Aurelian pulled Draven against his chest,"Don't close your eyes, stay with me Draven... please", he desperately begs. Draven looks at Aurelian, eyes half-lidded, he touches Aurelian cheeks weakly, "I know I failed you, I'm.. sorry", he says as his eyes closed and his fingers slipped away from Aurelian's face to the floor with an heartbreaking thud. "Draven, no, please stay with me", Aurelian pleads with the unconscious Crown prince, a tear escaping his eyes. "What are you waiting for?! Go after the person who shot!!" Aurelian yells at the guards. Some guards rush to carry out the order while two carry Draven into the carriage. "How long till we get to the palace", Aurelian asks the carriage rider, "about two hours, your Grace", the rider replies. Aurelian looks at one guard,"that's too long, isn't there any physicians here?". "It's dangerous your Grace, it's only reasonable if the royal physician attends to him", the guard replies, "royal physician? The crown Prince's life is at stake!" Aurelian says, his voice shaking with anger and panic. The guard looks at Aurelian, conflicted between what he was taught as protocol and the emergency of the matter. The guard goes to the carriage rider and orders for them to be taken to the palace. Aurelian couldn't believe his words fell on deaf ears but he had to ignore it because what mattered most was Draven surviving.
Two and half hours later, they arrived at the palace. Aurelian didn't let Draven out of his sight as he was taken to their room. A moment later, the physician and king Malric burst into the room. The physician wasted no time and move to attend to Draven. "Are you hurt?" King Malric asks Aurelian, "I'm fine, but.. Draven..", Aurelian voice breaks. King Malric nods,"let's trust the physician". The royal physician removes one arrow from Draven's back and observes it. "Oh dear!", the physician exclaims, "what is it?", king Malric steps forward, his jaw clenched so tight it might snap. "The arrows are poisoned", the physician answered removing the second arrow. "What kind of poison?" King Malric questions, "Eclipsion Draught",the physician replies,"his internal systems are failing and his heart rhythm is unstable, we're.. loosing him". "Is there a cure?" Aurelian steps forward, his eyes red-rimmed trying not to cry. "Yes, there is, it's the Virellium Serum", the physician states,"but.. this antidote should have been given while he was still conscious or immediately after he fainted", he adds. Aurelian falls to his knees,"no there has to be a way, we can't lose him.. I can't lose him", king Malric took an unconscious step towards his son. "We can still give the antidote but it will not be as effective" the physician says, "it may save the crown Prince's life but there will be a side effect", he adds. "Do it", king Malric orders, not wasting any second. The royal physician nods, and goes to his box of herbs and antidotes, he makes the Virellium Serum and walks back to where Draven was laying. The physician injects the antidote into Draven's neck. "It'll take some time or even hours for the antidote to work", the physician states. King Malric was on the verge of tears,"I'll take my leave", he says and rushed out. Queen Calista was not informed of Draven's condition because the king thought she wouldn't be able to handle it. The physician checks Draven's pulse one last time before leaving.
Aurelian walked over to Draven, he grasped Draven's hands and intertwined their fingers. "If I hadn't insisted on coming along.. all this wouldn't have happened", he blames himself as he finally breaks down, crying bitterly and allowing the tears to fall freely. "Why did you protect me? Why?" He sniffles,"please Draven, please survive, don't die on me", Aurelian pleads desperately with the unconscious prince, "I cannot survive this without you, please, I might push you away but you're still my safe place", Aurelian weeps, the words tearing out of his throat. "Please Draven", Aurelian begs, he looks at Draven's colour drained face and smiles bitterly. "Maybe if you fight for yourself, for...us, I'll finally admit that you're better at archery, you hear me?" Aurelian rests his head limping on Draven's chest, "please don't die on me".