by Paige Watson
“Go get all of the stuff from the pharmacy.” She was outside before I finished speaking and laid the bags on the bed beside me. I opened the sewing kit and the first aid kit. I undid the tourniquet on his leg, throwing the belt onto the floor. I grabbed a pair of scissors and cut the right side of his jeans from his body. Then I slid his left leg out, pulling his pants entirely off. I opened the bottle of rubbing alcohol and grabbed a wad of gauze in my left hand. I poured the alcohol over the wound in his leg. His body writhed in pain and he let out a low moan.
“Can you fix it?” Caroline was standing behind me watching me as I worked.
“Yeah. It’s pretty deep but he’ll be ok. I’ll have to sew up the wound though.” I held the gauze to the spot where he was stabbed, applying pressure to stop it from bleeding. “Bring in the rest of the stuff from the car.”
She went back to the car and left me to finish taking care of Conrad’s wounds. After holding the gauze to his leg for a few minutes, I threaded a needle from the sewing kit.
“Have you ever done this before?” Caroline’s voice was vibrating and I glanced back at her to see that her entire body was shaking.
“Actually, I have the strange feeling I have.” I opened my left hand over the wound and pulled the sides of his flesh together. “Hold him down. He can’t move while I do this, or I’ll mess up.” Caroline laid her body over his chest as I straddled his legs. I inserted the needle through his skin, knotting the end of the thread so it wouldn’t pull completely through his flesh. His body jerked away from me slightly, but Caroline and I held him in place. I sewed the wound up tight and tied off the thread to keep it from opening. I covered the top of the wound with antibiotic ointment. Then I dressed it with a few layers of gauze and some tape. I tore his shirt from his body and began cleaning the wound on his chest. Once I had wiped away all the dried blood, I applied a thin layer of antibiotic ointment to the cut. I again dressed the wound with gauze, securing it in place with a few strips of tape.
“I’m going to wash my face and hands and then go get us some food. I brought in a few of the weapons. They’re sitting on the table by the door.”
“Ok. Can you get something soft, like pudding or applesauce? I’ll have to crush up the Tylenol and feed it to him that way. I don’t think he’ll be able to swallow whole pills right now.”
“Yeah, no problem.” Caroline washed her face as I collected a couple of wash cloths and towels from the bathroom. I ran the wash cloths under some warm water and soaped them up. I returned to Conrad, scrubbing the black grime and blood from his body. The white cloths turned gray as I wiped off every inch of his skin. Then I took a few towels and dried him off.
“I’ll be back in a few minutes,” Caroline said, heading for the door.
“Hey Caroline?”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks for everything. I—just couldn’t leave him.”
“I know,” she said smiling slightly. “I wouldn’t have if I were you.” Then she walked out of the room and closed the door behind her. I jumped up and bolted the door. I slid the comforter of the bed out from under Conrad and covered him with the white sheets. I laid his head in my lap and stroked his hair.
“Conrad, can you hear me?” He answered me with a wheezing moan. Hearing the dryness in his throat, I grabbed a bottle of water from one of the bags. I propped his body up against the frame of the bed and held the bottle up to his lips. “Here, take a drink of water,” I coaxed. I tilted the bottle, pouring a little of the water down his throat. He coughed, spitting some of it out. I dried the drops of water from his face.
“More,” he whispered.
I held the bottle back to his lips and he drank a third of the bottle before I pulled it away, forcing him to stop for a moment. “Not too fast,” I said, rubbing his hair again. He rested for a minute and a wave of relief passed over my body when he opened his eyes.
“You were supposed to leave me,” he said, locking his gaze on my face.
“There was no way I was going to leave you there. That thing would have killed you if I hadn’t gone back for you.”
“That thing is a dissimulo demon, and you could have been killed trying to help me.”
“A what?”
“Dissimulo demon. It’s a higher level demon. It’s a demon that can disguise itself to look like a normal person. It is the most dangerous demon because it can trick you into thinking it’s an innocent person.”
“I don’t care what it is,” I said. “Do you think I could have just left you there?”
“It doesn’t matter because you should have left me there.” He pushed himself up, adjusting the pillow behind his back. “Damn you Evey; you’re going to get yourself killed.”
“And how do you think I’d feel if you died?”
“It doesn’t matter; you don’t even understand how much more important than me you are.”
“You are important to me. If you die, do you think I’ll even care if I’m still alive? Because I can tell you right now I won’t. I’ll wish I was dead right along with you. That’s how I felt when I cried on your bed that night in the castle.” I slung my leg over his body, straddling his lap. “And you can yell at me all you want, but any time there’s a situation like that you can sure as hell count on the fact that I won’t leave you.” I leaned my face close to his.
“You are so much more important than me. I don’t understand why you won’t listen.”
“Because I love you,” I said, leaning in to kiss his lips. His hands grasped my bottom, pushing my body to his. My fingers got caught in his hair as I held his face to mine. They slid down his neck, landing against his chest. He gasped at my touch. “Oh I’m sorry!”
“It’s ok,” he said, falling back onto the pillows. “Where were we?”
