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abject-chaos · 1 year ago

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The Questing Beast: Chapter 4 Part 1

@silvermun sorry for the years-long wait, but just in case you're still interested, I made this for you 😬

It was four hours since Sonic was taken to the court physician’s surgery. The mood was grim on the way back to the castle. Though they made quick progress, the journey felt slow and sombre like a funeral procession taking a loved one to their final resting place. Lancelot was careful not to jostle the body in his arms too much as he all but ran to the gates of the city. The king’s condition had noticeably worsened since the encounter with the beast. Still, Lancelot had tried unsuccessfully to ignore the king’s contrastingly hot blood against his cold skin, his erratic breathing against the knight’s chest as he carried him to the castle. Merlina called for aid immediately when they arrived, a young servant scurrying quickly away to warn the healers. When a host of several nurses came running in their direction, some with their hands around the supporting poles of a stretcher and the rest carrying an array of medical equipment, Lance reluctantly relinquished his hold on the king and handed the duty of transporting Sonic to the medical wing over to the quickly summoned attendees. To his right, his counterpart made a noise of protest.

“Hey, where are you taking him?” He demanded. He tried to follow but Lancelot gripped his shoulder firmly, keeping him in place. Shadow tried to wiggle out of the hold, succeeding briefly before the knight simply grabbed his arm, squeezing hard enough to surely leave bruises where his fingers dug and effectively keeping the rogue in check. His muscles still shook with weakness. “Let me go!” When Lancelot didn’t, sending a firm and tired glare straight at the frantic red eyes of his double, Shadow yelled at the backs of the retreating party supporting the king, spouting curses and threats when they did not allow him access to the medical chambers.

Nobody was allowed entrance into the surgery. The procedure was likely a delicate process that did not require distractions, no matter how much Lancelot ached to be at his king’s side. Shadow continued to fight fruitlessly, thanks to the aid of one of Merlina’s spells that Lancelot sensed at work, keeping his still-aching muscles from cowing to the strength of the ultimate lifeform. His double was desperate now, frantic, clawing at the arm restraining him and yanking at fur. “Let me go, let me go! Sonic!” For as much as Lancelot hated to admit it, he felt a swell of sympathy for his counterpart.

But, as he said, that was four hours ago, and while Shadow was still noticeably on edge and snapping at anything that moved while they waited for news from the healers, at least he was not at the level of issuing physical violence on the nurses that came to offer the party refreshments.

Merlina was sat on the bench provided, her elbows on her knees. She drummed an anxious beat on her upper arms with her fingers. Lance assumed it was all she could do not to get up and start pacing much like Sonic had earlier that day. It pained to recall Sonic now, desperately worried about his friend, unknowingly throwing himself into danger to rescue the ones he cared for. And all because that fool, the supposed ultimate lifeform, could not keep himself level enough to know not to wander the Broceliande forest at night.

“What’s taking so long in there?” Shadow grumbled loudly from his position sulking in the corner like a child, hidden among the shadows of the torchlit corridor.

Lancelot didn’t bother to look at him. His gaze remained fixed on the door- still locked- separating him from the healers’ domain. However, his jaw clenched in irritation. “You need to be patient,” he gritted out. “Nothing will get done if you plan on disturbing the physician.”

“Physician my ass!” came the other’s sudden and sharp reply. “All he’s doing is putting on a nice little band-aid and calling it a day.”

Lancelot bristled, turning sharply in the direction of the voice. “Edwin is a highly-skilled medical professional,” he defended despite his own niggling concerns. “He has treated far more serious injuries. The king will be fine in his care.”

“Easy for you to say! All you seem to care about is your precious fucking kingdom. You don’t care about Sonic at all!”

That was much too far. “Listen here, plebeian, you aren’t the only one who is worried about him! You’ve been selfish ever since you arrived and now you are disturbing the surgeon with your loud inconsequential complaints!”

“Oh, go fuck yourself! Don’t think I haven’t noticed your pompous ass trying to get me out of the picture. Ever since I met you you’ve been nothing but pretentious and arrogant!”

“Well then, it seems that must be a common trait among us since your arrogance is what caused this to happen!”

“Lance-” Merlina rose to her feet, poised to placate him and end the argument before it could escalate further.

“No Merlina! If it weren’t for this self-obsessed bastard-” the curse grated on his tongue with its foreigness- “we wouldn’t have been in the woods when that beast attacked and if it weren’t for his dimwitted plan Sonic wouldn’t have gotten hurt. It’s his fault!”

Shadow began to advance, abandoning his darkened corner, and got straight in the knight’s face, his glowing red eyes viscous as an animalistic snarl tore from his throat.

“At least I had a plan! You were the idiot who got himself knocked down five minutes into the fight. You think you can defend Sonic? You can’t even defend yourself” He mocked. Then he broke out into a crazed grin that showed too many teeth and laughed lowly but there was little humour behind the action, only scorn and blatant hatred which Lance found was fully mutual. “I’m sure you were all too happy when I left. It must have killed you to know that Sonic was worried about me, that he was looking for me. You’re just a tag-a-long that could never replace the real deal.”

“That’s enough!” The witch cried, separating the two with a gust of magic wind that threw each party against an opposite wall. Lancelot felt slightly dazed as his head thumped against the mortar and he dully registered his counterpart slumped against the floor across from him, likely in a similar state.

Just then, the head physician- Edwin Muirden- at last exited the surgery, the cloying mixture of disinfecting agents and crushed herbs clinging to his clothing and permeating the air. The trio's heads turned to him immediately. Edwin removed his glasses with a sigh. That can’t be a good sign, Lance thought anxiously, his head spinning. The physician regarded the group with eyes that shone with the spell of wisdom and stress. The old man paused briefly, taking in the scene and its charged atmosphere with calculating eyes, but he didn’t comment on it. Instead, he cleared his throat sharply and finally spoke his diagnosis.

