Arcana One Shots

Tʜᴇ Esᴄᴀᴘᴇ [Muriel X F.R]

Art: tumblr: curiouspicturesstudio

"Another victory, the Count's beast stays unbeatable!" Shouts can be heard as the guards start escorting the Scourge of the South, as they called him, down into the chambers under the Coliseum. I was called in by the Countess to take care of the fighters, since the count didn't really seem to care much about their wellbeing, but on the other hand he cared a lot about their performances during the battles. So to make him not take out his anger on the helpless and faultless people I was asked to heal and take care of the survivors and soon to be dead. I hate calling them the last part, but it was true. Anyone that got sent to the Coliseum to fight against the Scourge was a dead-man. I sigh as I finish fixing up a patient. He was lucky enough to have been spared from yesterday's fight. After all the Count had to spare some lives occasionally as to not make the public go against his tyranny. I shake my head, thinking about how unfair the world is. The gate suddenly opens and the guards lead a big figure inside. They practically push him and then leave immediately. I look up at him, seeing all the different cuts and bruises on his exposed flesh. I hurry over, trying to check up on him but he immediately flinches away, backing into the corner of his cell. I give him a concerned and confused look. He seemed like a warrior, at least on the outside. But his first instinct was to back away? I approach him slowly and kneel down about a meter away from him. "Hey..Uhm my name's Y/N and I'm the doctor here." I say, but he doesn't even look my way. I sigh and get up and leave his cell. I hear a small gasp from behind me, but I don't turn around. I grab a bucket of water, a sponge, some herbs for his wounds and bandages. I walk back into the small room and he looks up at me in surprise. I guess he didn't think I'd come back. I lay down the things I gathered in front of him and turn again to leave. But I'm stopped by a small voice behind me. "..Thanks" I turn my head as I stand at the exit and give him a smile. "I hope I'll see you again." I say and as I exit the building.

-weeks and weeks later-

I walk down the stairs to the chamber in a somewhat happy mood. I looked forward to see my friend. At least I hope he is still alive. I take care of a few people, tending to their wounds and making sure they are fine. I then walk over to the cell in the corner as usual, but what I see horrifies me. The man is hunched over in the corner of the small room, a pool of blood forming on the ground underneath him. I run over and kneel on the ground before him. "What happened?!" I ask him scared that he might not respond. But his body moves a tiny bit and I gasp. "You need immediate medical help!" I fiddle around with my herbs and bandages, but it does little to nothing. I sigh and think about what to do..I quickly get up and close the door to his cell. I rush back to him and lean him up against the wall. His eyes are almost closed and he's taking ragged breaths. I press my palms against his wounds and a white lights emits from under them. I'm healing his wounds with my magic, which is against the only thing the Countess told me not to do. The light fades and the wounds are healed completely. I smile and look up at him, but he grabs my hands and looks into my eyes with so much sorrow, I can't bare it. "Y..You shouldn't risk anything because of me." He says and I shake my head. "I do. I don't want you to die!" I tell him and he grunts, still feeling some pain, which I unfortunately couldn't take away. He takes a deep breath before he talks again. "Listen..Y/N.." He says my name and he catches my full attention. He never said my name before.. "I'm not what you think. I don't deserve to be saved.." "You do! Just as anyone else would!" I exclaim and he tightens his grip around my hands. "You don't get it, do you? I killed so many.." He says in a dark tone, but I shake my head yet again. "I treat everyone here. Every one of these guys has killed, I still don't think less of them. Neither them nor you do it because you want to. You're being forced by the Count!" I say, determined to not let him chase me away. Even if he doesn't admit it, I know he needs the company. "No..I" He let's go of my hands and turns away. I'm about to reach out to him again, but he suddenly gets up and pins me to the wall. His expression is horrifying and I start to get nervous. "I'm the Scourge of the South! And I am here because this is where I belong. I killed people, and I will. That's all I'll ever be! You can't change that!" He yells in my face and soon two guards rush into the cell. I'm suddenly grabbed by the arms and flung to the side as the guards keep him at bay with their weaponry. I rush to the door, but look back one last time. The Scourge's face is unreadable, but I can sense sadness in his downcast eyes. He looks up briefly and I mouth something to him before leaving. "I already knew.." On my way out I notice something weird. I look past some guards curiously and stop in my tracks. A medium sized cage stands next to the Coliseum's wall and my curiosity makes me walk over. I make my way towards the cage and take a look inside. A black wolf is resting in the middle but as soon as it hears me approach it jolts up and starts baring its sharp teeth at me. I backup a little and call one of the guards over. "What's a wolf doing here?" I ask him and he shrugs. "The Count caught it on one of his hunts. He wants to freshen up the fights, so he's gonna make it fight the Scourge." I nod and just say "Ah..Thanks." and he hurries back to his post. I look back at the animal and feel bad. I don't want the wolf or my friend to die. I know he only attacked me to keep me away from him. But it only made my determination grow. I crouch down in front of the cage and notice her wounds. She got deep cuts beneath her fur. I lean against the bars, looking straight into her eyes. Energetic green eyes stare back at me. They remind me so much of him..I smile and the wolf slowly relaxes her muscles. She tilts her head and sniffs the air. She gets a bit closer and I carefully pet her snout. I start the healing process and the wounds slowly fade. I look into her eyes as I get an idea. If she's supposed to fight the Scourge tomorrow, she'll never make it..and in his state of mind he'll most likely break down afterwards. He won't take any more bloodsheds. I sigh and pet the wolf's head lovingly. "I have a favor to ask of you, my friend."