Malakun groaned as he woke, moving a hand to his forehead. He had a headache that would topple a Turucharani, and the rest of his body ached as if he’d gone toe-to-toe with one.
He was sure he’d won the fight; those who don’t emerge victorious in combat against a Treesmasher tend to look like pancakes.

Weakly he opened his eyes and surveyed the roof above him, the ceiling of his quarters. A welcome sight at the very least, far more than whatever it was that had kicked the ever living shit out of him. His gaze drifted about the room before falling on the dishevelled figure sitting beside his bed.
He tried to sit upright, but his body screamed in protest at him, and he reluctantly stayed put.
“Welcome back, Malakun,” Empress Amalna’hash said, “you… you had me worried.”
“M...Milady…” He managed to groan back.
“Don’t push yourself too hard, you need to get your strength back.”
“Milady… you need tending to.” He moaned painfully, reaching up and brushing the hair from her face. “What if a dignitary should arrive…?”
“Then they will be turned away at the door, I am seeing no-one for now.” She replied quickly and sharply, before her face softened, “no-one but you.”
The door to Malakun’s room opened and Amalna’hash’s own doctor walked in, closing the doors discreetly behind him before he moved across the room to his bed.
“Ah, awake now are we Malakun?” He asked rhetorically, sitting next to the bed and checking his face. “You gave us quite the scare.”
Malakun nodded faintly, and the doctor turned his gaze onto his Empress.
“Milady, how are you today? I trust you have been exercising.”
She nodded.
“Milady…” Malakun groaned weakly, prompting her to lean in worriedly; all he did was straighten up her nightshirt and untie her hair, letting it fall free of its now badly unkempt ponytail. “P-please, it does not do for you to be in this state.”
She blinked down at him confused slightly, and the doctor tugged her from her seat.
“Milady, I think he means you should bathe and redress,” he mumbled, “and, with no offence intended, I would agree.”
She looked down at Malakun in a confused manner, and he offered a weak smile.
“Please, Milady; a lady should always look her best.” He said quietly.
She nodded faintly before quietly moving to the bedroom door. She leaned out, snapped something to the guards stationed outside, and closed the door before moving to the en-suite bathroom. The door closed behind her with a snap, and the sound of splashing water soon echoed from the room.

Malakun smiled faintly and leaned back into the pillows.
“She’s been beside your bed for the last week and a half, you know;” the doctor said calmly, “only to do push-ups, stride laps around your room, or use the facilities did she leave your side.” He gave a knowing grin and put a hand on Malakun’s shoulder. “Yet when you arose you worried more for her wellbeing than your own, I am quite impressed.”
Malakun shook his head. “I have been conditioned to think only of her needs, Doctor Asarnach…”
He nodded faintly. “Ah, so I’ve heard,” he mumbled in reply, “but did you notice her eyes?”
Malakun shook his head. “I don’t even remember what happened.”
“Well then, I’ll tell you.

“The Empress had a dignitary from the Behemoths in our humble city, you may recall; from around the time that Grande Steele Laviiz was here? The Empress wanted to see her off personally, and being the faithful assistant you are, you tagged along. The three of you, accompanied by four guards, escorted the Behemoth back to her home with no issue, but… The minute the six of you turned to return home, you were attacked by one of the Trench’s mighty beasts.

“The guards were knocked clear across the Behemoth camp with rather minor injuries, but before the beast could do anything to our Empress, you pulled one of our guards’ swords from the earth and fought back. From eyewitness reports, you were doing quite well until it lunged blindly at our Empress. From what I’ve been told, you knocked her out of harm’s way and took the hit yourself.

“Eight broken ribs, a fractured shoulder-blade, snapped collarbone, dislocated left shoulder and left hip, a fractured left thighbone, countless lacerations…” Asarnach listed off, “you’re not lucky to be alive; you’re a miracle to have survived half of the blow.” He snipped worriedly. “After that strike, the Behemoths stepped in and managed to kill the beast with few other injuries. You were carried here as fast as they could run and promptly put into my immediate care.

“So, again I ask; did you notice her eyes?”
Malakun shook his head. “I was too busy worrying about her general appearance…”
Asarnach chuckled lightly. “Malakun, when she first arrived here with you, she was in hysterics.” He informed as he checked Malakun’s injuries.
“W… what?”
“She’s cried nearly every day, worried that you wouldn’t recover.” He said calmly. “She’s really not left your side.”
Malakun stayed quiet, trying to process this new information.
“The guards were quite impressed with your little stunt too, might I add.”
“I was protecting my Empress… I did only what I was taught.”
“Ah, if protecting the Empress struck that sort of fierce vigour into the hearts of our guards, we would have the most unstoppable army in the world.” Asarnach snipped slyly. “There’s more to it than that, isn’t there?”
“I…”
“You care for her; no hired aide would have thrown himself before his charge like that.”
Malakun sighed and looked away.
“I am finished; you should be able to get up within a few hours.” Asarnach said idly as he stood upright. “Now, I believe I’ll leave you and our Empress to catch up.”
He left the room as a guard strode in with a change of clothes for the Empress, discreetly putting them on a chair just inside the bathroom door with his eyes shut before he too left.
Malakun thoughts swirled in his head like a raging storm, every one of them clashing the same tune in his mind and coming to the same conclusion as Amalna’hash left the bathroom in casual wear. Now she looked better, her fur was clean, as was her hair, though it still hung down free from its usual ponytail, and she didn’t appear so exhausted.
Weakly he beckoned her over.
“M… Milady;” he began worriedly,
“Yes, Malakun?”
“I… d… do you…” he mumbled incoherently for a moment before swallowing his fears, “I… I… need to say something, but… the words don’t…”
Amalna’hash cut him off quietly, “Malakun; for years you’ve been with me, helping me keep my fitness, dressing me and ensuring I’m groomed and clean, but… for a few weeks I’ve been… seeing a different side to you. You’ve been my companion for my whole life, never asking anything in return, always giving, and I think… after all these years I’ve come to realize that I care for you, more than as an aide, and certainly not as a brother, as my father would have wanted.” She gazed down at him hopefully, tears welling in her eyes. “I almost lost you, and… it hurt me, I didn’t know what I would have done had you been so cruelly taken from me, my heart burned with the fear of losing you, and for weeks you’ve almost filled my every waking thought. I care for you so much, Malakun, and I’m not entirely sure if I… if I’m worthy...”
“Milady, you are the Empress of an entire people; if you are not worthy of anyone, then no-one is.”
“But my condition...”
“Means little as long as you don’t let it dictate your actions; despite your condition, you’re a prime example of our people, strong and fit, and throughout your life you’ve had the drive to keep yourself going, rather than let the disease make you weak. Those are qualities of a true leader, a perfect parent.”
She huffed a bit, tear rolling down a cheek. “Thank you; you’ve always been there for me, and… I don’t think I would choose anyone else… Malakun, I’ve told you my… my feelings…”
“A… Ama…”
“Please, Malakun; I must know-“
He shushed her quietly and brushed the tears from her cheeks before leaning up ever so slightly and planting a kiss on her lips.
“I love you too.”