Mercy had hovered over Jon, checking him over for the next few minutes. Jon didn’t like it, since she was making him worried, but he trusted her.

“Are you in pain?” she asked.

“...No…” he responded.

“What can you move?” she asked. She seemed to have calmed down, so Jon was calmer as well. He was still breathing, so that meant his lungs worked.

He could still blink, at least he thought.

He tried it. It worked.

There were feeling in his arms, but they wouldn’t move at all. His legs, on the other hand, were dead of feeling.

“...Stuff…” Jon said. He felt his neck stiffening up.

“What can’t you move?” she asked.

“...Everything,” he said. He realized after that it wasn’t a good answer.

“Sorry…”

“Don’t apologize.” She went up to him and felt his face. “Can you feel that?”

“Yeah,” Jon answered.

She felt his shoulder. ”Can you feel that?”

“...Yeah.”

“What about here?” she touched his chest.

“It feels… cold..”

“Huh. Okay. Uh, just wait here, then, I'll"

She smacked herself in the head. “That was stupid of me to say.”

“It’s okay," Jon reassured.

"I could maybe... no, I'll get Mallory to do it instead. I think I know what it is." She rubbed Jon on the forehead. “I’ll be back.”

She ran out of the large room.

Jon grimaced as he looked up a the ceiling. He couldn’t do anything, so he decided to trace the different colors with his eyes.

So much more colorful than my room...

He waited and waited until he heard the door open.

Mallory peered over Jon into his view. “Hello, my man!”

“Hi…” Jon said.

“...Alright. I’m not a nurse or anything, but…”

“Nonsense,” Mercy said “You patched up Tallow pretty well.

“I held her together,” Mallory explained. “It’s just like trying to stop a whole bunch of blocks from falling apart. The Vindazi, and by God, even Tallow herself did most of the work.”

“You still knew how to help her,” Mercy responded.

“Well… if you watched Hector spar, you’ve seen someone hurt themselves in just about every way possible. In fact, when it comes to watching all of his sisters spar... you learn a lot.”

He put his hand on Jon’s head. “In fact, I think Jon’s fine. Did you get hurt, Jon?”

“...Yeah…” Jon answered.

“It’s exhaustion, isn’t it?” she asked.

“...Yep." Mallory looked at Jon. "Wow, Jon, what did you get into on that mission?”

“...Stuff…” Jon answered.

“Hmm… well-”

There was knocking on the door.

“Mercy!” The door opened. Hector came through. “We have to”

He stopped.

"Is that Jon?"

"No it's the only other farmer in the Kingdom of Resden," Mallory said. "Now hold off, I'm trying to work."

“What happened to him?” Hector asked.

“That’s what we’re trying to figure out,” Mallory replied.

“Well, we have to hurry it soon,” Hector said. “My father’s expecting us.”

“This early?” Mercy asked.

“Yeah. I learned that when he tossed me out of bed this morning.” He rubbed the back of his head. “It still hurts.”

“He tossed you out of bed?” Mercy asked.

“Yeah, yeah, but Jon comes first.” He walked over. “Why is he here?”

“He spent the night,” Mercy said.

“He, he, what?” Hector yelled for the first time Jon heard in a while. “He spent the night? Are you kidding me?”

“Hector!” Mallory sighed, "just-”

“He can do whatever he wants!” Mercy yelled.

“You can’t jeopardize what we’re trying to do with… with…” Hector started to stutter.

“With what?” Mercy asked.

“...You can’t have guys here! Especially at night. You-”

“You don’t get to tell me what to do!” Mercy said. “Who do you think you are?”

“I…” Hector stopped himself.

“I’m nothing to you!” Hector yelled. “Apparently... I guess this means nothing to you then.”

"Why are you being so dramatic?" Mercy responded.

“Come on, Hector,” Mallory said. “Why don’t-”

There was knocking on the door.

“Uh, Mr. Mallory, sir!” Someone said, “You’re being asked for.”

“Who told them I was here?” Mallory asked.

“I did.” There was another voice on the door.

Mallory sighed. “Of course. the only competent guard..."

He turned to Hector. “Okay. Hector, can you bring Jon down to Tallow’s room.”

“Really?” Hector asked. “Why don’t I just bring him to the King’s Guard area?”

“Cause that’s at the other end of the castle, and you're gonna be busy today."

Hector sighed again. “Fine.”

“Mercy, you-”

“I’ll follow you?” she asked Mallory.

Mallory nodded. “I’ll bring you to Luther.”

“You know where he’s at?” Hector asked.

