(Trigger warning: This chapter contains gore and blood references. Viewer discretion is advised.)
It was like all hell broke loose. A sea of horses and wagons poured into the camp from the forest, wounded being piled up in my tent. It was a sea of beds of people of different race and origin. I was put to work immediately. It was like the emergency room all over again. Soldiers were covered in blood and torn flesh. Some had broken bones, some bruises, but many were harmed severely. Out of the maximum four hundred and fifty people, I probably had seventy patients.
"Seperate the severe cases so I can see to them first!" I barked into the air filled with screams and groans. Everyone was rushing around me, grabbing medical supplies and ignoring me as I had my hands on the chest of a brawny Cretor man. I was pushing my mana into him, pushing out venom from his his up shoulder and forcing the flesh to stitch together. Just as Mercy said in her journals, I felt all of his pain. My shoulder felt like it was on fire, molten hot lava pouting over it. It was almost unbearable.
"I said get me the most severe cases!" Again people were ignoring me, just telling me that I should go to a different person whether they had a twisted wrist of a torn throat. I took a deep breath in. My mind was becoming numb from the pain I was experiencing.
"HEY!" I forced my words out loudly, making my mana boom around me to shine a light brilliantly around me and making a booming noise. It was a waste of the precious mana I had, but didn't have a choice. Everyone but the wounded went quiet all eyes on me. I already had sweat pouring down my face after I healed this man. My shoulder was still fading the pain. I pulled my arm against my forehead to catch the drops, breathing heavily.
"For the last fucking time, get me the most severe cases! Now!" I barked, rage filling me. I hated that people weren't listening to me, especially because lives were on the line. All the knights blinked, as if they weren't used to be told what to do. I didn't wait for my words to pierce their brains, I just traveled over to a Theosian woman almost gutted. She was gurgling, blood coming out of her ruby lips like a fountain and staining her amber skin. As I started, I instantly felt like my stomach was being torn open. I had to double over a bit as the tearing feeling continued. I thought I was going to vomit from the pain alone.
"Its okay, it's gonna be okay." I whispered to her, imbuing my words with empath to sooth her. Her breath hitched and slowed and my magic made her veins glow under her skin and her body pull her insides back and stitch itself back together. I couldn't even pay attention to the knights sorting people out around me as the pain was all I could focus on. I was shocked that I didn't have a drop of blood on me, it was like it was falling off of me when it touched me.
"Lady Rhea!" I felt a heavy hand on my shoulder just as I finished closing the wounds. I looked up as the pain in my stomach quickly faded, but the toll on me was the same. It was the buff burly man the Archduke left behind, almost blowing steam from his nostrils in my face.
"You have to come quick, the Archduke has been grievously wounded!" He looked like he was about to murder someone. His face scary and severe. My heart froze. In the story, Jayce was never wounded during the Spring Hunting. What could have changed the story so drastically? Was it my existence? I didn't have time to contemplate everything. I looked over at all the wounded I had, looking at their blood. I didn't want to lose a single one, but Jayce was integral to key events in the story. I had to save him. I had only one idea. I took a deep breath in, drawing the magic circle in my head. It started appearing over the large infirmary tent, lines zigzagging around the air. It created a large circle encompassing the piles of wounded strewn about, creating a barrier of light. Light trickles from their open would on the air but just as I did I I could feel my legs weaken. I had only healed two of the dozen people huddled in the tent, but the pain was almost unbearable. This was high teir healing magic I had learned in one of Meredith's grimoires. It was called a stasis halo. I could temporarily keep the wounds of people from growing worse, making them their own pocket of time almost. They were able go move about, but their wounds would stopped bleeding or allow them a way to breathe like a oxygen mask. I had never used it before, but I had memorized the circle. The golden orbs around the wounds would stop them, and ease pain until I came back. It swallowed up my mana, but looking at the sea of wounded it would save lives.
"Everyone, keep in this bubble until I get back. It was cause your wounds to be non life threatening, until my mana runs out." Everyone was nodding and pushing pressure on severe wounds.
"Stop that!" I snapped, "You'll irritate the magic if you press on the wounds! The gold beads will soothe the wounded, but you can diffuse them if you touch them!" All at the same time even solider holding someone retracted their hands. The cries from the wounded grew faint and non existent as the bubbles dug into them and pulled their pain away like a painkiller. Some people were staring in awe at the circle, as if they had never seen it before which seemed ludicrous to me. I turned to the burly man, shaking again but this time not out of fear and humiliation but genuine exhaustion. I didn't want to think about what I was going to go through coming back.
