The sun filtering in through the open roof of the courtyard does little to alleviate my sour mood. I adjust the crutch under my shoulder, grimacing as I tentatively place some weight on my bad leg. A dull throb shudders from my knee up to my hip and I bite my lip to keep from yelling out with frustration.

Sinking down onto a bench I cast the crutch forcefully away, flinching when it strikes the stone path. I slump forward, elbows to knees as I bury my hands in my hair. This feeling of uselessness, of being trapped within the Palace walls awakens old and unwelcome memories. Without a working leg I can't go to the Outer City to confront Grayson, I am as useless as some pre-Rebellion Courtier.

Meanwhile, there is still no word on Meg's condition. Every day she remains asleep increases the level of tension within the City. People go about their business robotically, their shoulders visibly slumped and their footsteps trudging. More than once I have caught the edge of a conversation whispered from the corners. There are rumours that she has died already and talk of Grayson preparing to take the throne.

I lift my head from my hands at the sound of a familiar tread atop the stone path. Will crosses the courtyard towards me. His jacket and collar are unbuttoned, his rumpled appearance suggesting that he is just returning from the day's training. My throat dries at seeing him and I swallow bodily, straightening.

He notices my discarded crutch and stoops down to retrieve it, carrying it over to me and leaning it carefully up against the bench.

He sinks down onto the bench next to me, quirking a tired half-grin. We remain just far enough apart that we won't run the risk of our arms brushing up against one another.

"How was training?" I ask.

He shrugs. "As well as could be expected. The Wasters who joined up had their own ideas about technique and there were some spirited discussions."

I smirk. "Spirited, is that right?"

"Lively, even." His half-grin lifts a little higher to give me the hint of his dimple. I look away quickly, concentrating on the pattern my toe creates on the sandswept stone.

"So, judging by the fact that I found your crutch halfway across the yard, I'm going to guess that the healing isn't coming along the way you hoped it would." He continues.

"How perceptive of you."

"Do you want me to take a look at it?"

I look up abruptly. "What?"

"Don't get me wrong, I have every faith in my sister's doctoring abilities but she is still only an apprentice." He keeps his tone light and I narrow my eyes in suspicion.

I shake my head abruptly. "It's fine. You don't have to do that."

"I don't mind."

"You're the commander of the Queen's army, Will. I think it would be a bit undignified for you to be examining your-" I stop, biting my lip, at a loss for the next word.

He shifts slightly, pretending not to have noticed my near-slip. "Just because I'm a commander now doesn't mean that I've forgotten everything that came before." His eyes dart down and up again. "I'm still the same....physician I was when we met."

I can't help the sad smile that pulls at my mouth. "A lot has happened since then."

He is quiet for a long time, studying me until I lose my nerve and look away. "I hate seeing you like this, Kay."

"Like what?" I watch the couples strolling back and forth across the yard, heads bent low in conversation. They all seem so at-ease with one another.

"Stuck inside. Angry, frustrated. Come on, you know what I'm talking about." There is the brush of his hand against mine but it is so fleeting I think I must have imagined it.

I release a puff of air through my teeth. "It's not so bad. We have bigger problems to contend with."

"You don't always have to do that, you know. Push off your own problems because someone else's are bigger."

I look up at him sharply. "I don't do that."

His expression doesn't waver. "Yes you do. You have a beautiful selflessness, Kay, but it prevents you from letting people in to help." His gaze darts down to my bandaged knee and back up.

"What is this about?" Confusion mingles with a wave of anger, building and feeding on the layers already simmering below my surface. "I thought we agreed not to discuss you and I for the time-being."

"I'm not talking about you and I. I'm just talking about you."

"I'd rather you didn't do that either."

He raises an eyebrow at me, indicating the crutch. "Seems to me that you're stuck listening to whatever I have to say."

"You would take advantage of a girl when she's crippled?"

"I didn't say it was honourable, but I'm not above it."

I smirk, shaking my head. "I have to admit a begrudging respect for such dirty tactics, young William."

"I learned from the best." He nudges my knee playfully with his.

"So, while you have me, which is it that you wish to examine? Are you concerned about my broken knee or my poor, broken self?" I mean the words to be teasing but I end up but they taste bitter in my mouth. I look abruptly towards the glare cast by the sun's rays against glass walls, taking advantage of the opportunity to squint.

"You're not broken." He says simply.

I blink once, heavily. Drawing a steadying breath I turn back to face him, my eyes dry. "You think you see everything, don't you?"

"Not everything." He tilts his head at me. "Just you."

My chest throbs painfully as the ache I've pushed aside, the acute pain at missing him threatens me. Suddenly, I am overcome with the intense desire to confess everything to him. The anxiety I feel over Meg, the confinement within the City walls, my nightmares and the subsequent waking bouts of panic. I realize what I've missed more than anything is his companionship. I miss the freedom of being my completely raw, true self around another person. Without him my burdens feel so much heavier and my body feels so much weaker.

