you as knights." Angus gaped at him. His eyes were as big as plates. Bon giggled and gently closed Angus' jaw. Tears pooled in Angus' eyes.

"Would you really do that? I...I always wanted..."

"...to become a knight. I know." Bon giggled. "You told me. And since my uncle doesn't have any children of his own and I'm like a son to him, I can imagine that if I ask him, he will."

"Oh my god, Bon!" Angus squealed excitedly, throwing his arms around his neck. The man fell to the ground while the boy jumped excitedly on him and hugged him so tightly that the older one could hardly breathe. Bon laughed and pulled him into his arms.

"I knew you would like it. But don't get excited too soon. We don't know if he'll say yes yet." Angus nodded excitedly and giggled. "Come on now. You need to wash your hair." With that, they set off.

*

Malcolm was in bed. He had slept for three hours and when he woke up he felt a lot better. He slowly sat up and took a shaky breath. The wound still hurt badly. Feeling a little better now, he looked around the room. It was nice here and everything was so clean. No wonder Bon wasn't so thrilled when he saw their little house. Malcolm grew sad as he thought back to his home. He already missed it. Maybe he and Angus would go back and put things back the way they were. Malcolm slowly got up and leaned on the bedpost, panting. He urgently needed to go to the toilet but the pain was severe. He tried to outplay it and slowly hobbled to the door. He had one arm wrapped around his abdomen. Just as he was about to open the door, it was opened from the outside and hit him squarely on his nose. Malcolm groaned loudly and grabbed his nose with both hands, which immediately began to bleed profusely.

"Damn it!" He squealed in pain. He looked up to see Linda through his tears of pain. The girl looked at him in embarrassment. "Fuck! You could have knocked at least!" He shouted angrily and tried to stop the bleeding. Linda giggled softly and led him to the bed. She sat him on the edge of the bed and knelt on the floor in front of him before gently holding a handkerchief to his nose. Malcolm grumbled a little.

"I couldn't have known you were at the door." She giggled. "Aside from that. You should relax. Your wound is heavily infected. You're not supposed to be walking around."

"I don't like being useless." Malcolm grumbled, now holding the handkerchief to his nose himself. She smiled a little at him.

"I brought you food. You cannot go to the dining room in your condition."

"Of course I can!" He exclaimed indignantly. Despite his weakness and injuries, he tried to stand tall in front of the girl. She giggled at him.

"You would pass out halfway. Lie down." She helped him get back on the bed and tucked pillows behind his back. He leaned against the pillow and groaned weakly, still holding the handkerchief to his nose. Linda smiled a little at him.

"What is it?" He asked grimly, looking up at her. She swallowed and looked away quickly.

"Oh. Nothing at all. Here." She placed the tray on the bed next to him. On it were two big chicken wings and a piece of bread. Malcolm's eyes widened. Damn it looked delicious. She smiled when she saw his gaze. He took the chicken and bit into it. His eyes closed and he hummed. The taste was just amazing. He had never eaten anything so good in his life. Linda sat down next to him on the bed and straightened her dress a bit while watching him.

"Hell, that's delicious." Malcolm groaned and bit into the bread. Linda giggled and blushed a little. "I've never eaten anything so good in my life."

"Thank you." She said quietly. He stopped and looked at her questioningly. "I cocked that." She giggled. He looked at her with wide eyes and for Linda time stood still when she could see those beautiful green eyes fully for the first time. They were absolutely beautiful. She had never seen more beautiful eyes in her life.

"You cooked that?" He asked. She nodded. He smiled a little. "Damn, the man who's going to marry you one day is a lucky bastard." Linda smiled a little and blushed. By the time Malcolm finished eating, his energy was gone too. He slumped back against the bed frame, exhausted, and looked weakly at Linda. She set the tray aside and gently covered him again.

"Sleep well, Malcolm." She said. She wanted to kiss his forehead, but held back. She hadn't known this boy for long and couldn't judge him yet. But Malcolm had already closed his eyes and seemed to be asleep. Linda smiled a little and took the tray before leaving the room.