Elara sat in silence, her mind continued to churn long after Adrian's figure had disappeared from view or maybe even the encampment. She was trying to make sense of everything- the mercenaries, their conversation of the person who might be their boss, their strange expertise of the sword as if they were meticulously taught and not just picked it from experience. The fourth prince's coincidental meeting with the same mercenaries and finding out about Elara and coming to check on her even though, according to Calytrix the two never met before. Then the story about the grand duke, her supposed brother forcing Calytrix against Elara's will on this mission and knowing about her attempt at entering the jungle.
Every detail felt like a thread pulling her in different directions, and she was struggling to find the pattern.
The weight of the situation pressed on her chest, the sense of unease tightening around her, when is she even going to solve all this?
She barely noticed the ache that was beginning to creep back around her shoulder, not until the sharp, sudden pain jolted her from her thoughts.
Elara winced loudly, holding her shoulder instinctively. The injury which had been dormant for a while, flared up again along with the uncomfortable itch- its bite sharper, as though it had been waiting for Elara to put down her guards to stab her again.
Lady Calytrix who had grown quiet for a while now, immediately noticed the subtle change in Elara's expression along with the soft cry. She leaned forward, concern knitting her brow. "Is everything alright, My Lady?" she asked gently, her voice laced with hesitation as her eyes travelled where Elara was clutching her shoulder.
Elara paused, a flicker of hesitation in her eyes. She didn't like showing weakness, especially not to someone she barely knew. But Calytrix had already noticed her situation and she didn't seem to be any stranger- she was the girl's nanny and a physician.
After a moment's deliberation, Elara spoke, her voice tight but calm. "My shoulder hurts again."
Calytrix nodded, her gaze softening. "May I take a look?" she asked, her hands already reaching for the soft fabric of Elara's tunic. The wound on her shoulder had been the most gruesome of all, and from the way it had changed the color of her skin around it, Calytrix couldn't help but be concerned.
Only after getting a nod from Elara in permission to proceed, Calytrix carefully slide the tunic from her shoulder and undoing the bandage around her shoulder. As the fabric slid away, the sight that greeted her was enough to stop Calytrix's hands mid-motion.
Elara blinked, confused by the sudden gasp from Calytrix. She had already heard about the condition of her shoulder from this physician- why was she overreacting when she had already seen the wound before too?
She instinctively shifted to look back at the wound on her shoulder but found she didn't need to. The sight was clear enough from where she sat. It was worse than she had realized. The blackened skin that was said to be around the injury had spread till her collarbone. But what hitched Elara's breath were those crimson lines on her blackened skin. It seemed all her veins in the area were popping out- crimson as if fire was circulating in them.
Calytrix breath fell on her shoulder in slow intervals, her hands hovering shakingly near the wound, not daring to touch it. "It's... It's worsened," she murmured, a stunned edge to her voice. "I don't understand. I've never seen anything like this before."
Elara gritted her teeth as the dull throb in her shoulder flared up once again, but she remained silent, trying to process what was happening to her body. Her fingers were itching to relief herself from the uncomfortable itch around her shoulder.
Calytrix leaned closer, her eyes wide with disbelief. "It is definitely a poison, but... what kind of poison, I can't say. I've never encountered anything like this."
Elara's heart pounded, but it wasn't from the pain. She could endure worse, but his- this was different. Something wasn't right- and not just on physical level, she could feel it in her soul.
As Calytrix marveled at the injury, Elara's mind churned with possibilities. The mercenaries, the prince's strange behavior, her attempts to go to the jungle, her injured and unconscious body in the jungle- they all seemed to circle back to something darker than she had anticipated. This wound... it wasn't just the result of a brawl or an accident. It was deliberate. Whoever gave her this wound knew she'd be there and what this poison could do. But who?
Calytrix looked up at Elara, her eyes full of concern and wonder at the quiet figure. "How have you been able to endure this for so long?" she asked her voice soft with awe.
Elara didn't answer immediately. And thankfully she didn't need to as Calytrix's hesitant voice sounded again, laced with quiet regret. "I... I may need to try something more direct."
Elara peered at her face, confused at her words. Something direct?
"I didn't do this earlier because I wasn't sure what kind of wound this was," she added immediately, mistaking Elara's confused gaze with something else entirely. "But it seems my hesitation has only worsened it." She lowered her gaze, an apology already forming on her quivering lips. "Please forgive me, My Lady, for not acting sooner. I'll try to heal it now."
Elara blinked, a flicker of confusion crossing her face. Heal it? This old woman can heal? Surely, she meant with ointments and bandages, right? Of course, she had heard about self-healing abilities before. That the Aeternum's had self-healing abilities but...
Before Elara could voice her confusion, Calytrix placed her hand gently on the blackened skin of Elara's shoulder, directly on the open wound, and at once, Elara felt strange warmth pulse through her, spreading from the point of contact and washing over her entire body.
It was a strangely comforting sensation, soothing, like a soft wave of calm. Could it be she was actually healing her?
For a fleeting moment, Elara let herself to relax, letting her mind rest from all the thinking and unanswered questions, her muscles unwinding from the tension of the previous moments.
But then, suddenly, without warning, a sharp pain shot through her shoulder- far worse than the aches she had felt before. It felt like a thousand needles piercing deep inside her, a stab of agony so intense it left her breathless.
The warmth that had initially settled into her body twisted into a brutal, earing burn. Without warning, a loud, strangled cry of pain came out of mouth as she jerked away from Calytrix's touch, her entire shuddering as the burn worsened. The room spun around her, the edges of her vision blurring, but she still managed to look up the woman, her heart pounding in her chest.
What was she doing? Is this what healing felt like? Or was Calytrix... trying to kill her?
She could see the shock mirrored in Calytrix's expression, her face pale, eyes wide, and her mouth opening as though she were about to speak but couldn't find the words.
For a moment, the two simply stared at each other- Elara struggling to control her breath, her body slick with sweat from the fever and the excruciating pain; Calytrix, frozen, her hand still hovering in the air as if uncertain of what to do next, her eyes darting between Elara's face and her shoulder.
The pain didn't let up. It burned through Elara's veins, as though her very blood was on fire. She wanted to scream, to pull away, to escape the burning sensation coursing through her- but all she could do was breathe through the agony, her mind racing.
She could feel her limbs going sluggish, as though the energy was being drained from her body. The warmth she'd initially felt had evaporated, leaving only the fiery sting in its wake. Her pulse thundering in her ears.
And still, Calytrix's face was one of shock, but now, there was something else- something Elara couldn't quite place. Fear? Guilt? Or was it something more? Before Elara could know, her head gave another loud jolt and her already blurry vision blackened at once as she fell backward, saved only by Calytrix's fast move.
And she was once again trapped in the memories that she had buried in her mind long ago. But why were they resurfacing only now?