The Velux Emporium infirmary never saw many visitors. The worst injuries a perfumer managed were small cuts or bruises when gathering ingredients that didn't need a healer. However, it was vital when someone pushed themselves too far and their magic began to drain more than it was allowed.
The room wobbled as I adjusted to my surroundings, the fatigue greater than anything I had ever felt before, but it eventually settled.
The area was only small with a few beds lining one side and chairs in a neat row on the other. Curtains divided the spaces between the beds, but they were pushed back since I was the only person in the room. Cabinets and shelves lined the walls and were filled with medicines. Even perfumes with assisting healing properties could be found alongside them.
Sitting in a chair at my side, his head resting on the cot and his fingers fiddling with my own, was Corvin. His dark hair was dishevelled — knots forming in the silky strands — and dark circles were etched into the skin under his eyes. The Head Perfumer's sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, revealing the scar I thought I had seen the other day.
Instead of the jagged line or the frayed patch of skin that scars would usually be, this one was in the shape of a crown. The royal crest. Each edge of the insignia was neat without a mark out of place as if it had been branded and forcefully healed.
"What did they do to you?" I asked, my voice rough from the dryness that invaded my mouth. I had to resist the temptation to reach out and touch the scar. To make sure it was real and I hadn't imagined it.
"You're awake!" Corvin sat up suddenly, hitting his head against the cabinet above him with a force that I knew would leave a bruise and a headache. He hissed in pain, rubbing the spot furiously, but quickly turned his attention back to me. "How are you? Do you feel okay?"
"I'm drained but I'll manage. I'm just glad I'm not blue." Thankfully, my skin had returned to its normal brown shade and not a single firefly-shaped spot was in sight.
I wasn't sure of every detail that went into the healing process after someone had been drained of their energy through magic, but I knew only the skilled were capable of snapping someone's power back into order. Healers pushed their own energy into the patient, stabilising the magic until they were certain they wouldn't be drained anymore. Then, they would go through any injuries or side effects the person may have received and healed them accordingly.
Corvin breathed a sigh of relief, the tension that had been keeping his muscles hostage finally letting him relax. "That was... scary."
"I'm just making sure to keep you on your toes. I can't have the experience of working with me be too boring." I gave a small chuckle, adjusting my position to sit up in the infirmary bed I had been put in.
The joy that twisted his lips up into a slight smile faded as the cogs of his mind whirred. "That was stupidly dangerous, Elvira. And that says something coming from me of all people. You should have told me you were exhausted. We could have stopped for the day and focused on notes and planning instead."
"I know. I know." But did I really? That hadn't stopped me from making the mistake of pushing myself. It was all because I wanted the workshop and my title back. I wasn't going to make any progress toward it if I didn't take care of myself.
I was lucky that Corvin had been there. If I was alone, my skin would likely be a lot less brown and the drain might have done much more damage to my body. "Thank you for helping me."
"There's no need to thank me. It's the least anyone should do. It probably wouldn't have happened if I didn't ask you to help me anyway." His hands found a stray piece of thread from the seams of the bed sheets to focus on.
I didn't know if that was true. Even if he hadn't given me the opportunity to work on the perfume for the Miracles Festival and rightfully return the workshop to who it was meant to belong to, I would still be at my own desk attempting to replicate one of his magical scents.
My fingers finally gave in to the temptation and traced Corvin's scar, wandering without purpose or goal. "Was this branding consensual?" The frown that I received in response told me a clear no. He didn't pull away, letting my thumb stroke the crown as if I could steal the pain it had once caused. "They've branded you as if you're a pet. Is this what happens to everyone who works for the royal family?"
Pictures of all the servants that were needed for the castle to function, of all the guards that were hired to protect it, flooded my mind. If that were the case, they all had to have the same scar too. How could something be kept so quiet? It had to be a secret kept in the shadows, otherwise there would have been an uproar about it long ago.
"No, it's not at all like that," he assured, horror passing through his eyes. "In fact, it's a little more complicated. It's because I'm a prince. I'm only a bastard-born, so I'm not entitled to any throne or crown, but I'm still of royal blood so I needed to be marked that way."
A prince.
I thought I would be more shocked to learn of his status, to find out I had been in the presence of royalty this whole time. But, in reality, it didn't change a thing about him. He was still an annoying thief who had a strange effect on my heart. At least it explained why the guards loitered around more than usual.
"And they just hurt you like that?" Even if he was a member of the royal bloodline, it still didn't make it right. "How old were you?"
Corvin shrugged, turning away. "The finer details don't matter."
I gripped his arm with more strength than I realised I could muster, dragging his attention back to me. "How old were you?"
"Eight."
For once, my anger wasn't directed at the man who had swept everything I had worked for underneath my feet. It was for that man, for what he had been through to be scarred so carelessly.
Corvin picked up a strand of my hair and tucked it behind my ear. "Don't stress yourself over it. I've long since come to peace with the fact that I have a mark on my arm. I'm honoured that you care about it and how I was treated, but it was a decade and a half ago now." He reached over to flick my nose, causing me to swat him away like he was a bug buzzing around my face. "Think about perfumes or how much you want to kick me instead."
"The perfume! How long have I been in the infirmary for?"
"Most of the day." Corvin peered behind the blinds and deep orange light flooded the room. "The apprentices are currently heading home as the sun is about to set."
That was a whole day of work we lost to work on the perfume. Now, there were only four left to tackle the insane ideas of the new Head Perfumer. If there was any hope left wandering in my body, it would have been frightened away by the fact.
I swung my legs over the side of the bed and started searching for my shoes. They couldn't have put them too far away. We didn't have time to waste. I spotted my boots underneath the bed but before I could reach down to get them, I was pushed back down with careful hands.
"Woah! Where do you think you're going?" Corvin refused to let go of me, certain that I would run away at the nearest opportunity.
"Back to the workshop. There's perfume to be made."
"Not without resting, you're not. I won't let you touch a perfume until you've got your strength back." No matter how much I struggled against his hold, there was no escape from his care.
"What are you going to do? Stay here all night and watch over me?" I joked. "Follow me home and peer through my window?"
"Those aren't bad ideas." Corvin didn't seem to be joking, a plan being schemed as his mind wandered. "The healers were keen on keeping you here all night just in case your energy levels dip too low again."
"I don't have all night." With a forceful push, I managed to sit up again. Though, I didn't try to stand. "There are things I need to do." Not only was there the perfume for the Miracles Festival, but I had no doubt my own orders were piling up too.
"They can wait until you've rested enough that I won't be concerned that you'll fall unconscious randomly."
His worry made my cheeks warm. Nobody had ever been truly concerned about me, only concerned that I wouldn't be able to perfect and produce perfumes. I fell into the trap of thinking like that too and had never quite been able to dig myself out of it. His distress felt different to that.
"I'm not staying here all night."
Corvin offered his hand to me, a steady guide to help me stand. "Then I'll walk you home."
My plan had been to sneak back to my workshop to get a few things first, but that wouldn't be possible if he tagged along. More sleep and a warm meal did sound good right about now, though.
"Fine. I'll head home but there's no need to escort me. I won't get lost, I promise." As I put on my boots and began to lace them up, I realised I was still wearing Corvin's jacket. It kept a thick layer of warmth wrapped around me, fighting off the chill that the drain caused.
"I insist. If I don't, you might slip away and drain yourself further," he added with a pointed look. "It would be the gentlemanly thing to do."
"Okay." I gave in with a roll of my eyes. I had no chance of doing anything tonight while Corvin was here. "Home I go."
Chapter Word Count: 1,737
Total Word Count: 10,803