It surprises everyone to see Aidyn up and moving so soon after bond breaks, but he doesn't dwell on it. Instead, he uses the distraction of fighting for his team to keep the pain under control. After two days of debating, arguing, and throwing his weight around as a prince, Aidyn finally manages to negotiate better accommodations for everyone. It doesn't feel great to use his titles to push people around, but his teammates are counting on him.
Eventually, he gets the charges against all five members dropped down from Suspicion of Conspiracy Against The Crown to simply Under Investigation.
With less severe charges, he secures a transfer for Brehanna, Emmett, Taryon, and Ellyse from the King's Army Prison to the much more comfortable palace Stronghold. There, they'll be under the watch of the leader of royal guard. No matter what his mother says, Aidyn knows Captain Briary will treat his teammates fairly.
Negotiations for Noelle stall until he starts leaning on their Love Bond as positive leverage, instead of viewing it as the problem everyone else seems to see it as. It's actually a bit disconcerting how fast doors and lines of communication open once he starts saying things like, "Are you really going to treat the Love Bond of your prince like that?"
She's still under investigation of course, but Aidyn gets her transferred into the custody of his personal guards. He argues their Soul Bond makes Noelle his strongest form of protection, and she should therefore remain at his side. As the presence of his reassigned squad of guards reiterates, he is at risk without a Healing Bond. The life-sustaining properties of their new Love Bond lowers that risk—which, as he repeatedly points out, is the whole reason they formed it in the first place.
Similarly, Noelle's intact Mental Bond will eventually keep them both connected to the realm's communication networks as well. He tries to use this argument to get her network access reinstated immediately, but those efforts are rebuffed. For now, he's told to rely on his guards for communication. He doesn't push it, since the main priority is getting her released from her basement cell.
Once the paperwork is all in place, Aidyn and his guards set out to retrieve Noelle and oversee her transfer into their care. His concern for her well-being over the last few days morphs from standard issue "Leadership Anxiety" into something else entirely when he opens her heavily guarded door.
The small cell isn't horrible. It's not great, but he's seen worse. Lit by a single, magic-filled light bulb, it's clean and contains a cot and a thick blanket. It also has a chamber pot in one corner, which based on the lack of smell in the room has been changed frequently.
The rooms amenities and cleanliness are not the problem. The things that make his blood boil are the heavy iron chain and tight cuff clamped around the foot of the sleeping figure curled on the cot. What's worse is the fact that the sleeping figure doesn't so much as stir when he calls out to her.
Leaving his guards in the hall, Aidyn rushes into the cell and kneels down beside Noelle's cot. Up close, he can see her shivering beneath the blanket. When Aidyn presses the back of his hand gently to her cheek, his fingers touch burning skin.
Aidyn whirls around towards the army guards posted outside her door. "She has a fever! Why hasn't a Healer Mage seen to her?"
"A Healer Mage has seen her, Your Highness," the military squad leader says in a pleading tone. "He said her Healing Bond would keep things under control."
"Unlock her. And I want to talk to that mage. NOW."
The squad leader quickly removes the metal cuff before scurrying out the door and out of sight.
Aidyn glimpses purple around Noelle's ankle. They'd clamped the cuff so tight it bruised her, and her Healing Bond hadn't healed it like it should.
A fever and prolonged bruising. Sounds like a textbook case of an Unresponsive Healing Bond. Noelle needs to be under the care of a healer who specializes in magical ailments, not just physical ones.
As he waits, Aidyn seethes with anger. When Noelle whimpers, he freezes and examines their bond. It still overflows with his emotions, so he can't sense hers. All he feels is the anger pouring into their emotional landscapes from his end. As he studies Noelle in person, however, it doesn't take long to realize the longer anger pours in, the more strain it puts on Noelle's body. He can't sense her distress magically, but he can see its physical affects. The shaking he assumed was fever-induced has intensified since he first entered the room.
