The Aftermath Chapter 3
To Save A Life
By Cait
Days had gone by since the stabbing incident of Camus. The entire population of the castle stood in fear of the knight’s death and all of their hopes were pushed onto the lap of Doctor Huan. It didn’t help the poor doctor, who spent most of his evenings lying awake in his bed. He wondered what he would tell anyone, or everyone when the worst happened. He wasn’t about to tell Ethan’s people that he didn’t believed Camus would make it through the end of the week. That fact he kept to himself.
However, he had decided that it was only fair to tell Ethan that Camus’s condition wasn’t improving at all. That was exactly what he told him each time he stopped by to visit. He didn’t have the heart to tell him anything more or tell anyone how bad Camus’s health really was.
“Dr. Huan!” A woman’s voice aroused him from his state of half-consiousness and he looked up to see Jeane standing over his desk. “How is he doing?” Her eyes were filled with worry. “Please say there are some improvements on his conditions.”
“Lord Ethan was just up here a little while ago… I’m assuming he wouldn’t tell you what you wanted to know.”
Jeane shook her head. “I didn’t speak to Lord Ethan. Come on, Dr. Huan, I know your not telling something to Ethan.” Her voice was lowered, just in case anyone was around to over hear. “I’m not naive like he is towards medical situations and I know you a little better than he does, also. What’s going on with him? I won’t tell Lord Ethan or anyone else.”
Dr. Huan merely stared at her for a moment, stared deep at her large, hopeful eyes. Either she was promising to simply get information or she was truly worried about the knight. Dr. Huan could not tell. He drew in a breath in and sighed. “Jeane… Camus is not doing all that well…”
“Well, I know that! Could you tell me something that I…” She fell silent when Huan held up a single finger.
“I wasn’t finished. Patience, dear.” He paused to assure himself that she wouldn’t start at him once again. “I don’t think he’ll survive the rest of the week.” He grimaced as the words left his lips and watched Jeane face fall into a look of helplessness and despair.
“There… there must be something that you can do.” She muttered finally. “Something! There has to be!” The tone grew louder and Huan quickly placed a finger atop her lips to silence her yet again.
“There is nothing that I can see yet. He has lost far too much blood, the wound is far too big. Both of them for that matter.” Huan slowly brought his finger away as the tears began to crowd Jeane’s eyes.
“What about runes?” Jeane spoke as if she had come to the answer as easily as she could slice a pie with a sword. “Have you had anyone try any runes?”
Huan cursed at himself silently. “I… can’t believe I… forgot about…”
“You forgot about using a rune!? He could be fine now, if you would have remembered!” Jeane knew that he would not be completely fine after suffering such injuries but she was close to speaking the truth.
“We’ll do it immediately. Maybe I’ll have something more positive to tell Lord Ethan.”
“Something positive to tell me?” The calm voice came through the corridor even before Ethan appeared. Slowly, the lord brought himself into the health clinic, his disheveled appearance causing Jeane to gasp slightly. He was clearly stressed, his brown locks thrown randomly all over his face. They had gone unwashed since the day the messenger left for Highland and his clothing, usually pressed and neat, was wrinkled and dirty.
“Oh… yes, m’lord.” Jeane’s face beamed brightly with a smile. “We’ve found a way to have Camus live through all of this and have him recover fully.”
Huan gapped silently before nodding. “It’s true, Lord Ethan. Jeane has come to me, suggesting we use runes to save the knight. I am not sure how much effect it will have on Camus, but I’m agreeing that it is worth a try.”
“May I do it?” The question from the lord surprised both the doctor and shopkeeper. “I know that it has been a while since I used a rune, especially the Bright Shield and I understand if you would like to use someone more capable.”
“You’d use Bright Shield?” Jeane’s eyes lit up in sheer amazement.
“We’ll consider it, Lord Ethan. I really do not know who else would do it, aside from Jeane, and I am not sure who else would offer to do so. If anything goes wrong, I am not sure how pleased the people would be with either the rune-user, Jeane, or myself. Camus is one of the heroes that saved this land ages before. It will dishearten the people to see him pass away.”
