Arranged marriage to the princess of the Red Scorpions

Coming back to the land of the living wasn't a pleasant experience for Alonso. It wasn't there to welcome him with present warmth. No, it came with immeasurable pain that refused let him stay unconscious any longer.

It wasn't that Alonso didn't want to move, it was more that it refused to move. He felt parts of his body ache that he didn't know previously existed before today. Jovani did more than a little number. A few words were all it took to send that man off on one of his fits, worse yet, from the drugs.

Never again would he allow Jovani near anything beyond painkillers. If this were the end result, Alcohol was the better option time and again. Eve would have to come to understand that. Otherwise, Alonoso didn't think he would be able to handle another such event. Not with the way his body currently felt.

Darkness engulfed the room, which helped keep the right-hand man's headache below an intense roar and instead at a barely bearable throb. Jovani didn't even find comfort in the overly fluffy mattress. The right hand may not have been able to see anything, but the sight wasn't necessary to tell he was in the infirmary. The intense scent of antiseptic mixed with bleach and artificial soap smells was more than enough of a telltale.

Alonso tried hard not to wince as he shifted onto his side to alleviate some of the pressure on his back. Being engulfed by soft, squishy material wasn't what his back needed to help it feel better. It continued to throb without mercy as Alonso focused on just being able to breathe. It would take quite some time before the pain melted into discomfort. Days maybe even weeks.

"No more drugs after this." His left hand covered his eyes as he gritted his teeth against the pain. Couldn't Cain have given him something to take or left it nearby? What kind of bullshit was to say his being unconscious meant he couldn't take anything? Fuck the mercenary for being such an ass. The man was not suited to be any type of leader because he couldn't put his petty issues aside, even for something as serious as this.

Alonso couldn't even reach his right hand out to feel for any bell or device to request someone's assistance. Did Cain go about taking that away from him as well? Surely the mercenary couldn't be that cruel despite seeming to derive some sick pleasure from seeing others suffer and struggle.

"If there is any goddamn bloody person in here, now would be the time to make your presence known. I don't want to raise my voice and start shouting unnecessarily." Alonso's voice came out barely above a cracked whisper. Their throat is far too dry and raw to raise his voice correctly. Water. Another item on a very long list of things that Cain had gone about leaving him without.

"The infirmary isn't the place to be making such a fuss. Sick people are supposed to go about laying around and being taken care of. Fussing only after they are healthy." Alonso felt the hairs rise on his neck at the sound of the unfamiliar voice—a voice with just enough edge to highlight the danger of its owner.

"Ah ah. Alonso. Relax. Now is not the time for you to be making such an expression. We are only getting acquainted once more after a very long time apart. I'll make sure that you're well taken care of while I'm here as well." The right-hand man knew that voice. He couldn't precisely place where he'd heard it. The darkness didn't help that matter either. Limited senses left space for the brain to play tricks on one.

"What exactly are you doing here? As you said yourself, this isn't the kind of place for a person who isn't sick to be. I'm not here to be of anyone's entertainment either." Even if he couldn't remember who the other was, that didn't mean he had to give that information away. At least not yet.

"You may not think you're not here for anyone's entertainment. That doesn't mean I can't get any from seeing you in such a state. Did dear fluffy Jovani do this to you? I didn't honestly think he still had it in him after so long." The voice grew to a low mutter as Alonso heard something shift on the opposite side of the room. Could they see him in the darkness, or was it only him who couldn't see anything?

"It is a bit of a shame, though. I had hoped we would get a chance to talk under better circumstances. Your current state isn't the right one for this kind of reunion. I wonder what you might've said to make him react this way?" Alonso tried not to let his breath halt despite the sense that the person was looming over him.

Still, he couldn't see their face. Damn it. It really must've only been him who couldn't see anything now. A tight, nail-digging grip took hold of Alonso's left hand before it lifted very far from the bed. The slightest raise of his left hand caused the other to react.

"No, no. You don't want to take that off your face yet. It would be best to leave it on until your injuries heal. Someone patched you up well, which would be terrible for their efforts to go to waste." Alonso felt his mind race through people's names and mannerisms, akin to how one would flip through a book to find the right page. The right-hand man could taste it on the tip of his tongue but yet not touch it simultaneously. Who was the damn person invading his personal space, and for what reason.

"Let go of my arm and tell me exactly what you did to me." The cracked voice didn't come out as threatening as Alnoso had hoped. It only earned him a low, amused chuckle as the hand only tightened its grip around his wrist.

"You think you're in any place to tell me what to do? Whether I want to keep ahold of your arm or let it go is up to me." The fingers didn't stop digging into his wrist, but another hand touched Alonso's arm. The cool skin caused his skin to ripple with goose bumps at the unexpected touch he couldn't see.

"I think that before I let you go or do anything else, I would much rather see the extent of the damage done. Jovani did quite a number on you, which is interesting to see." The hand continued trailing further up the right-hand man's arm until it stopped at the fabric of his shirt. Disinterested in what was underneath it, it moved atop the material to the other's neck. Alnoso gritted his teeth. He would never be able to get used to the helpless feeling. Much less now that he couldn't see or remember who was touching.

"You can keep pretending you know me when you don't, or you can swallow your pride and ask who I am. It doesn't matter to me either, but you might prefer the latter option before we get further along." Why exactly would the latter option be preferable? Did this man have some torture planned for the right-hand man?

"I think that I already know who you are. I would prefer if you went about confirming it for me yourself. There's no one I have to answer to outside my boss. If you're not him, which I know you're not, I'm in the position to demand things." That response didn't go over as well as Alonso thought it would. Or rather, he expected the reaction that happened next.

Alonso heard the sharp thud of his head hitting against the bedrail more than he felt it from his body. Tossing like a rag doll messed with his sense of causing an out-of-body experience.

"You think you're in any place to be the one going about and asking all the questions? In what world do you think that's the case? Have you honestly forgotten who I am?" The kind tone from seconds prior turned menace, almost to the feral point. Nails bite into delicate wrist skin to the end of drawing blood.

"I think you're the one who has forgotten your place and what you're allowed to do. If anyone is in the position to give out the orders around here, that would be me. Even if you serve Jovani, I think it is best you don't forget the real person who holds power around here." The words sounded distant and hollow to Alonso, almost like they were being said underwater—the strike to his head was too much for his already battered body.

That's right. That was who this person was. f𝗿e𝙚𝙬ℯ𝚋n𝚘ν𝗲l. 𝐜𝐨𝗺

In that second, however, he remembered the other person. The name never escaped his mouth. Even those silents silently moved the correct letters before the darkness engulfed him.