The words sit on the tip of my tongue, a mere breath away. He watches me patiently, his eyes darting across my face.

But something holds me back.

What's changed? What's to prevent us from repeating the same patterns over and over? If I take him back now, it will only be a matter of time until our guilt over hurting one another tears us apart again.

The old Kay wouldn't have cared. She would have dove head-first into his arms without a moment's consideration for the pain that was on the other side.

The new Kay has seen too much, has felt too much to be so careless with her feelings. I've learned that when everyone else is gone, my heart is the only thing I l will have left for company, I need to keep it safe and intact.

There is something ironic about holding back; this is exactly what Will wanted from me all along. He asked me to consider my actions before doing something that could get me hurt.

I'd wager he never considered being the one thing I was most afraid of hurting me.

I bite down on my tongue, swallowing the words and turning away. After a time my eyes focus on a familiar figure making its way across the courtyard and I feel a rush of relief for the distraction.

It still feels a bit strange to be seeing Cade so far from the relics of underground tube systems but he seems perfectly at home here in the sun-drenched courtyard, his long stride smooth and deliberate..

Will follows my gaze and raises a hand in greeting. Cade nods peaceably as he draws up next to us, smoothly sliding a satchel off his shoulder before settling comfortably into a seated position on the ground.

"How is she?" I ask immediately, not wanting to mince words.

"I won't know for certain until she wakes up, but..." He smiles and I feel my heart lift. "I believe she is going to be fine."

I slump visibly, breathing out the air I didn't realize I was holding. Next to me Will releases his own sigh of relief. I can't see him but I can picture the way he runs his hand over his scruffy head.

"Thank you." I glance up at Cade. "You have no idea."

He chortles kindly as he pats my leg. "Your Megra is an exceptionally strong young woman. I suspect it would take more than one lost Waster to bring her down."

The idea of regal, stoic Rowan being 'lost' tears at me. I can't escape the nagging sense of anxiety I feel at wondering what I would do if I was in her situation. How far would I go to protect the person I love?

It's a question that doesn't bear thinking about. Rowan tried to kill Meg and now faces execution. That's where the story ends.

"Would you be willing to teach our physicians some of what you know about herbs while you are here?" Will asks.

"Certainly. I would be glad to."

"I appreciate that." Will makes to stand. "And perhaps if you are so inclined, you could take a look at our Kay's knee?"

"Will." I snap in warning.

"Forgive me, Cade. I only ask because Kay is in some measure of pain and is either too proud or too stubborn to ask for help when she needs it." Will keeps his tone infuriatingly conversational and Cade laughs. I feel a jolt of annoyance at the both of them for having fun at my expense. If Will hadn't placed my crutch conveniently just out of reach I would hobble right out of here. Hobble with dignity.

"I am happy to see what I can do to help." Cade catches my eye and winks, dissipating my irritation somewhat.

"Again, you have my thanks." Will grins at the older Waster man before nodding cordially to me and strolling back off towards the Hall without a backwards glance.

I watch him go, reassured that I by staying silent about my feelings I made the right decision. If I were to cave and feed into Will's arrogance his big head might just over-inflate and float away.

"Now, my dear. What seems to be the trouble?" Cade hunches over his satchel as he rifles through it's contents.

"It's nothing." I say, examining my bandaged knee and shrugging. "Just an old injury that I tend to make worse from time to time."

"Well we can't have that, can we?" Cade lifts his head up. "A Runner who can't run doesn't bode well."

I grin, despite myself. "Where did you hear that name?"

"I may be a senile old man, but I still have ears." He gestures at me to remove my bandage and I begin unwrapping it obediently.

"Don't be so hard on yourself, Cade." I toss the bandages aside. "You may be old, but you're not senile."

He laughs, shaking his head and causing his white hair to float around his ears. He sets the satchel aside and rises into a crouch, taking my leg in his hands and prodding gently at the knee. I grimace as he makes his way around the area, glancing around to distract myself.

"How did you first injure it?" He asks.

"Falling." I wince again.

"Straight down? How far did you fall?"

"Four storeys."

His brows shoot up. "That would do it."

"Like I said, it just comes apart like this from time to time. I'm not sure anything can really be done about it." I tell him, watching as he releases my leg and takes up his satchel again.

"Now, now. There is always something that can be done." Cade withdraws a leather cask, a large wooden bowl and a couple pouches from his bag, laying everything out on the ground in front of him. "It is simply a matter of finding the right combination."

I don't reply, instead waiting patiently as he pours dried herbs from each of the pouches into the bowl.

"In your case, what we need to do is build strength." He keeps his head bent low as he unscrews the lid of the cask and adds its contents to the mixture. Glancing up. "You are someone who pushes their energy out to others rather than retaining it for self-healing."

I stare at him. "Have you been speaking with Will?"

"What do you mean?" He returns his attention to the bowl, swirling it in his hand.