“He’s your Dad,” Mallory said. “I always know where he’s at. It’s like having a fire-breathing dragon loose in the castle.”

“I’ll be back, Jon,” Mercy said, stroking his face. “Okay?”

Jon couldn’t nod. He grimaced.

“Okay,” he strained.

Mercy patted his hair, and they both left the room.

“Alright, Jon,” Hector said. “I guess… just hold on.”

“Mmmm…” Jon’s voice was already getting tired.

Hector reached down and lifted Jon over his shoulder in one sweep.

Now, Jon was hanging over Hector’s shoulder. He felt like a baby. He was at least glad it was hard to feel anything now.

“Come on…” Hector went to the door and poked his head out to check the hallway before leaving.

“Alright…” He went out.

Jon could do nothing but watch the floor below Hector’s feet, and his cape.

Cape? Hector was wearing a cape? It was long and red. Jon thought it went nice with the gold.

He also thought the fabric felt nice as well as it kept smothering him as they walked.

Hector pushed open a door with one hand, then went down the large stone staircase.

All of the bouncing as they descended showed Jon that not everything was numb. There were still some aches in different areas of the body.

He was a little dizzy once they reached the bottom, but Hector continued without slowing down.

It was like Jon wasn’t even there.

Hector stopped at another door and pushed it open.

Jon immediately heard snoring.

“Hey!” Hector yelled.

The snoring continued.

“Hey!”

“What, what?” There was Tallow’s unmistakable voice. “What’s going on.”

“Move over,” Hector said. “I got Jon.”

“Move over? What are you doing? Coming in my room-”

“Jon’s sick.”

“Oh. What?” Is that him?”

“Move over.”

“At least let me get dressed!”

“You aren’t dressed! I'm... I’m sorry-”

“I’m joking. I don't even care, you prude. Put him here.”

Jon felt his body lurch over Hector’s shoulder. Jon plopped onto the bed, onto his back again.

Now, he could see Tallow peering over him. She was wearing all of her clothes, except her headwrap. She also wasn't wearing any of the numerous gear she always had.

“What happened to you, mate?” Tallow asked.

“He can’t move,” Hector said.

“I wasn’t asking you!” Tallow said.

“Well, it doesn’t matter. I’m leaving.”

“You’re just gonna leave him here?”

“Yeah.” Hector walked out of Jon’s view.

Jon forced his neck to turn ever so slightly.

“...Guess I’m left to take care of you again,” Tallow said. “Do you need anything?”

“I’m… fine…” Jon responded.

“Cool. ‘Cause I’m finishing the rest of my nap.” Jon felt her climb back into the bed in the space next to him.

Oh no... He wouldn’t be able to protect himself from the hitting.

Then again, she was probably tired from last night as well. And it's not like he could feel too much anyway, so the hitting would be fine.

Jon took a short breath and decided to let things go. He would be okay.

He suddenly woke up to arguing.

“You’re supposed to be taking care of him!” Hector said. “Not going to sleep!”

“He’s literally not going anywhere!” Tallow said. She was standing next to Hector while she was arguing.

Jon realized he went to sleep. At least his next felt a little less painful.

“But what if he like, chokes on his own tongue or something?” Hector asked.

“Only someone as stupid as you would choke on their own tongue,” Tallow said. “And besides, he’s paralyzed, not dead.”

Paralyzed. That didn’t sound good. Well, as she said, at least he was still alive.

Jon heard the door open. Followed by a loud clap. A group of men and women in white gowns surrounded Jon.

“There he is!” Mallory said. coming to the bed. “See if he has anything major.”

Jon was swamped by men and women surrounding him, feeling over his arms and legs.

“Hi, Jon,” Mallory said, coming close to him. “I’ve got my friends checking you over, is that okay?”

“Yeah,” Jon answered. He trusted Mallory.

“See, I’m guessing you got injured pretty bad, yesterday, right?” Mallory asked. “What happened?”

Jon didn’t know if he got injured. He had gotten hit once or twice, but he got back up afterward.

"No need to be humble," Mallory reassured. "Just tell us."

“I… got punched…” Jon said.

“Where?” Mallory asked him.

“In the face…”

“Bastard!” Hector said. “I’ll punch him back.”

“Jon beat him up already,” Tallow said. “So, did your girlfriend. And I punched him in the face anyway.”

“Well, I hope it was hard,” Hector responded. "And she's not my-"

“Did it hurt?” Mallory asked as someone pressed hard into Jon’s cheek.

Jon nodded as much as he could with someone’s finger pushing into his face.

His throat felt dry.

“Are you having trouble speaking?” Mallory asked.

