Dance of the Damned

A Series of Events

"Don't worry about a thing," Micah reassured them while they struggled to keep his blood inside his body.

"Pardon?"

Suddenly the doors burst open and a woman came into the room, holding a bag in her hand.

"Move over." She said, throwing off her wet cloak on the ground revealing her strawberry blond hair as she made her way to Micah and began checking the boy up.

"Who are you?" One of the doctors asked but she ignored them. Reaching into her bag, she pulled out a liquid and poured it into the gaping wound.

Then, pulling a roll of thread from the bag, she used their needle to begin stitching the boy's wound up in several places.

"Does it hurt?" She asked the boy.

"Yes." The boy replied with a smile on his face.

"It will be over soon." She said gently.

"Who-"

"I am a physician." She explained, working fluidly like her hands are moving without much effort. "I specialize in kids like him. He is lucky I was on my way back from another house visit and happened to meet a frantic gentleman running out of the hospital."

"I am very lucky indeed." The boy said brightly. "Thank you for coming."

"I will come anytime I am called." She said, mirroring his smile. "Now, please help me here, I will need to give him some things that might hurt."

"Oh no," Micah said, chuckling. "I am scared."

_____________________

Briar sat there, blankly staring at the door that a woman just burst into.

He managed to catch a small glimpse of Micah on the bed and he regretted that so much as the image is going to be forever stuck in his mind. As if he does not already have things to worry about.

He did not realise how bad the wound was until he saw him without a shirt and the muscles under the wound stared at him like worms wriggling in the dirt.

All his concern was on Micah and how his breathing seemed weaker than before, while the doctors and nurses stared at him like they were not sure of what to do.

Pressing his ears against the door, he heard the woman speak, "I specialize on kids like him."

Instantly, his breathing calmed and hope surged in his body.

She knows Micah's condition. She will be able to take care of him, right? Ok.

Sitting down, he braced himself. There was nothing else he could do but wait and though this woman being here reassured him greatly, it did not change the fact that the boy has lost a lot of blood.

He does not know how long it will take the man to bring more blood. Hopefully. He is a quick runner."

______________

Elise wiped the rain droplets from her face as they ran down her face and into her, already, soaked clothes, under the cloak.

"Help!" She suddenly stopped the horse and began looking around in the unstopping downpour of rain.

"Hello?!" She called, breathing heavily. That sounded so much like the young master.

"Nanny Elise!"

She heard it again, this time sure that it is the young master. "Where are you?"

"Here!" The voice shouted to her left as a figure seemed to form in the downpour.

"Young master?" She got off her horse and walked to the figure, heart hammering against her chest and then disappointment when the figure stood taller than her.

"Hello?" The man shouted, drenched completely because of the rain. "Oh thank the goddess. Please, you must give me a ride to the nearest hospital."

"Hospital?" She asked, frowning. "What about the one over there? The small clinic."

"I came from there," he said, water dripping down his face. "There is a patient that came in badly injured and I need to get to that hospital, quickly. He is losing too much blood."

"Patient?" She walked closer to him. "Is he a small boy? Pale?"

"Yes! Do you know him?"

"I would say I do!" She climbed down the horse again. "Climb on and hold tight."

Helping the man up, she turned the horse around and sped up once again. They passed Philip and his group coming the opposite way.

"Where are you headed?" Philip asked as she did not slow down.

"There! Hurry to the young master!" She managed to shout before disappearing and all they heard was the man shouting in fear.

___________________

“She is something else.” The man said, turning to Philip with a grin on his face. “Very dedicated.”

“That is Elise for you.” He said as they watched her disappear with the man behind her. “She will do anything to make sure the young master is safe. After all, she has been there for his birth.”

“Really?” He mused, “I must say, I am slightly envious of the boy.”

“Why would you say something like that, your highness?” The Lord asked, indignant, as the woman behind him on the horse nodded while burying her head on his back.

“What does a child like him have in compared to you?” The woman said, getting an annoyed look from the man and instantly closed her mouth.

“How much further is it from here?” The man asked, turning to Philip.

“Just around the corner,” Philip said, trying to look past the rain but failed. “I am sure of it.”

“Then lead the way.” He said, galloping away like there is no tomorrow.

________________

Back at the hospital,

Briar is still waiting for some news from inside, it has been a good ten to twenty minutes and he has yet to hear anything from the inside and he is very close to being driven insane at this point.

Especially with the grandfather clock, he sighed groaned, wanting to break it into a million pieces just to have something to do instead of waiting and waiting and waiting.

All the mistakes he made replaying over and over again in his head as if it was some kind of punishment placed on him for not being there for Micah when he needed it.

How long am I going to be here? How much long-

Suddenly the doors burst open and three men walked into the room dripping the rainwater all over the floor they stepped on.

“Dad!” Briar shouted, running to his father. “You are here!”

“Sorry, we took so long.” He said, trying to squeeze some of the water out of his clothes. “But I was able to bring the Lord and Lady.”

“They came in this rain?” He asked a look of disbelief written all over his face but his behaviour changed when he heard loud complaints at the door and knew it was them.

“Yes, they came.” The man beside his father said, laughing as he took off his hood. “Perhaps not for the reason you think.”

“Briar, this is the king, Alexander Rumond the third. Your highness, this is my son.” He placed his hand on the boy’s shoulder, beaming proudly.

“It is a pleasure to meet such a strapping young man.” He said, grinning broadly as someone burst into the hospital again.

It is Elise with the man from earlier holding bags of blood in his hands as he rushed to the room without so much as stopping to greet anyone or even to steady his steps.

“Elise.” The father and son duo shouted as she took off the cloak she wore and rushed to them. 

“How is he? Is everything ok? Is he well?” She did not wait for their answer as she tried to enter the room the man entered in before, noticing something white in there.

“I am sorry, you cannot go in.” A woman stopped them, looking apologetically. “There is a chance the patient may form an infection if more germs from outside are brought in.”

“But a woman went in before-“

“We are trying to minimize the germs spread and you are all soaking wet. You could get sick in those clothes. Does not one have a spare outfit to wear?” She asked as everyone exchanged glances with each other.

The only ones remotely dry are the Lord and Lady, barking at some of the nurses for more comfortable chairs and proper hygiene of the place.

“We may have some spare hospital gowns in the closet.” The woman said after seeing all their expressions. “If you will not mind wearing them.”

“If there are spares, we would be honoured to wear them,” Alexander said while everyone seemed cautious of what to answer.

“I will be back then, please wait here.”

_______________________

And she was back, so quickly they did not have the time to even understand what was happening as she shoved the white clothes into their hands and took them to the storage room for them to change and left with Elise.

“To have the king wear that nasty fabric and change in that cramped space. What were they thinking?” The Lady could be heard whispering as Alexander entered in.

“If they had picked a better hospital than this place, this wouldn’t have happened.” The Lord replied back walking away from them as Philip stared at the ground, chewing at his lower lips.

“I shall go in first, if you don’t mind,” Alexander said, about to walk into the closet when Briar stopped him.

“Your highness, my clothes are the most dry. I can wear the clothes they gave instead of y-“

“Now. Now. Don’t deny me the pleasure of doing this.” He said pleasantly. “Besides, this is what my people wear and I am not beyond wearing it either. Excuse me.”

“His highness was brought up poor.” The silent guard beside them explained. “So trying to offer him something better thinking that he will hate this experience is insulting to him.”

“I didn’t know.”

“He likes to keep that part to himself.” The guard nodded at them as the three waited in silence. Definitely not awkward at all.