Chapter 303: Thawing
For hours, Arthur vigilantly looked over his daughter as she slept soundly.
He seemed particularly dour each time he looked at his daughter, who occupied the bed he slept on when he was a child. He agonized as to why she was out for so long. Was it merely exhaustion? Perhaps her body was recovering from the strenuous activity she had unwittingly put it through.
However, there was a darker worry eating away that he had accidentally hit her too hard when he knocked her out cold, and he had actually injured her. He would never forgive himself if that were the case.
People were easy to hit their kids for the purpose of discipline, but he didn’t believe it was a good way to earn their respect. Only those he wanted to fear him, he was violent towards. Perhaps that was merely his personality. His wife had no trouble with physical discipline, which was why he often stood in her way.
He knew that it would likely soon be the middle of the night, so the former knight decided he ought to get some shut-eye as well. Irene seemed to be in stable condition, and there was no evidence that magic was still present within her.
He put more logs on the fire before lying down his furs and blankets and turning in for the night. If he didn’t, he knew he would be useless to whatever they faced ahead. The worst part of leaving the knighthood was losing his stamina. He needed more sleep than he ever had before these days.
The grumblings of a man who felt he was getting old despite only being in his forties.
At some point in the night, Irene’s body fully relaxed. She was finally just sleeping and not resisting the magic that consumed her before.
She had been waking up with the sunrise the entire time she was in the Sunstoian region, and her body seemed to have adjusted to the same schedule, as she woke up bright and early despite all that had happened the night before.
As she rose and stretched before rubbing the tiredness from her eyes, it was clear she thought nothing of the situation until she felt a strange, tingling pain in her fingers, and she stared down at her battered hands in confusion. She had blisters, and they were a bit stiff to move.
Not only that, but she soon realized that the clothing she had been wearing before was gone, and there were furs wrapped around her body to keep her hidden from the world. Normally, if she got too hot, she would merely shed layers of clothing because there was nobody else there who would care to see her state of dress.