It was always so gloomy in the dungeon.
With the Red Plague at its peak, there was no shortage of patients, both dead and alive, inhabiting the dungeons of the Vesuvian palace.
And there were never enough doctors to see to them.
Without a cure, the majority of the infected died in an unfamiliar dungeon, separated from their loved ones, alone and afraid.
Any and all doctors and apprenticing doctors were welcomed with open arms. One such apprentice was MC.
Working under Dr Julian Devorak, MC was brought down to the dungeons and outfitted accordingly with a full gown, gloves, boots and beaked mask.
As a new apprentice, MC was required to make the acquaintance of Quaestor Valdemar, the head physician.
"Quaestor Valdemar," Julian began. "I'd like you to meet my apprentice, MC. MC, this is the head physician, Quaestor Valdemar."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Quaestor," MC said, hand outstretched.
"We shall see," the head doctor began. "Are you quite certain they are qualified to be in the medical field, Doctor 69?" They questioned. "I need to ensure that we have only the best as our apprentices. They seem a little..." Valdemar hesitated, "Soft."
"MC is the best I know, Quaestor. I wouldn't accept just anyone as my apprentice," Julian assured them.
"Very well, Doctor 69. I will need to question your apprentice further, I'm afraid," Valdemar concluded, waving away the red-haired doctor.
"MC was it?" Valdemar questioned the young apprentice. "What makes you think you have what it takes to be a doctor, much less one on the team investigating the plague, hmm?"
With that, MC's first day on the job was spent being interrogated by the head physician whose questions were relentless. Before they knew it, it was late into the evening and they were scheduled to return home for some rest.
*~*~*~*~*~*
For the next two weeks, Valdemar hovered over MC's shoulder as they conducted their appointments with patients, any medicinal concoctions and brews and all surgeries. Never did Valdemar let MC out of their sight.
By the end of their observation period, Valdemar had concluded that MC was, in fact, a very competent apprentice who conducted themselves very well. They also found that MC was a much more productive and well-practised apprentice than most of the official doctors on staff.
Because of MC's level of competency, Valdemar found themselves asking for MC's assistance more than any other member of staff. Whenever they required an extra set of hands, MC was always the go-to person, not only because they worked very efficiently, but because they were one of the very few people who weren't insufferable to the Quaestor.
Over time, MC had made quite the name for themselves among the doctors. No longer were they just "Julian's apprentice". They had gained the reputation of being the most well-liked member of staff who somehow managed to keep chipper and upbeat, even when faced with the most tragic of plagues in history.
MC always found the good in the job, even if the job was hacking a poor corpse to pieces to find any and all information about the plague.
Their attitude did not go unnoticed, especially by the head physician themselves.
The more MC and Valdemar worked together, the more Valdemar found that they were actually enjoying MC's presence, and not just the joy of all of the death around them. They noticed how the long midnight shifts in the dungeons were less painful when MC would stay behind to clean up or finish reports or even help an extra patient or two. As they talked, the two found that they had more in common that one might think. MC, a little odd as they were, was just as fascinated with the specimens of the plague as Valdemar; something that no other doctor could say. Valdemar had found the last shred of humanity they had left was saved by MC, who never failed to make their day brighter.
On one such long night, the only people remaining in the building were Julian, MC and Valdemar. The next wave of doctors would not be in for a few hours yet.
Julian and MC were both in Julian's office as he was writing his report as MC recounted the day's events and activities.
As Julian was finishing up his last line, a sharp knock came from the door.
"Doctor 69, could I borrow the assistance of MC for a moment?" Valdemar asked.
"Of course. I'm done anyways. I'm heading out to get some rest. Have a good night MC, Quaestor." Julian said as stood from his chair and exited the dungeon.
As the door shut with a thud, MC and Valdemar were left alone.
"What can I help you with, Quaestor?" MC asked, pulling their soft face mask as they joined the head physician on the centre platform with the dissecting table.
"I need to you begin the post mortem on this corpse, MC," Valdemar said as they began to busy themselves with paperwork.
"Sure thing!" MC said as they began to undress the unfortunate soul that happened upon their table.
MC was humming softly to themselves as they leaned over the body, scalpel in hand, making careful incisions into the chest.
Once finished with their papers for the evening, Valdemar joined the apprentice on the stage and looked over their shoulder to see them working away with that chipper attitude of theirs.
"A fine specimen," Valdemar states with a smile.
