Lantana

Chapter 3: Research and Recovery

Lantana had been escorted to the medical ward. Lying on a bed, she could only describe her feelings as numb. What had just happened? What did Gabriel mean by the wrath of the Gods? Why wouldn't Violet outright tell her what was happening? Would Violet be okay? So many questions filled her mind, but none could be answered.

For all I know, Violet has to suffer through all of this pain because I didn't listen to her. It's all my fault.

Lantana's breath turned heavy, and her eyes kept darting around as if looking for something they could purchase. The cuts spread across her body stung, but those were the least of her worries at the moment.

Looking to her left, Lantana saw a young man who looked to be at least ten years younger than Lantana leaning over someone on no one of the beds. He was slowly moving his hands in a circular motion and was muttering a strange incantation. Light blue sparks were flying coming from them, almost translucent. They twinkled around the person he was operating on before slowly being absorbed into their body.

Curious about the procedure, Lantana propped herself up into a sitting position resting against the headrest. The boy was blocking a large portion of her sight, but by adjusting her position, she was able to glimpse who was lying in the bed.

It was Violet.

Violet's face was deathly pale, drained of all color. Her eyes were shut, and the dress that Lantana had lent her was soaked through with blood. Lantana saw a pile of glass beside her and felt sick.

The pieces were coated with blood and varied in size. The wizard seemed to have done his job well because it looked like all the glass was extracted. There were huge pieces, but also tiny pieces that were no bigger than pebbles.

Worried, Lantana eyed her friend looking for a sign that she was alive, and was relieved to see her chest was rising and falling. As small as her breaths were, she was still alive for the time being.

Lantana felt a small spark of hope. Why operate on a dead body? Violet was close to death, but she wasn't dead yet, there was still a chance that she could be healed, Lantana's mistake undone.

Lantana found her voice to ask, "Who are you?"

"Someone," he replied, deeply engrossed in his work.

"Hilarious. Can you tell me who you are, and what you're doing with my friend? Princess's orders."

Turning to face Lantana, she saw his lips tightly pressed together, his eyes a little fazed from the work he had to perform. It looked like he had already operated on Violet for hours, when not even an hour could have passed from the event.

"I'm a wizard. Now with your friend, I'm healing her. I don't know if you were aware, but she was close to death. I have made her better than her previous condition," he replied simply.

Lantana stared at him with her brows slightly furrowed and asked, "Since when do we have a wizard in the castle? Magic users in Virago are few and far between."

"Since three years ago. The council decided it would be for the best, and they sent out an expedition. They found me. I get paid a warm place to sleep, and three meals a day. It seems fair. Now, if you can excuse me, she is in a dire condition. I have work to do."

Satisfied with his answer, Lantana laid down again. A couple of minutes later, doctors arrived and looked over Lantana. They cleaned and bandaged her wounds, but the amount of pain Lantana felt would only be a fraction of what Violet felt. Brave, delicate Violet who sacrificed herself for Lantana.

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When Lantana woke, there were rays of sunlight streaming through the windows. The atmosphere from outside the window seemed to be warm and comforting, unlike the nightmare that had surrounded a window the previous night. She rubbed her eyes and looked to her side to see Violet sitting up, awake. The sight of her sitting up doing something normally stole Lantana's attention.