“What?”
“Oh yes, my hands were here,” he said, grabbing onto me. “And my mouth was here.” He rose to press his lips to mine.
“You need to rest,” I said laughing.
“No, I don’t. I feel much better already.” He started to kiss my neck, making my body tremble.
“No, no. You need to rest.” I pushed him back against the pillow away from me.
“But I don’t want to rest,” he pouted.
“Well tough, because that’s exactly what you are going to do.”
“Fine.”
“Here’s some Tylenol for you to take. It’ll help a little with your pain.” I handed him two pills and watched as he washed them down with a long gulp of water. I pulled my clothes off, tossing them onto a pile on the floor. I kept my bra and panties on even though a voice in my head asked if it really made a difference since he had already seen everything I had to offer. “I’m going to take a shower. Caroline should be back in a little bit with some food.” I felt his eyes on me as I walked to the bathroom.
I stepped into the bathroom and shut the door behind me. I showered quickly, scrubbing the filth from my body. I dried my hair off on a towel before wrapping it around me. I walked toward the bed Conrad was sitting on and picked my bag up off the floor. I got some underwear and a nightgown out of the bag and changed in the bathroom. I just finished and was sitting down on the bed when there was a knock at the door. I looked out the peep hole and saw Caroline standing outside with a couple bags of groceries. I opened the door and helped her carry them inside.
“Oh my God,” she said looking at Conrad. “You’re ok!”
“Yeah, thanks to the two of you,” he smiled.
“Oh thank goodness. I thought for sure you were going to die in the car.” She collapsed on the second bed and kicked her shoes off. “Evey was amazing though. She sewed up your leg and everything.”
“I know. She is amazing,” he said smiling at me.
“Are y’all hungry?” I went through the food and took the perishable things to the fridge in the corner of the room.
“I’m starving,” Caroline answered. I looked to Conrad and he shook his head yes. I pulled some paper plates out of t
he plastic packaging and opened up the bread. I made each of us a ham and cheese sandwich. Then I poured a good amount of chips on each plate. I handed one to Caroline and then I carried Conrad’s plate over to him. I sat beside him on the bed and set his plate on his lap. I watched him take a bite of his sandwich before I started to eat mine. He finished all of his food before I had eaten half my sandwich.
“You want another sandwich?” I asked, setting my plate on the bed.
“If it’s not too much trouble.”
I got up from the bed and made him another sandwich. Then I carried it back to him, setting it on his plate.
“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”
We ate the rest of our food in a daze. Even chewing my food seemed to take an enormous effort. The events of the night had drained all our energy and I could start to feel sleep beckoning to us. I cleaned up everyone’s trash and straightened up the room a little while Caroline went to take a shower. I turned on a lamp by Caroline’s bed before flipping off the switch for the overhead light. I crawled into bed beside
Conrad. He put his arms around me, laying his body directly behind mine. The flowing sound of the shower reminded me slightly of rain and my eyelids started to droop.
“Evey?”
“Yeah?”
“Thank you for saving my life.”
I looked back over my shoulder and kissed him. “Anytime,” I whispered.
We slept in until one the next day. I woke up and noticed Conrad’s arms were still clutching me to him. I sat up in bed, brushing sleep from my eyes. Feeling me stir beside him, Conrad sat up next to me.
“How do you feel?”
“Actually, I feel a lot better.” He looked down to his chest and started to examine the dressing I had put on his wound last night.
“Here, let me look at it.” I leaned over him and pulled back the tape to look at the cut. The skin was still raw, but it would heal within a matter of days. I applied some more antibiotic ointment to the cut and taped the gauze back to his chest. “Now let me see your leg.” He threw the covers off his leg and looked down at the bandage that was there. I removed the tape from the edges of the bandage. He flinched slightly as I took everything off, displaying his wound. My stitches were holding up well, and I checked his skin closely, looking for any signs that it might be infected. His skin didn’t look inflamed and I couldn’t help but be pleased with myself.
“You did a good job.”
“To tell you the truth I didn’t really know what I was doing, but as soon as my hands touched the supplies, it was like I was functioning on auto pilot.”
“Well I’m not surprised. You’ve had to take care of all of us at one time or another.”
“I took care of your mother and sister too,” I added.
“Yes you did.” He brushed a strand of hair behind my ear as he spoke. “So where are we exactly?” He looked around the room in an attempt to ascertain his surroundings.
“We are in Murfreesboro. We’re about fifty minutes outside of Estill.”
“Oh ok. We got the painting, right?”
I had completely forgotten about the painting last night. I looked around the room in a panic. Then I spotted it on the table. It was still rolled up tightly. I walked over to the painting and picked it up. I opened it, spreading it on the bed between Conrad and me. Behind us I could hear Caroline starting to stir.
“Good morning,” she said with a yawn. “What are y’all looking at?” I could hear her bed squeak as she rolled out of it and came to stand beside me.
“The painting,” I answered.
“Oh, have you found anything yet?” The tone of her voice was excited and hopeful all at the same time.
