I Will Be the Greatest Knight

When Sir Gunnar told Arthur that Irene would be asleep for ’quite some time’ due to the sleeping spell Stanley had put her under, the former knight wasn’t expecting that to mean she wouldn’t wake up for days on end. Even after the carriage arrived with supplies, it was unloaded, and the drivers were able to rest up enough to do the journey home, Irene remained out like the sun at night. She was so unbelievably worrying, but each time Arthur felt her nose to see if she was breathing, he gave silent sighs of relief that she hadn’t passed away without him knowing.

Before he could load her into the comfortable bed they had made in the carriage, Arthur spoke with Stanley.

"You must occasionally squeeze water from a towel into her mouth," the mage directed. "I believe this sleep might last for a few days longer. In the meantime, make sure she’s consuming at least something hydrating. If it’s restorative tea that you get her to swallow bits of at a time—even better!"

The mage spoke nervously with his hands waving about. It seemed that the battlefield had gotten to him a bit as well. Perhaps the truth was that Sir Arthur had made him unbelievably on edge when he nearly attacked him after waking up without a hand.

Arthur couldn’t fault the mage for being afraid of him. He wasn’t in his right mind when he woke up to a missing limb.

"I will keep this in mind," Arthur responded evenly, but he couldn’t take much more of the mage’s utterings, so all he did was produce a pouch full of coins. "Thank you for taking care of these knighthoods. Especially my daughter. I don’t believe most of these people would be standing if it weren’t for you."

At compliments, Stanley stiffened up even though he seemed pleased at the praise.

"Yes, well," the mage muttered as he quickly snatched the coins and dropped them into his long sleeves. He acted so quickly that it almost seemed like a trick. "The poison cleansing isn’t perfect, but it’s something."