" For God's sake! What were you thinking, bolting away like that? You're not home! They could have executed you and displayed your head at the entrance of the palace!" Harun shouted out as soon as he flopped down on the side of the bed. " This isn't like you at all, Sindbad!"
The man looked away, eyes cast down, as he held his throbbing jaw. He seemed like a child who was being rebuked for stealing cookies.
Jaber entered the room while balancing a tray of clean bandages and a bowl of water. " It couldn't be helped," he spoke evenly, trying to defuse the tension in the room. " Anyone would have thought that you had perished with that hit."
He pulled the prince's robes down to his waist so he could assess the wound, only to reveal layers upon layers of cloth that had been tightly wound around his abdomen. " It's a stroke of fortune that you had the forethought of putting these on."
