Saudade (Published under Indie Pop)

Chapter 66: Trampled Flowers in the Dead Field

I was already sweating when Cecilia appeared by my side and handed me a bottle of water. I didn't know that I was thirsty until I emptied it.

"I didn't hear of your arrival, my lady. And based on the patients you've attended, you were already here for quite a long time," she commented.

"This is an emergency. I didn't think that having my arrival announced was that important," I answered.

"Well, you must not tire yourself too much. The Borgian King will not be pleased if something happens to you."

There was no hint of doubt when she said that. She firmly believed that we will win the war and the Borgian kingdom would rise. She urged me to rest for a little but just when I was about to go farther inside the castle, another wounded pirate arrived. And when I saw who it was, I decided against resting and received him immediately.

"Erasmus!" He was severely bleeding as the other soldiers carried him to the bed. He was still conscious and I could see from his expression that he was being tortured by the pain. The soldiers who helped him threw a pitiful look at the young pirate before hurrying back to the battlefield.

"Do I look really that bad?" He was trying to make light of the situation. However, I remained stunned in front of him unable to process what happened.

Cecilia, upon realizing that I needed a moment to catch myself, moved quickly and gathered the bandages we would need. She grasped my arm firmly and squeezed, telling me to go back to my senses.

"We need to act now, or he would bleed to his death," she said.

My eyes fluttered as if finally waking up from a dream – only it was a living nightmare. I swallowed and gazed towards his trousers – where there was only one leg on them and the other one was barely even there.

"I- I don't know if I can do it!" I whispered shakily. It was the worst time to have a panic attack; every second was too vital to lose at that time. However, I seemed to have difficulty making my hands move. All I could think was that Erasmus was too young with his life full of dreams ahead of him to have such kind of suffering.

"Lady Primrose!" Cecilia's call was urgent but I was still completely immobilized. Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain on my cheek which freed me from whatever trance I was in.

"Get your shit together, Primrose Crimson! The castle doctors' hands are full! So whatever you learned from those books they gave you, put them into good use now and save this boy!"

She just slapped me. And I was glad that she did. I couldn't believe that my weakness paralyzed me to the point of bringing an even more danger to a friend. Getting back to my senses, I focused on what I had to do and stopped the bleeding. Erasmus had lost consciousness during the process but a doctor checked on us and assured that he would survive. He even commended us for doing it properly. He took over from that point.

"It's alright. You aren't a doctor," Cecilia said. "And I'm sure it will take you more years of facing cases like this before you become one. It's going to take more than those huge piles of books you're reading. It might be hell. Saving lives, indeed, is harder than taking one."