Might go to Heaven || Plague Doctor × Reader

×Exposition×

I raised my shaking purple hand to weakly knock on the wooden door. It was quite early and I couldn't say that it's necessarily normal for one to be awake at that time of day. Funnily enough I soon began to hear heavy footsteps come towards the door and my head immediately shot up from the dry ground beneath my feet. The door creaked open and revealed a rather tall figure adorned in all black and a leather beaked mask, with a thick black cloak to hide any parts of their head that the mask couldn't cover. "Come in, sit in the chair right before my desk." With his voice and mannerisms, I could assume that he was an older man.

I nodded silently and walked over to the chair that was directly in front of the desk. It wasn't the exact same kind of wood as his desk and chair, so I'm assuming that it was bought separately. It sure didn't sound the same either, embarrassingly creaking as I took a seat whilst he sat down with no noise whatsoever. He stared intensely into my eyes, which made me immediately avert them and try my best to avoid eye contact with him. "What have you come here for, ma'am?" His voice sounded gravelly and had the slightest tinge of a French accent. Strange.

"I woke up feeling absolutely dreadful. I thought it may have been a cold or chill of some sort, but my head felt as if it was getting crushed between two boulders. I walked quite a long time to find a medic of some sort, and found my way here." I ended up rambling on, more so ranting since the pain I had endured for the last several hours made me grumpy. The long string of complaints didn't seem to bother him though, as he began to write down everything I had told him in a tattered journal that seemed to have come out of nowhere.

"Head pain and a cold, you say?" I nodded wordlessly, watching his nimble hands write words down neatly. Which is all well and good until you consider the fact he never once looked down at the page. He must've been a scholar. They teach that in college, right?

"I also experienced great pain all over and a cold spell that made my hands turn a sickly purple." I then took my hands out of my coat and placed them in front of my face to show him. "Rather intriguing case, I must say. I've seen colds before, of course, but none of them make their hands turn blue. I would say you have a fever, but you said that you only felt cold. How strange." He tilted his head a bit to the side, finally breaking eye contact to write something down in his journal.

I sighed in relief as he finally wasn't staring directly into my soul. "Do you have anything that could possibly help me? I'm willing to pay extra for your time." I pulled out my coin purse and placed it on the desk. I truthfully don't have much, but I'd still give it all if I got a surefire remedy for my ailment in return.

"I don't think I can let you go that easy. You see it's very curious, your ailment, I've never seen anything like it. I've seen many in my day, being a medical man, but never a common cold as severe as yours. I recommend you staying here so I can observe your ailment and provide whatever treatment that I can. You will not have to pay me upfront, but rather once you're healed so that I can add up your expenses." He stared into my soul once again, making me feel uneasy.

"I don't know if I'll be able to afford any in-house treatment. I'm not exactly sure if it is at all worth the trouble, doctor." I explained knowing that he's probably trying to pay more for treatment of a simple cold. "I'll cut you a deal, miss. I'll give you a discount for allowing me to observe your condition. It will not only be treatment for you, but also a new study of a potential new threat. This isn't a common cold, may I add. I am recommending this for your health and livelihood."

He did have a point. He was a weird man, for sure, but he does know how to make a sale. "It's quite hard to say no, how long are you planning to treat me? What is your maximum treatment window, doctor?" He hesitated for a few seconds, looking down and tapping his chin in thought. "I'd say for a few days at the least, but it entirely depends on how your case evolves. We need to close you off from others, just in case. I'll treat you for as long as it takes for you to recover."

And with that, I agreed. He showed me where I'd stay, which was what I'd assume is his guest room. He let me settle in and that was that, I only saw him one more time that day. That time was only for him to take notes on my condition and give me some bread and water, pretty much what you'd expect. Still, the longer I sat by myself in the room the more I began to worry.

Sure, he's a medical man but I'm not sure if I should trust him exactly. Not to mention all that eye contact he makes, it's almost as if he doesn't blink. The lenses of his mask are sort of foggy though, so maybe he was just struggling to observe my physical condition. I might as well put those thoughts to rest, I'm going to be here for awhile.