The Sun's Shadow

Chapter Eight

Wrong as it was to go against his dominating nature to cradle a being so vastly different than him; he did so happily. And when he awoke to find neither of them had moved but a centimeter, he smiled, content with how she felt in his arms. He curled a lock of her unbrushed, jet-black hair around his finger, loving how luscious it felt while strangling his index finger.

That's how the doctor found them in the room that morning. Strict code made it so he could tell no one what he saw... Patient confidentiality and all that jazz. Ethics that would have him reprimanded by his sovereign rulers. The Prince in the room eyed him down, unspoken threats filled the air between them.

"Cool it kiddo, I'm not here to spy on you and report back to your mother. It could have been her to enter, so keep that in mind." Doctor Edinson, the very doctor whose voice he could recall in the early weeks of the curse, made quick work of writing down her agenda for the day. "If you follow this, I shouldn't have much need to come visit again today unless called to."

He went over to eye her medications, all a disorganized mess now. The doctor groaned, mumbling that no one ever took him seriously. He placed them back in their proper, hourly order and hesitated upon noticing a deadly mixup.

Choosing his following words wisely as to not upset the prince who held such a prized girl, he grit out, "What medications did you give her yesterday?"

"Nothing that you hadn't suggested-"

"Did you do this on purpose?" The doctor grew tired of the boy's games and gestured to the limp girl. "Drug her for your amusement or pleasure?"

"No, I don't-"

"Her life isn't some toy to be tampered with!" Fury laced his words, thinking of what might have happened in his absence. He ran a shaking hand down his face, expression pleading. "Please tell me you didn't mate her like this."

"Never!" The boy bellowed from the accusations that threatened his reputation. "I hardly touched the first set of pills you told her to take! She seemed eager to take it all her own, she's good like that..."

Now he studied her motionless body, shaking it from her elongated nap. Except her eyes never graced his own.

"Ele? Ele?" He shook her more violently, like a puppet being jostled on its strings.

"Stop that!" The doctor rushed forward to steady the ruthless aggression. "I can tell you're concerned and being truthful. I just feared the worse... Maybe she took them together by accident. Or maybe she intended the lethal dose. Let me get an IV in her now so that she may recover."

Prying her from the boy's arms would prove to be an impossible task. So the doctor dragged the machine on wheels closer to their cemented position.

Once the needle nestled into her flesh with proper placement, he began unwrapping the bandages around her arms, rotating them gently despite the comatose state she resided in. She wouldn't have known if they had thrown her body from the tallest building in Sepulchre.

"After this IV empties, I want you to leave for few days to clear your head. This isn't healthy. Whatever hallucinations you're forming will destroy her. Is that what you want?"

Kaanan tilted his head and mulled over the question. Did he want that? It'd be easier to keep her imprisoned here... He shook his head earnestly. The radiant light she emitted would drown in the darkness and never bless him again.

"Take care of her while I distance myself. I believe you're right that it might save her." He doubted that she had done this on her own accord. "And keep an eye on my mother. I'll do the same without raising suspicion. Could you keep me informed?"