It took a little bit of fumbling on his part, but Sennu ended up dealing with the buttons much easier than he had been expecting. It took only a few moments for their combined efforts to remove the dress entirely, leaving the princess clad in nothing but an extremely thin shift. The servant felt his cheeks quickly begin to heat up, and after a few moments he realised that he had been staring - not just at her body itself, but at the smattering of bruises across her torso that had been hidden up until a few moments ago. Apparently her injuries were much more extensive than he had originally assumed, though that was no excuse.
Praying that the princess had not noticed his unintentional transgression, the prince would accept her thanks with a simple nod of acknowledgement, quickly turning away. He would crouch down and quickly retrieve Aryende's discarded dress, busying himself with the simple task of folding it properly and setting it aside. The staff who attended the princess' rooms would take it to be cleaned later, when the princess was away and they could safely go about their housekeeping duties. He wouldn't pause in the slightest as Aryende questioned him on the matter of his work for the queen, though he did take a moment to consider the question.
"More often than most. I don't know what I did to win her approval, but at one point I had the pleasure of attending her several times a week " he would offer rather simply, moving back towards the princess' bedside as he spoke. After a brief moment spent glancing around, Sennu would reach up and pluck his handkerchief from the breast pocket of his coat, before folding the thing over in his hands a few times in quick succession. A part of him wished to question the princess on why she felt the need to ask, but Sennu knew it was not his place.
"Truth be told, I worry for her grace's health. I can only hope that she sees some measure of improvement soon, as unlikely as it may be" he would hastily add, before reaching for the water jug that he had collected earlier. The servant would unceremoniously dunk his handkerchief in the cool water within, before quickly wringing it out - leaving the cloth damp, but not dripping wet. Satisfied with its state, he would lean across and gently lay the thing across Aryende's forehead. Hopefully it would ease her discomfort somewhat, if not help her cool off. A proper compress would have been better for the bruises on her face, to help reduce the swelling, but the cold would be better than nothing.
"Better?"
Diverting from their current topic of conversation briefly, Sennu would watch the princess' face closely for a moment. He wanted to make sure that his actions were having the intended effect, and not causing Aryende any extra discomfort instead. That seemed unlikely, considering her earlier complaints, but it was better to be safe than sorry.
The knowledge that those damaged fingers still needed tending lingered in the back of Sennu's mind. That particular injury was the one he was least confident in his ability to deal with using just the materials he had on hand, and trying would likely prove the most uncomfortable part for the princess. Knowing that, he didn't see any harm in allowing the princess a brief moment of respite before he attempted to splint them, so long as she was mindful to not cause them any further harm. The damage to her ribs and ankle was equally concerning, but there was little he could do there, aside from suggesting that Aryende keep pressure off them and give her body time to mend.
Bookmarks