"She seems to be anemic. Maybe she did not feed herself during the days when she was missing, and the blood pressure is low. I'm more concerned about this low temperature of her.... Maybe I should take her to the hospital."
The voices seemed distant. Two people were talking about me. I opened my eyes confused and tried to sit down. Someone had carried me up to the couch and tried to warm me up with a blanket. It was my father, Daril Latrell. He and Mom were sitting at the table, talking while I was unconscious.
I must say I was shocked. My parents did not live together and Daril hardly appeared at Mom's house, only in rare emergencies, because even she was reluctant to call him. And as soon as Dad saw me awake, he smiled warmly and went over to the couch beside me. He glanced straight at Alya. She get it, unwillingly, but that she was being asked to leave her house, to leave us alone. As soon as she left, he said:
"How are you doing, my child?"
I really liked Dad because, despite his lack of presence, he was always very kind and affectionate to me and my brother. I even thought that was why mother would not allow Daril to live with us anymore ... he was too soft compared to her.
"Sorry for the trouble, dad…" I couldn't face him. "It wasn't my intention…"
"As long as you assure me that everything is fine…" He smiled trying as if he was trying earn my trust and answer him, but I think my face definitely expressed that I could not guarantee it, and he understood that I could not give him that assurance. "What is happening?"
I imagined that Dad had already learned about all the problems I was having from Mom. That getting into trouble at school, being expelled, blowing up the hospital, and then running away would have been the fools to motivate Mommy to call him.
"I'm in serious trouble now, Dad, but I can not explain…"
Daril held my hands in hers. I could still feel the contrast of his initially warm skin against my icy skin gradually diminishing as his temperature dropped, and his sudden shivering. He had also realized the difference.
"My dear, whatever had happened, I will spare no effort in helping you, but I need to know what it is..... You're freezing! You're so pale... and seems tired as if you had run for hours before collapsing!"
I still remained silent looking at our hands together.
Not that I did not want to tell.
But none of what had happened in the last few days was part of those confused memories that I began to have. The facts were clear in my memory and had definitely happened. So, how to tell those things? How to explain something definitely more frightening than a false memory from another planet?
How to explain that I was doomed to death because a powerful magic artifact by our charismatic Emperor of the human kind in person, Marco Gionardi, and that I had met the legendary physician and bioengineer Henry Siever, who happened to be a unstable coarse young man that had been right there in my room until shortly before my mother arrived?
All I could do was try to hide my tears that were pouring down when my father let go of one hand to pet my head. Now he looked really scared and worried.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry…" I leaned my forehead against his shoulder, and crawled into a hug. I just wanna be a spoiled child now and cry. It was shameful to admit that I needed some comfort, and Daril was always willing to give "There's no way I can explain... you would not believe it! But I didn't do anything wrong, I swear I did not, even so, all this happened... I don't want to die, Dad".
Daril had been fearful before, but now he panicked a little. I could feel it by the intensity of the hug. But he just waited for me to calm down, and as soon as I could contain the sobs that sprouted strong in the throat. Then I couldn't my misfortune. I told every detail of my arrival to the palace and my return with Henry almost as if we were running away. I was careful not to tell him that my condemnation had been caused by this so called Creation Relic. At least I showed him the personal Link, which I was carrying in my pocket, and the slight mark on my wrists where the wounds of the chains had once been.
Daril said nothing. I could not tell if he had believed, or even understood. His skin was already cold as mine and occasionally he shivered, but even so, he did not release me from the embrace. We stayed like this for a while, until finally Mom seemed to have lost the patience to wait outside, and came back.
I had obviously assumed that Mother should have given her version of it all, and I had no hope that my father would believe me, especially since I had been in the company of such a great Emperor of the entire human part of the Galaxy. It was unbelievably surreal.
But I needed to vent this burden, and I had no friends left to talk. At least I could feel less consumed by fear now. I was so tired, really exhausted, weak and terribly sleepy. Daril walked away gently. His expression was serious, but he tried to smile at me. He looked at Alya briefly and left without saying or commenting anything.
"What happened?" Alya asked confused. "What did you say to him?" But she realised that this reaction of his had also surprised me as well, as she saw me gape at the door where Daril had gone "Forget it... go take a hot shower, and go back to your room. I'll call him later."
I went to the bathroom and threw myself under the shower, using the hottest temperature of the water, which was already so different from my skin, that the first contact seemed to fire, but then came the relief. The heat was slowly entering, and it warmed me minimally from the outside in, as the cold grew from the inside out. I could stay there forever.
The notion of time only came back to me when I heard my mother's beating on the door.
"Are you still alive in there?"
"I'm leaving…" I answered and reluctantly turned off the shower. The cold was returning furiously to my skin.
Mother had left a change of clothes hanging from the door handle. I shifted, grabbed the blanket, and cringed in bed. I was already trembling again and was so d*mn sleepy. I slept without even remembering that I had not eaten yet.
I felt too tired even to feel hungry, and even opening my eyes seemed impossible. Lying down there, curled up under the blanket suddenly became the most inviting idea of a lifetime.And it dawned happily on me that I did not have to leave the room at all, if I probably was still grounded, so I stayed there.
It was already night when I finally felt warm and rested. When I woke up again, I could see why: Siever was sitting on my bed next to me, leaning against the headboard. He had put my head up on his legs and was concentrated using an augmented reality goggles.
"Since when are you there?" I whispered in surprise and embarrassment.
" Just a little while ago, fifteen, twenty minutes." He did not look away from the lenses, he looked very focused.
"You invaded my room again…"
"Do you have Something against it?" he replied without really paying attention, so I had no way to respond. It was not like he was going to do anything bad against me, because if he wanted to, chances were not lacking until now, so I closed my eyes again and slept heavily, enjoying the heat that radiated intensely from he.
When I woke up again it was late the next morning. Siever was still in the same position as I remembered, but there was a breakfast plate for me on the table.
"Did you stay there all night?" I asked, sipping the glass of juice.
"No... I had to leave a couple of times…" he answered absently. He still consulted the augmented reality generator. "Your mother and your brother came here to see you before they left. Then your brother came home again and left this dish for you."
"Very delicate of him, for someone who have not spoken to me since I first get in trouble" Now that I felt warmer, I felt more willing "What are you looking there for so long?"
Siever raised his hand for a moment, and did not answer for a while. When he finally reacted, he withdrew the augmented reality goggles, stood up stretching his arms, and poured himself with one of my cookes.
"I was learning the medicine of your planet... it is not very evolved yet, but it has several particularities related to your biotypes. That's got to be good for something that I can use.
" What do you mean by learning? Isn't it too much to learn just like this?" I questioned him, but I suspected he would not respond, as always, when I asked him some questions about the skills he had. And as I suspected, he said nothing. He shoved the rest of the cookie into his mouth and waved his hand, as if to tell me to let it go. "Anyway, did you figured out how do you will... save me, in this research?"
Siever stared at me as if evaluating what or how he was going to tell me. He had not been too picky about passing on some news so far. I even imagined how I might have expected more tact this time, when he said:
"Not really. I decided to review your medicine to find out the easiest way to take over your life…"