How to cure a Dark Lord

I knew I couldn't say no to him...

So I said nothing. I hastily got up after I was done tending to his wound.

 "Please ensure that this doesn't get soaked again. And also, please refrain from leaving this room. The Dark Lord has spies everywhere and just because you can't see them doesn't mean they're not there.I" I instructed just as Papa does and turned to leave. He looked like someone I could trust yet I couldn't bring myself to trust him.

I felt his hand wrapped around my wrist. Why was he holding me back?

 "You haven't answered my question yet." I turned to him. I didn't hear a demand in his voice. His eyes held a question.

I yanked my hand away. "Whether you decide I'm trustworthy or not is up to you. I'm leaving."

He grabbed my wrist again and this time, he was standing right behind him. As I turned to meet his eyes for the second time, I noticed how small I was compared to him.

 "You don't like me much, do you?" He asked me. I looked away with a scoff.

 "Is there a reason why I must like you?" I asked him back, trying to keep a confident front and hiding the fact that I was actually cowering inside.

 He nodded in understanding. "You must be afraid of the Dark Lord too."

 "And why shouldn't I be? Isn't the Dark Lord someone to be scared of? He dragged and executed a man who spoke ill of him in the village market. He's ravaged towns, cities and burnt them to the ground. The were no survivors. Not even children. And you're saying I shouldn't fear him?" I asked, looking incredulous.

 The man shook his head. "I'm sorry. You have every right to scared. The Dark Lord is cruel. But do you want to live your whole life in fear?"

I didn't know what the crown prince was getting at, but his question struck a chord in my heart. I knew a time when no one was afraid, ten years ago. It was a blissful time. Everybody lived happy and prosperous lives without watching their backs all the time. But that was all before the Dark Lord came into power.

Still it would be nice to experience those past days once again.

 "I want no one to live in fear again. Not you, nor your father, nor the villagers or the entire Kerva. That's why I'm here. Your father had promised to help me." He said earnestly.

 "How can I trust you, that what you say is true?" I asked him.

 The man shrugged. "You just have to. We have a common enemy."

* * *

I sat by the fire thinking about what the man said earlier today or rather, trying not to think about what he said. He wanted to free Kerva from the clutches of that tyrant. He said I could trust him because we both disliked the Dark Lord.

 I stirred the beef stew I was making so the ingredients would blend in. I heard a slight crackle and I turned quickly to see who it was. I was a little jumpy ever since the crown prince started to live with us. My eyes adjusted to the darkness of the night and I figured it was just him. Speak of the devil.

 "I smelt something delicious from the room and I came to check what it was. I'm famished." The crown prince said, sheepishly rubbing his hand behind his head.

I waved for him to come closer. He really must be hungry since he hadn't had anything except breakfast. "You're in luck then." I scooped a little of the stew in a bowl and gave it to him. "Taste it and tell me what you think."

He came and sat beside me. Then he took the bowl and sipped the stew. Before I could warn him that the stew was scalding hot, he had already swallowed it and was blowing air out of his mouth to cool his tongue. His eyes glistened with tears of pain. I couldn't help but laugh. It was a funny sight to see and yet it was not.

 "I'm sorry." I quickly apologized. "I should have left it too cool."

He shook his hand dismissively. "No. I shouldn't have slurped it too hurriedly."

I continued to stir the soup. "Do you always cook like this?"

 "How do you mean?" I asked him.

"In very large quantities." He specified.

I nodded and explained to him that the food wasn't for just me and Papa. It was also for all the patients in the infirmary.

 "Only a full stomach can aid tremendously in someone's recovery." I explained. He seemed fascinated.

 "It tastes delicious by the way." Rowland added talking another gulp of the already cool stew. When the soup was ready, I counted the number of patients in my head and brought the number of bowls we needed. Then I scooped the stew into the bowls and picked up the bowls with a tray, heading to the infirmary. Rowland offered to help and I let him take the tray. He was quite stronger than me anyway.

 I picked up the basket of bread and followed him into the infirmary. As he handed out the bowl of stew, I gave a loaf of bread. Until everyone was fed and ready for the night.

I picked up the empty bowls and washed them under the watchful eyes of the prince.

"You know, I haven't seen you eat."

I agreed. I hadn't had a bite since breakfast either. But there was so much work to be done.

 "I'll eat when I'm done with all these."

"I've never seen such dedication in one person." Rowland remarked.

 "I'm used to doing all this, really. I've been doing it all my life so the day I don't I'll feel weird." I explained to him. Yes there were times when I felt overwhelmed with all the tasks I had to perform around the house and in the infirmary. But I always find my way around it.

 "Don't you have other dreams, aside the infirmary?" He asked me.

Well. I had never thought of that. I was always doing this or that and I forgot to have dreams of my own.

 "Not really. " I said after a while of thought. "But it is one of my desires to travel out of this village. Maybe even out of Kerva someday."

 By the time I was done washing the bowls and stacking them back, it was already late at night. I bid the prince goodnight as he retired to his room. Then I made one last trip to the infirmary for the day to make sure everything was fine.

At last in my room, I sat on the floor eating my own stew which was now cold. I thought about how the day started and how it ended. The crown prince Rowland wasn't such a bad person after all despite the fact that he was former royalty and now an outlaw.

He seemed calm and collected and yet he was relatable. I had thought all royals were stuck up. He seemed to be a good person.