41
"Water,"Cecilia croaked. With great pain she lifted her arm to reach the pail of water but lady luck was not on her side and it crashed onto its side spilling all the water out.
"Please,"She cried out to her maid and remembered she was dead. They all were. Her pretty little companions all lost to her forever. A solemn tear ran down her face and it pained her agitated skin. She squeezed her eyes shut and let the sound of the dripping water lull her into another dark vacuum from which she was not certain she would ever return. It seemed the only way to rid herself of the horrid smell of roses that had seeped into her pores.
"Cecilia!"A voice brought her back from the precipice. The red head opened her green eyes.
"D-Delilah, w-what- you doing 'ere?" The girl blinked up at the painted ceiling. Was she hallucinating in her last moments.
"I am at the door opening all of these damnable locks."
The sound of metal and wood clashing supported her cousin's words.
"N-No!Stayy out! I will not c-codemn you with this c-c-curse. Leave me be,"The red head gasped trying to hide herself but she had no energy left. It was a miracle she could even lift her head up.
The last lock sprang open and the wooden door banged open with an almighty thud.
"My sweet little cousin. What has become of you," Delilah's sweaty face loomed over hers, hazy around the edges. It took her a moment to realize that she was crying.
"W-why are you doing this? I c-cannot, will n-not, have you die 'cause of me,"Cecilia tried to fight her cousin's embrace.
"I promise I'll make things better," The grey eyed girl whispered soothingly in her ear.
"You c-an't helpp. L-let me die in peace," Cecilia murmured with a certainty that scared her to the core. Her time on the mortal realm was finite and there was nothing to be done for her.
"You will not die, you hear me," Delilah placed he cousin's head on her lap. She stared at her with such ferocity that it brought a smile on Cecilia's peeled lips.
"Here have a sip," She brought a small glass near her cousin's face and Cecilia eagerly let it touch her lips. She hadn't had a lick of water since yesterday.
"Easy there, Cissy. Musn't spill," Her cousin guided her gently. The liquid slowly travelled down her swollen throat soothingly.
"D-damian will kill me," Cecilia imagined him charging in with his sword unsheathed, "Well that w-would be a relief. I-I am sick of this p-pain."
"He will not do anything once he knows exactly what I've done," Delilah beamed at her cousin, "I have found it! I have found the cure!"
The redhead started at her sister blankly. Delilah tried to manoeuvre into a more comfortable position but ended up uncovering the worst of her charge's injuries
"Oh,oh, my love, you're bleeding."
Cecilia's back and arms were not a vision for the weak of heart. Under her thick cloak there was a bloody wasteland of open, weeping wounds.
"I-'ave been muchh better," Cecilia hissed with a laugh. "Will I live?" She asked in a childlike voice.
"Yes,I promise." Delilah's face was resolute and in that moment she believed her. If there was anyone who could save her it was her cousin. Suddenly another fleeting thought captured her mind.
"He has not called on me?"
Delilah looked away instantly. There was no mistaking the contempt in her eyes. The truth was obvious but Cecilia wanted to be fooled for just a few moments longer.
"This is a difficult situation for anyone to deal with. Death can make any man shake in his boots."
"Not him, never him. He will come back I'm sure of it."
Cecilia opened her eyes and instead of the painted ceiling found herself gazing at the canvas tent. A tear slowly leaked down the side of her face. That wretched room and those wretched roses. She had been left in there all alone to fend for herself due to her noble blood. People in the quarantine were at least allowed to hold hands with those in the process of departing and she had not even been allowed that.
She got up with an oath and hurriedly dressed herself before her maid caught her. There was a limit to the pitying looks she could endure today. Simon was unfortunately standing right outside like a little guard dog. He followed her wordlessly while gossip and whispers danced around her path. She had a mission she needed to accomplish today that had nothing to do with her illness or her broken heart.
She walked to the path that led to the medical tent but paused outside it, not wanting to encroach any further then she already had.
"What is the prognosis, Simon? Has the man woken up at all?" She asked with weary gaze at the guards who seemed to not know whether to accost her or run away.
"Gossip says that he's been up since you know what happened last night,"Simon hissed as if doing something very important and private.
"And has he told us who wishes to kill him?"
"My lady, he has told them nothing of substance."
"How odd," Cecilia wondered whether the dimwits had bothered to interrogate him at all.
