The elf slowly lifted himself up from the floor, his face clouded with anger and twisted in mockery as he gazed back at Alex. Princess Eva immediately stood from her chair and stepped in front of Alex, spreading her arms wide to shield him behind her.
The elf shook his head, let out a quiet tsk, and walked out of the room. One of the healer ladies rushed after him and did her best to stop him, but the elf was adamant about leaving and dismissed her with a flat, "I am fine." And he did look fine, despite the fact that his body was covered in blood, he did not seem to have any serious injuries. He only seemed to have something that resembled the kind of deep exhaustion and spent strength that settled into a person's bones after they had pushed themselves far past their limit.
The princess heaved a sigh of relief as the elf disappeared out of the room and sat down beside Alex on the bed as the healer finished tending to him and moved on to check the other examinees. Without really thinking about it, the princess reached out and held his left hand in both of hers, and she looked so genuinely sad that he instinctively pulled her into a hug despite the aching pain that still lingered even after the healer's spell. It was likely the aftereffect of his wounds being patched up. He would still need at least a full day of rest before he was completely back to himself.
"You don't have to worry so much, princess," Alex said softly, slowly stroking her back. She buried her face into his shoulder and he felt the warmth of tears soaking through his clothes.
Alex stilled, genuinely unsure of what to do with himself. He fully understood why she was crying so much. He had been literally beaten and thrown around like he was worth nothing, but he had come back alive. That had to count for something to celebrate at the least instead of being sad about. Still, he did not push her away. He let her rest her head on his shoulder and said nothing, listening to her weep quietly as she must have been holding it in for a very long time and simply could not hold it anymore.
"You were beaten so much," the princess murmured in a voice so small it was almost swallowed by her own sobbing. She drew in a shaky breath and added, "I wanted to pull you out of that hell. I really wanted to."
"Sorry," she whispered.
Alex could not think of a single thing to say to that, so instead he gently began running his hand through her hair, patting her head in slow, quiet strokes. Before he could find any words at all, a loud familiar shout tore through the room.
The princess immediately pulled back from the hug, frantically wiping at her tear-streaked face and trying very hard to look like she had not just been crying on his shoulder.
"Big brother! Uwaaah! Are you okay?!"
Alex's little sister Ariana came tearing across the room toward him with the kind of speed that might have made someone think a terrifying monster was chasing her, except her face gave everything away. She was not afraid at all. She was crying so hard that her tears were streaking down her face and hitting the floor as she ran, and she was not even trying to stop them.
Their mother and father stepped through the doorway right behind her, wearing the same expressions, faces torn somewhere between the grief of having been helpless and the overwhelming relief of seeing him breathing and in one piece.
Ariana launched herself onto the bed without slowing down and buried her face in his lap, both arms wrapping tightly around his waist. "I missed you so, so much," she sobbed, her whole body shaking as she rubbed her head against his stomach. Then she looked up at him with red, swollen eyes and announced in a voice that wobbled with every word, "I'm going to get strong and beat that elf and punish him. I really will."
Alex stared down at her for a moment, genuinely caught off guard by the declaration. It almost made him laugh. But looking at how small she seemed right now, how genuinely worried she had been for him, the almost-laugh softened into a smile instead. He reached down and began patting her head slowly. "No need," he said, his voice warm and easy. "I'll take the revenge myself."
He had already made up his mind about that. The elf had been toying with him out there on the exam field, dragging out the suffering instead of giving Alex a clean, quick end. Alex was going to remember that for a long time.
Their mother and father had reached his bedside by then, and their mother did not say anything at first. She just leaned down and pulled him into her arms, and in a soft, steady voice she said, "I'm happy that you're safe." She began moving her hand slowly over the back of his head, the same gentle thing she had always done for him when he was young and crying and did not know how to stop, her other hand drawing small, slow circles on his back.
"It must have been so hard," she said, and her voice was barely holding together.
She looked awful, and he meant that in the most painful way possible. Her azure hair, usually so neat, fell freely down her back in loose, untended strands. Her face was hollow with exhaustion, her azure eyes, which had always seemed to carry their own quiet brightness, looked like the light had nearly gone out of them. It had only been five days since he last saw her. But now she looked like it had been far longer.
Alex pressed his jaw tight. He dug his nails hard into his own palm. "Yes," he said. "It was hard. But I made it, mother."
His mother slowly loosened her hold on him and straightened up. A single line of tears slid down her left cheek and she wiped it away quickly with the back of her hand, like she hoped he had not seen it. But he did, which only made him clenched his jaw even tighter.
His father stepped forward then and placed one large, steady hand on top of Alex's head. He looked no better than his mother. His face seemed like it had aged overnight, his black hair more disheveled than Alex had ever seen it, not a single thing tended to. His eyes were tired in a way that went deeper than just lost sleep.
"You did well," his father said, and his voice carried something in it that made the words feel heavier than they were. He looked at Alex with a smile that reached all the way to his eyes, a rare and real thing, and added, "I am proud of you, my son."
His mother nodded beside him, her own small smile still shadowed with worry that had not quite let go of her yet. Ariana, who had finally released her grip on his waist and was now sitting at his side, nodded too, her tiny right fist raised in front of her face like she was still fully prepared to track down that elf personally.
Alex looked at all of them, and something inside him gave way.
His father's pride. His mother's relief. His sister's tearful fury on his behalf. The princess, still sitting quietly nearby with faintly reddened eyes she was pretending did not exist. All of it pressed down on him at once, and the weight of it was too much to carry quietly. Because underneath all of it, underneath every warm and wonderful thing he was feeling, sat the cold and stubborn truth that he was still level one. He had been beaten half to death, and somehow managed to come back alive. All of this love, all of this pride, aimed at him who had not actually managed to achieve anything real felt unbearable to see.
He tried everything. He bit the inside of his cheek. He clenched his fist until his knuckles went pale. He shut his eyes tight and held his breath.
But, the tears came anyway. Streaming down his cheeks with a loud sob that filled the room.
***
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