Lia went to Eldric’s … no her room which she temporarily lent to Eldric. In such a short time, he managed to make the room like the extension of him, pristine and elegant. Perhaps a few more days and there would be no trace of Lia in here.

She knocked on the door and waited. Not long after, Eldric popped his head, eyes held a curious but amused gaze.

“I came to help you change your bandages,” Lia brought up her supplies to prove her point.

Eldric gave her a small smile. “I’m fine.”

“It won’t take long. My mother said you need to change it to prevent your wounds from opening up until you reach your destination,” Lia insisted.

“It would only be short travel.”

Lia was getting annoyed. “Fine, if you don’t like our help–”

Eldric caught her wrist. “No, it’s not like that. You know how grateful I am. It’s just…” he held her gaze. He did not speak and just sighed. “Alright, come in.”

Unceremoniously, he reached over his head and lifted his shirt off wincing as he shook off the cloth. He took two steps and sat on the bed, letting Lia unwound the bandages. In his well-lit room and without all the wounds and blood, Lia could see what was beneath the fabric.

Everything was frantic on the night he was injured and Tamara sent her right away to the town so she did not see this. And even when she changed his dressing, it was only one part of the whole picture. Now the whole picture laid before her eyes. There were crisscrossed of old scars on his back, his shoulders, and on his chest.

They remained quiet, his back facing Lia as she started cleaning the wounds. Just like what Eldric said, his wounds started to heal. Some were turning into scabs.

Here was a body of a hardened man, compared to the boyishly handsome face he had. There were all kinds of the length of wounds. There were even marks of burn. There seemed to be a lot of history in them that she did not know if she wanted to know.

Her finger followed a scar that ran through his shoulder down to his chest, just above the heart. Her touch was light as a feather and wondered if this was aching still.

“Are you afraid?” Eldric whispered. Lia looked up and saw him studying her expression. His somber eyes were guarded as he followed her finger tracing the scar.

Lia exhaled and stared back. “Of course, not, I was just wondering whether they still hurt.”

She looked straight at him and hoped that her intent was clear to him. There was no reason for her to be afraid. Though yes, she was afraid for a different an entirely different thing. But that had nothing to do with the scars he had in his body.

Eldric nodded. The tension somehow left his muscles, though the expression on his eyes remained. “They don’t hurt anymore. It’s been so long.”

Lia wanted to ask what happened or how he got them but she only nodded and proceeded to continue with the bandages.