Read with BonusRead with Bonus

Headaches

This chapter is from Amelia's perspective.

Every dawn in this unfamiliar land brought with it a sense of strangeness and discomfort. While the sun painted the sky with its golden hues, my mind was engulfed in a fog of worry and anxiety.

"Amelia, are you okay?" Bethany asked, concerned, as she observed my troubled expression.

"Yeah, just a headache... I think it'll pass soon," I replied, trying to mask the whirlwind of thoughts haunting me.

The sun was setting slowly on the horizon, painting the sky with a mix of orange and pink as I sat by a serene stream on the outskirts of the village. Everything around me seemed immersed in a comforting calm, but within me, a relentless storm raged.

"Sometimes, Bethany... Sometimes, it's like I could forget everything. Forget why I'm here, why I left my home behind..." I confessed, feeling a stab of pain shoot through my mind like a sharp spear.

Suddenly, an intense pain erupted in my head, as if a thousand hammers were furiously pounding on my skull. My vision blurred, and a wave of nausea engulfed me, causing me to double over in agony.

"Amelia! What's happening?" Bethany's worried voice echoed in my ears, but I could barely hear her through the haze of pain.

I tried to get up, but my legs refused to obey, as if they were petrified by the suffering consuming me from within.

"The pain... it's unbearable..." I murmured, struggling to keep consciousness as tears flooded my eyes.

Bethany knelt beside me, holding my hand tightly, her face expressing a mix of concern and helplessness.

"I'll get Antony! He'll help," she said, her voice sounding distant as she quickly rushed off to seek assistance.

As I battled the agonizing pain, a sense of despair enveloped me, leaving me lost in a sea of physical and emotional torment. Even in the moments of relief this place provided me, the memory of home always turned into an open wound, inflicting a piercing pain that seemed endless.

The cold stone floor seemed to sap the warmth from my body as I lay there, motionless, engulfed in a haze of pain and confusion. Each breath was an effort, each thought a struggle against the storm brewing within my mind. I clung desperately to the darkness threatening to envelop me, trying to ignore the sense of helplessness that overwhelmed me.

Yet, even in the darkness, I could hear the distant echo of Bethany's footsteps, her voice laden with urgency as she sought help. Each beat of my heart seemed synchronized with the slow, heavy rhythm of my thoughts. Time seemed to stretch infinitely, stretching like a shadow over my consciousness.

Then, like a ray of light piercing the darkness, the door creaked open with a hoarse groan, and heavy footsteps approached me. I strained to lift my eyes, fighting the dizziness that threatened to knock me down with every movement. The voices around me were mere distant murmurs, indistinct and unrecognizable, as if coming from a distant world.

"Amelia? Amelia, are you hearing me?" a soft, worried voice broke through the fog, cutting through the silence with its urgency.

I forced my eyelids to lift, finding Bethany's concerned face hovering over me. Her brown eyes were filled with anxiety, her features twisted with concern.

"Antony..." my voice came out as a hoarse whisper, barely audible even to myself. I wanted to say more, but the words seemed to get lost in the storm ravaging my mind.

The darkness closed in around me once again, enveloping me in its relentless embrace. I clung to consciousness with desperate strength, determined not to succumb to the unknown that surrounded me.

****A few hours later

I awoke in the dim light, my body still throbbing with pain, as I tried to orient myself in that unfamiliar environment. The darkness was thick, but gradually my eyes adjusted to the faint light, revealing shadowy outlines around me. Rows of beds stretched out beside mine, forming silent rows in a space that seemed to be some kind of infirmary.

A shiver ran down my spine as I realized the situation I was in. This was not the comforting familiarity of Bethany's home; I was in a strange and unknown place, perhaps even in some kind of medieval hospital. My heart raced in my chest as jumbled thoughts whirled in my mind.

My mind switched to a mode of panic. I was so disoriented that I began to pray to any deity who might be listening, begging to be spared from medieval medical treatments. "Please, don't let them cure me with leeches!" I thought in desperation, almost laughing at the absurdity of the situation I found myself in.

Dark and terrifying images swirled in my mind, fueled by the fear of the unknown and the uncertainty of my fate. I could only hope that my prayers were heard and that some form of divine protection was by my side in that moment of helplessness and vulnerability.

I felt like I was sinking into an abyss of despair, lost in my own tumultuous thoughts, when suddenly, a presence broke through the darkness, tearing apart the dense curtain of uncertainty that enveloped my mind. It was Antony, the royal guard, whose imposing figure now stood out in the semi-darkness of the room, his gray eyes emitting a genuine concern that I had never witnessed before.