"Mmhmm, a fine specimen indeed. She will provide us with a great amount of information. She is an interesting combination of symptoms," MC confirmed as they continued to cut into the body.
"Not the corpse," Valdemar states.
"Pardon"
"You. A fine specimen," Valdemar clarifies with a smirk.
MC cheeks turned pink in a blush, caught off guard by the compliment.
"I-I'm flattered that you think so, Quaestor," MC said as the physician began to back them up against the side of the table.
When MC could not move any farther back, Valdemar, who was standing not a foot away, grinned and backed off, letting MC relax after they had enjoyed seeing the apprentice so flustered.
The pair finish with the corpse in silence before Valdemar leads MC out of the dungeons as the next shift of doctors arrive.
MC disrobes and hangs their uniform on the hook outside of the dungeon.
As they turn around, they are met with Valdemar who quickly pull down their own mask and places a quick, yet delightful kiss on MC's lips.
"You are quite the fine specimen, MC," They say as they pull their mask back over their face.
*~*~*~*~*~*
Ever since that night, MC and Valdemar had become something of an item.
Never too showy, yet it was quite obvious in their attitudes that the two were together.
TIME SKIP
The dungeons had once again become quite gloomy. Something wasn't right; there was something missing, or rather, someone.
MC had stopped coming into work. Julian, locked away in his office, was too busy to have noticed that MC wasn't there. The rest of the doctors had felt the absence, yet, were so absorbed in their own work that MC's disappearance had yet to be discussed.
And the Quaestor? The Quaestor was so overwhelmed by the number of patients and lack of competent doctors, among other, more sinister plans, that they had no time to look into MC's whereabouts.
The sound of the dungeon doors opening and closing were accompanied by the sound of wooden wheels on stone, indicating the arrival of yet another corpse.
"Thank you for another fine specimen," Valdemar said without a look towards the body on the cart. "It'll make a fine addition to my collection."
When they finally turned around and pulled the thin white sheet from the corpse's face, Valdemar was stopped dead in their tracks. For the first time ever, tears threatened to fall from their eyes.
There on the cart, covered only by a thin white sheet, was none other than MC themselves, a sickly colour, devoid of any blood circulation.
Julian was the first to come and see why the Quaestor had stopped their work.
"Quaestor is there something wro-" Julian began only to cut himself off. "No... MC..."
A moment of silence passed before Valdemar threw into a fit. They began screaming and shouting about how Julian didn't notice his apprentice's absence and failed to save them. They wailed about how the doctors were so careless, so oblivious to the apprentice's disappearance. How could they all have let this happen?
In the uproar of the other doctor's mourning the loss, Julian was heard to be crying and shouting himself about how he lost someone he saw as family, someone he cared about deeply. His outburst is only silenced when Valdemar themself cries out.
"Why should the only person I love be ripped away so soon?! How could they be killed by the very plague they sought to cure? Why MC? Why?!"
Valdemar was on their knees, hands clutching their head and horns, red eyes bloodshot and overflowing with tears.
The room finally quieted.
"Get out," the Quaestor demanded. "All of you. Get out!"
And soon enough, they were left alone on the floor, with MC's body lifeless on the cart.
Valdemar stood and wiped the tears from their face. They grit their teeth and lifted MC's body onto the dissection table.
They prepped their body.
They made the incisions.
They began the post mortem.
Tears; they splattered on the corpse.
Valdemar couldn't stop them.
They could only look over MC's lifeless body. In the end, they really were a specimen.
The scalpel clattered to the floor and Valdemar left in a fit of grief, leaving another doctor to finish the examination.
*~*~*~*~*~*
Valdemar was standing on the Lazaret, body in their arms.
They laid the corpse down on the slab and lit the incinerator.
Their expression was stone cold.
As the physician prepared to place the body in the flames, they took one last look at MC's face.
The Quaestor leaned in to place one last kiss on their lifeless lips, a single tear escaping and falling on the cheek before the body went up in flames.
As they stood there in the red glow of the fire, Valdemar spoke to their beloved MC for the last time.
"You were such a fine specimen indeed."
*~*~*~*~*~*
Thought I'd try something a little different this time around. I don't see a whole lot of Valdemar content around in one-shot books. I know they're a little OOC in this one, but I thought the idea of Valdemar finding their last shred of humanity in MC was kind of interesting.
Anyway, this is the second update today! That almost never happens.
I will see you guys in the next update!
- Fandoms <3