"Take me to the Archduke." He nodded and held the tents bloodstained entrance open for me. I wobbled out, breath already heavy.
"Excuse me for my rudeness, but we don't have much time." I didn't have a chance to answer as the man leaned his large frame over. Suddenly the world was turned upside down for me and I felt the feeling of rushing like a roller coaster. I let out a small scream as the man threw me over his shoulders like a sack of potatoes and started sprinting. I could almost feel the earth shake under his feet, his broad shoulder digging into my shoulder. The threat of falling forward and landing on my face made me slam my fist on the man's solid back.
"Please put me down!" I screamed like a banshee, getting looks from the few soldiers milling around not in the tent.
"Sorry Lady Rhea but it will be quicker this way." He bellowed as he ran. I was mortified as we rushed by people, my legs kicking the air from fear. I was terrified of heights and this was too tall for me. I covered my eyes with my hands, feeling the warmth in my face from mana exhaustion. He ran for about ten minutes before I was suddenly thrown backwards, my feet landing on the ground. The momentum and my clumsiness mixed, and my rear hit the ground hard.
"I apologize for being so rough." The bear of a man held out his hand to me to help me off the ground but my mind was spinning. My butt had a sharp pain on it when I took his hand and stood up. I was definitely going to have a good bruise on my butt since I bruised like a peach. My legs were stiff and wobbly and I looked at the grand tent we were standing outside of. It was large and pure black, the only black tent in the entire swarm. A red flag stuck out of it, the symbol of a snarling wolf on the entrance. The Archduke's tent. I steeled myself, knowing that as soon as I walked in there my world I had built for the past six months would be shattered. But if I didn't, he may die. I didn't know the extent of his injuries, but with this new life I knew it would come with sacrifices. The one thing I couldn't be in this world was greedy for my own happiness, even though I wanted it so bad. I took in the deep breath of thick forest air and blood. My mind flashed back to the night I met him on the terrace, and the pain my submissiveness caused him. I steeled myself to be brazen.
"Your grace, I'm coming in." I called out. Before I even heard a answer I stormed in only to have my steeled shield broken in an instant. Bickering was evident, as two figures hovers over an unconscious body of the Archduke. The tent of his was huge, a giant bed in the middle where and racks of weapons and a writing desk. He was laying on the floor that was laid down wifb a red carpet.
"Stop touching me!" One man yelled to a smaller woman who was smacking his back as he pressed a compress against the Archuke's chest. It was a wild scene, unbefitting of the seriousness of the situation. It was like two siblings bickering amongst each other over candy. The man had long black almost dark purple hair, orange slitted eyes, intricate gold earring lacing both his ears. He was slender with a strong flexible body like a dancer, wearing surprisingly thin silk shirt and regular pants. A colourful sash tied against his waist with dangling gold beads. The girl that was hitting him screaming was very small, only a bit taller than myself. Her pointed ears screamed that she was of fey origins, a magical nomad tribe that were often treated as lesser humans. She had glittering blue eyes, curly scarlet hair, face covered in star like freckles. She was wearing black and red mages robes, meaning that they were both servants of the Archduke. I shook myself out of my stunned stupor when I saw that Jayce's chest was ripped open. Time almost stopped for a moment when I saw him. His hair was covered in blood in sweat, unconscious face contorted in pain. Five deep gashes were across his chest, more little wounds and bruises covering him. I didn't remember moving to him, but suddenly I had shoved them off him, placing my hands directly on the wounds and pushing out as much mana as I could. I shocked myself with my rough behaviour, and the two looked at me quietly as if they just realized I was there. My heart was racing as I forcefully closed the wounds with my power.
Please be okay... I'm begging you please be okay...
I felt riddled with guilt. My existence has only caused him even more pain even though his story was already tragic. My mind wandered as I healed him. I could hear the two talking to me but everything sounded muffled.
