Snoden wasn't even sure how he was going to pull this off. He could guarantee no one in First Warren had as much of an extensive wound as Whit did, and it was essentially a walking sign saying: "Daggler targeted me!"

His friends in the hospital had already guaranteed their care for Whit, so it was only a matter of getting the young prince into the hospital unseen. Which would be difficult, seeing as Daggler had apparently realized that Whit wasn't dead and had sent out some of his lackeys to search for him.

On the bright side, Louise and Layra had latched onto Whit the minute they were able to talk to him. Airen had tried shooing them away, but Whit had waved her off, saying they reminded him of his own sisters.

First Warren wasn't that busy today, the families spending their last week with the chosen children before they were carried off to the Six's dark rituals.

Whit was a quick walker, glancing around him like he was expecting an ambush. Snoden didn't want to think about the implications of that.

The hospital was silent, a tired looking doe attending the front desk. She smiled at Whit, directing Snoden to the correct hospital room. The rooms around them were mostly empty, only a few patients laying on their cots with blank faces. Most of them were children.

The doctor welcomed them into the white-walled room. A table was pushed into a corner, along with a few cots. The only wall decoration was an eerie child's painting, with a child's scrawl writing out 'ASTER'.

The doctor gave Whit a rundown, wrote something down on a clipboard, and turned to Snoden.

"Do you know when he got this wound?" he asked Snoden.

"A day ago," Whit responded, not even looking at the doctor.

"It was pretty deep, and it was caused by a knife, by the looks of it," Snoden added. "I'm worried he'll get an infection."

The doctor nodded, unwrapping Whit's bandages. "You did a good job on cleaning the wound."

Snoden dutifully looked away. Unlike Airen, he couldn't look at blood and wounds without feeling squeamish. The doctor muttered something under his breath as he turned to a table with ointment and bandages.

"You're lucky," he said, turning back to Whit. "You don't have an infection, and it looks like it will heal, albeit with extensive scarring."

"Whit?"

A young buck's voice sounded from behind them. Snoden whirled around and locked eyes with the young regent of First Warren–Prince Winslow Joveson. The young prince was staring at Whit, his voice slightly hoarse.

"Win?" Whit's voice was muffled as the doctor dutifully continued wrapping bandages around his head.

"You're alive!"

"Of course I am," Whit said in an annoyed tone. "Did you expect me to die?"

"How'd he find us?" Snoden hissed to the doctor.

"I saw you," Winslow said, walking up to Whit. He looked barely older than Whit, but somehow managed to look ancient. It must've been the stress, Snoden thought absentmindedly. "You really weren't sneaky."

"But what if Daggler–"

"Daggler's investigating some organized crime on the other side of the city," Winslow said. "I took my chances and came over here."

Snoden sighed. "So, where do we go for now?"

Winslow crossed his arms. "There's only so much I can do. So, I'd advise Whit just vanishes from First Warren, and you deny and cut off any ties you have with the royal family."

"That's going to be a little difficult to do," Snoden said softly.

"Why?"

"My brother-in-law was Lord Captain Helmer," Snoden responded.

"Oh," Winslow said, blinking. "And Daggler knows this?"

"Yes," Snoden said. "He and Helmer didn't get along when they were recruits in the army. So of course, he knows."

"Hopefully he won't immediately jump to you, then," Whit said hopefully. "There are plenty of other people who could've helped us–"

"And you want to pin the blame on some random stranger–" Winslow started.

"Alright, enough," Snoden said before the two kids could dissolve into arguing.

"If Whit returns to the palace," Snoden began. "Daggler finishes the job. If he doesn't show up, Whit is basically an outlaw."

"You could try and contact the causers," suggested the doctor, screwing on the cap of a bottle of ointment. The entire room went silent.

The two Jovesons exchanged glances with each other and simultaneously winced.

i have decided i'm not going to edit this haha

anyways, idk what the majority of the fandom's stance is on Winslow but I like him lol. (me, gesturing to Winslow: I just think he's really cool)

enjoy! :D