Recovering (Henry)

[Lady Gillianne Auvray]

Gill drifted in and out of sleep in a small room just off of the main apothecary rooms. She had turned up for work that morning looking such a state after her recent ordeal, that the head serving woman had sent her straight to the physician's chambers to be looked at. An elderly looking man with silver hair had tended to her with healing salves for her various cuts and bruises. He had also diagnosed her with a broken rib and shock in general and so she had been prescribed bed rest.

She fell into a deep slumber almost immediately and was out cold for the entire day. Gill was woken by her stomach rumbling. She batted her eyelashes sleepily as the blurred room began to come into focus. It was empty. She rolled her head to one side and looked out of the window. It was beginning to get dark now, she would need a candle or something soon. She attempted to sit up by herself, but was stopped by a sharp pain as she moved.

"Ouch." she complained to herself, wondering if the apothecary would check on her soon.

[Henry Renold]

Henry had known all along that this was a bad idea.
Since Gill had been ushered to the physicians quarters that morning, he had been ordered to keep far away and not to interfere with her rest. He had managed to do as he was told this far (quite a feat for Henry Renold) but now he was bored and had had enough. He was squashed into a tiny alcove with his back against the cold stone wall and was trying desperately to listen for the footsteps of the silly old man who had banned him from the castle.

His lungs, which if anything were worse since the rescue mission, were making every breath hoarse and he needed desperately to cough but he knew he couldn't risk it. The thick dust that clung to the tapestry over his hiding place wasn't helping either and if he breathed too deeply he would only end up sneezing and letting everyone know exactly where he was.

Finally after what seemed like hours of waiting, Henry heard the shuffling footsteps of the head physician pass by and, after another minute or so, he slipped quietly out of his spot behind the tapestry and into the corridor.

He hadn't worn particularly sensible boots for sneaking, for they were heavy and made a dull thud each time he stepped no matter how hard he tried not to, but luckily Gill's room was close by and he made it inside without being caught.

"Hello you." He said, smiling in the dark.

[Lady Gillianne Auvray]

Gill heard footsteps outside in the corridor and she turned to face the door expecting one of the apothecaries. The door opened and a figure entered, but the room was so dark Gill couldn't make out who it was until she heard his voice.

"Henry?!" she breathed, glad that he was here but not that he was risking himself. Since the episode in the forest, she hadn't really had a chance to talk to him about what had happened. The first night they had returned she had been too weak, and had just slept.
"Come sit on the bed." her voice was raspy and quiet so she didn't hurt her chest. Gill wanted Henry closer so she could see him.

"You shouldn't have come and seen me, what if you get caught!" she rolled on her side wincing, "I'm glad you've come though. Are you alright?" Gill remembered that she was not the only one hurt by the men, and wondered how Henry's wounds were holding up. She had a lot of questions to ask him, but these were momentarily forgotten in her happiness at seeing him again.

[Henry Renold]

Henry sat gently on the bed, keeping himself rigid so that he did not put all of his weight on the bed at once and cause Gill pain. He had seen the way moving had caused he pain and he worried that he might inadvertently make it worse. The position was uncomfortable and awkward- just how Henry felt being here.

"Oh don't worry about me!" He smiled, nervously placing a hand on Gill's. Part of him was just happy being close to her again, but the rest of him was all clammy brow and speechlessness. After everything the pair had been through, Henry had expected things to be easier now, however it seemed that they were harder and they also had the shadow of the kidnap hanging over them.

He suddenly noticed that his hand was gripping Gill's rather tightly and he pulled away sharply, knocking a couple of tonic bottles over in the process. Dropping to his knees and onto the floor, he hurriedly began picking up the shards of glass, his face red.
"I'm so sorry!" He grinned apologetically.

[Lady Gillianne Auvray]

Gill didn't mind that Henry was gripping her hand so tightly, it was one of the few places that didn't hurt.

"Henry don't worry about it." she said, unable to stop herself smiling at Henry's grinning face despite his clumsiness. "It's fine, they tasted nasty anyway, and hopefully Gaius hasn't heard... it's not half as bad as, I don't know, falling out of a tree and pulling off someone's shoe!" Gill smiled coyly, reminded of her own clumsiness at several of their meetings, and looked down at her hands as she waited for Henry to sit back on the bed.

There was a lot she wanted to say to Henry. A lot of it nice, a few things that would turn the tips of his ears red, and several harsh remarks about his behavior to her the night he was in prison. But that could all wait, first there were questions to be answered. Gill shuffled around to prop herself up on the pillows. Now sitting and not lying, Gill realised the white chemise Gaius had provided her with was rather on the transparent side, and quickly folded her arms across her chest. Although the movement was done to protect her modesty, Gill looked slightly imposing, as if she were demanding an answer from the words she spoke next.