“...Yes…” Jon waited until after his mouth was clear before he could speak.

“That man was pretty strong,” Tallow explained. “He was strong enough to take me out in a single hit. Granted, I was low on chakra-”

“You let a guy punch you in the face?” Hector asked. “I thought you were, like, fast.”

"We can find out now," Tallow said.

“Can we get Jon some water?” Mallory asked. "And refrain from punching each other in the face in the presence of nurses and an injured person?"

"I wasn't gonna punch anyone..." Hector muttered, perplexed.

"We should check his back," one of the nurses said.

"Sure," Mallory reassured. Two of the nurses grabbed Jon by the side and pushed him over.

Jon felt a sudden strong pain go through his back, as well as some residual pain elsewhere. He uttered a small scream.

“Oh boy..."

Jon was quickly placed back down onto his back as Mallory had a surprising reaction. “Is it your back?”

Jon grimaced.

Mallory looked at Tallow. “Can you do that neck thing?”

“What neck… really? You think all Vindazi know how to do that?”

“...I know that you guys travel in groups for long times outside of your home,” Mallory said. “So, they probably make sure you at least have several skills prepped before you do. I also know that Sabez probably prepped you to hell and back and that you're a very capable Vindahzi-"

“Fine!” Tallow yelled. “Back off everyone!”

The nurses pulled away from Jon in an orderly fashion.

Tallow leaned over Jon.

“I… haven’t done this on a live person before,” Tallow said. "I hope his neck doesn't explode."

“I’m sure it’ll be fine,” Mallory said. “I’m sure we can fix anything you mess up.”

Jon didn't want his neck to become a mess, especially one he couldn't clean up, but he decided to put his faith in Tallow.

Her hands slowly reached around Jons’ neck. Her thumbs found their way around his skin.

“Hmmm… breathe. Slowly.”

Jon began to breathe through his nose.

“Out through your mouth.”

Jon opened his mouth wide.

She pressed hard into his throat.

He coughed. A sudden rush of air came into his mouth after he finished coughing.

“Speak hun,” she said.

“Hi." Jon was stunned to hear himself sound so full again. "I'm talking."

“Yes you are," Mallory said. “Now, what happened? You hurt your back?”

“I… hit a tree,” Jon said. He was gathering his memories more clearly as the day went on. The fight was broadening itself in his head. It was weird piecing it apart.

“Like, with your fists, right?” Mallory asked.

Jon shook his head. Then he stopped in realization.

“Neck movement. That’s good!” Mallory patted Jon’s shoulder. “Keep going.”

“I… Raglace… he shoved me…. And I went flying…”

“Into a tree,” Mallory said.

“Into a tree,” Jon confirmed.

“...Okay… can we turn him over... carefully? You ready, Jon?”

Jon nodded. This time, he had more pairs of hands come to him as they pushed him over.

"He really gets the special treatment," Tallow said. "Living in a castle must be nice."

"What'chu talking about, hun," Mallory asked. "Jon might not get any treatment at all."

Jon felt fingers on his back."

“Holy Icarus," Mallory said, "It’s very tense, especially in the lower back area. And if I use my mana..."

Jon felt his whole body turn cool.

"Yep. Bring him back."

They turned him back over.

“Hey Jon,” Mallory explained, “this is Sally.”

Sally, a nurse with brown hair that was tied back, waived at Jon.

“She’s gonna poke you, okay?” Mallory said. “But, she’ll ask you questions.”

Jon nodded.

“Can you feel that?” she asked.

Jon waited for her to poke him.

“I don’t think he can,” Mallory said.

Oh.

“Alright. I think I can finally tell you what’s wrong,” Mallory said. “You’re mana-exhausted.”

Jon’s face scrunched up in confusion. Mana-exhausted? But he wasn't breaking into sweats as Mallory did back at the farm.

“I can tell you’re confused,” Mallory said. "Now that your whole face seems to be working.

Jon nodded.

“Exhaustion?” Hector asked. “How? Jon doesn't use that much mana.”

“He did when he got injured,” Mallory said. “Oh, wait, you weren't there."

He turned back to Jon.

“Uh, so, Jon,” Mallory began.

“Yeah?”

“Your body has been adapting to mana.” He pressed his thumb on Jon’s cheek, pulling it down. “So, it’s starting using defensive mana naturally.”

“Defensive?” Jon repeated.

“Uh, it just means when you get hit, it won’t hurt as much,” Mallory explained. “Your body’s getting naturally tougher to all the mana usage. And you’re probably subconsciously using it to strengthen your body. Probably the gun is helping with that.”

