Desires of Men ~SEQUEL TO THE LIFE I LIVE~

Convictions of the Afflicted

"The medics are completely dumbfounded. They've never seen anything like it." The nurse was saying, leading Albert through the medical wing of the castle. She was dressed in a simple white dress. Her brown hair was tied back, and she looked at the world through weary eyes. Albert could see that her job probably kept her tired all the time.

"I don't think I got your name, miss." She glanced back at him.

"Belinda." He smiled.

"Ah, yes. That is one of my favorite names on a woman."

"Oh...thank you?" She looked a little unsure, glancing to the sides with raised brows, so he switched to talking about why he was there.

"What time were the guards attacked?"

"The Doctor says about 2 am. The shift change found them."

"Were the guards...you know...drunk?" Albert didn't want to offend the woman, and she gave a sharp look.

"Of course not! They are men of duty, not idle wants. They protect this castle with nothing but their wits about them. They have more respect than that." He waved his hands to try to calm her down.

"I'm sorry, sorry. It was just a question."

"Hmph." She muttered, turning straight forward again. He sighed inaudibly. He was never very good with the ladies. Even when he wasn't trying.

"So...describe to me what happened to the guards." He tried moving the discussion along. The nurse turned in front of a door, taking hold of the handles.

"Why don't you see for yourself?" She pushed open the doors, revealing an operation room. Several doctors dressed in white with masks over their faces turned to look at the noise. They quickly returned to their work, bustling around three tables. With all the activity, Albert couldn't see what was on the table, but he had a feeling of what he would find.

"This is the Seer, Doctor. He requested to look at the guards." One of the doctors, the most senior of them, Albert guessed, set down a few instruments and removed his mask as he approached.

"Yes, we heard you wanted to see their strange conditions." He gestured him forward, and the con hesitantly followed. Most of the medical team looked hard at work. Placing tubes and fluids onto stands constantly.

Albert was brought up right next to one of the tables where a man, rather the pieces of a man, were laid out. A monitor beside the table registered that the man's vitals were still stable and that he was, indeed, alive. It was horrifying.

He was cut up in several places, across the shoulders, torso, arms, and legs. Albert almost didn't want to look, but he had to 'glean insight from the victims,' as the King would put it. He was really starting to question whether he wanted the whole Seer act to continue. It was starting to get pretty serious.

"In my 36 years of medical experience, I've never seen anything even close to this being possible. Things like this," He gestured to one of the men, shaking his head emphatically. "These things simply don't happen on this island."

"Um, sir? Have you ever been off this island?" The doctor looked offended.

"I grew up, studied medicine, and became the most skilled doctor on this island. I've never had to leave for any reason."

"I see..." Albert scratched his head. If these people had never left the island before, then they probably hadn't ever heard of things like Devil Fruits or strange occurances of that nature. The very thought of it would probably give them all heart attacks or something.

'It's a good thing you're an excellent liar.' He thought. He held his head up high and walked around the doctors, looking very important and intelligent.