Silent Heart

Chapter 3

In the Marquis' Manor, Gram was in the middle of signing workloads of paper and keeping track of time with his pocket watch. It was already past the appointed time and closed his pocket watch.

With a few tolls of a house bell, a butler enters the room and formally greets the Marquis with a hand on his chest and bow, "Have you seen Abelia in the manor lately?"

"I'm afraid not, sir," Gram's Butler answered, "But from what I heard, the Head Maid had sent her to the clinic and aid its shorthanded staff,"

Gram pinched the bridge of his nose, and let out a steady sigh before lowering his hand and sternly gazed his butler, "Find her, and bring her here,"

"Understood," The Butler replied and went out of Gram's office,

'Just what was she doing out there...' Gram questioned as he continued to work,

On Abelia's side, she and a few others have asked and assisted soldiers in clearing a room. What comes after is transporting Captain Reid's body into the room. As for the Clinic Nurse, he was given fresh clothes, instruments, and medicines.

With everything prepared, The Clinic Nurse proceeds with the operation and Abelia serves as his assistant.

The patient, Captain Reid, had sustained three large lacerations across his chest. The Clinic Nurse had determined the cause was a wild bear in the woods. From the testimony of the soldier earlier, they found out that the reason he sustained such an injury was when he used his body to shield her.

She's his Vice-Captain and the Daughter of a Baron, Katherine Keswick...

The cause aside, the two of them tied a mask around their mouths and proceeded with the procedure. The first part lies with Abelia cleaning the patient's chest with a sterilized towel and the Clinic Nurse closely examining the depth of these lacerations.

The first and third lacerations broke through the skin and some muscle, it's the second and largest laceration on his chest that hasn't stopped bleeding. The Clinic Nurse assumed that a piece of the bear claw must have broken off and remained inside.

If it isn't pulled out in time, then the wound has been infected and the captain's life would have passed the point of no return. With some retractors, the Clinic Nurse carefully opened the second laceration and then grabbed some forceps to extract the bear claw.

"I need some light," The Clinic Nurse requested and Abelia grabbed the small lit lantern to shine the light towards the laceration. The former kept his hand steady and searched for that bear piece.

Even when Abelia is holding a lantern, she manages to assist him by wiping off the blood that gets in the way or wiping off sweat from the Clinic Nurse's forehead.

Minutes later, the piece that they were looking for was found and the Clinic Nurse catches it with his forceps. He then carefully pulled it out of its hiding place and extracted it from Captain Reid's chest to an empty bucket.

"Alright, now all that's left is to close the lacerations," The Clinic Nurse said, and Abelia nodded as she prepared the thread and needle. While they work on stitching the lacerations together, the Clinic Nurse ponders to himself about who she truly is,

Being a maid is one thing, but having remarkable skills that show the marks of a clinic nurse is another. He asked himself if she was a maid of the Marquis, or something else.

As soon as the lacerations are sealed, what comes after is the sterilization of these lacerations, the appliances of healing ointment, and the wrapping of bandages.

After the Clinic Nurse assesses the Captain's health, he lets out a breath of relief and nods with confirmation. Even though Abelia's mouth is covered, he can tell that she's smiling underneath and all that remains is to tell the news to Katherine.