The time of the plague

Chapter seven

Whilst Nazali went to go look for Julian, Tilde went back into the room to check up on Vanessa. She noted down Vanessa's body temperature went up a bit but not a lot. Tilde looked around the room to see if there was any cocaine. There wasn't and she had no idea where or how to get it. Vanessa shifted in her sleep slightly and mumbled something unintelligible in mer. Tilde walked over to Vanessa and sat next to her on the bed. "Lucio, did she just say something?" Tilde asked.
"I think she mumbled something in mer it was quite hard to make out" Lucio answered, reaching out to hold her hand under the blankets.
Shuffling closer to Vanessa, she gently stroked her arm while whispering in broken mer that she had learnt from dealing with mer leech sellers.
"^Vanessa, can you hear me? Respond or squeeze my hand if you can^" Tilde stuttered as she moved her hand closer to the mermaid. Lucio and Tilde held their breaths as they waited for Vanessa to respond in some way.

Moments past yet nothing happened- the mermaid didn't stir one bit. Impatience and concern occupied Lucio's thoughts as he longed for Vanessa to bounce back to her normal irradiant self. However, as he stared at Vanessa's wearied and debilitated body, his hope began to rapidly fade as tears brimmed his bloodshot eyes.
Tilde, noticing Lucio's growing agitation, comforted while trying to dismay her own trepidation, "Count Lucio, don't worry. Nazali,Julian and I aren't going to give up on Vanessa. She will be back on her feet before you know it. You must care for your own health right now. Please master, relax and try not to fret- it will only make your condition worse".
No matter how much Tilde pleaded, Lucio whined shakily, "I don't care about my health when I see my only love suffering because of me...". He looked away as his features crumpled and released further tears of regret and guilt. Gasping for air in the midst of the breakdown, he sobbed "It was all my fault Tilde, wasn't it? I shouldn't have allowed her near me. Now she isn't waking up,". Gently, his trembling hand gripped Vanessa's frail arm as he shook it while whispering, "Please Nessa, wake up...".
"Lucio, I'm sure she will wake up soon, just give her time alright. She will be fine. I promise you that Nazali, Julian and I won't give up on her. We will do everything in our power to help her" Tilde said, trying to give Lucio hope.
"But what if she doesn't wake up, what if you can't help her?" Lucio said, worry evident in his voice.
Tilde looked down as she wasn't sure what to say.
Nazali dramatically walked in and declared "Tilde I need to speak with you, it's important" before walking back outside.
Tilde nodded and got up following Nazali's orders to go outside, unsure of what to expect.
"Tilde, the reason Vanessa is in such a bad state is because Julian poisoned her. There aren't any antidotes for the poison he used and if there was, it wouldn't work on her because she is a mermaid and suffering from the plague" Nazali explained.
Tilde opened her mouth in shock as she was overwhelmed by the shocking information expressed before her. "I'm sorry what? Are you talking about my Julian? The Julian Devorak that is passionate about helping people and healing them... poisoned Vanessa? You have to be kidding Nazali- this doesn't make any sense!!" Tilde murmured, absolutely shocked and couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"Look," Nazali snapped as they looked at Tilde intently, "you know I wouldn't lie. I had the same reaction as you but we truly are running out of time. Julian isn't doing anything about it so it's in our hands! Come on think with me Tilde... what do we do?'
Questions raced in Tilde's mind however she forcefully put them aside, desperately trying to think of a solution.
Interrupting Tilde's thoughts processing the situation, Nazali impatiently remarked, "Did you do everything I asked before I left to find Julian?"
"Well, I grabbed the thickest blankets to cover her and asked Portia for a few hot water bottles. It has had some effect on decreasing her hypothermia but I couldn't find any cocaine samples anywhere to solve her heartbeat. It has gotten even worse the last time I checked," Tilde responded, panic-stricken.
Nazali, massaging their forehead in frustration, asked" Are you sure you checked everywhere?"
"Definitely. I checked all the store cupboards and all of the medicinal stashes.- we've ran out in the wing..." Tilde responded
Reluctance pervading their violet eyes, they stated hurriedly, "Okay fine, I'll just have to get some from the lab. Stay vigilant of Vanessa and don't forget the Count- you must keep him calm and don't tell him the news. Try and keep her awake and I'll be right back okay. Hurry!".
As Nazali tried to shoo Tilde away back to the wing, the dealer responded," But Vanessa isn't responsive right now,"
"I thought she would regain partial consciousness by now?' Nazali questioned in confusion.
"No, we heard her mumble something but when I tried to communicate, she went back into a coma,"
"Well that makes our situation worse." Nazali troubled but continued, "Do the best you can to try and get her to wake up. I'll get a higher dosage of cocaine then, that might awaken her and increase her pulse...". Abruptly, the doctor raced urgently towards the lab in search of a meek hope of survival for the mermaid.