His demeanor was no longer that of rigid authority or habitual sarcasm; now, it was marked by an expression of true apprehension. For a moment, our eyes met, and a wave of relief flooded over me. It was as if his presence brought a thread of hope, piercing the darkness with a faint light of comfort.

"Are you okay?" his voice sounded, laden with genuine concern, softly echoing in the dark room.

I turned to face him, a sigh of relief escaping my lips before I could even contain it.

"I... I think so. Not sure..." I murmured, the words coming out in a trembling yet grateful whisper.

I felt his gentle hands on my head, as if checking on my condition, and his concerned words echoed in the silence of the room. Then, with a touch of humor amidst the tension, I quipped,

"By any chance, besides being a guard, are you a doctor?" I teased, trying to force a smile even as weakness overtook me.

His eyes rolled in response to my attempt at humor, but he repeated the question with an authority that couldn't be ignored. However, instead of answering directly, I chose to deflect the subject, making an observation about his usual serious expression.

"Ah, finally!" I murmured with a feigned sigh of relief. "The authoritative look. You know, the one you do so well."

Antony raised an eyebrow, visibly intrigued by my response.

"What look?" he questioned, his voice sounding slightly puzzled.

"You know, that intimidating look that every royal guard seems to have patented." I chuckled, though the laughter soon dissolved into a grimace of pain.

I found myself staring at Antony for a considerable amount of time, something I rarely did. His expression was shrouded in thoughts, as if he were searching for an answer to something that deeply intrigued him. I noticed his eyes, dilated like those of a predator scenting its prey. It was as if he were analyzing every detail, every aspect, in search of something that eluded my understanding.

After a few moments of tense silence, Antony finally broke the deadlock, deciding to seek help from a nurse. His voice sounded firm, but still carried a slight nuance of concern.

The nurse entered the room with a serious expression, her eyes scanning the surroundings for signs of need. She approached me with a mixture of efficiency and compassion, a comforting figure amidst the uncertainty surrounding me.

"It seems like you've had quite a scare, dear," she began, her gentle voice conveying calmness. "Antony told me you're not feeling well. I'll take care of you now."

Her presence was reassuring, but her words, though kind, didn't convey much hope for someone accustomed to modern medicine.

"I'll prepare an herbal tea that will help calm your nerves and reduce the pain," she continued, her voice sounding like a gentle breeze of tranquility. "After that, you should rest and be monitored."

With a sense of urgency, I expressed my concern to the nurse:

"I can't just stay in bed. I have a lot to do at the castle, and my salary is already tight. If I don't work, I won't be able to support myself..."

My mind was in a whirl, thinking of all the financial and professional consequences my absence could bring. But before I could delve into all the possibilities, Antony returned to the room, his presence bringing a ray of hope.

"Don't worry," he said, with a calmness that contrasted with the urgency I felt. "You'll stay at my place."

I looked at him, stunned, unable to comprehend his words. The idea of staying at Antony's house was surprising, unexpected, and somehow comforting. But why would he do that for me? The question hung in the air.

The atmosphere in the room grew tense as Antony and the nurse exchanged words. I felt like a spectator in a soap opera scene, watching every gesture and expression with an almost palpable intensity.

The nurse looked at Antony, her eyes reflecting confusion and concern. She took a deep breath before speaking, her words weighing heavily in the air like ominous omens.

"Antony, dear... I know it's none of my business what you do with your life, but... You know how things work around here. You're no longer that little boy who played hunting in the forest and who came here to ask for favors when he got hurt..."

She paused for a moment, choosing her next words carefully, while I held my breath, waiting for Antony's response.

"You've grown up," she continued. "And you know that, noble as your gesture may be, it won't be well received by the village..."

Before she could finish, Antony interrupted her with surprising firmness, his words echoing in the room.

"It doesn't matter what they'll think," he said firmly. "She's my responsibility. And as a man, I can't be irresponsible."

Fatigue weighed heavy on my bones as I lay down on the bed in the infirmary, enveloped by the dimness that flooded the room. Antony had stayed behind, dealing with the details and bureaucracies surrounding my situation, and I was grateful for a moment of quiet to regain my strength.

Yet, even with exhaustion wrapping around me like a cloak, there was a phrase that resonated in my mind like a persistent echo: "She's my responsibility." Antony's words reverberated in my head, dancing amidst my thoughts, impossible to ignore.

What did that mean, exactly? Was I his responsibility now? Did he really care about me more than I imagined? Uncertainty swirled in my mind like a whirlpool, leaving me restless and unable to find peace.

However, before I could find an answer to my questions, exhaustion finally caught up with me, enveloping me in its gentle embrace and dragging me into the comforting darkness of sleep. Even with all the doubts and concerns, I knew that, for now, I needed to rest.

Previous Chapter
Next Chapter