Effie had never seen Reign with his hair let down before. Long waves of shimmering white cascaded softly past his waist like a gentle waterfall. His white robe was draped loosely over his body, the front of it was open exposing his bare chest. His typically alabaster skin was paler than usual, taking on a sickly undertone with beads of sweat collected on its surface. Although he looked surprisingly ill in that moment, Effie still thought that Reign resembled something like an ethereal being standing before her, albeit a very angry one.
"What do you think you're doing Torin?!" Reign demanded again, his voice as frigid as ice.
"What are you so angry about?" Torin sneered. "It's not like I was hurting her or anything. Your little caretaker here and I were just having a nice little chat, weren't we, Miss Barlow?" Torin leaned in, closing the space between himself and Effie.
"Step away from her," Reign commanded.
"Or what?" Torin's smile was taunting. "You'll kill me?"
Reign didn't respond. The threatening look in his eyes answered the question for him.
Reign knew his brother well. He knew his brother was a dangerous man. No matter what innocent act he tried to put on, it was always tainted with an undertone of malice.
"Look, I've never once touched her," Torin said indifferently, raising both hands into the air as proof. "I've never even laid a hand on her. Although... Perhaps one little touch couldn't hurt..." Torin then made a move, his hand reaching toward Effie's face as though he was about to caress her cheek in his palm. Effie prepared to jerk her head back from his unwanted touch, but Reign was faster.
"I said get away!"
Reign's arm shot forward, almost on impulse, and he grabbed hold of Effie's wrist. Her skirt whirled about her ankles as he pulled her away from Torin, pressing her protectively against his bare chest. Her shock quickly gave way to a heat blossoming in her cheeks at the warmth of his skin touching hers, and the sound of his heart thundering wildly against her ear. Embarrassed, Effie tried to pull away quickly, but Reign just held her there tighter, his hand pressing her cheek harder into his bare chest.
"Oh, protective, aren't we?" Torin's eyebrow raised. "But not to worry, little brother. I was only trying to get you riled up. It's much too easy, and much too fun. It's not like I would actually touch a dirty rodent like her. That would be far too unhygienic. That's a job more suited for you and your cursed disease, don't you think? Though I am a little surprised you garbed her so roughly. The fever must be making you delirious. You should go lay down and let the little healer girl tend to you, eh? Meanwhile, I've had my fun with you, so I should really be going."
As Torin disappeared down the hallway, Effie could feel the last of Reign's strength drain from his body in an instant, and he began to collapse in the doorway.
"Ah! Prince Reign!" Effie turned and moved beneath him quickly, catching him against her body just before he crumpled to the ground. And there she stood struggling under his weight as his weakened form folded over top of her.
"I'm sorry." Reign's smile was faint and fragile as he worked to regain some composure, shifting as much of his weight off of Effie's shoulder as he could. "It looks like I overexerted myself. Ah, my brother knows exactly what buttons to push to upset me. He's always had a special knack for that. But he... he didn't hurt you, did he?"
Effie shook her head. "He wasn't lying when he said he'd never touched me. But what are you doing worrying about me anyway, when you can hardly stand yourself? Come on, lets get you to bed."
Switching into caretaker mode, Effie draped Reign's arm over her shoulder to help stabilize his body, and together they hobbled their way into his bedchamber. Effie was so focused she hardly noticed how massive and ornate the bedroom was. It could have been as large as an entire house back in Evanore. The ceiling was high, much like the rest of the rooms in the palace, with tall windows decorated by lush, velvety curtains. The the far corner of the room sat an absolutely enormous, luxurious, canopy bed draped in layers of rich fabrics and fine silks.
Effie helped lower Reign down onto the bed where he let out a shuddering breath of air that sounded like pure agony. He must be shouldering a great deal of pain, Effie realized. She remembered hearing how the curse caused him much suffering, and it made her heart ache for him.
"I have some medicines with me," Effie said, taking a small, black pouch out of her apron pocket. "I'm not really sure how to treat a... a disease like this, but maybe if I-"
Reign suddenly put his much larger hand over hers, gently pushing the pouch away as he shook his head. "Medicine like this won't help."
"But-"
"I remember what you did the last time. Back in the woods at the pond on the first day we met. You didn't use medicine. You used something else. When I went there that day I... I had resigned to end my life. To end my suffering. I was going to lay down in the clear waters of that pool, and die peacefully. But suddenly you were there. I saw you falling out of the tree and I tried to catch you, but my body was just too weak, so we both fell to the ground. As I laid there, bleeding out, unable to speak or move anymore, I thought maybe it would be okay to die like that too. Next to this strange girl with the most interesting and beautiful amethyst eyes I had ever seen."
Effie drew back, a new flush of heat rising to her face. "You can't just say things like that to people!" She blurted.
"Why not, if it's the truth?"
"Because it's... It's embarrassing!"
"Is it?" Reign asked dumbly.
"And anyway... How could you so easily decided to do something as terrible as taking your own life?" Effie went on, changing the subject.
