PART V: Varya's Home
"He's not gonna make it; he has lost too much blood... Well, not without help from your family anyways, young master." A strange old man's voice filled the room as Nex was struggling to stay alive.
The smell of blood and death filled the room, and Nex could not help but recognize it.
"What the hell is that bird doing here, Doctor Isane?" A strange young but firm voice Nex heard from in between his fading consciousness.
"Fascinating, isn't it, young master? I mean, when was the last time you saw a bird of death acting so humanlike before... Protecting it as I have heard... And now refusing to leave out of worry. So very human-like. I would love to cut it open and take a look inside." The old man began to walk slowly towards the crow before he was held in place.
"You! You dare? Know your place, doctor, and do not try to stick your nose in things you do not understand... The moment a blade hits that raven... Never mind, just... Do not dare to touch it or any of its kind, for that matter." The young voice rang through the room as the eyeless crow sat there listening... Unbothered by the doctor's growing curiosity or
danger.
Nex...
You have to...
Live.
The voice's familiarity gave Nex the reassurance to let go and go to sleep.
"Understood, young master. I shall not touch the crows... Now, shall I try to save this young man? I need blood, and you know what kind and where to get it from... So either give it to me, or give me permission to put his dead body to good use after his death." The old man answered after a long silence.
"I shall have a word with my mother... Keep him alive until I am back. That I am sure you can manage to do, right, Doctor?" The young voice talked with a cold whisper before loud steps walked away from the room.
"Sigh... This family would be ruling this continent and god knows what more had they let me do what I want... Instead, they will stay here eating plagued humans till the end of times... Well, not like they care about the waste of their time... But what about mine? I barely got much left, and I am wasting it here talking to myself and arguing with their youngest." The doctor mumbled to himself before he stuck a needle into Nex's arm, transmitting blood to Nex to keep him alive for a few more hours.
Meanwhile, the young master walked through the halls past the gazing servants, moving proudly toward his mother's chambers.
A young and radiant blonde man with sharp features and dashing looks with crimson red eyes opened the door to a room that is filled with the cries of young Amal.
"Mother... The injured boy... He needs our blood to survive. Doctor Isane has assured me." The young boy's voice was hesitant, but not of fear—rather of shame.
"And is this how I taught you to do things, Sang? To come to me and request my opinion before every decision? I thought some time away from the family on the front lines would have given you the ability to make those small types of decisions by yourself." The noble lady was wearing a golden dress, the same she had worn when she spoke with a ringing voice that annoyed even her son.
"No, mother—" Sang's hands covered his own mouth as he realized what he had just uttered... A promise... Broken with a single word.
"I apologize, countess. I did not mean to—" Before Sang could even finish his apologies, his mother cut him off.
"Sang... Make sure it does not happen again, especially not in front of your brother and sister." She said without any emotions showing as she gently rocked Amal, finally putting an end to her cries.
"Yes, countess." Sang could not lift his eyes from the floor as shame filled his face with redness. He began turning around, wanting to leave as soon as possible, not even remembering why he was there in the first place.
"Wait... Sang, the injured boy with black hair... Did you take a look at his eyes, and if so, what color were they?" The countess looked out to the clouds as she asked, waiting for the cloud to pass from above her house to reveal the sun.
"I did not check, countess. He was passed out since we saw him in the forest. I will check and come back." Sang answered, excited for the rare chance to receive a mission from his mother.
And before he could leave the room, through the clouds a ray of the sun shot down to the lands in front of the countess with rays of black beams. As she traced it down and back up to the cloud, a memory flashed in her mind.
The black sun high in the sky above her... As the smell and heat of fire filled the air along with the dead bodies laying on top of her, drowning her in blood.
She snapped out of her memories to look at the cloud again and see the sun ray shining with golden light on the farmers in the wheat farmlands.
"No need, Sang... Do everything to make sure the boy is alive." The countess's voice was low and filled with regret as her hands were visibly trembling.