"Maybe he's very simple or the injuries addled his brain. My cousin's neighbour's friend once lost all control of his tongue when he hit his head once. It was all very tragic," Simon clucked in a very unsympathetic tone.
"Has anyone even questioned him, even asked him his name?" Cecilia continued onwards ignoring Simon's babble,"Chances are he doesn't know our language. We're so close to the border."
The Lady eyed the the two guards outside the medical tent speculatively, ruminating over what plan of action she could take with them. They had already seen her and if she tried anything suspicious they might no doubt cut all her attempts short. But she needn't have worried for the guards were too lily livered to encounter a foe like her.
She took one determined step forward in the wet grass and the guards took one step backwards. Her other footstep was met with the same reaction. Cecilia suddenly rushed towards them and the two men leaped aside as if she were a raging bull. Simon cackled all the way as he ran in after his mistress. Her leper like status was coming to her advantage it seemed.
The tent was completely empty baring the patient who was still and silent in his corner position.
"Stay there, Simon. I wish to speak to him alone."
The man lay there with his thick eyelashes dusting his cheekbones. His breath was quiet and she watched the steady rise and fall of his fall. She coughed to announce her presence.
"My name is Lady Cecilia and while it highly irregular for us not to be introduced formally the matters have been taken out of my hand."
The man did not even twitch. Cecilia wondered if she would need to jolt him wake but decided she would stay out of the grasp of those powerful arms. She had a healthy fear of being strangled to death so she continued to pace the room.
"I savedyour life you know. I may sound immodest but that is the perfecttruth and not a man in this camp can deny it. It would be nice if youdo me the courtesy of answering my queries," She honestly did notexpect him to answer now. She could not even discern if his silencewas deliberate or not.
"Can you tell me your name, at least?" She continued keeping her voice loud and authoritative taking another turn around the room.
"Yourname?" She repeated which was one of the embarrassingly fewthings her cousin's wife, Zartashia had managed to teach her from hermother tongue, the language that was commonly spoken in theirneighbouring country.
"I don't know," Cecilia started a little at the gravely voice. She swung around and the man's eyes were now open. His narrow brown eyes were wide open and alert. The man had not been sleeping after all.
"You don't know what I'm saying or you don't know what it is," She queried from the safe distance. She hoped Simon hadn't wandered away too far.
"I tell you what I told the other men. I cannot remember anything. How I go there, who I am or what my name is? I do not even know where I was birthed and raised," The man's accent was negligible further increasing his anonymity. His eyes wandered all over face probably wondering why he was being questioned by an insignificant looking chit.
"Well,there were rumours everywhere that either you are simple or refusing to answer. I had quell my curiosity."
"I am grateful because I now know how I got here. You brought me here in this camp?" The dark haired man tried to sit up but could only struggle to bring his head up.
Cecilia nodded, "I found you just outside the perimeter in a terrible way. I did not know if you were even dead or alive."
"Then it must not have been your people that attacked me because why would you save the one they were hunting."
"You thought us your enemy? I assure you sir we are not that uncivilized,"Cecilia defended herself from the accusation.
The man nodded. He closed his eyes in apparent pain as he tried to get up again. Cecilia took a couple of steps ahead but remembered to mind her distance.
"Did they tell you your life is in danger?" She asked after a brief pause in conversation.
The man's brown eyes fixed grimly on her, "When a man finds an arrow in his back it can be surmised that yes his life is indeed in danger. I was the target of someone obviously."
"I do not mean to alarm you but I do not think your worries are over. I saw someone who tried to attack you again. No one but myself saw what happened and they do not believe me. Are you certain you do not know"
"You seem to be invested in my well-being, crawling into my tent night.You are the first person I saw and remember. I also overheard much about your escapades," The stranger gave the red head a sharp smile making her feel insignificant.
"I am hardly a pervert preying on unsuspecting, helpless men," The Lady narrowed her eyes at his cheek." I just wanted to know whose life I had saved. My curiosity has unfortunately no bounds."
"And you managed to save me again?" That impertinent half-smile hung off his lips once again.
"Yes, I did," Cecilia answered firmly. He would not water down what she had done. He would have been dead without her, "I am not as helpless as I look if that's what you think"
"No, I never said that," The injured man gave her an indecipherable look,"You do not look helpless at all."
