RESIDENT EVIL VILLAGE - The House of Dimitrescu

Chapter 37 - Thaw

The wound on Y/N's hip throbbed painfully as he made his way through the deserted castle halls. Now that the immediate danger had passed, the adrenaline of the last few hours was beginning to drain from his exhausted limbs, giving way to an itchy prickling sensation across his skin as the toll of working the boiler began to catch up with him.

His skin was sore, roasted pink from the heat of the roaring fire in the cellar, and glancing down at his shirt, Y/N saw several small red pinpricks of scarlet blood peppering the fabric over his hip, no doubt caused by the strain on his makeshift staple-stitches. 

Wincing, Y/N strode onwards, ignoring his aches and pains as he made his way back down the stairs and into the kitchen corridor, mulling over his conversation with the Countess, and contemplating whether their stalemate would hold. She was right... he had been making far too many bargains lately...

The kitchen, when Y/N entered it, was a mess. The last time he had been in here, Zoya and the others were preparing for their escape, safely stowing away everything they could not carry with them through the mountains. But now, pots, pans and plates were strewn haphazardly across the surfaces, the stone pavings of the floor were cracked in several places, and almost all of the cupboard doors had been ripped off their hinges. 

With a grimace, Y/N appraised the room, stepping gingerly over a large, dented cauldron and making towards the fireplace. Within two minutes, he had built a crackling fire, and as he straightened up to mop his brow, Y/N's thoughts turned again to the girls.

They're out of danger for the moment, he mused, idly drumming a box of matches from the fireplace across his knuckles, but a little more heat might help the thawing. Maybe some tea?

Filling a small kettle with water, Y/N set it over the fire, darting around the kitchen as it began to steam softly. Taking what he could from the overturned cupboards, Y/N added ginger, lemon juice and honey to the brew, and dropped in a pinch of cayenne pepper as a finishing touch. Truthfully, he had never made tea before in his life, but the recipe had been reccommended to him so many times that he went to it almost instinctively. 

After a few minutes, Y/N lifted the bubbling kettle from the fire and poured out a steaming stream of liquid into a nearby mug, letting it cool slightly before tasting the mixture. 

'Jesus!!!' Y/N coughed sharply as the boiling liquid hit the back of his throat. His tongue burned painfully, and he quickly put down the mug, wincing as he waited for the pain to subside. He took several long breaths to cool his burnt tongue, but grinned in spite of himself as he felt a fierce heat spreading through his chest, creeping through his arms and legs as if someone had lit a fire inside of him. 

'Seems about right.' He shrugged.

Grabbing four mugs from around the kitchen, Y/N set them upon a battered tray beside the kettle, and carefully began to make his way up towards the south wing of the castle. 

It's definitely warmer now, Y/N thought to himself as he climbed the stairs, the warm air of the main hall brushing against his face. Glad to see the boiler's still going without me.

Outside the windows, night had quickly descended upon the castle, wrapping the many spires and towers in inky blackness as Y/N had laboured at the boiler in the cellars below. The full moon hung motionless in the sky above the mountains, its baleful light sparkling across the snow-capped peaks, and over the corrugated roofs of the many sheds and outbuildings in the village below. 

As Y/N opened the maroon-eyed door with one hand, precariously balancing the tray upon the other as he stepped into the south wing, he paused, cocking his head quickly to the side as a soft sound brushed against the edge of his hearing. It was faint, but as he hesitated, a familiar buzz began to fill his ears, and Y/N felt relief surge through him at the sound.