Chapter 81

81 The Blood Plague

“What about Anne? Is she alright?” Xavier asked Vale while he hold Justice.

The crown prince was terrifyingly calm and just sat on the floor like he had done nothing wrong. Vale looks at him warily. He doesn’t look like the friend that he knows. Brom suddenly came running inside, his face becoming paler. When Vale shouted at him to close the door, not even he closed the door, but he also casts a time-space bubble.

People will never see or heard anything from the room from now on. Brom looks into Anne, while Vale goes to look at Justice.

“What should we do to him?” Asked Xavier to Vale, who examined Justice. He told Xavier that he could release him now, “Are you crazy?! Not a chance!” Xavier gruntled and glared. He was devastated to see Anne.

Brom put his hand to Anne’s wound, he was worried about her condition and informed his captain, “Captain, she lost a lot of blood. I think I need call for a healer.” Said Brom.

Vale nodded his head at Brom. “Called for chief Hale, we can trust him and say nothing. Just asked him to come with you.”

Brom was put unconscious Anne on the bed. He then runs as fast as he could to find chief Hale. At the other end of the room, Vale and Xavier grab Justice and force him to sit on the sofa. Vale step into the bed and pressed at the puncture wound, just to make sure she wouldn’t lose too much blood until chief Hale came into the room.

On the sofa, Justice panted so hard, his eyes blinked and he saw Xavier locking his eyes on him. He knows what he had done to Anne. The hunger and desperation set in as he was conscious the whole time. Justice tried to lock himself, but it was too late when he heard Anne calling for him.

“How is she?” Justice asked Xavier about Anne’s condition.

.....

Xavier coldly looked at him, and the only words that he could muster were that they will need to wait for the healer. Xavier know it wasn’t his fault, it was something else, but he just couldn’t see his face without going to throwing a punch at him.

A knocking came from the door, Xavier open the door and saw Brom coming in with chief Hale. He looks at Justice and runs into him.

“Your majesty! Are you alright?!” Asked chief Hale when he saw blood came dripping from his lips.

Justice wave his hand to chief Hale, “No, no, chief Hale, it wasn’t me, it was her, got to Anne.” his hand pointed at the unconscious Anne on the bed.

Looking at her, he rushed to Anne’s side, and barking order to Vale and order, “Quick! Grab my medicine bag. It’s inside my bedroom, two rooms from here!”

Vale and Brom go outside immediately and into chief Hale, they go back in record time, while Brom fixed his time and space bubble, and chief Hale treated Anne’s wound. Vale, Justice, and Xavier were having a heated discussion.

“Are you joking? Why Justice? Why?” Xavier grab into his hair, frustrated at how come his friend could do something so cruel to the woman that they care so much about.

Justice wipe his mouth with his handkerchief, he would stare at the bloodied handkerchief, and it was down on him, “This is her blood,” Muttered Justice, “Smells like blood now, but before it smells like... like home and hope.”

Vale and Xavier look at Justice with devastating faces. The way he described Anne’s blood aromas made them chill all over their body. His subtle satisfaction made Vale finally remember every detail of the story of the Beyor cemetery.

“His lust for blood came when the others mourned for the father. At the end of the day, Beyor lost every living descendant and the cursed mansion became the cursed cemetery.”

Justice’s red eyes go to Vale. “That was different. In the story that general people have some knowledge about, we never knew what happened inside of the Beyor mansion.”

“and who was he? The one that has a lust for blood?” Asked Xavier to Vale. He was pretty much curious about the other takes on the legend.

“Apparently in my grandfather’s hometown, they have another version of the legend, where they knew about what happened inside the mansion,” Said Vale. He even said another thing, “The legend actually has the origin of the blood plague,”

Chief Hale immediately gets closer to Vale, and so does Brom, blood plague is one of the strongest and most horrific plagues about three hundred years ago, but the record never shows where the plague originated from, some say it’s coming from the outer sea of the neighboring nation, other says it was a cursed from the Gods.

“What do you mean that the Beyor cemetery legend came from the blood plague origin?” Asked chief Hale. He then pointed at Anne. “You know, the girl over there has a wound that is similar to vampirism, a disease that shouldn’t be existing in our kingdom anymore!”

Everyone around went quiet, while chief Hale looking around the room. Justice let out a sigh and asked chief Hale about Anne’s condition.

“Is she okay?” Asked Justice. There was despair on his face.

“She will be alright, but now we need to wait if the vampirism will spread or not.” Said chief Hale.

“How long?”

“About two or three days. If there’s no blood lust, then it will be a miracle, but we need to observe her for three days max, and also the one who bites her...” Said chief Hale to everyone in the room.

Justice leaned on the sofa, his eyes wandering to the ceiling. “We need to be in the solitary room for now. Maybe we need to be moving right away?”

Chief hale nodded his head, “I agreed, we need to move your majesty and miss Anne into a perfect place, where we could analyze them,” He then tapped his chin, and gave them some suggestions, “How about the main hospital?”

“No, that’s the worst place for the two of them.” Vale shook his head, and he turned around to see Brom. “Brom, there’s a free space on the alchemia tower, right?”

Brom, who was in the middle of staring at Anne, got distracted and said a quick yes to Vale. Xavier clenched his fist. He wasn’t comfortable with how Brom always set his eyes on her.

“Alchemia tower? Interesting, we could ask Amaris, and she also could analyze the two of them.” Said Chief Hale.

“Brom, I want you to inform your mother immediately, maybe using your familiar.” Vale once again turns his head to Brom. He even called for the young man to be sat on the sofa. He was concerned for his safety, looking at how Xavier already growling while looking at Brom.

Yawning and looking disinterested as always, Brom sat on the sofa, and to make it worse, he sat beside Xavier, the young man really doesn’t have any fear in his bone.

“Sorry captain, I don’t have any familiar.” Said Brom to Vale.

“What? You’re a talented magi, and you don’t have any familiar?” Asked Vale, frowning at his subordinate.

Brom just shrugged, although there was a reason for his lack of familiar. He couldn’t form any bond with a monster or animals around. He tried but always failed in the process. Somehow, the animals are either scared of him or feel some kind of animosity toward him before the bonding process.

“It’s alright, let me send my familiar,” Chief Hale said to Vale, and continued to give instructions to everyone, “Now, I need you to prepare two carriages for us to use, we are going to leave Gaftan in one hour.”

“Let me ask one maid to prepare Anne’s luggage and maybe changed her clothes?” Said Justice.

“Are you mad?! The maid will see those blood all over her. She will become another target of conversation.” Xavier glared at Justice, thinking that the crown prince may be lost his mind.

“So, how do you reckon we are going to do with her? We can’t leave her all bloodied for the entire journey back?!” Justice felt frustration coming from Xavier and gave him to look at his point.

Brom stands up from the sofa and voices his opinion to Justice, Xavier and Vale, “Then how about the three of you changing her clothes then?”

“What?!” The three of them shouting at the same time.

“Why not? Just close your eyes and tried to not touch anything forbidden.” Said Brom with a shrugged and excused himself from the room with chief Hale.

“But... But... Brom, are you sure?” Asked Vale, flustered by his subordinate suggestion. However, Justice and Xavier already consider it.

Brom gave his captain a smirk. “Or, you could just wait for her to be conscious. It will probably be sooner. I can feel she has already regained her consciousness.”

When Brom and chief Hale were gone from the room, they heard a moan coming from the bed. Anne was finally conscious of her ordeal with Justice. They went quiet and stiffed. As for the vampirism, Anne could have gone berserk as soon as she awaken, now the three of them need to be prepared for anything.