"Nothing. Never mind." I sit back, wrinkling my nose at the aroma permeating from Cade's concoction. "That's foul."

"Strength sometimes comes from unpleasant beginnings." He says cheerfully as he withdraws a large, flat leaf from his bag. I watch with interest as he dips the leaf into the bowl, coating it.

I extend my leg, grimacing at the movement. "Where do you come up with these endless pearls of wisdom?"

He chortles again. "Oh, I pick them up from here and there." He places the sticky, herb-encrusted leaf directly over my knee, wrapping it firmly.

Almost at once my leg begins to burn. A million pinpricks from the leaf dig into my muscles, sending a spasm ricocheting from my ankle up to my hip. An obscene curse falls from my mouth as I reach over to tear the dressing off but Cade hand darts out with a surprising quickness, gripping my wrist firmly.

"It is going to hurt before it gets better." He says, not unkindly. "Be patient."

A trickle of sweat falls down my spine and I stiffen, focusing on breathing out evenly through my teeth. After what seems like an eternity the pain begins to recede, creeping slowly back towards my knee before settling into a dull throb.

"There." Cade releases my hand and pats the dressing gently. "That was not so bad, was it?"

"I've handled worse." I run my wrist across my forehead.

"Good." Without warning Cade slaps a heavier leaf on top the first, sending another burn shooting through my leg. "Because I need to apply a few more of these."

Several agonizing minutes later he declares himself done, sitting back and gathering up his supplies.

"Are you sure?" I ask, poking tentatively at the strange green dressing covering my knee, slowly drying in the afternoon sun. "I think I only reached the seventh circle of hell and I'm pretty sure there are a couple more to go."

"You'll see, it will have been worth it." He closes his satchel and places it delicately back on the ground next to him, settling comfortably into a cross-legged position. Shaking his head slightly, "Rowan really did a number on you girls. Knowing her, I'm surprised you held up as well as you did."

"Trust me, it was not for a lack of trying on her part." I tell him, tilting my head up to catch some of the sun's rays, revelling in the beautiful numbness coating my knee.

"I find it difficult to believe Rowan would stoop to this." Cade's scratchy voice carries a trace of sadness. "I have known her for a very long time. You hate to see someone familiar turn away from you."

At once my minds-eye flashes to Lara. I shake my head to clear it, looking back to Cade. "As strange as it sounds and as angry as I am, I don't think I blame her for what she did."

Cade's expression doesn't waver as he catches my eye. He gives a small nod. "Love makes us do unexplainable things."

"Unforgivable things." I add.

"Sometimes, yes."

We sit in silence for several moments, both of us enjoying the warmth of the sunlight and the fresh desert breeze blowing through the open walls of the courtyard. The spaciousness of the yard and the manicured landscaping are the closest thing the City has to offer that even halfway resembles the vast nature of the Wastelands.

"So." Cade breaks through the lull. "Do you wish to tell me how you came to fall four storeys and injure your leg?"

I chew my lower lip thoughtfully. "I can give you the abridged version."

"I will take it."

"There was a fire in my family's apartment and the window was the path of least resistance."

He studies me carefully. "The must be the extremely abridged version."

My lungs constrict in my chest. "It's difficult to talk about."

"You lost someone then?"

"I lost everyone." I finish definitively, turning away.

"I am sorry."

"What should you be sorry for?" I snap before drawing a breath and exhaling forcefully. "I mean...it happened a long time ago. Everything is fine now."

"Of course." I am surprised when I don't hear a trace of pity, but instead something akin to understanding.

"I suppose you are familiar with the plight of the orphan." I allow a trace of sarcasm into my voice in an effort to lighten the mood. "Since you raised three of them."

"I know that it can at times be terribly lonely." Cade watches me carefully. "I know that no one can replace your parents, but family comes in many different forms."

"You never run out of these tidbits, do you?" I straighten my leg experimentally, almost choking on my shock when I find that the movement is nearly pain-free.

"Feels better, doesn't it?" Cade sounds pleased.

"This is amazing." I don't bother hiding the awe in my voice. "How is this possible?"

"Through a combination of your perseverance and the earth's gifts to us." He smiles at my reaction. "Go easy on it, though. Patience is key."

"As long as it will be enough to get me to the Outer City." I bend my knee a couple more times, halting when the motion begins to ache. "I won't complain." Glancing up at Cade. "Thank you."

"You are welcome. Perhaps, like your friend suggested, you will ask for help the next time you need something." He teases.

I roll my eyes. "Will always thinks he knows what's best for me."

"The nerve is indeed staggering." He shakes his head, seemingly disbelieving. "Caring about your welfare. Best you lose him immediately."

"Full of wisdom, as always, Cade."

We both glance up at the sound of approaching footsteps. I catch one glimpse of Sera's happy face and rise immediately to my feet, swaying slightly in my haste.

"The Queen is awake." Sera's wide smile stretches from ear to ear. "She's asking for you."