"Understood, countess. And the infant? Should I take care of it?" Sang asked.
"No, this child also is to be kept safe at all times... And what is safer than my lap, my son?" She added with a grin growing on her face.
Sang nodded and headed out, closing the door behind him as the countess stared with her cold and crimson red eyes at Amal.
"Hope, huh? I do have to say, the empire's filth—the higher up you go, the better they are at naming things... Not all are as cheerful as yours though, child." The countess added as a single blood tear fell on Amal's cheeks, waking her again. But this time Amal was strangely calm in her hands, smiling as if she understood her words.
As the countess's words faded into the hallways there stood a man with a grey beard and hair along with sand colored eyes he stared as Sang left his wife's room excited and ashamed.
He stepped forward and without even opening the door to his wife's room he knew she would shed tears.
The moment he saw the infant in her hands earlier when she brought it back home.
He could not step inside to comfort her... It was not something he had the privilege of doing anymore, So he sat there looking at the pictures of his family on the walls while walking through the halls when they were young... Happy.
Now, It felt unreachable anymore.
"DOCTOR! DOCTOR!" A young female's voice woke the doctor up as he was resting face-down on his table.
"I was not sleeping!" The doctor yelled out as he swept away his drool.
"Doctor... I want to watch over the boy. I want to make sure he lives no matter what," the young lady said while skipping around the lab.
Upon seeing the young lady's recognizable honey-yellow eyes and blonde hair, along with her yellow dress, he was relieved that he was not caught by someone who would actually care about him sleeping while working.
"I do not care, but you should ask your mother's permission before doing anything," he answered back.
"You do not understand, Doctor, but we cannot let this boy die... If he dies, a lot of people will die as a result. Saving him here might put us at a disadvantage in our talks with the king, but it will be worth it—believe me." The young lady's steps slowed to match her tone as she grew more serious.
"I am sorry, young lady, but I... I can't disobey your mother... Not again." The doctor avoided the young lady's eyes.
"Well... I will." The young lady grabbed a knife from the table, and as she was pressing the knife against her wrist, a voice stopped her in her tracks from behind.
"ENOUGH! Liz... You do not need to do this. The duchess gave her agreement to his treatment... Now move and let me do my job as the eldest." Sang's voice made Elizabeth jump out of her skin.
Sang walked up to her, grabbed the knife from her hands, locked his eyes with hers as he injured his palm slightly, and forced open Nex's mouth to feed him his blood.
"This is how you do it... You do not injure your wrist for any reason... EVER! Understand?... WAS I CLEAR, LIZ?" he asked after a prolonged silence.
"Yes. Understood, eldest brother," she mumbled as she held her dress, playing with it out of nervousness.
Sang's gaze turned from his nervous sister to the eyeless crow sitting at the window frame, waiting patiently for Nex to wake up.
Sang tilted his head in respect, then moved close to the doctor. "You really should get some rest... You know they are waiting for an excuse to kick you out. Don't give them one, doctor," Sang whispered to the doctor.
"They could not kick me out right now even if they wanted to... Too many dead people coming in and out of this manor for them to give up someone who is willingly working on finding a fix," the Doctor replied back with a slight smirk and his eyes focused on a needle he filled with medicine.
"Speaking of dead people... Doctor, there is a delivery for you downstairs. I would recommend you wear something to cover the smell." A man's voice crept in from behind all of them, taking them by surprise.
"BROTHER!" The spirit in Elizabeth shot back to her as she ran and hugged her brother.
"Andy, I... I did not know you were coming back this early," Sang asked with hesitation.
"I did not know either... But the king had another shipment and he asked me to bring it here so our mother could deal with it." Andy did not spare a look to his brother as his smile widened for his sister and no one else.
Sang's heart sunk when he heard the word "mother"... The same word he isn't allowed to use his siblings are.
"I see... Well, I shall inform the duchess about your arrival as I assume you went here first before reporting to her," Sang spoke to himself while his sister and brother exchanged pleasantries in front of him.
