“Strenuous?” Thomas offered, taking pity on the man.
“Yes! Strenuous! His Grace must not overextend himself,” Maester Owens said, grasping at the suggestion like a drowning man might grab a rope.
“I can assure you I won’t be leaving my bed.” Evan let out a weak laugh that turned into a whimper.
The maester fetched a small vial from his cabinet and offered it to Evan. “For the pain, Your Grace.”
Evan examined the vial before swallowing the contents in one go. He stuck out his tongue and shuddered, pulling a face. “Ack! That tastes awful.” He continued to open and close his mouth convulsively like he’d swallowed glue.
“You’ll thank me when I’m putting your stitches in,” the maester said.
“When you’re doingwhat?”
Maester Owens hesitated for just a moment before saying, “It is quite a sizable wound even though it’s not deep. You need stitches.”
Evan scrunched up his nose. “Stitches?”
“Yes, sir. To hold the edges closed while it heals.”
Evan blinked. “You’re going to sew me up like… a blanket?”
“It’s for the best.”
Evan turned to Thomas, eyes wide. “Did you know they sewed people up, Captain?”
At first Thomas wondered what Evan was playing at, but then he caught up to the fact that Evan was simply acting like the charming simpleton the maester assumed he was. Now that he knew Evan was anything but a fool, watching other people fall for the pretence made Thomas uncomfortable in ways he couldn’t quite define. But Evan was looking at him expectantly, so he took a deep breath and played along.
“Yes. I’ve had it done myself in the past,” Thomas said. “I don’t suppose you’ve ever injured yourself badly enough to warrant it before.”
“I can confidently say nobody has tried to stab me before,” Evan said. “I try to avoid people who are wielding knives.” He glanced down at the gash in his side and grimaced. “I suppose you’d best bring out the needle and thread.”
Technically the maester would be using horsehair, but Thomas chose not to mention that. He reminded himself that Evan probably knew anyway. He seemed to know most things.
Maester Owens took a moment to ease Evan over onto his side so he was facing Thomas, then hurried over to his cabinets and came back with a needle and a long strand of thread. “Ready, Your Grace?”
Evan nodded, his jaw set.
Thomas went to take a step back, but Evan’s hand shot out and grasped his wrist. “Stay?”
Thomas put his hand in Evan’s and perched on the wooden stool that was next to the bed. “Of course.”
Maester Owens glanced between them but didn’t say anything, instead threading the needle expertly before bending over Evan and pushing the needle through the jagged edges of his skin.
“Ow,” Evan said, his grip tightening and all the colour draining from his face. “Ow, ow, ow.”
Thomas winced in sympathy. He’d had more than one mishap with knives when he was younger that had required stitching, and it never got any easier to bear. He reached out with his free hand and brushed Evan’s hair away from his face. Evan pressed his cheek against Thomas’s palm and gave him the ghost of a smile before tensing and letting out a sharp hiss as the maester continued to work.
The tendons in Evan’s throat stood out in stark relief against the skin as he swallowed down the pain, and Thomas wanted nothing more than to lean in and kiss him, both as a comfort and to reassure himself that Evan really was fine. He resisted the urge—just.
“I want you to know I’m being very brave right now,” Evan said through gritted teeth.
“Incredibly brave, Your Grace,” the maester said, not looking up from where he was putting in the second stitch.
Evan took slow, deep breaths and Thomas held his hand as the maester continued to put him back together. Thomas had no doubt there would be an impressive scar.
To his credit Maester Owens worked quickly, and it wasn’t long before he put the needle aside. Evan let out a shuddery breath that spoke of relief, and his death grip on Thomas’s hand loosened.
Thomas glanced over at the wound. Now that there was a series of neat stitches holding it closed and the bleeding had stopped, it was far less ominous, and the tightness in his chest eased.