A mixture of alarm and dread drops in Aidyn's stomach and landscape. He's spent the last two days fueling his way through political maneuvering with anger, while also using it to push back his pain.
Noelle clearly hasn't handled his strategy well.
Aidyn clinches his fists, now angry at himself for adding extra burden to her without realizing it. He'd wanted to help, not make things worse! He takes a few slow breaths, working to let go of his fury. He can't change what's already happened. He can only adjust now that he knows.
As his emotions settle, Noelle's trembling subsides a bit.
The way he yelled at the guards probably made things worse too, so he vows to keep his voice low from now on.
"Noelle, can you hear me?" he asks softly.
Her eyes flutter open but remain out of focus, as if she doesn't actually see him.
Aidyn feels her forehead again. He needs to get her temperature down. A cup of water sits tucked under her cot. He dips the corner of his mage cloak into it and wrings it out before gently dabbing at Noelle's forehead.
Thankfully, it doesn't take long for the squad leader to return with the healer in charge of Noelle's care. He wears a mage cloak, confirming he has magical healing abilities. The man looks incredibly young to Aidyn, but that doesn't mean much. The way healing magic works, Healer Mages live a lot longer and age significantly slower than everyone else.
Before the healer has a chance to say anything, Aidyn carefully scoops Noelle up into his arms and carries her out the door. He automatically reaches for his magic to assist him, but has to release it immediately when his bond break pain intensifies.
Right.
Most of his magic is now tied up in healing his broken bond receptors. It looks like he'll be lifting and carrying things without magical assistance for a while.
At this realization, disappointment crashes down into his emotional landscape, adding more waves to the already tumultuous ocean. First he loses his Mental Bond with his brother, as well as his chance to form a romantic Love Bond. Next, he gets saddled with a squad of babysitter guards again because his Healing Bond is gone. And now he can't use his magic either?!
Afraid his simmering disappointment will boil over into more anger, Aidyn soothes himself the best he can by thinking about The Library. He hasn't lost access to everything magical in his life. Noelle provides the magic for The Library… although if she's in Overload, the whole team will need to stay out of her mental construct for a while to help her recover.
Noelle curls tighter against Aidyn in response to his intensifying emotions. He tries to shove his anger at the whole situation down deep enough that she can't feel it, but that doesn't seem to help.
"Where are you taking her, Your Highness?" the Healer Mage calls out nervously as he trails behind both the army squad of guards and Aidyn's protective ring of royal guards.
"I'm taking her to my room." It takes all of Aidyn's self control to not snap at the man. "She's been transferred into the Royal Guard's care. Guardsman Jonnsonn has the paperwork for you to sign."
Even though Aidyn is doing physically better than everyone expected, he hasn't been discharged from the hospital yet. While he's spent his days down in the command unit, he continues to sleep in the same the hospital room.
"She's fine, Your Highness. Whatever is going on will clear up on its own since her Healing Bond remains intact—I've checked multiple times, and her bonds are all fine."
"My Love Bond partner is absolutely not fine," he says, trying to use the personal implications of the bond instead of harsh words to communicate the seriousness of the mage's mistake.
Aidyn instructs his guards to make space so the mage can come closer. "She's clearly showing signs of Magical Overload. Feel her forehead, and look at this bruise!"
Any remaining confidence drains from the Healer's face as he checks Noelle's temperature and examines her ankle.
"Are you a specialist?" Mackelvy asks the mage grimly, "because at this point, that's who she needs."
The healer slowly shakes his head.
"Then go find one." Aidyn speaks softly, but can't keep the sharpness all the way out of his tone. "Loud sounds seem to hurt her, so do not make me raise my voice."
The abashed Healer Mage bows in understanding.
"Tell the specialist that Noelle is a Memorizer, and that I think our new Love Bond is overwhelming her systems."
The mage nods again, vigorously, and walks away to follow Aidyn's orders.
"Faster," Aidyn growls at the retreating mage, who jumps, shifting from a walk into a sprint that causes his mage cloak to billow behind him.