"Uh... Yeah, you go ahead and do that," Andy answered with confusion about what Sang was ever talking about.
Sang sighed in distress and walked away from the room before coming to a halt for a question from his big brother Andy.
"And who is this new toy sitting here?" Andy asked as he walked forward towards Nex.
"NO... one you should be concerned with, Andy," Sang responded as he sprinted to put himself between Andy and Nex's recovering body.
"Well, seeing as he is on a table in my house, of course I will be concerned with whoever this is... Isn't that right, brother?" Andy asked with a smug look on his face.
"It is not your house... You do not own it, nor will you in the future, brother." Sang shut down Andy's smugness with his words, but they were not words of hatred but instead simply the truth.
Andy let out a small chuckle, then he silently approached Nex, ignoring his brother's presence. "I will know who this is and who gave him permission to be healed with MY brother's blood... And if you don't like that... Try and stop me, Sang," Andy added as he reached out for Nex's hand, trying to lift him out of the operating table.
Do...
Not...
Touch him...
The eyeless crow tilted its head, waiting for Andy's hand to contact Nex's. No one heard the crow and it not seem to physically threaten Andy.
But even the reckless child Andy could not take a risk of angering Death's Messenger.
He slowly backed away from the room and walked out, leaving Sang alone with Lizz and the crow.
"I don't... I don't like how you talk to us, brother... I want my old brother back, Sang. Please?" Lizz pleaded while her eyes teared and lips quivered.
"I... I cannot control which brother I get to be to you... Sister, I am sorry," Sang answered while clenching his hand in frustration and his face grew more red with shame.
Upon hearing those words, Lizz bowed then ran out of the room, following her brother Andy's footsteps.
"Sigh... I wonder... How much more do I have to endure of this," Sang asked himself before his thoughts were interrupted.
"GASP!" Nex's gasp made Sang react, jumping across the room away from Nex. It was not something the calculated Sang would do, but his whole body told him to run the moment he heard the gasp.
"Where am I?!" Nex yelled out after a familiar moment had returned to him.
"Stella's northwest... Count Sunrise estate," Sang answered while letting his guard down, slowly walking forward and extending a rag so Nex could wipe away the blood from his stomach.
But Nex did not extend his hand forward before asking, "Where is the infant that was with me?" Nex looked around the lab he was resting in.
"With the duchess..." Sang looked behind him before he continued, "My mother... She is caring for her. Let's have you take a shower, then you shall hold her again."
"I cannot take your word for it, blondie... I want to see her for myself," Nex responded before he took the rag and looked down to see his stomach intact.
Nex's mind flooded with memories of him holding his insides with his own hands, of the pain of the sword penetrating his stomach... Of death.
"How am I alive?" Nex asked. Nex's memories were complete this time; he remembered the darkness and cold... The emptiness while he was waiting... All alone.
"I... No, the duchess will explain in better detail why and how you are alive now... Though from the scar around your neck, it looks like you have had a few close calls yourself," Sang answered, growing with amusement from his conversation with Nex.
Nex nodded before his concerns returned to Amal's safety.
"Take me to your mother. I am sure from what I think I have witnessed she is not someone who will pass out from seeing blood," Nex said with an authoritarian tone.
Sang's smile was wiped away. "You will not order me around, arrogant child... I have far outlived the likes of you, your father, and his father before him... Mind your tone." Sang's voice grew into a painful pulse in Nex's ears with every word.
Nex endured the pain, not covering his ears but instead standing there, meeting Sang's red crimson eyes with his own midnight blue.
"The infant, I want to see her..." Nex answered back defiantly.
Sang's expression lightened. 'Sigh... Come this way with me...' Sang turned around to lead Nex, but before they even went out of the room, Sang halted in his place.
Sang turned around, facing Nex, towering over the young boy with years of experience and his tall frame as he looked down on him.
