Atlier waited outside of his room where, on the other side of the door, Mia sat receiving a checkup from the doctor. Once the doctor had been called, Atlier had called for the staff to begin moving her things into the room next to him, much to the dismay of Telna.
'It's unacceptable! Completely horrendous! To have an unwed woman in the room next to yours? Despicable!' Telna had screamed out upon hearing the news. That was the abridged version anyways. After Telna had left to go on a walk to clear her head, the staff took to their task and Atlier returned to his room to stand guard, only allowing the doctor inside.
As he waited for the doctor to exit the room, he watched as the staff switched out sheets and dusty rugs. The room next to his hadn't been occupied in ages, not since his grandparents had lived there, or so he had been told. It was unknown what the room had originally been used for but during his parent's era of residence, it had been used as a guest room for only the most esteemed guests, although hardly anyone stayed there even during that time.
He wanted Mia to be safe and that room was the closest he could keep her. Even though he would have preferred to share a room with her himself, he had to restrain himself. Had they shared a room, it would cause more hardship for Mia in the end. No doubt staff would gossip about such a thing and Telna would most definitely inform anyone she could to sully Mia's reputation more.
Just as Atlier was beginning to lose himself to his thoughts about Mia, the doctor exited the room. Atlier spun around and looked between the doctor and the room as the doctor slowly closed the door behind him. "Well? How is she?"
The doctor's lips flattened, causing them to disappear almost completely under his white mustache and beard as he tilted his head disapprovingly, "Not well, but not terrible either. She'll need to be on bedrest."
Atlier felt a knot inside his stomach, illness feeling as though it was going to overtake him. He took a deep breath to calm the sudden nausea he was hit with. "What's wrong with her?" His heart felt like it had stopped, and the time it took for the doctor to give him more information felt like forever.
"Her body is crumbling under the stress she's suddenly put on it. Her back muscles are strained and she's sustained injuries to her knees from the shock of so much sudden physical and strenuous activity. She'll recover, but she needs a lot of rest."
Atlier nodded and sighed in relief. He hadn't noticed that he was holding his breath and that his shoulders had become so tense. "How long will she need to be on bedrest for?"
"Keep her on bedrest for two days. Make sure her back is supported and she keeps her knees elevated. As for after that, her activity needs to remain light, she should elevate those knees as much as she can and she'll have to stretch them. Do this for two to three weeks, and make sure she avoids strenuous and heavily physical activities for a month afterwards. Did you get all that?"
"Yes, I did. Thank you for coming so quickly."
After bidding the doctor farewell, Atlier rushed into Mia's room and took a seat by the bed. She already had numerous pillows behind her and had both of her knees propped up. Her face showed discomfort and before he could inquire about it, she answered as if she had read his mind, "It just hurts my back to have something pressed against it. It's okay though!" She smiled at him as if to assure him not to worry.
Atlier smiled slightly. It hurt him. How could she smile through her swollen, red eyes, all the injuries to her, everything she'd been through? How can she still have room for a smile?
"Well, how do you feel about receiving your gift now?" he asked, stroking the top of her head gently. Hopefully by now it was no longer sore from Telna's hair pulling escapade although he still wanted to be careful. Her head was the one place he felt comfortable touching, knowing she wouldn't be in much pain.
Her smile somehow got wider at the sound of the gift and she nodded enthusiastically, "Yes please!"
Out from his pocket, Atlier pulled out a small figurine and held it out for her. Mia looked at in awe and took it from his hands as delicately as she could. She turned it over and investigated it in complete wonder.
It was a beautiful swan made out of rose quartz, with its wings extended as if it would take flight at any moment. Its eyes and beak were made of onyx and its wings were adorned with tiny little sapphires, as if they were water droplets it had acquired during its time in a lake. When the light hit it, it sparkled like nothing she had seen.
"This is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen," Mia's voice was airy and almost like a whisper as if she were afraid her voice alone could cause the figurine to shatter, "thank you so much Atlier. I love it. You didn't have to get me anything, but I'm really glad you did."
Atlier's cheeks hurt from how big his smile was and his heart swelled knowing he had brough her some happiness. "I'm glad you like it. Now, let me tell you about Lucrin…."
He continued to tell Mia all about his time in Lucrin. How they were preparing for the flower festival and that one day he'd like to take her there, and how so many women were approached by this strange man that made them uncomfortable, but he turned out to be an awkward shop keep/sculpture who just wanted to get his business promoted, and how the lead had turned out to be completely false.
Mia watched as his face fell, a look of guilt washing over him, "I'm sorry that I went there. It was over a false lead. It wasn't even anything, just a waste of time."
She raised her hand and rubbed his bicep, "I've already told you that you don't need to apologize. Besides you wouldn't have known it was a false lead if you didn't go and look into it right? So it wasn't a waste of time, it was time well spent that led you to narrowing down your search."