“Not yet,” I said, leaning close to examine the layers of oil paint. “He said it’s in the field.”
I could feel them on either side of me, hovering just above the painting. Conrad reached his hand out, skimming it over the surface. His hand moved over it in a methodical manner; he was trying to detect anything that might seem out of place.
“Nothing,” he murmured. He drew his hand back and leaned in closer, to get a better look. “You’re sure this is the field he was talking about?”
“Yes. I had a dream about it. There isn’t another field he could be talking about.”
“Maybe a magnifying glass would help?”
I turned my head to look at Caroline. “Actually, that’s a good idea.” I glanced at Conrad for his answer.
“It couldn’t hurt,” he shrugged.
“I can go get one real quick,” Caroline suggested. “You know, since Conrad should rest his leg and you’re the nurse.”
“That’s fine,” I answered, returning my gaze to the little girl. I couldn’t shake the feeling she would help to unravel the mystery my father alluded to. Caroline stepped back from the bed and grabbed the car keys off the table.
“I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
“Alright,” I said.
“I’ll pick up some donuts for breakfast while I’m out too. Either of you want coffee?”
“Please,” I smiled.
“Conrad?”
“Yeah, that sounds great,” he answered.
“Alright. Well I’ll be back in a minute.”
I watched her exit through the door before turning to face Conrad.
“I think I’m going to take a shower,” he said, standing up from the bed. His leg was still weak and it started to buckle as he put weight on it. I jumped up and wrapped my arm around his waist to steady him.
“Are you ok?” I asked, easing him back down.
“I’m ok. I’m just a little weaker than I thought.”
“Is there something I can help you with?”
“I need to use the bathroom.”
“Ok.” I put his arm around my neck and returned my hand to his waist. He grimaced with each step as we slowly made our way to the bathroom.
“I can get it from here,” he assured me.
“I’ll be just outside if you need me.”
“Thanks,” he replied, closing the door.
When he was done, he opened the door and leaned against the frame. The look on his face was pitiful.
“What is it?”
“I really want to take a shower, but I don’t think I can stand up by myself.”
“That’s ok; I’ll start a bath for you.” I walked past him and pulled the shower curtain out of the tub. Then I turned the water on hot, letting it fill up to the top. “I’m going to take your dressings off and then I’ll put new ones on after we’re done.”
“We? Does that mean you’re joining me in the tub?”
I felt my cheeks flush. “You wish.” I bent down to feel the water, letting my hair fall over my face. I didn’t want him to see me blush.
“Don’t I know it.”
I stopped the water and laid a towel on the floor by the bathtub. I helped Conrad walk over and looked away as he pulled his shorts off.
“You know I don’t care if you see me.”
“I know, but I do,” I said, handing him a towel to cover himself up. With the towel wrapped around his waist; we slowly lowered him down to the water. His face contorted in pain as the hot water touched the wound on his leg. “You’re hurting.”
“It’s ok. It just stung at first,” he said.
I knelt on the towel I laid on the floor and dipped a wash cloth into the water. I rubbed a bar of soap over it before I set to work washing off his face and arms. I worked gently, being careful not to hurt him. I scrubbed his hair clean and then rinsed the soap from it with a cup of water.
“Lean forward and I’ll wash your back for you.” He leaned forward as I rubbed his back with the warm cloth.
“You’ve done this before. Do you remember it?”
“No,” I answered. “But will you tell me about it?”
“It was the night I returned from the hunt. I was covered in blood, mud, and who knows what else. I was disgusting.” He laughed sli
ghtly, and I could tell he was picturing everything that took place in his mind. “You stripped my clothes off and drew a hot bath for me right by the fireplace. You kneeled by the tub, just like now, and washed me till I was clean. It was nice because I was so exhausted from walking back to the castle.”
“Did I tend to your wounds as well?”
“Yeah. You did,” he smiled. “The only difference was you didn’t make me cover myself up then. I guess you weren’t as shy as you are now.”
“I’m not shy!”
“Yes you are, but it’s cute.”
“Shut up,” I said, turning my attention to washing his chest. “Go on with the story.”
“Well, you tended to my wounds and then you had Marie bring me some food. You helped feed me and then we went to sleep in my bed. I remember waking up with you still in my arms; it was the happiest and the saddest moment in my life.”
“How is that?” I was confused and also a little scared at how he worded his last statement.
“Well waking up and realizing I was holding you made me so happy, but at the same time I knew it couldn’t last because you were the queen and I was just one of your guards.”
“Oh,” I said. “I didn’t hurt you back then did I?
“No, you didn’t hurt me,” he said, kissing me softly on the cheek.
“Ok good.” I finished with his back and rinsed the suds from it. “Why did you come for me?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, if the Concilium told you to stay away from me, then why did you come back now? Did they tell you to?”
“No, they didn’t send me.”
“Then—”
“I came because you told me to,” he added before I could finish my question. “I had a dream about you and you told me you needed help, that you needed me. So the next day I packed everything up and got in touch with your dad. He told me where you were living and said he thought it would be a good idea for me to come.”