"But if you dare speak to the... No, to my mother the same way you had talked to me just now, I swear I will tear open that infant of yours and throw it to the pigs to feed on it... Understood?" Sang asked with a low and cold whisper.
Nex stared for a bit. His heart was beating fast. For the first time in a long time, he was truly afraid of someone who stood right in front of him.
Nex nodded after a small pause where he was collecting his thoughts with memories of the old noble woman breaking a sword off of her flesh.
"Answer me. With words, boy." Sang commanded with his low voice. "Do you... understand?"
"Understood... Now lead the way, blondie." Nex answered, struggling to keep his hands from trembling a bit when met with visions of the supernatural strength of the old noblewoman he was about to meet.
Away from the main estate and just outside the barn, Doctor Isane slowly marched to the soldiers moving carts while a dozen or so knights ordered them around.
"Doctor, you are here." A knight stopped the doctor's march. Steel and heavy armor covered all of his body, but with his figure it was too hard not to know who it was.
"Isvand Gim, as I live and breathe... What brings you here to this..." The Doctor's words were halted for a bit. He did not know how to describe what it is that is actually happening here. "This task." The Doctor finished.
"I have come here under the Eldest Sunrise's orders." Isvand responded as he handed out his large hammer to one of the soldiers.
"It is twice your size. How can you carry that thing?" The Doctor asked as the soldier visibly struggled, carrying the two-handed hammer with his whole strength.
"HAHA... I know it is twice my size. You don't need to remind me of my short being every time we meet, Doctor, same way I don't need to remind you how crazy you are for being with this family." Isvand responded as he lifted his helmet off.
Revealing his old and ugly face—his nose too big, his eyes one of them cross-eyed, and his brows were large and connected with harsh skin around his eyes and all over his face.
"Yeah, well you also work for the eldest of the family, Isvand, so I guess we are both a bit crazy." The Doctor added as their laughter grew louder.
"Oh well, it was nice catching up with an old friend from the military academy... But I fear my stay here is not for long, Doctor. I need to rest for the journey back to the northern front..." Isvand added as he started to head towards his chambers to rest.
"Wait... Isvand, does that mean young master Andy will also be heading out soon?" the Doctor asked.
"I fear so, Doctor. We are needed on the northern front... Without us and now without Commander of the Silver Knights Riger being there, that woman is having the time of her life against a bunch of nobodies." Isvand added with a worried expression.
"That woman?... You are saying the whole Kingdom of Stella is being held back by a single woman from the empire?"
The Doctor was shocked beyond belief, for Stella is not the strongest kingdom and they struggle with many things including their fewer numbers compared to every other kingdom and the empire... But their warriors are the fiercest and most tactically gifted.
"Yes, Isane... That warrior woman is the daughter of Tywin Loras, and I don't need to explain to you who that is... Sister to Sao, who gifted the empire the black water swamps. As his first time leading a battle, he achieved something even that warmonger Braveheart II could not achieve." Isvand grew annoyed with The Doctor's confusion.
"And she is a good enough warrior to force a stalemate with Commander Riger and his Silver Knights? Do forgive me, my friend, for asking such questions, but I do not know much of war, so I ask not out of mockery but simply asking for knowledge." The Doctor reassured Isvand.
"Sigh... No, when Commander Riger was the leading commander of the northern front, he was gaining ground... She still halted him and ensured that with every inch we took, we lost men for it, but everyone knew eventually her men's morale would crumble and she would lose due to deserters and the missing loyalty of the empire's soldiers." Isvand added.
"I wish to speak of war no longer, old friend. I am heading there soon myself with your young master... I just cannot wait for Commander Riger to finally calm down and rejoin with us, saving the lives of these poor bastards." Isvand looked around, gazing at his and Andy's soldiers as they were loading the barn with carts covered with white fabric.
"Well, old friend, looks like your soldiers are finished loading my job into the barn as well... Go rest, and I hope to meet you again. Sorry to keep you standing here." The Doctor's hand laid on Isvand's shoulder as a see-you-later gesture before he went to the barn.