"It wasn't that difficult," Reign shrugged without much feeling. "It's not like I had much to live for. I was in pain almost every day of my life, and my body was slowly deteriorating before everyone's eyes. Nothing belongs to me either. My brother will inherit the kingdom after father dies, not I. And although I'm the king's son, I'm only half royalty. The king married my mother shortly after Torin's mother died. But my mother was not of noble blood. She was born into a poor family oceans away in a foreign land called Lageria. But only two years after she married my father, she died of the same curse that is slowly killing me. It's been a disease passed down through many generations in my family tree. And it only effects the first born of each generation. If the cursed member is fortunate, they may get to live a few years past the age of thirty. Though normally they die bye the age of twenty five. However, in my case, the progression of the curse was much more aggressive than usual. In fact, no one expected me to survive beyond the age of nine. But miraculously, my ninth birthday came and went, and ever since then I've lived each day knowing it could be my last."
"Oh... my goodness." Effie hardly knew what to say. "I'm so sorry... that sounds so..."
"Depressing?" Reign finished for her with a weak smile.
"Heartbreaking," Effie corrected. "I had no idea someone like you could be going through something as heartbreaking as that."
"Heartbreaking? That's a new one. I've heard people describe my curse as depressing, tragic, unfortunate and even pitiable. But I haven't heard heartbreaking yet. So, your heart breaks for me, then?"
"How could it not?!" Effie exclaimed. "I can't even imagine what life must have been like for you! And it makes me angry for you too!"
"Oh? Angry?"
Effie nodded her head resolutely. "The way everyone talks about you around here, making you sound like a weak and fragile prince. It makes me angry, when the only way I can see it, is that it would take a very strong person to survive as long as you have while living with so much pain."
"I appreciate your kind words," Reign replied sadly, looking down at the floor. "But I don't think they're exactly wrong. I really am weak. I didn't try to survive. I tried to end my own life to escape the suffering."
"I don't think that makes you weak," Effie maintained, offering him a gentle smile. "Unless someone has gone through what you have, I don't think they have the right to judge your actions. Although I'm very glad I was there in the forest that day, so I could stop you from ending it all. I, for one, am glad you're still around."
Reign's expression relaxed into a warm smile, his eyes now searching Effie's face so deeply that she suddenly became self conscious, and turned her head away to avoid his gaze.
"What are you looking at?! Is there something on my face?"
"You smiled," Reign replied contentedly. "I think that was the first time I've ever seen you smile. It lights up your face."
"Stop saying embarrassing things!" Effie demanded.
"I have always wondered one thing, though," Reign went on, ignoring her flustered outburst. "What brought you to the pond on the very same day that I was there? And why were watching me from the trees?"
"W-well that's because-' Effie stuttered. "I just happened to be there in the exact moment you were. I was going to leave you alone, when I saw a strange tattoo on your back. I couldn't figure out what it was, but I was curious, so I tried to move in for a closer look before I fell out of the tree."
"Ah, you mean the marking on my back?"
Suddenly, Reign shifted on the bed, turning until his back was facing Effie. Slowly, he let the loose robe drop down his shoulders, allowing it to fall away until his back was fully exposed. Then he reached behind his back, dragging his long, shimmering hair over his shoulder, finally revealing that strange, blue tattoo between his shoulder blades that Effie had seen that day.
"You mean this marking?"
Effie's eyes widened with intrigue. Her curiosity overcame her manners, and soon she found herself reaching out to touch the blue marking, her fingertips gently tracing the outlines of the strange markings and symbols which looked like the letters of some unknown, ancient language. The script made a perfect, complete circle around the elaborate image of a star. The fine craftsmanship of the tattoo was impressive.
"What is it?" Effie finally asked, pulling back when it occurred to her how close she was. "What are these markings?"
"They're runes," Reign explained. "The marking is a seal, meant to ward off the effects of the curse. Father had it tattooed onto my skin long ago when I was still a child. Who knows if it really works or not. Maybe it's the reason I'm still alive today. Or maybe it was just something to help father breathe easier at night.
"But it doesn't stop the cures?"
Reign shook his head as he pulled his robe back over his shoulders and turned back to face Effie. "The only thing that has ever truly relieved the suffering that the curse has caused was whatever magic you used that day at the pond. Though you were simply trying to heal the injury to my head, somehow you managed to temporarily relieve the deep pain of my disease."
"And you want me to use that same magic now?"
"It seems to be the only thing that works."
"But... but the last time I did that," Effie said apprehensively, "I was nearly burned at the stake, and ended up in prison for over a week. What if someone finds out again and-"
"No one will find out," Reign reassured her. "There are no guards posted nearby. I made certain of that before you came here. No one will be close enough to detect the magic. And even if they did, no matter what, I will not let anyone touch you ever again. I may not have had a reason to live before you came into my live, but now that you're here, you've given my life purpose, Euphemia Barlow. Now I exist to protect you, and to repay you for giving me another chance at life."
"You don't owe me anything, you know," Effie blurted, too embarrassed to meet his eye. "I just did what any decent person would have done in that moment. And that's what I'm doing now. I'm a healer, after all. I'm just doing my job. So if you'll please lay back on the pillow, I can start the process. I'll try to remember exactly how I did it before and hopefully I can ease the suffering, even if only for a little while."
And Effie did just that.