Tess was staring ahead whilst the apothecary finished treating her wounds. Silence filled the room as she didn't want to risk saying anything to offend Mera, especially whilst she was still being healed.
She gently started tapping her foot on the floor to break the silence.
The scent of dried herbs and burnt firewood mixed in the air. Each tap of Tess's boot felt louder than it should have, like she was hammering at the silence itself.
"Nervous?" Mera asked without looking up.
"No," Tess shot back.
Mera continued applying one of her mixtures to the wound. Her touch was gentler than before, steady and precise, yet the sting of it still made Tess flinch each time it met her skin.
"He really did save you," Mera said quietly. "You would've died from blood loss had he not cauterised this". She looked to the side, checking on the former Paladin as she finished her words.
"I know," Tess replied through gritted teeth.
He could've saved me less painfully. The smell of burning flesh rose into her mind.
The sound of roosters cooing rippled through the streets. Even though the townsfolk had been up late the night before, their mornings had already begun.
Carriage wheels clanking on the ground as the rhythmic clop of the horse pulling it followed closely behind.
The peasant children had begun their day, shouting and playing. Last night's events were nothing more than a fading memory.
Tess took in all the sounds, grateful that something was finally breaking the awkwardness of the moment she was in.
Mera stood and walked over to the fire pit, placing a bucket of water on a hook hanging over the flames. "When the water heats a little, wash your body". I'll prepare something for you to take, to keep the fever at bay". Her voice had lost its previous sting.
Tess stood up and walked towards the bucket. Forgetting her chest was still exposed.
She glanced towards Gabriel as the heat from the fire brushed against her skin.
She looked down and realised her mistake.
Sh*t! She yanked her arms up to cover herself.
Mera chuckled. "It's fine, we're both women"
Tess took the cloth Mera was holding and dipped it into the steaming bucket. The first touch of hot water burned, then soothed. The water smelled of ground herbs and smoke.
She continued wetting the cloth, cleaning herself in slow, careful strokes, paying extra attention to the places the wounds still ached.
She was lost in the motion, the warmth of the water against her skin made everything else fade away.
When she finally looked toward where Mera had been standing, the apothecary was gone.
"I've placed a tunic for you on the table." A voice broke through Tess's serenity.
Tess flinched before she regained her senses. She placed the cloth back into the bucket and walked over to the table, keeping an arm across her chest as she moved.
"Thank you". Her voice had lost its usual pride.
Mera was sitting beside Gabriel, disguising stroking his forehead as checking his temperature.
Tess noticed as she pulled the tunic over her shoulders.
"How is he?". A muffled voice came from beneath the fabric.
Mera moved her hand and straightened up. "His temperature has dropped. The potion I applied inside the wound earlier is working, and it hasn't started to smell." She forced a smile as she spoke.
"What was that?" Tess said, half muffled as her head finally came free of the tunic. "I thought you had to close wounds for the bleeding to stop?".
"Yes, unless something vital is nicked inside". Mera's tone turned clinical. "It was a mixture of Vampire liver, ground Nightshade, and Almeric root". The liver reacts to the body, causing it to burn slowly. The Nightshade slows the blood flow when applied in small amounts to specific areas, and the Almeric root counteracts the negative effect of the nightshade's poison".
Tess raised her eyebrows.
Mera recognised the look of confusion. "What Gabriel did to you, I did to him, just more controlled".
"I hope it hurt as much as mine," Tess muttered.
"It didn't," Mera replied, a small curl crept to her lips.
You should train him then.
The hissing sound of boiling liquid rang through the room. Mera immediately stood up and walked to the alchemy station "There's a fresh bucket of water just outside the door, the peasant children bring it every sunrise. Go and grab it," She ordered.
Tess, more passive than before, set off to complete the task without any retorts.
The apothecary tied some string onto a needle and dipped it in the bottle of boiling liquid, leaving it to soak. She immediately started grinding some Dullhorn root and pouring the ground root into the bottle with the needle and liquid.