“I am afraid I have dire news.”

No.

“Share your news, Edwin,” Merlina prompted timidly when no one else spoke.

Lance felt his heart in his throat. The physician looked around the room with sad eyes, his gaze pausing on Lance. He offered a sad smile. “The king’s condition is… severe,” he said. “I have given him something to ease his passage.”

No.

“Ease his passage?” Shadow echoed from the floor, now beginning to draw himself back to his feet, a bone-deep fury laced in his vivid scarlet eyes.

Edwin nodded slowly. “There is nothing more that can be done but make him as comfortable as possible.” Shadow did not seem to accept that answer, but before he could likely scream at the man before him Edwin said, “He is asleep. You all may see him now.” This gave them all pause. Perhaps the most shocking development, however, was the fact that Shadow did not react the way he had expected. Lance expected him to shout, to scream, to barge into the healer’s room past the doctor with little care for the others. But he did none of that. Instead, he froze, an evident shock passing over his features until he stood rigid in his place. Merlina thanked the physician and, with a backward glance at her companions, entered the room to see the king. Still, Shadow did not move. And yet, as much as Lancelot wanted to just be done with this rivalry and race to Sonic’s side, he found he could not leave him there.

As much as he currently loathed this lifeform, he recognised the visceral fear emanating from his double. He moved forward slowly as though trying not to spook a frightened animal, making it just far enough that if Shadow lunged at him he would be prepared to dodge. “Did you not hear the physician?” he asked, unable to keep the remaining measure of distaste out of his voice. Shadow did not answer, his eyes fixed on the door. The knight loathed to admit that he was concerned. “One would think you would jump at the chance to see him-”

“This can’t be it,” he muttered, voice strained. “He was supposed to be fine.” It sounded as though he were trying to convince himself more than the knight.

Lancelot sighed and rubbed his eyes. He made a solemn oath when he became a knight that he would die for his king. The reminder that he had failed his sworn duty cut deeply, but the knowledge of just whom he had failed crushed all the pieces of his soul that mattered.

Sonic did not deserve this fate, to die by a foreign beast in a foreign realm for a kingdom that, as much as Lance believed was Sonic’s to rule, did not raise him.

“We must say our final goodbyes,” he choked out, turning to enter the room. He has lost many knights before, brothers in arms, good men with kind hearts. It still twisted his heart to remember their faces. But faced with the task of saying goodbye forever to his dearest friend left a sour nausea clinging to his gums. He swallowed thickly and took heavy steps to the king’s bedside. He did not hear Shadow follow but he didn’t care. All he cared about was seeing Sonic.

Once he entered it was to the sight of Merlina rubbing slow circles on the back of Sonic’s hand, muttering words that did not reach his ears. He approached slowly, the sick feeling only growing the closer he got. When he reached the bed Merlina looked up. There were unshed tears in her eyes but her expression remained stoic. Lancelot only regarded her for a second before he forced his gaze upon the sleeping form of his friend. He did not look peaceful in rest. His forehead was beaded with sweat, his features scrunched up in pain. Lancelot couldn’t bear to look upon him, so vulnerable and small. He choked back a sob, feeling the oppressive nausea surface to a dangerous crest. He clenched his jaw tightly to fight it.

From where she stood on the opposite side of the bed, Marlina’s eyebrows furrowed. “Lance, are you-”

Lancelot gagged.

“Woah, hey hey hey.” In an instant she was at his side, gently lowering him into one of the chairs at the wall. “Breath, Lancelot. Breath. It will be okay.”

Lancelot took in a shuddering breath, one that caught in his throat immediately as the sob that had been building without his knowledge his finally found a release.

Crying was foreign to him. He couldn’t remember the last time he had shed tears. He forgot how awful it was. But now he couldn’t stop the thick tears from flowing. His mind was reeling. His chest felt dangerously restricted. He couldn’t breathe. Every time he tried to get air to his lungs it stopped short at the base of his throat.

Merlina was talking to him but he felt as though he were underwater, all noise around him melding in a deafening collection of meaningless tones. Lance tried to breathe again but the attempt only devolved into a pathetic wheeze. He felt hands on his shoulders and he opened his eyes. When had he closed them? Merlina was still there, gripping him firmly. She took one of the hands bunched against his chest and brought it up to her own. She took in a deep breath herself, coaching him to do the same. It took a great deal of effort, but at length Lance managed a shallow inhale before he immediately expelled the air he gained. His sobs only increased. He couldn’t even look at Sonic. How pathetic! His king needed him, his comfort his presence, and here he was falling to pieces at his side instead while his mind supplied the blame he clearly deserved.

No matter how much he blamed Shadow for putting Sonic in danger, the onus was still on him as Sonic’s knight to protect him at all costs. He had failed, not Shadow. He was responsible for this. He killed his best friend.

He took in another failed breath that could not breach his lungs. His chest burned with the lack of oxygen. He blinked quickly as his vision began to blur around the edges. He felt his chest constrict.

Then, suddenly, he felt an icy chill at the back of his neck as frigid fingers touched its nape. Instantly, his vision began to darken. After what felt like an eternity, he managed to take in a breath. He listed sideway, only distantly aware of someone catching him as he struggled to control his failing muscles. His eyes closed of their own accord before a faraway voice echoed in his mind:

“Sleep, Lancelot.”

#satbk #fanfiction #the questing beast #chapter 4 #please yell at me in the comments if you're comfy with that #It'll really bolster my ego (and motivation)#Shadow's part coming next #I'll be posting part 1 and 2 on AO3 as one chapter btw #stay tuned

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