The Shadress (MCD x Reader)

Ch. 07- Rest & Magic

When I came to, I found myself in a bed, covered with a faded blue blanket. The sounds and feel of nature surrounded me, giving away this location almost immediately. I opened my eyes to find myself in one of many beds, presumably used for medical purposes, in the tree loft mentioned during my tour of Phoenix Drop just yesterday.

Now that I'm here, I can tell that the tree holds magical properties of its own and I feel the aura the plant produces line me softly. A Yggdrasil tree? So far from the Yggdrasil Forest?

I carefully sit up, feeling the pain shoot up from my side. With a gasp directed toward the pain, I stop for a moment to catch my breath. It has been so long since I have been injured in such a manner – let alone from my healing powers. When was the last time I used those? I wondered bemused.

After I move the rest of the way up, I press my spine into the wooden wall behind me. It presses into my back uncomfortably, but the support it provides is much appreciated. I'm looking around the loft when I catch sight of someone a couple of meters away. The brunette is digging through a box seemingly looking for something specific. When he feels the eyes on his back, he turns around and spots me sitting up.

"Oh, you're awake," Laurence sets down whatever was in his hands and walks over. He pulls a chair to the end of my bed and sits in it as far from me as he can without being disrespectful. "How does your wound feel?" His voice is cold, as though we're discussing what to do about a pest problem.

"Could be worse," I shrug with indifference. As the memory of what landed me here floods through my mind again, I feel the anger course through my system. "Son of a bitch," I mutter, smacking my fist onto the mattress in front of me. All of my cautiousness didn't even matter the moment I let my anger get the better of me.

Laurence snorts. "Gibberish isn't gonna help you with anything."

I don't dignify that with a response. "If I hadn't given her the ability to distract me..."

"Likely nothing would have changed." My gaze snaps to him as he continues. "Whoever shot that arrow knew what they were doing. That wound was serious; they were trying to cause as much harm as possible." He observes me further as his observations settle between us.

I sigh and press my head into the wood behind me. As much as I don't want to agree with him, I cannot dispute the fact that he is right. All of the time without my lady to guard, has made me rusty on the guarding aspect of my duty to her. I feel like a failure.

While I am going through the motions of self-loathing, a familiar head of dark raven hair pops its way up from the ladder to the loft. I watch as she climbs her way up before turning around and starting her short trek over. However, Aphmau stops after a few steps, seeing me upright. "Oh, good." She puts a hand over her heart briefly. "Are you alright?"

Aphmau starts walking over after she asks and stops at my bedside. I dismiss her worries with a wave of my hand. "I'm fine. It's no big deal."

"No big deal? You passed out from blood loss, and I was the one who got shot!" I watch as her face twists in anger. She's clearly upset about my dismissal. Aphmau sits on the bed next to me, which causes Laurence to scoot closer, suspicious of what I might do. After a moment, she sighs and switches the subject. "What happened, anyway? How did you get that wound?"

I drop her gaze and focus on my hands in my lap instead. "My type of healing has a severe side effect. I essentially get the wound from the person I healed, all aspects of it."

"Is that why you don't use it much?"

I nod and look back up, returning my eyes back to hers. "The side effect just isn't worth it most of the time."