EMBRACE || a violet evergarden fanfic #1

IX

Gilbert Bougainvillea's POV

I had been the first one to arrive to Violet's chambers when the Head of the Household summoned me from the villa's barracks. The household doctor was already there as he was phoned by Amber - one of Violet's personal maids who'd been tasked to look after her.

"What's happened to her?" I asked as soon as the doors swung open at my arrival.

Amber rose from her seat beside her bed and did a quick curtsy before me. I waved at her direction dismissively so she'd cut to the point immediately. Her gaze met mine firmly after she scanned Violet's unconscious state, "She ... she stopped breathing, Sir."

"D-didn't you say you were able to neutralise it? Why stopped breathing now?" I stammered.

I felt my heart drop a thousand pounds from its original position when I heard that sentence. I looked from Violet to Amber, then from amber to Violet again. The doctor nodded in confirmation after he'd checked her pulse, "The poison is as equally venomous as a wild snake bite," he explained, "only the doer has the antidote. But the poison itself only needs three weeks to administer itself throughout the host's veins."

"I wasn't with her last night during the ball," I informed him, which I was starting to regret now ... I thought aimlessly with regret in my head. "I was only able to see her when she's passed out."

Three weeks is almost up ...Who could have done this to you? I thought, staring at her resting peacefully beneath the thick sheets. Her lips were starting to go pale, and eye bags were beginning to form underneath her precious eyes. I whirled around when the doors burst open, and Dietfried entered.

His eyes were more furious than I had ever seen him. Taking the hint, Amber, the doctor and the Head of the Household quietly excused themselves from the scene, leaving only my brother and I under one roof. As soon as the doors shut behind their wake, he spoke,

"Who did this to her?"

I tried to remain calm as possible as I answered, "My men and I still have no clue on who could have done it. If you could give us more time, I assure you, we will be sure to get to the bottom of the case -"

"There is no time!" His muscles tensed as his fingers reached out around my neck and tightened its grip. It was a split second between everything, and he slammed me hard against the wall, "three weeks is almost up. If you don't do anything soon, she will die."

I felt my own jaw clenched when he said that. I wanted to deny it, but what he had said had been true. There is no time. Even if there is, everything would have already been too late. A sudden change in her health was something even the doctor could not deal with.

"I understand you love her, brother," my voice tightened itself when I spoke those words, and at those words, Dietfried's fingers retracted, and I see his tense shoulders relax. He released me almost instantly, perhaps he had felt he had done wrong. "But it is not only you who care about her."

I placed my hands behind my back, and stole one look at him before leaving, saying, "And perhaps you should recollect yourself. You look like an angry bull who didn't get enough water after a day's tired work, brother. Is this any way a Bougainvillean should act? Father would not have approved." I knew I got him good, because as I shut the door behind me, I heard him let out an irritated growl.

Ten years ago ...

"Ouch! My leg ..., it hurts!" Gilbert exclaimed in pain as his leg started to bleed really fast, and there were nobody but his brother in the courtyard to aid him. They were practising archery during a beautiful afternoon, when his leg had suddenly caught on an arrow he was going to fire.

Standing beside him with two arrows nocked on his bow and a quiver slung across his back, his brother Dietfried smirked, "Stop acting like a wimp, little brother. It's only a harmless cut. Is this any way a Bougainvillean should act? Father would not have approved."

"But it really hurts, brother!" He winced, but Dietfried only chuckled, and resumed practising archery. He released the two arrows that were nocked on his bow earlier - both arrows stabbing the red bull's eye two hundred metres away.

Gilbert glanced up when he heard Dietfried sound confused. His brother had lowered his bow, and Gilbert followed his gaze to find their mother - her chin held high as always when she meets Dietfried.

"母-母 ..," He stuttered between words.

Their mother furrowed her brows, "Do not threaten your brother with your father's name. Go where you're needed, Dietfried." Her words lashed out like a whip. Dietfried hung his head, and stomped away.

"It's only a cut, Gilbert," she told him, "everything's going to be alright. Ignore your brother. He knows not how you feel. If you keep him out of your circle, you'll be fine. You need to act assertive for once in your life."

'You need to act assertive for once in your life,' I remembered mother's words when faced with Dietfried. My chest relaxed for a while, and I drew in a sharp breath of oxygen when I found my way to the gardens. I smiled, remembering the first time I met Violet in the gardens, and this spot had been exactly where I named her after a flower planted by my grandfather in the garden. The memories had been pleasant.

It is only a pity now that she was unable to know the reason behind her name.