Father
“Veirya! Veirya! Are you awake?!”yelled Angelina, clasping her daughter’s hand upon seeing the latter open her eyes
Veirya licked her pale lips and, in a husky voice, enunciated, “… Water.”
“You want water? Okay, okay, I’ll get you some water.”
Angelina gleefully rushed over to grab a cup of water. Veirya silently stared at the roof. She touched her lower abdomen, which had been bandaged with a thick layer of bandages, and surveyed her surroundings.
“Are we. In the. Elven lands?”
“Yes. Lin Dongqing sent us here. Take care of yourself. Don’t rush. He’s gone to the imperial capital. He can resolve this matter. Don’t worry, Veirya.”
Angelina brought the cup over to Veirya and carefully supported her daughter’s head to drink. Veirya had a small sip, privy to the limitations her condition imposed. By the same token, she didn’t get jumpy over her wounds.
“Was it. Lucia?”
Veirya wasn’t worried about Lin Dongqing but Lucia. Well, strictly speaking, she was taking Lin Dongqing into account with her question, too.
“How did. Lin Dongqing. Persuade Lucia? What did he. Promise her?”
“Don’t worry. He didn’t promise to stay here. I have Lucilia to thank this time. It was Lucilia who saved you without asking for anything.”
“Really…?”
Angelina stood up: “I’ll go tell Lucilia you’re awake. She might already know you’re awake and be on her way here.”
“Indeed,” remarked Lucilia, overhearing Angelina outside for the nth time. She opened the curtain and, beaming, clapped as she added, “How nice, huh? You’re all right now, Veirya. I figured you’d be up around now. You have to thank Travor. Had it not been for him, you would’ve died in minutes from such a deep wound.”
“Thank you, Lucilia,” expressed Veirya.
“Don’t try to use any strength in your lower abdomen for now, or your wound might open. Although I applied our medicine, humans and elves are different at the end of the day. The time it takes for you to recover is relative to you. As long as you maintain your equanimity, rest properly and listen to us, you’ll recover quickly. Having said that, I haven’t heard anything from Travor for a while. Furthermore, your town seems to be up for auction. It seems that Travor is in a dire situation this time.”
“I know. Did you say. Our town. Was on auction?”
“To be accurate, they are preparing to auction it. We have no desire to dabble in it. It’s humanity’s land, at the end of the day. They’ll never let us elves have it. Have faith in Travor. He knows what he has to do. Rest well, Veirya. At the very least, wait until your wound has recovered before you go look for Travor. I won’t remind you of what you should be aware of already.”
“I know. Lucilia. What do you need? I don’t want. To owe you a favour.”
“You’re just worried about me making a request of Travor, aren’t you? Don’t fret, Veirya. We’re friends. We once fought alongside each other. You saved me, so it’s only fair that I save you this time.”
Veirya shook her head.
Ascillia bowed in. With a smile, informed, “Hello, Lord Veirya. I am Ascillia. You do not know me. Mr. Lin saved me and my mother in the past. I am very grateful to him. As you are his wife, I am also grateful to you. After you come to, I will be responsible for taking care of you. If you need anything, please do not hesitate to let me now. I promise to do my best to satisfy you.”
“Ah…”
Angelina thought to herself, “Being cognizant of the fact that elves and humans are different, Lucia arranged for a human girl to take care of Veirya so that she has someone who knows how to take care of another human.”
Veirya, to the contrary, nervously queried, “What happened. Between you and him? I want to know. The details.”
“Umm… He… is nice to me… and looks out for me.”
A pink flush faintly appeared on Ascillia’s face. Angelina couldn’t help cursing to herself for she could foresee incoming trouble. Inwardly, she questiond, “He and this child definitely had something between them. They didn’t officially date, but what do we make of the past now?”
Drained, Veirya didn’t question Ascillia any further and closed her eyes.
Angelina vigilantly stole a gander Veirya’s way and then whispered to Ascillia, “Be careful. Veirya is a strong tendency to be jealous.”
***
“Umm, Lord Lin, this is a letter for you,” a lady-in-waiting reported.
Curled up as a ball on the ground, I wondered, “Is the letter from Veirya or Leah? I don’t dare to look… I don’t dare to… I let them down. I’m a disgrace… All of it was my fault… All of it was my fault…”
“Lord Lin, this is a letter from Mr. Edward addressed to you. Do you need me to read it to you?” inquired the lady-in-waiting. Eventually, she opened it but decided against reading it and stressed, “Lord Lin, it is best that you read it yourself. This is a very important letter from Edward. It is about his marriage to your daughter… He needs your signature…”
I yanked the door open aggressively, huffing and puffing. I snatched the letter from the startled lady-in-waiting and skim read it. Once I finished reading it, I ripped it in half as if I was ripping Edward’s limbs off.
Afraid, the lady-in-waiting backed off and panicked: “Umm, umm, it there is nothing to do, I shall take my leave…”
“Get back here,” I demanded, catching her collar.
The lady-in-waiting shrilled and put up a resistance.
“If it is not too much trouble, could you help me wash, bring me some new clothes, shave and help me tidy up my face?”
“Wh-what are you doing?!”
“Doing what a father should do.”
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