Soleia’s face colored, and she immediately struggled out of his hold, cursing herself internally for her loose lips. No prince would take kindly to being mistaken for a common knight, no matter how distinguished Sir Ralph was.
The only silver lining was that it wasn’t Prince Ricard that saved her. She would not want to hear what he had to say about her mistake.
"My sincerest apology, I thought you were Sir Ralph... I hope I did not offend you," Soleia said in embarrassment. She had to get away― she wanted to hide in the same tree hollow Reitan was in!
"I’ll just go now. I have to check on Reitan."
She stumbled in her haste to get away, and Raziel reached out a hand to steady her.
"Rest assured, I am not offended," Raziel said calmly, but his pupils held a glint of amusement. He turned to the tree hollow and called out. "Prince Reitan, you can come out now. Your sister is most distraught over your well-being."
"Sister!" Reitan emerged unsteadily from the tree hollow and flung one of his arms around Soleia’s waist, his other arm hanging at an awkward angle. Ugly tears streaked down his cheeks. "Sister, you’re here!"
"Yes, I’m here," Soleia said reassuringly, trying to ignore the pounding in her temples. Her hands reached out to cup Reitan’s face, casting a careful eye over his person. Her poor brother had a nasty scrape across his forehead that was still bleeding, and his entire body was covered in dirt. The biggest injury was his arm which seemed to be broken.
"What happened to you?" Soleia asked worriedly, as she took out a handkerchief to stem the flow of his blood.
Reitan blubbered. "I went into the forest with everyone, but then Florian purposely knocked me off my horse when no one was looking. Then I walked around, trying to find someplace to rest, but then I stumbled onto the howlers and they kept chasing me... "
Reitan broke down into sobs. Soleia could guess what happened next. Reitan must have stumbled onto a nest of howlers and he was treated like an intruder to be hunted down. It was only sheer dumb luck that led him to find a tree large enough for him to hide in.
Soleia wrapped her arms around Reitan’s shivering body, patting his back to comfort him. "It’s okay... you did well, you’re safe now."
"I’m sorry! This is all my fault!" Reitan wept even more inconsolably. "Father wants me dead, and you could have died too! If I wasn’t so small and weak..."
Soleia could only make consoling noises. It wasn’t as though Reitan’s words were wrong, but she still wanted him to stop crying. They had to leave the forest before more creatures decided to come after them.
Prince Raziel went down on one knee and cleared his throat. "Prince Reitan, would you mind me taking a look at your wounds?"
Surprised, both Reitan and Soleia blinked owlishly. Reitan hiccuped warily.
"You can heal?" he asked.
"Yes, I can," Raziel explained. He tilted his head briefly, just enough for the sunlight to highlight his carnelian earrings.
"Really?" Reitan gave Soleia a hopeful look, but he still gripped the side of her dress tightly. He didn’t trust this stranger, no matter how much they looked like Sir Ralph.
"Oh, if it’s not too much trouble..." Soleia began, not wanting to owe Prince Raziel any favors. Her eyes darted around the trees, hoping that Ralph would emerge so that he could take over instead.
But the clearing was deserted, and she could only nod her head to give her approval.
Raziel’s hands glowed red as he rested his palm on Reitan’s bare skin. The cut on Reitan’s forehead began to slowly stitch itself together. However, Soleia couldn’t help but notice that there was a faint scar left behind.
Raziel noticed what caught her eye and he explained, "It is near impossible to reduce scarring with a wound this deep, especially with accelerated healing. If the sight of a scar displeases you, I might have some ointments for you to use."
"No, no, it’s nothing, I’m already very grateful that you offered your aid," Soleia said frantically. She didn’t want to offend the one tolerable Raxuvian prince, especially not when he was kind enough to help.
But part of her couldn’t help but compare his healing to Sir Ralph’s. She had suffered worse wounds, but Sir Ralph had healed them all with nary a scratch left on her face. It seemed almost incomprehensible that Sir Ralph could outdo royalty, but the facts were in front of her.
Could Sir Ralph be so full of natural talent? She wondered.
"Now we are left with your broken arm. Prince Reitan, would you like me to heal it, or do you want to let it recover naturally?"
"Will it hurt?" Reitan asked shakily, and Raziel nodded.
"Yes, but you’ll find that the time saved on recovery is worth the pain," Raziel said. "Would you want to be in a cast for your sister’s wedding?"
"Reitan, it’s fine if you show up in a cast―" Soleia began, but Reitan shook his head quickly and exclaimed.
"No! Please help me!"
"This might sting a little," Raziel said with a gleam in his eyes as he reached for Reitan’s arm, one hand on his shoulder. "Setting bones is always a tricky business."
His eyes glowed, and a sharp crack filled the air. Reitan let out a hoarse scream of pain before falling over.
"Reitan!" Soleia grabbed onto him. "What did you do to him?"
"Fixed his arm and shoulder, but the pain might be a little too much for a child to handle. My apologies, but there’s no way to make it painless," Raziel said.
Soleia’s eyebrow twitched; what was the point of apologizing now?
"Prince Reitan, try rotating your shoulder and stretching out your arm."
Reitan sucked in a watery breath and tried his best to follow instructions. To his surprise, his arm was as good as new! "It worked!"
"I am glad," Prince Raziel said with a pleased smile before turning to Soleia. "Might I escort the both of you out from the premises?"