Pride & Humility

XXIII

Beta: TaintedLetter

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Elizabeth Luxanna decided to visit her sleeping friend the morning she woke up after spending most of the night discussing alchemy with Grandpapa. She got dressed, brushed her hair, and told Selim where she would be going—he had to attend piano lessons, so he could not go with her.

The trip to Central Hospital was uneventful. Elizabeth stopped by her greenhouse and plucked a handful of medicinal teas she had created. A spiced tea meant to energize, as well as a relaxing lavender-scented tea meant to encourage restful sleep. She figured Maes' wife, Gracia, would have been visiting Maes every chance she could and likely hadn't been taking good care of herself. She knew Maes would want Gracia and his daughter to be okay without him, though, so Elizabeth thought he would be happy if she gave them the teas.

Upon reaching the hospital room Elizabeth was unsurprised to find Gracia sitting beside Maes' bedside and knitting. Their daughter, Elicia, was playing with blocks on the floor.

Gracia looked up when Elizabeth entered the room, giving the alchemist a tired smile. "Hello, Elizabeth."

"Good morning, Gracia," Elizabeth returned. "You seem pale. Are you sleeping well?"

"Oh," Gracia glanced away, her brow creasing. "I'm... fine."

"I can quite clearly see that's not the case," Elizabeth disagreed. "Maes will scold me if I ignored you like such. Here, let me do a quick exam."

"You don't—"

"I insist," Elizabeth said firmly, setting down her basket of herbs and moving to Gracia. She didn't have her proper equipment, but she could still look for the obvious signs. With tired reluctance, Gracia permitted the exam.

Her skin was pale, and dry. Her eyes were ringed with dark circles that spoke volumes about her lack of sleep, and her lymph nodes were swollen to the touch. Gracia winced when Elizabeth pressed down on her head, and when Elizabeth asked about her throat, the woman admitted it had been bothering her for a while.

Gracia lacked a fever—currently—but she had all the other classic signs of a flu brought upon by exhaustion and fatigue.

"Gracia, you really need to take care of yourself," Elizabeth scolded her. "I'll make up some medicine for you and bring it to your house later. Make sure you take it all, and drink the tea I bring you. I promise it'll make you feel much better. I'll be doing a follow up visit in a week, too, so I'll know if you haven't been!"

Gracia's eyes watered and she reflexively wiped at them. "Th-Thank you, Elizabeth."

Elizabeth nodded shortly, moving her gaze over to Elicia. "Does Elicia need an exam?"

"She's been having trouble sleeping, but otherwise than that she seems fine," Gracia softly admitted. "Do you have something to help her sleep?"

"Yes, I'll put together something for her as well," Elizabeth promised.

"Thank you," Gracia sighed with relief.

"May I take a look at his charts?" Elizabeth asked, gesturing toward the clipboard that hung at the end of Maes' bed.

"Yes, please..."

Elizabeth stepped around and began to flip through the paperwork.

"Oh."

"Oh?" Gracia inquired, her eyes widening.

"Have the doctors told you anything?" Elizabeth asked.