Tess had completed her task and began approaching. "Put it next to Gabriel," Mera said without turning.
She took the bottle away from the little flame at the station that was heating it and took it over to where Tess had placed the bucket. "We need to clean him and close the wound before his body gets too unsettled," She said as she was preparing the former Paladin. "Go and grab the other bottle".
Tess didn't flinch, she just obeyed.
Gabriel was still motionless, his eyes firmly shut. The previous sweat that was pouring from him had dried up, he didn't look in pain, just asleep.
Mera pulled a knife from her hip, a small, petite instrument. She began cutting Gabriel's tunic from the bottom up.
The smell of burnt ash flowed through the room.
Silence filled the area.
The blade caught on something hard beneath the cloth. She took a breath before persevering.
The tunic split straight down the middle.
At first her eyes were drawn to his skin, which was blackened from old bruises. Beneath the bruises, faint ridges rose, looking like veins, impossible to follow with the eye.
The sun breaking through the window began illuminating his body, raised lines, pale against his skin. Crossing and curling in every direction.
Mera's hands began to tremble, the knife she was holding fell to the ground.
Clank!
Tess turned, the unexpected noise ringing in her ears. She looked at Mera, whose whole body was visibly shaking.
"What's wrong?" Tess muttered.
The apothecary didn't answer, she was paralysed to the spot.
Tess began walking over apprehensively.
Each step made the floorboards creak.
Mera's eyes were wide, fixed on Gabriel's chest, unblinking.
Tess followed her gaze and froze.
She placed her hand over her mouth and gasped.
Gabriel's tunic was only partially opened down the middle.
He shifted his body slightly in his unconscious state. The fabric opened, revealing more of his open chest.
All outside noise vanished. Her heartbeat filled her ears, loud and uneven.
Tess took another step forward.
She cast her gaze up and down over Gabriel's mutilated chest.
The light crept further down his body.
Scars covered every inch of his chest and stomach, some thick and twisted, others thin like scratches from broken glass. Burns were scattered over them, random, overlapping until the skin looked carved and melted at the same time.
In the centre of it all, right next to his heart, was a small handprint. Child-like. Burned deep into him. The flesh around it was cracked, scorch marks stretching out like vines.
Tess's stomach turned. Looking at it felt wrong. Like staring at something she wasn't supposed to see. But she couldn't look away.
The air in the room felt heavy, pressing against her chest.
She reached out her hand towards his stomach, not quite touching, her fingers were just hovering. Following along the lines etched into his skin.
"How could someone survive this?". She muttered
As her fingers drifted to the outline of the handprint, a chill ran through her, sinking deep into her body. The room seemed to fade, colours draining away until everything felt swallowed by darkness.
She pulled her hand back, her heartbeat booming. Even with the logs still smouldering in the fire-pit. Cold air bit at her skin.
Mera just stood there, frozen. her eyes wide, tears filling them.
Her lips finally parted, but no words came out.
An ember flickered out from the pit, a flame still clinging to it. Drifting through the air. It floated past Mera, twisting in the faint breeze, and landed near the edge of the bed.
The light from it caught Gabriel's chest. A faint golden glow reflecting from the handprint, fleeting. Like the last light of the sun before the night swallows it.
Her knees began to buckle.
Thud!
The sound of bone hitting the wooden floor echoed through the room. Tears spilled down her cheeks as she lowered her head.
Tess looked over at her, still unable to comprehend how anyone could survive this horror.
Mera gently put her hands in front of her, as though she was praying.
Her eyes closed as tears still flowed from them, a slight curl to her lip.
She wasn't praying for Gabriel. She was submitting to him.
The memory of her prayers to the creator years back flashed through her mind. She opened her eyes, looking at the former Paladin.
He has taken on our prayers. He has taken on our hate. He took it all.
She looked over at Tess and whispered, "Every sin we ever carried is etched into his very soul. He is our salvation".