Ethan merely nodded. “Inform me of your decision when you have decided. Lord Jowy will be here any day now, with his wife. I really do not want them to have anything more to worry about.” And he disappeared back down the corridor from which he came.
“No pressure there…” Jeane muttered. “So, what are you going to do?”
“The only thing I can think of right now: have Ethan use the Bright Shield. It’s powerful. It’s what we need. Let’s hope he’s as good with it as he was three years ago.”
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Why had he done it? Why had he offered his services to use the Bright Shield in order to help save Camus’s life? Questions such as this poured through Ethan’s mind as he marched through the palace to his living chambers. What happens if you fail? Will your people revolt? Will all of those who trusted you and helped you through the past years, step aside and push the blame straight towards you?
Ethan shut and locked his door quickly, wishing to be left alone. “They won’t do such a thing, Ethan.” He muttered to himself. “They’ve stood by you for this long… Camus dying won’t change any of that. They’ll commend you for trying to save him. For being the only one who attempted to and offered to.” However, he found that he couldn’t believe what he was telling himself. He flopped down onto his bed. “Why am I worrying?” He continued on, trying to raise his own spirits. “I’ll do it. I might be a bit out of practice with the runes but I’ll do it. Camus will live through this.” Instead he sighed, falling onto his back. “Hopefully… That’s true…” His eyes fluttered shut and he tried to fall asleep.
A knock at his door kept him awake and he grumbled at it. “Who is it!?”
“Lord Ethan! It’s Clive!”
Ethan shot up instantly upon hearing the voice of the dark man. He pulled the door open and gestured the man inside. “It’s good to see you safe, Clive. After receiving your letter, I was worried about you getting back here in one piece.”
“Lord Ethan… I am much more skilled than that. In fact, I have managed to smuggle a woman and her assistant out with me.” Clive’s rare grin found its way to his lips. “They’re speaking with Lord Shu now. I felt that it was necessary to bring them along, so they would be out of danger.”
“Who is running Greenhill?”
“Nina. Lady Teresa left Nina in charge of the city while she was away.”
“Is that really a safe idea? I know the girl is determined, but can she really oversee the running of the city by herself?”
“I really did not ask. I trust Lady Teresa and Master Shin’s judgment and won’t question it. I know Nina is still a girl at heart, but they seem to see something in her and trust her well enough to put her in charge while they are away. Why they would put her in danger is another story, entirely.”
“Greenhill is in danger as well!?” Ethan felt his heart racing and once Clive nodded, he felt it skip a few beats. “I really had no idea that the threat was this big. And without Camus, I don’t know what we’ll do.”
“What happened to Camus?” Clive’s face darkened beneath the black hood that he kept drawn over his head.
“He was stabbed… A soldier stabbed him in the back and slashed him across the face. Dr. Huan has been taking care of him and both him and Jeane have given us the idea of possibly using a rune to help his health return.”
“It is that bad?” Clive muttered. “I’m assuming that you offered to use Bright Shield?”
Ethan nodded once. “Yes, I did. I’m not quite sure how much good it will do. It is a powerful rune, but I’m not sure we’ve used it on some one near death before.”
“Whatever you feel works. I’m sure you’ll make the right decision about all of this.”
“With Shu assisting me, I’m not really worried about it. At least, not battling down the rebellions. I am worried about the man who stabbed Camus, however. I would like to know if there are anymore like him and if they plan on striking again. I would also like to know who they are planning on striking next.”
“Lord Ethan, if we knew that right now, I doubt we’d have much of a problem. Personally, I am pleased with the information we currently have and feel as if we’re lucky to have it.” A silence fell between the two men that lasted a few moments. “Now, if you will excuse me, Lord Ethan, I must go see how Lady Teresa and Master Shin are faring with Shu and then I must get myself something to eat.” Without another word, he left the room. Once again, Ethan closed and locked his door, and returned to his bed, in order to attempt to find sleep.