Without Luke blocking his way Tobias quickly crossed the room and knelt down next to Rhiane. The princess elect had ceased screaming but now her voice had apparently left her completely which worried him exponentially more. He was not aware how obstinate and quick she was to argue with her fiance, talking perhaps to excess, but he knew her to be very sociable, eloquent, and gregarious, and seeing her reduced to staring blankly was more disconcerting than if she had continued to mindlessly shriek. In the past he had been chastised for his withdrawn stoic nature. It felt like karmic retribution that he would be so tortured by another silence's when he had been accused of doing the same to so many others.

"We need to leave," Tobias told her in a more gentle voice than he had ever used with anyone before. Rhiane failed to acknowledge she had heard him at all as her gaze remained fixated on the spot where he had dropped the first rebel. Experience taught him she was reliving it in repetition; her mind was not in the present. The royal bodyguard could not take back the shot, the scene of blood and death, or the trauma it had caused. In truth he would not even if it was a possibility. He had done his duty and executed a threat to both his cousin and the woman of which he was most fond, which ought to have given him a sense of pride, and yet he only felt remorse for the pain it had brought her.

Rhiane did not deserve this. He had joined the revolution in secret to try to prevent this wretched violence, to perpetuate a more peaceful transition of power, to save people from what he believed was the inherent cruelty of the current monarchy. To see his former compatriots make themselves into monsters no better than the queen's most fervent supporters sickened him. The ends did not justify the means. Sacrificing one innocent life would not make them more righteous, only stained and corrupted. Tobias sighed heavily. Carefully and cautiously he scooped Rhiane up into her arms.

"Doctor, bring me one of the blankets," he called out as he lifted his charge up from the floor. Her legs drooped over one arm while his other arm supported her shoulders. Tobias shifted her weight to distribute it as evenly as possible. While he could not deny he had hoped to one day cradle her in a warm embrace, this was not how he imagined her to be in his visions, injured and numb to the world, tormented by problems he could not solve. Rhiane's head rested against his chest as he carried her out into the medical room that was in disarray from the ambush.

"The car is just outside. Is there anything you have that might help?" the prince's cousin inquired.

The doctor shook his head as he bundled the blanket in his arms and followed Tobias out of the clinic. Truthfully he didn't want to be taken along in the envoy to wherever they might be headed, but he doubted Luke would heed his wishes, and only the royal could rescind the order. As the single village physician he had a duty to his assigned population- and if he left for any lengthy period of time there would be only two nurses left to tend to all the residents. "Let's get her in the car and then we can talk," he suggested.

They walked to the SUV that had been designated the transport vehicle for the prince and his princess elect. Given her left arm was broken they set her inside the right rear side of the car so that there were no concerns about her accidentally bumping the limb. The doctor secured her seat belt, draped over her blanket, and tried to help her make her as comfortable as he could without feedback from his patient. Rhiane slumped against the window and stared into the distance. The pair of men closed the doors to afford themselves a brief moment of privacy.

"Until you get her somewhere where there are better supplies available there isn't much I can do for her physically," the doctor told Tobias. "As far as her mental state... you are a man who has obviously seen situations like this unfold before. You likely know what to expect. She will simply need some time to digest. When she was found she was already sedated, and I had to sedate her again, but I still prescribe rest. I strongly recommend sleeping aids and someone in her room if possible to help ward off nightmares- enough interruptions during the night and it will be worse than if she stayed awake. I'm sure you have some female bodyguards that could be assigned accordingly. Keep her busy and distracted. I'm not a psychologist or a psychiatrist, but I can tell you that all the men and women I've seen go through this have an easier time if the have other things occupying their time."

"Is there something we should administer now?" Tobias asked with forced detachment.

"I'll get a couple things for the ride just in case," the doctor answered, "but I'd wait until you- well, we I suppose- arrive and it's necessary. I don't believe she'll remain this calm once there's a large needle being presented for injection into her arm," he deduced based on how emphatically she had been against every and any treatment option he provided, no matter how reasonable. Her fear and distrust of his profession might be the only thing, he wagered, that would throw her out of the prison her psyche was trapped in. With a respectful nod to Tobias, the doctor went back into his clinic to gather a few items while Luke finished his phone calls.