War Torn Love

After the battle seemed to be a blur for everyone; Alice had been taken to her room by some guards, a few of her friends from the court with her. She hadn’t stopped screaming yet; unlike her two brothers, she had been fairly close with her father, and now she had to grieve for her loss.

Anna had been whisked away to the throne room for discussions with the Vampiric court council; she seemed to have gone into auto pilot, this was technically her kingdom now until Nicholai was crowned…If he survived to be crowned.

Emeric had only moved out of the hall, because some guards had helped guide him so, these guards obviously had guessed about him and their soon to be king, and led Emeric to the waiting area of the hospital wing.

Malachi and Lisette appeared to be the only two who were managing to keep their wits about them. All three of the royal vampires had medical training; Nicholai had been a doctor for several hospitals in the fifties and sixties, Alice was a trained nurse, and Malachi had been a field surgeon when the war was at its worst. With Alice too anguished to help out, it was Malachi who was called in to help heal his brother.

Lisette on the other hand was rushing around the palace, trying to make sure everyone was okay. Being Nicholai’s fiancé meant she had a right to make sure his people were okay and coping, especially those closest in the situation.

***

After twelve long hours of tests, surgery and, even at one point, resuscitation, Malachi came out of the operating theatre, walking over to Emeric. He looked up at Malachi, wide eyes with fear, he had been about to speak when Malachi raised a hand to stop him.
“He’s okay, he’s alive, but he’s very badly hurt. His left leg had been completely crushed. I’ve stopped the bleeding, and his leg will be fine, it’ll just need time to heal like the rest of him. His pelvis had been fractured in nine different places, he had a punctured lung, only one of his ribs isn’t broken, he had a dislocated shoulder, chipped teeth and some pretty serious bite wounds. But he will heal, and he will be back to his normal self” Malachi smiled.

Emeric paled when he heard all the damage that had been done to his lover. He must be in so much pain, and it was going to last such a long time!
“H-how long will it take for him to fully heal?” Emeric asked, not wanting Nicholai to suffer, he was so worried about him.
“I’m afraid it’s going to take a long time; about a month” Malachi said softly
“Oh…Wait, what?! A month?!” Emeric said gawping slightly.
“Yeah, I’m sorry it’s going to take so long, but I’ve done the best I could”
“M-Malachi, I thought it was going to take years! Why is it so quick?!”
Malachi stared at Emeric for a moment before he realised, chuckling.
“I guess Nicholai never told you; Vampires heal incredibly fast, a broken leg normally takes a week to heal, but Nick’s is pretty smashed up and he’ll need physiotherapy and stuff” Malachi explained.
Emeric nodded, he guessed that made sense…

“Can I go see him now?” he asked, his eyes pleading.
“Sure, just, let me warn you…” Malachi sighed, running a hand across his face.
“About what?”
“Nicholai really is in a bad state; although he is going to be okay in the end, he doesn’t look it now. His face is very bruised, and he can’t see for swelling right now, and his speech may be a bit slurred because his bottom lip was split in half. I’ve sewn it back up as neatly as I can, so when it’s healed, it should just leave a neat little scar. But right now he looks bad with all the wires”
“Is he awake?”
“Not right now, he’s still under anaesthetic, but should come round in about an hour”
“Okay, I’ll sit and wait with him till then”
With that, Emeric walked past Malachi and into Nicholai’s hospital room. He began to silently cry when he saw the state of his beloved, but he curled up in the chair beside his bed, and remained strong for the man he loved.