I was not alone in my room, there were several people sitting in chairs in a semicircle around my bed. I recognized Katarina, Nikolai, and Anna but there was also an older man I didn't recognize. From the large leather bag sitting next to his feet I surmised he was probably the doctor Nikolai said he would send for.
The air in the room was strangely melancholy, I felt as if I had accidentally intruded upon a wake. The mood of the room improved when I positioned myself to sit up. Immediately Katarina pounced on me, giving me a big hug and burying her face in my nightgown.
"Oh Kitty, I thought you would never wake up. Why did I ever let you go near that dreadful man again after what he did to you before," she sobbed. I stroked the top of her head until she had sufficiently calmed herself down.
"What's with the theatrics Katarina? My throat hurts but it's not your fault," when I said this, my voice came out thin and cracked.
Nikolai answered me,"you've been asleep for the past two days. They couldn't find anything wrong with you, we assume the shock of the incident had something to do with it."
Although I could not remember the contents of my dream; I got the distinct feeling that my prolonged bed rest was somehow my fault.
"For some reason I doubt that is the cause but I'm sorry for any anxiety I may have caused. Katarina, would you please fetch my breakfast? I'm terribly hungry," I asked.
Katarina gave me a quick nod and jumped up before hurrying out of the room. Now that the conversation had ceased, the doctor proceeded to carry out his routine examination. I wondered how effective medicine was in this world, if I had something like a brain tumor I highly doubted anyone could do anything about it. Nevertheless, I took my prescription of light exercise and hot baths with no complaints. After this checkup the doctor left the room.
I ate my breakfast self consciously, the three sets of eyes on me all seemed to have different questions they wanted to ask me but none of them wanted to interrupt me during my meal. I didn't eat or drink much before I put the tray on the nightstand and drew my knees up to my chest.
I sighed, addressing the three,"you all obviously have questions. How can I indulge you?"
Nikolai was the first one to talk,"Leo's punishment has been handed down, as my sister predicted he is being sentenced to prolonged house arrest at the Sherbatsky summer estate. I believe this punishment is too lax and wanted to petition the crown for a more serious penalty. However I only want to do so if you agree."
I did want to see Leo get more than a slap on the wrist but if he was stripped of his nobility it could throw a huge wrench in Anna's plan. I would be sure to make certain he would face some heavy repercussions not only for what he did to me but also for all the torment he put Anna through. For now though I had to simply accept the verdict.
"No, it's best not to make a further enemy of the Sherbatskys. I am justified to push for further retribution but they have powerful allies who do not care about who is morally right or wrong."
"Damn them and their allies; you could have died, Kitty. Last I checked, murder was frowned upon by all members of polite society," Nikolai argued.
"You're being overly dramatic. Yes I did spend a long time sleeping and yes he did intend to kill me but there was never a point where my life was in mortal peril. Besides, I thought you were his friend? I thought you were content with banishment."
"That was before you spent two days in a coma. Why are you so calm about all of this? For two days I could scarcely sleep or eat, I cursed myself for being so blind to the monster I let into my house. I was going to make him part of the wedding party for christ sake. I spent so long sitting here watching you sleep, wondering if you were ever going to wake up again and when you do you tell me to worry over politics. It's absurd."
I paused, I had never taken a chance to really consider Nikolai's feelings on the subject. He did clearly care for me even if our time together was short. Moreover Leo had been a close friend, what happened must have left a very bitter taste in his mouth. Still, this could not have possibly totally come out of left field for him. He had to have some idea of the torment Anna had been through.
This thought soured my view of Nikolai a considerable amount. It left three very unflattering options for Nikolai: he was the type who didn't believe someone they like could do something bad until they did it in front of their face, he enjoyed the company of someone he knew had done horrible things to his family, or he was simply stupid. None of these options were a good look but I decided to reserve judgment until I could broach the conversation subject with Anna. In the meantime I had to diffuse the situation in a way that would make it seem like I wasn't dismissive of his feelings.
"Perhaps I am not as angry as you because I am used to the injustice in the world. I am simply thankful he faced any repercussions in the first place. The fact you seem to see this as a miscarriage of justice makes me happy but it also speaks to your naivety," I chided him as gently as I could.
He looked a bit dumbfounded that I was not praising him for getting angry on my behalf.
"I don't understand Kitty," he said, totally confused.
I smiled slightly, this was not the time to lecture him on the company he kept nor was it the time to make him face the music in terms of his position. I don't think the time would ever come for such a thing but perhaps I could make him think harder about what I found so terribly naive about his current frame of mind.
"I'm sorry to say that I can't answer you right now. Perhaps we can continue this conversation in the future, right now I have a few things I want to discuss with your sister."
He looked slightly disappointed and like he wanted to object to my veiled prompt to leave but ultimately he relented, leaving the room with a small sigh.
"Katarina, you leave too. I'll be sure to talk to you later but I have private matters to discuss with Anna," I said. Katarina looked like she also wanted to object but decided not to, instead leaving the room with a dejected air.
Now that it was just the two of us, I sat on the edge of my bed across from where Anna was sitting. I sighed, unsure of where to begin.
Anna started the conversation for me,"quite the pair of devotees you've managed to ally yourself with. I can't remember the last time I've seen Nikolai incensed on someone else's behalf."
"He's actually what I wanted to talk to you about," I replied.
"I did say I would talk to you about him after the ball. Hmm where to start," she looked up at my ceiling as if looking for a starting place,"well he's certainly the least offensive option this world has to offer. He is blind to the issues of the world due to his position and can be quite haughty but he's ultimately a good man underneath it all. If he had someone like you constantly challenging him on his misconceptions he'd probably be a ruler on par with some of the greats."
"I'm surprised you have such a high opinion of him, I thought you'd hate him."
"I'll admit to having some lingering affection for him."
"Why did he seem so surprised by Leo's actions? Ever since you told me what Leo did to you it's been bothering me that Nikolai has remained friends with him."
"That is truly not his fault, ever since I gained awareness I have been keeping myself cooped up waiting for you. Prior to that, we were never that close due to physical separation. He went to his boarding school and I was tutored here. He has simply never never had the chance to learn of Leo's misdeeds."
"Well that certainly paints Nikolai in a better light, I was certain he was simply turning a blind eye to everything."
"Rehabilitating Nikolai's image is not something you should be focusing on right now Kitty. From here on out, these next twenty seven days, you need to be planning a way to kill my brother and I happen to have a plan."