Guangfeng’s mind went blank as he felt Yuelan’s hands cling to his robes. He stared at the girl bleeding in his arms as the generals and assistants around him started shouting orders or chasing after the archer. His mind reengaged when someone tried to take Yuelan away from him.

“Don’t touch her!” Guangfeng roared, pulling Yuelan closer and turning his body. He heard a sharp inhale from the girl and loosened his grip a little to try and reduce the pain. “Summon one of the doctors to my tent immediately!”

“Your Highness, this woman could be working with the assassin to get close to you!” one of the generals argued. The soldiers and army leaders had, of course, heard of Yuelan, but very few of the ones in the south had actually met her. Women were not allowed in the military camps and the third prince had banned military prostitutes, so it was impossible for a woman to have shown up without a reason.

“This prince is familiar with this girl. Get a doctor immediately!” Guangfeng didn’t say another word to his subordinates as he carefully lifted Yuelan into his arms and started running for his tent.

While the general who had tried to take Yuelan started to fume, another sent a runner to the physicians’ tents to get a doctor sent to the prince’s tent.

Once in his tent, Guangfeng carefully put Yuelan on her stomach on the bed, grabbed a blanket, and started trying to slow the bleeding without moving the arrow. He adjusted his hands so he could staunch the bleeding with one hand and gently stroked her cheek with the backs of his fingers on the other hand. “What are you doing here?” he asked as he did his best to keep his voice gentle. There was a slight tremble in it and he grit his teeth for a moment before asking another question. “How did you even get here?”

Yuelan didn’t answer. Her eyes were closed and her face pale. She had fainted.

“Just hold on. I know it hurts, but a doctor will be here soon.” Guangfeng’s voice was coaxing and gentle, even though she couldn’t hear him. “It doesn’t look like the arrow hit anything vital, but I don’t want to try pulling it out. Where is Shadow? And your maids, where are they?”

“I’m sure it won’t take long for Lord Long to arrive,” Guangfeng comforted himself. “He’ll be able to explain what happened. I hope...”

“Your Highness, I am coming in,” a voice called from outside the tent before a man in white robes carrying a box of medical supplies stepped into the tent. The man looked a bit confused when he saw that his patient was a woman and not the prince himself. The runner had informed him to go to the prince’s tent, so he had assumed it was the prince who was injured. “This miss is…”

“Lady Long Yuelan,” Guangfeng answered. “See to her shoulder and do your best to keep it from scarring.”

The doctor nodded and moved over to remove the blanket Guangfeng was using to slow the bleeding. He looked carefully at the wound then looked over at the prince and cleared his throat awkwardly. “Your Highness...perhaps you could find one of her ladyship’s maids? For uh...modesty’s sake?”

Guangfeng’s face darkened. “They aren’t here,” he said bluntly.

“Your Highness, there are no women in the camp and I will need to remove some of her ladyship’s clothing to treat the wound...is her ladyship perhaps married?” the doctor pleaded.

“No. Just start the treatment,” Guangfeng ordered.

“But…”

“Start the treatment before she bleeds to death!” Guangfeng roared.

The doctor jumped, startled. “Your Highness, the arrow did not hit any major vessels, so her ladyship will not bleed to death. I only mean to protect her modesty.”

“How long do you plan to let the arrow sit in her shoulder? Until it scars?” The third prince glowered at the doctor until the man started working and noise from outside caught his attention.

People had started shouting outside the tent as the doctor checked Yuelan’s wound. It had gone all the way through her shoulder, so he cut the shaft and forced it the rest of the way through to get it out with the least amount of damage.

Guangfeng frowned and went to the entrance to the tent to shout at everyone to be quiet. As he pulled back the flap to stick his head out he spotted Long He with a shaken-looking Camphor trembling beside him.

Long He looked at Guangfeng. “You. Out. Camphor. Go in,” the dragon ordered.

Guangfeng didn’t argue and stepped the rest of the way out of the tent as Camphor hurried into it.

“What happened?” Long He asked.

“I don’t know. She suddenly appeared on the hill with me. The archer was aiming at me and she intercepted the shot. She passed out, so I couldn’t hear what happened.” He ignored the shocked looks on all the soldier’s faces as they stared at the way their prince was clearly deferring to the angry, unfamiliar intruder.

“How bad?”

“It went through her left shoulder, but I don’t think it hit anything vital. The doctor just started treating the wound,” Guangfeng explained honestly. His blood-covered hands clenched and he looked pale.

Long He nodded. “I won’t blame you for this. It was probably an accident that she appeared here. Questions can wait until she’s recovered.”

Guangfeng nodded. “Thank you for bringing Camphor…”

“I felt her get injured and grabbed the nearest maid,” Long He explained with a shrug. “She screamed the entire way here. I’m not sure if it was the height we were flying or me that she was afraid of.” The dragon looked the prince up and down. “I suggest a bath, Your Highness...and a change of clothes.” His lips curved and he chuckled. “She has not been in the best mood since you left the capital. The first princess, her father, and I have all had to listen to her complain about you and then I was forced to sit through her father’s interrogation on your behalf--which I left early, by the way.”

“Her father? I thought Kilin was too far for her to get to easily…” Guangfeng frowned and looked down at his blood-soaked clothes, then at the tent where his spare clothes were kept.

“Oh, that. It’s not a complicated explanation, but this isn’t the time or place. And it’s her decision if she wants to tell you or not. At least clean the blood off your hands and face.”

Guangfeng was about to go and comply when the doctor stepped out of the tent and bowed. “Your Highness...I’ve removed the arrow and bandaged the wound, but...it seems the arrow was poisoned. I’m taking it back to analyze with one of my fellow physicians to see which type of poison was used so we can give Lady Long the antidote. I’m not sure how she knew to check, but the maid who arrived suggested I look.”

“I’m her contracted spirit beast. I told Camphor to tell you to check for poison,” Long He informed the doctor. “Though I don’t know which kind.”

The doctor looked at Long He with wide eyes, then back at the tent before quickly heading for the medical tents to start figuring out which poison they needed the antidote for.

A moment later, Camphor stepped out of the tent and handed a set of clean clothes to Guangfeng. “Your Highness, I’ve brought you a clean set of clothes.”

One of the soldiers took the clothes for Guangfeng when the prince gestured for him to do so and then followed the third prince to one of the tents where baths had been set up. Just after Guangfeng had washed his hands and taken the clothes from the soldier, Shadow appeared and knelt in front of him.

“Your Highness...Master insisted I deliver the letter to you myself, or I would not have come on my own. She promised to stay in the library with Lord Long while I was gone…” The hidden guard pulled a letter from his clothes and held it out to Guangfeng.

Guangfeng let out a sigh and took the letter. “She’s here,” Guangfeng informed Shadow. “In my tent and injured.”

Shadow’s entire body stiffened and he looked up at Guangfeng in horror. “Master is...here? And injured?”

“You don’t need to take responsibility. Her arriving here was likely an accident according to Lord Long and she was injured saving my life. Just go and watch over her to make sure she stays safe.” Guangfeng waved his hand and stepped into the bathing tent as Shadow disappeared.