Poor Jayce du Hraesvelgr. He was the inheritors of the curse if darkness from the throne making him a shadow of this world. His father, the current reigning kings brother had the very same curse-- the Curse of Hel. Hel was the the strongest child of the deities and became the first Empress of Juria. Frey cursed her first born child to be a disgrace to the Goddess of life, making him have the power of souls after death. It was the strongest power, but made him a black sheep. Her second child was given golden hair, and was gifted a unique ability from Diana called the Breath of Kore, named after the first inheritor. It was the breath of revival, revival of spirits and moral. They could wake the dead, but it ate at their life force and was extremely dangerous so it was only used in extreme circumstances. Two sides of the same coin-- life and death. Jayce's father married a woman from House Lucrenzia with the Curse of Perses which was extreme destruction magic. He was too powerful at a young age and accidently killed both his mother and father. He was then isolated and used as a weapon by the Empire. He never knew true love or true care, receiving abuse from his caretakers and deemed a monster by society. I was lost on my depressing thoughts reminiscing of his tragic backstory. I hadn't even noticed when his eyes snapped open until I felt a vice grip to tight on my left hand I instantly felt my fingers snap. It took me a second to realize what was happening, but the next thing I knew my head was slammed into the floor, my arm yanked behind my and lifted up painfully. I screamed as I felt my fingers break and the muscles in my shoulder seperate. Tears poured from my eyes at the extreme pain, instantly sobbing.
"Sire, stop!" I could hear yelling and pulling as they tried to yank him off of me. I just kept screaming because the pain was burning, sharp and severe. My arm felt like it was going to snap, the sockets strained.
"She just healed you sir, let go!" The girl screamed futily. I was finally released, but my arm just fell uselessly to the ground. I had a hard time breathing, too scare to move as I was sprawled out on the floor. My back felt like it was on fire, every breath I took made a sharp pain in my back. Breathing hurt, existing hurt. My fingers were twisted and bent unnaturally. Tears were still streaming down my face, but I held back my sobs. Every sob hurt me more, my shaking lungs straining the muscles in my back. I had not expected such a severe reaction, and I was thrown off guard. I probably looked pathetic, crumpled on the floor like a rag doll. My pride was already injured from Lupin's mocking and being carried around the camp. Now it was broken like glass around me.
"Lady, are you okay?" The girl kneeled next to me, gently touching my twisted shoulder blade. The slightest touch made my muscles twitched and spasm in pain. I hissed through my teeth, trying not to move it as much as possible.
"You fucking moron!" The girl yelled and I heard a smacking noise as her tiny fists pounded on skin and clothes.
"What is wrong with you? Apologize!" She screamed. She was lively and full of energy, but the way she was talking to the Archduke was more terrifying. I knew from the book that he had a soft side but he was always described as cold and aloof, out of touch with his feelings. His servant yelling and hitting him truly had no fear and was asking for a death wish.
'You have to get up. The longer you're down here, the more people are going to die.'
That voice that was in my head. It didn't sound like mind. As if entranced, my body started to move on its own. I managed to use my good arm to push myself up. The left side of my body was screaming in pain, but I was somehow able to push it behind me. It was like one of those things that you hear from stories of people rushing into burning buildings or lifting up cars while injured-- in the moment you didn't even feel it.
"Miss, are you okay?" I still heard the pounding and screaming of the girl, but the unknown man knelt in front on me. He tried to lift my chin to face him but I slapped his hand away. The sudden touch made me uneasy. He pulled his hands away, and I could see he looked bewildered and shocked. I could only imagine how I looked-- probably ruffled up and red faced like a pathetic cry baby. My fingers twitched and I squeezed my eyes closed in pain. I would have to make a makeshift splint for them, but at the moment I didn't have time. I had to get back to the tent. I could feel my mana still draining from the stasis halo in effect. It was making it hard to breathe.
"M-Miss, I am really sorry about that." It was Jayce's voice speaking over the girl chiding him for his sudden attack. I wanted to turn my head and meet his gaze, tell him that it was okay. I knew he was just startled, years of front line experience and war leaving him vulnerable. It was his automatic reaction to assume danger and attack. I couldn't do that though. I just pushed myself to my feet painfully, not being able to help the tears that flowed down my eyes. My cheek stung from carpet burn, my shoulder blade was swollen-- most likely sprained-- and my fingers shattered. I had to hold up my dead weight of an arm to lessen the pain, and even still it was horrible.
"M-miss hold on," I heard scurrying behind me and this time I looked over my shoulder to them to make the stop. My gaze was icy with pain that could be interpreted as anger, and flushed red from tears. I saw that Jayce was trying to stand, his torn suit around him and exposing his broad chest. The girl was pushing his shoulders down so he wouldn't move, still chewing him out. The other gentlemen was still kneeling to the side of me, looking a little frightful.
"Stay here." I hissed from pain, but I definitely sounded angry. I could tell that he recognized me right away, his golden eyes widened with surprise. I didn't give him a moment to respond. I had a job to do, and my body was determined to see it through.