10 09

"Ceasaria cried and when she did, Kalypso saw that she was secretly smiling beneath her hands." — Chapter Twenty-Four, The Lovable Villainess.

...

"Stay right here, I'll be right back."

Esme walked to the door, and I couldn't hear her anymore but I closed my eyes. The bed felt extremely soft and I was still tired. My stomach growled I was starving, but I couldn't bring myself to ask for food. There were so many things I needed to do but first, I needed to sleep. My eyes were brought to a close.

"I need to speak to Duke Valentine," Esme said, taking off her glasses and rubbing her nose. The tears that had wished to form refused to drop. Out of respect for the young child in there, she would not cry. Ceasaria hadn't cried. Esme refused to do so.

Cain frowned, "Can I—"

"Heir Apparent," Esme said, her voice breaking, "That child's back," she paused, regaining her composure, "The glass embedded inside of it has partially healed and been broken again. If we wish to debride the wound, then, we must rip it back open. I need to speak to Duke Valentine about this procedure."

"About what?" Aramus inquired, his cigarette still blazing as Mina walked behind him. Esme noticed the bandage around Mina's hand and met the gaze of the Duke of Valentina, a warning gaze. He stepped in front of the female.

"We need to do something," she paused, "That may hurt the young child you've brought in." Her gaze was firm, her expression somewhat upset. Esme had been promised that she no longer needed to deal with children.

Aramus finished his cigarette and Mina snatched it from his fingertips, putting it out against the palm of her hand causing the red-haired male to scowl, "What will you do?"

"She has glass embedded in her skin," Esme exhaled, "Some of the wounds have already healed around the glass and some of them are still raw. We will need to excise the glass out to debride the wound."

"It'll hurt," Cain answered, "Should we give her some sedatives?" He inquired.

"She's still young, we don't want to risk giving her too much and accidentally harming her."

"I can," Mina said, "I'll take a seda—"

"No," Aramus said firmly, "Mina—"

"It's a child," She explained, "I'm an adult. It's our job—"

"NO!" Aramus yelled, raising his voice. "You will not."

Mina's magic was different from the rest, as a healer, she was able to take injuries and ailments as her own in exchange for her vitality. By taking the cold from Ceasaria, she had gotten the wound on her hand, to give that much of herself for this child. It didn't matter if it was a child, Aramus was selfish. He wouldn't put Mina in harm's way for Ceasaria.

He couldn't.

"It doesn't hurt," I said. I had woken up from the conversation outside. Cain quickly kneeled, picking me up so that I could be at eye level with everyone. "My back, it doesn't hurt. I," How should I explain it, "I know that there's pain, but I can't feel it."

Was this a trauma response?

"So I don't need Mina's healing, Esme, you can just take out the glass."

"But," Esme said, her gaze looking sympathetic.

"I can't learn how to control my magic until I get better," I answered, "I want to get better as soon as possible." I wanted to leave here. I wanted to leave here before Kalypso got here. Despite these new characters, I didn't want to get involved with anyone that could lead to my untimely death. There was no reason to add new variables to my life. The safest route was leaving here and being a mage.

"That's not what Father wants," Cain answered, a frown on his face.

"It's what I want," I responded back, "Shouldn't we take what I want into consideration?"

"Does it not hurt?" Aramus inquired, his voice oddly tender as he approached his son. His fingers gently touched my curly dark pink tresses, "Ceasaria." The way he said my name made me squirm slightly. He called it softly, tenderly, as if he was really looking at me, "I will not do something so barbaric just for you to heal."

"You just take it out. It doesn't hurt."

Aramus placed a hand on the top of my head, silencing my words as he ruffled my hair, "I appreciate it, but we will not be doing that."

Was this Duke Valentine that didn't care for anyone or anything? The same one who refused to simply do this procedure. I frowned. It really didn't hurt. It simply felt numb. I felt numb. As if the pain was no longer a fixture that could tether me to this world.

"We can't just leave it," Esme interjected, "It'll cause more problems down the line."

"Father," Cain said, "Why don't we just use the priests?"

"The priests can't debride the wound," Aramus said, "Because it's imbedded inside, they can't heal it, only around it. The only way is to remove the glass, first." He looked deep in thought. Was this really the cause of such concern? It was only pain. I could last. I had lasted for a long time.

"There must be something," Cain said, he seemed to hold me a bit tighter.

"It doesn't hurt," I emphasized, "This isn't me being strong. I can't feel it. I-I just feel numb. An absence of pain."

"Duke Valentine," Esme said as she whispered something in his ear. He gritted his jaw.

"No, she's just a child. To have her not take sedatives," He looked at me, "Is cruel. I won't be like her biological parents."

I swallowed.

"I'll put her to sleep," Cain said, "You can take it out then right?" He inquired, "When she's sleeping under my spell?"

Was this really necessary?

Aramus smiled and I was surprised. The stoic man, unable to show any emotion to anyone but Kalypso, was smiling so broadly. He looked proud of his son. He patted Cain on the top of the head, "You're right, we can, my son."

Cain smiled before looking back at me as if he wanted my approval. I gave a nod. "Sure," I answered back.

It wasn't that big of a deal.