"Henry, I need to know, who are you? I mean, how did you know where to find me and how do you know Dante?"

[Henry Renold]

Henry finished playing with the shards of glass and left them in a neat pile under the side table. The last thing he wanted was to cause her more injury if she got out of bed and stood on them!

Now a little more at ease, Henry decided to kneel beside the bed rather than sit on it as he had previously. This way he was closer to her and it felt more natural than the awkward forced position he had been in before. As she sat up though, he noticed that his eyes were at chest height, and he felt his cheeks colour as she consciously folded her arms. He cleared his throat and tried to look elsewhere, probably drawing more attention to himself.

Gill's question soon took his mind off of the embarrassment though. He had known that at some point he would have to answer this one, but so soon? He stood up, back facing her and tried to find the words that would explain he was a notorious thief.

"I'm..Gill, I'm.." He tried, looking at the wall in front of him. "I'm part of the brotherhood." He spun round, mustering a weak smile and shrugging his shoulders.
"I'm not proud of it but its a way of life. I'm a thief and I have been known to venture into other 'areas' when the need arose." He bowed his head, ashamed to be admitting all of this to Gill. Gill, who was so innocent and pure. What was he even doing here? Just ruining her life.

"I met Dante one day when i wanted to get into a fight." He laughed suddenly, "Never expected to end up as friends! We heard about the kidnap from a couple of other brother hood members in a tavern in the slums. He's a member of the brotherhood too."

The feeling that overcame him when he had finished was a mixture of relief and utter disgust at himself. He sunk onto the floor, back against the wall and put his head in his hands. What would she think of him now?

[Lady Gillianne Auvray]

Gill watched curiously as Henry faced the wall, clearly struggling with what he was about to say. I bet he's married, or secretly a noble... Various possible revelations flashed through Gill's mind, each meaning they couldn't be together.

"The...the brotherhood?" Gill replied, sounding out the word in an unfamiliar tone. In all honesty she knew very little about the establishment, and had only heard the name in passing. Then again, she hadn't been in Camelot for very long. She let him continue to explain about Dante, his friend and fellow Brotherhood member, who Gill had met and liked on an entirely different occasion.

Gill wasn't in the mood to be angry; she barely had the energy to be shocked.
"Henry." she spoke softly, wanting to reach out and tilt his chin up towards her but she was too far away. He was obviously worried about her reaction. "You've saved my life, twice, and you're still that boy. I'm the one that's got you arrested by the Prince himself, and almost killed protecting me. Maybe I'm more trouble than I'm worth." Gill bit her lip to suppress a smile. She was a typical girl, fishing for compliments.

[Henry Renold]

Gill's subtle attempt to work a compliment out of Henry completely washed over him. He was oblivious to the ways of women and the thought hadn't even entered his mind.
"You do seem to need rescuing a lot.." He said in all seriousness, confused at her expression. Was that a smile?

She certainly didn't seem angry though- and that was always good! It seemed she really did like him for who he was and not what group or faction he belonged to and with a sudden jerk, he moved over to her bed and enveloped her in a tight hug.

"So you don't hate me again?" He whispered into her ear.

[Lady Gillianne Auvray]

Gill bit her lip when Henry hugged her. His gesture of affection was worth more than her protesting broken ribs; she turned a wince of pain into a smile, slipping her hand into Henry's and squeezing it happily as she pulled out of the hug.

"Of course I don't hate you again." She kissed his nose playfully. "Look, I don't want you getting in trouble for being in the castle when you shouldn't be. Not again." Gill smiled, letting go of Henry's hand and recrossing her arms across her chest. She was aware that she probably looked bruised and drawn out, altogether a bit of a state, and was glad that Henry hadn't commented on it. "Gaius said I'm allowed to go back to work tomorrow, so how about you meet me after? I know you said you were busy doing something with Dante during the day*, but we can go somewhere that evening?" Gill was quite looking forward to the prospect of normality after the drama of the last few days.

[*OoC: Henry I'm basing this post the day before the final confrontation thread]

[Henry Renold]

Henry's heart leaped at the prospect of a real date with Gill. They had never had that before the kidnapping and it was all starting to feel like a real romance. He smiled, thinking that Gill had never looked more beautiful as she did right then.
"I'd love to. I'll meet you by the entrance to the castle gardens at say, 6?"

"I suppose I should start playing by the rules." he laughed as Gill told him to leave, standing back up straight and grinning like only Henry could. "Who knows, i might even turn onto the straight and narrow!" He winked at her and blew her a quick kiss before darting back into the corridor.

His head was in the clouds and he was walking on air all the way back to the slums. He was sad to be leaving her, but Gill needed her rest. Besides he needed to prepare himself for tomorrow!