The Emperor's Concubine

B.2 Chapter Thirty-Three

"What?" I call out, shocked, "W-Why do you want to die? You can still live, I can help you-"
"I said I don't want it!" The man shouts.
He sharply sucks air through his teeth, doing his best to fight through the pain.
"Please sir... I can help the pain go away, why do you want to die?" I ask.
"Why should I tell you? I'll just be bothered more by those annoying knights, and eventually be arrested."
"Why would you be arrested?..."
He remains silent, ignoring my question.
"Please... You can trust me. Why do you think you'd be arrested?"
He glances over at me as I worriedly look back at him.
Averting his eyes, he thinks to himself for a moment until his eyes meet mine again.
"Because..." He whispers.
"Because?"
"I let my men die." He whispers, staring at the ceiling as thoughts seem to rush through his mind.
"What? But you weren't the one who caused this."
"I did... I killed their loved ones... I made those families fall into despair. What good is it, if I stayed alive?" He weakly chuckles.
"You weren't at fault for this. You didn't kill them!" I speak up.
"I am though. I should have stopped her, I should have died to protect them." He mutters, holding back his tears.
"Wait, what? Who's 'her'?" I ask.
"Some lady... S-She came into the mine... I tried kicking her out when she started prancing around naked, but she wouldn't leave." He takes a deep breath, "I-I just thought she was some prostitute looking for some cash but... You know what, forget it." He closes his eyes, taking a deep breath.
"Please tell me. You shouldn't suffer alone with such trauma."
He lies quietly, taking another deep breath.
"Collins... He was the youngest in my entire team. All he wanted, was to just make enough money to visit different kingdoms... He was such a pain in the ass cause he kept goofing around, but he always worked hard... A lady came into the mines, she tried seducing me and some other men, until she picked Collins... She probably knew he was the youngest and most naive, and took him deeper into the mines. They were gone for a while, so I got angry that he was doing something like that, when he should have been working. I was gonna fire him when I found them, until..."
"Until what?" I ask.
He takes a deep breath, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand.
"I turned the corner and that's when I saw it..." His eyes grow empty and numbed as he remembers the memory, "That lady... Collins' body was ripped open... His eyes were still open and the look of fear on his corpse won't leave my mind... I keep thinking about how his last memory alive, was him watching that thing kill him."
"A lady killed him?..." I ask, taken aback.
The man nods.
"Did you see a beast in there at all?" I ask.
He shakes his head, confused.
"A beast? No. I only saw the lady, but she might as well have been a beast. She had long black hair, and these cold sinister bright green eyes. I remember she was tearing at his insides, eating him. She turned around and saw us, and instantly attacked me. She bit my hand off as I was trying to push her away. One of my men came with me and he started hitting her with his pickaxe, but it made her angry. She attacked him and his pickaxe fell and hit my leg... I remember growing too weak to stay awake, and all I heard was the sounds of my men screaming while I laid there, unable to help." He wipes his tears away, sobbing.
I hand him a tissue, taking a deep breath.
I do my best to stay calm, holding back my tears as I feel the pain he's experiencing.
"Sir... You weren't at fault for any of this tragedy. You said so yourself, it was a woman who killed those men, so why are you blaming yourself? Why are you wishing for death, over something that wasn't your fault?"
"I-I can't go back home... I can't see my wife when I'm like this... She won't love me the same, so I have nothing else to live for..."
"Sir, are you telling me your wife wouldn't love you, just because of your injuries?" I ask.
He pauses and shrugs.
"I can't do anything... My wife's pregnant... If I went home, she'd be tired from taking care of me and taking care of herself. It doesn't matter that his highness is giving us financial support, because my wife won't have any support. I can't help her when she's tired, and I won't be able to help raise our baby when my body's ruined like this. She'll soon grow to hate me, and I'd rather die knowing she loves me." He sobs, covering his eyes with his hand.
"... Does she know you're alive?" I ask.
"No... I told them to not tell her."
"I see... May I ask how you and your wife met?"
He looks back at me with wet eyes and sighs.
His expression growing calm as he closes his eyes, reminiscing over his memories.
"I... I was walking down the street, exhausted after work, and just wanted to drink in town with all the money I had left... Suddenly, she came up to me and gave me the prettiest smile I'd ever seen... She asked if I wanted to buy a flower. I was so taken aback from her smile, that I gave her all my money to buy all her flowers... She told me I would make my girlfriend or wife very happy, and left... I beat myself up for not stopping her, but when I headed back home since I couldn't drink, I saw her picking flowers in a field... I went up to her and asked if I could help, and she laughed at me like I was a fool, but accepted my help... I started meeting her everyday after work, just so I could help her pick flowers... We picked flowers, talked, laughed, and eventually we fell in love. I proposed to her and promised to give her a life she deserves..." The man gently smiles to himself, his eyes closed as he thinks back to the fond memories.
"What did she say when you proposed?"
The man's eyes open, looking back at me weakly.
"She... She told me, all she needs in life is me..." The man's eyes widen as he sadly looks away.

"Psst."
I turn to see Xal pointing at the man.
I shake my head and wave him away.
I look back at the man, his eyes beginning to tear up again.
"Sir... What's your name?" I ask.
"Jeremy..."
"Jeremy... Your wife loves you dearly it seems... Right now, she's probably crying over your death, but your death hasn't happened... Please, let me heal you so you can go back to her..." My voice trembles as I tear up, begging him to continue living, "If she doesn't love you the same, then at least you'll know... But, there's a high chance that she'll love you the same as the day you proposed, or even more... You can't abandon her over something that hasn't happened. Please, let me help you so you can go back to her... Please, let me help you so you can see her beautiful smile again." I earnestly speak, looking at his expression.
His expression contorts into a pained one, his tears dripping down his face.
He nods, biting his lip hard to almost draw blood.
He tightly grips his shirt over his chest, trying to ease the pain in his chest.
"Please... Please, help me miss... I-I want to see my wife... I-I want to meet our child." He sobs, his voice trembling as he releases the burden's he's felt.
I nod, hovering my hands over him.

We ride back to the palace in silence, after finishing up our mission.
"Are you sure you want to leave him be?" Xal asks.
I nod, smiling.
"He had to forgive himself, and I think speaking to me helped him recognize it... If we erased it from his memory, he might not have the will to live again." I shrug.
"Alright... Let's just hope he didn't recognize you." Xal sighs.
"It's fine if he did... I did what I had to do... I know if word gets out though, I won't regret it one bit." I smile, "Oh, by the way he told me what he saw in the mines."
"What'd he see?" Cethin asks.
"He said he saw a lady. He said she had black hair, and green eyes... He said she was eating one of his men, until it attacked him."
"What? But the other miners said they saw a beast? Even your sister saw the beast." Cethin looks over, confused.
"I know, but he claims to not have seen a beast... I'll speak with Cabel, but this incident isn't making sense."
"C'mon, we better hurry." Cethin whips his reins, his horse taking off.
Xal and I whip the reins too, following him.