“Ok…” Jon said. Did that mean he’d be strong like Hector? He’d watch Hector get hit with the strongest of attacks, and he was always able to stand back up.

“Like Hector,” Jon said.

Mallory gave a deep chuckle. “Yeah.”

“Why are you laughing?” Hector asked menacingly.

Mallory ignored him as he continued to explain to Jon.

“It also means you’ll recover from injuries faster, yadda yadda yadda.”

“Do you…” Jon didn’t know how to finish the questions.

Thankfully, he didn’t need to.

“No, us lonely mages draw mana directly from our body,” Mallory said. “It doesn’t course through us, so we’re pretty brittle most of the time. But someone like Hector, his mana is coursing full through his body all the time. It may not be enough to cast a large spell, but he can take hits like no tomorrow.”

He pulled his finger from Jon’s face. “Honestly, you probably have more in common with Hector and them than with me.”

Jon understood. His gun was a long-distance spell, but apparently, he was meant to stay closer to the battle.

“Anyways, since you’ve first started," Mallory continued, "Your body’s starting to learn how to react to with its own mana.” Mallory continued. “But, you don’t get hit very often, right?”

Jon nodded.

“When you hit that tree, I think your body went into shock,” Mallory said. “It protected your back, but the combination of the pain to your back and the fact that your body had to rush to protect it means that it took a more than average amount of mana to protect. Add in the fact that your personal mana reserves probably aren’t that used to being in battle in the first place, and the fact that we’ve been traveling and non-stop fighting for the past few days means that your body went past its limit of use.”

Mallory felt Jon’s arms, observing them. “And you have a lot of back to heal. And if your back is gone, that means everything else is too.”

“Hmmm…” Maybe Jon should have done a better job protecting his back. With that gone, he was all useless.”

“Mana depletion happens to everyone,” Mallory said. “Usually, it takes a few days of napping and rest. Heck, when it happened to Hector he was stuck for a week.”

“You didn’t have to tell him that,” Hector said, crossing his arms.

“He wouldn’t get help from the others,” Mallory continued. “So, he was out for longer than he had to be.”

“I’ve had exhaustion,” Tallow said. “But never to that level.”

“That’s probably ‘cause you have a good teacher,” Mallory explained.

“Well, yeah.” Tallow gave a small smirk.

“But wait,” she continued, dropping said smirk. “Jon was fine when we fought. Why didn’t he drop in the fight? If he was that low on mana, should he have like, died, right? Or even just flat out drop on the floor?

I did drop to the floor, Jon thought. Then again, Tallow was unconscious, so she probably didn’t see him get hit.

“Oh, that’s simple,” Mallory said. “Jon, get your gun.”

Gun? For some reason, Jon knew it was on the table next to him. He didn’t even know there was a table.

I can’t… He slowly started reaching for his gun.

There was a slight shriek from the crowd.

He was sitting up in the bed, holding on to his gun.

“...yeah, that’s freaky,” Tallow said. “Cool, but freaky.”

“The gun probably eases his manaflow so that it’s easier to conduct spells,” Mallory said. “Just like what you did to Jon's neck. How do you feel, Jon?”

Jon didn’t know. He felt weird. Like, his body felt fine. But he also felt something within his bones, like there was a ringing.

“Then will Jon be okay if he just holds the gun?” Hector asked.

“No. I don’t think so,” Mallory said. “Jon, can you stand?”

Jon couldn’t stand. His legs still wouldn’t move.

“Figured. Well, Jon, you should still rest, anyway, you know? You want your body to heal properly. You need a break.”

Jon nodded. He agreed. He laid back down on the bed, then put his gun back on the table.

“I know what will help you out,” Mallory said. “Wait here.”

“No!” Hector suddenly said. “Don’t do it!”

“Well, Charlotte’s not here,” Mallory said. “So-”

“No." Hector repeated, "What if she tries to hurt Jon.”

"Jon's not you, Hector," Mallory said. "Plus, I doubt she would do that anyway. You know how proud she is about that stuff."

"I still don't want to trust her with Jon's health," Hector said.

Mallory looked at Tallow.

“You’re the deciding vote, Tallow,” Mallory said. “You were on the mission. Should we bring her?”

“Sure,” Tallow said. “I don’t like it. But if it helps Jon, sure. I trust that she wants Jon to be okay."

"The nutter...,” she muttered under her breath. Jon realized only he could hear her.

Who? Jon wondered.

He didn’t have to wait long to find out. After Mallory left the room for a few minutes, he came back into the room with Macy at his side.