The Courtesan

Chapter 36

ELAYNE

“Lady Miriam, wait up!”

The echoes coming from down the hall found my ears as such an unpleasant time. Both I and the child in my arms were crying. He was crying because of the deep wound on his finger and I cried because I was helpless in treating the wound that cut deep enough to see the bone.

When the door flung open, their terrified expression scared me even more. Lady Geraldine pushed Lady Miriam back and knelt beside us, looking at his finger.

“Who did this?”

“It doesn’t matter. I just… want him to stop crying. I want to stop being so sad and worried about him.”

“I’ll get Dr. Rivers. You just wait here with Lady Miriam.”

She was up and out of the room, leaving Lady Miriam still close to the door. She held her hands close to her chest, opening her mouth. Eventually, she closed it, squeezing her hands.

I cleaned my eyes and dabbed up the new gush of blood coming from his finger. A normal wound would’ve stopped bleeding but it had been gushing blood for too long. Prince Miyon was too weak to even cry anymore. I feared he would die if Lady Geraldine was too late.

Lady Miriam made a sound as she moved towards us, kneeling beside us. Her hands moved in a pattern I recognized as sign language. It wasn’t very popular and so, not many people knew it. I wasn’t a part of those people.

{Do you understand?}

“Yes. I understand sign language.”

{Good. Are you alright?}

“I’m not. Prince Miyon… he might die.”

{Don’t worry. The doctor will fix him up. I saw you were hurt. Show me.}

“You don’t need to worry about me.”

{Please. Let me see your hand.}

“I have already frightened you enough today. I cannot show you anymore.”

{Please.}

Tentatively, I stretched out my hand hidden under Prince Miyon. It had dried blood streaks on it and a long cut across my wrist. She touched near the surface of the wound, retracting when I flinched.

{Let me treat it for you.}

“I can’t ask you to do that.”

{I can’t leave you like this. You worry me.}

Her hands shook as she signed. Her body radiated unease but she knelt there stubbornly, asking to treat me. I couldn’t deny her. There was nothing I could do but watch Prince Miyon bleed out.

I had complained about taking care of him and his worries. I had complained about how badly he was treated for just existing. I had complained about risking my life and sanity for him. But in the end, when the world around us conquered us, there was nothing I could do for him.

“I can’t… I can’t let you treat me while he’s still like this. I cannot forgive myself for risking his life.”

{It’s not your fault.}

“It is. I could’ve protected him better.”

{You were set up for failure. There was no way you could’ve done better.}

“Maybe you’re right. But, I could’ve still…”

The door opened again and I looked with hope, expecting Lady Geraldine and Dr. Rivers. Instead, Lord Erik walked in and behind him was a tall man I had never seen before but looked quite familiar.

“Miss Greycastle, how are you doing?”

“The prince is dying. I do not care for anything but saving him right now.”

He looked frustrated at my insistence.

“Hand the child to him. He’ll save the child.”

I looked at the tall man and rejected it instantly in my head. Not because I thought he wouldn’t save the child, it was because I knew he wouldn’t. He looked at the boy in my arms like he was already dead. I cleaned the blood up again, ignoring both of them.

“Gaius is a doctor. He can save the child.”

“He will not,” I replied simply, shifting the prince on my arms. He had already lost consciousness. His breath was shallow and his skin was deathly pale. I knew I was holding on to false hope but Dr. Rivers brought him from the brink of death before. I was sure she would do it again.

“Let’s be real here, my lord. That child is already dead,” the tall man said, his eyes and tone cold.

{Don’t listen to him. He can still be saved} Lady Miriam frantically signed.

“Gaius is right. You have to let go, Miss Greycastle.”

“My lord, you do not understand... how much I care for this child. How can you expect me to just let him go?!”

“But he’s...”

“He’s not dead. She can save him. If she can just get here faster, she can still…”

“That’s high praise, Miss Greycastle. But I’ll take it.”

“Dr Rivers!”

Her long legs covered the distance in a short time and she crouched beside me, opening the box she brought along. She brought out a series of tools and began treating him. Lady Geraldine came in, looking like a mess.

“He’ll be fine now. You can let go Elayne.”

“Okay.” I sniffed, leaving him to Dr. Rivers. I stood and walked to the bed, Lady Miriam walking beside me. Ignoring the men standing in the room, Lady Geraldine joined us on the bed.

“Let’s get that hand treated now, Elayne.”

“Okay.”

“Seriously, you’re too reckless. You’re always acting like this. You make us worry.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine.”

The room was silent as we were both being treated. The men still stood there, Lord Erik’s eyes on me and the man’s eyes on the prince being treated. He had a sneer on, his eyes filled with unspoken ridicule.

“You cannot save the child like that.”

“Well can you?”

“Not even the gods can…”

“Oh? We’ll see about that.”

Dr Rivers dug into her bag and brought out a purple vial. She uncorked it and poured it into his mouth. She then sat back and waited for a few minutes. All of us in the room watched in amazement as the bleeding stopped. It was nothing short of a miracle.

“H-How?! What kind of sorcery is that?”

“Only a doctor who doesn’t know his craft would say that. Now, if you’ll excuse me, you’re contaminating the scene. And there are ladies here. Don’t you two have any decorum?”

At last, the two finally realized the situation they were in.

“I’ll come back later then.”

“I’d rather you didn’t” Lady Geraldine chipped. Lord Erik only gave her a cursory glance before his eyes met mine. I looked away.