1. Reacquainting.Piya ran down towards the castle grounds to meet him, the moonlight causing her dark hair to shine silver.
'Hello, Princess,' said Kabir, a smile on his face. 'You seem happy to see me?'
'I'm always happy to see you, Kabir!' said Piya, throwing her arms around his neck. Kabir embraced her back, and they parted.
She pursed up her mouth in a pout. 'Why were you gone so many days?' she said petulantly.
Kabir sighed. 'Duty calls, darling. I had to scour the countryside- you know we had heard rumours of the werewolves entering the country-'
'But why were you doing that?' said Piya. 'I had to,' sighed Kabir. 'I needed to group the Mutants, they'd become rather...indisciplined. So I had to go.'
Then pulling out a package, he said, 'Will you forgive me if I give you this?'
Piya opened the coverings, revealing one of the most priceless treasures she could have- a book. And not just any book. It was a human book.
'The Tales of Brothers Grimm,' she read. 'Oh, thank you so much!'
Kabir smiled indulgently down at her. 'You and your fasciantion with humans- I'll never understand them.'
She stuck out her tongue at him. 'And I'll never tell you!'
'Silly Piyashree,' he said fondly, stroking her silky hair.
'Come,' he said, and they lay down side by side on the grass, watching the moon. Piya loved the moon.
After what seemed an eternity, Piya spoke. 'Is it true, Kabir?'
'What?' he asked.
'That werewolves from Ricardia are planning to attack us?'
'What? Of course not!' he said dismissively. 'Don't start worrying about political matters now, Princess. You are the most unusual woman I have ever met.'
'And you are the only one who thinks I am unique in a good sense, rather than freak, in a bad sense,' sighed Piya.
'That's because they don't know the real you yet,' said Kabir. 'They just believe they do.'
Footsteps came towards them.
Piya sat up to see Erika, her handmaid, running towards them. 'The sun will be up soon, my Lady,' she said. 'You must return to the castle.
Piya looked shocked. 'It's been that long?' she said. Erika said nothing, looking down.
'Yes, it has, my love,' said Kabir, her Betrothed. 'I must go as well.'
He raised her hand to his lips and placed a gentle kiss on her fingers as a sign of farewell.
'Stay safe,' called Piya after him.
Then she hurried back to the castle, taking the book with her.
Once she was alone in her chambers, she allowed herself to contemplate her favourite subject again. As Princess and as a vampire, she was not supposed to even be curious about humans.
But ever since the first batch of Mutants had arrived, she had felt an insatiable curiosity towards them.
However, it was forbidden for her to enter their world, she satisfied herself by collecting books provided by Kabir.
The more she read, the more she was convinced that humans weren't really so different from them. They wrote about royalty too, so they must at some point have been ruled by kings or queens.
They wrote often about love, and something called 'Marriage' - which sounded like the Bonding in her world. Except that humans probably didn't drink each other's blood in the ritual to become bondmates forever.
She found herself disagreeing with them when at times they wrote about the pain of love- how could love bring pain?- but she knew they kept 'Armies' just as they had 'Strategists' which her Betrothed- fiance in human terms-Kabir was currently leading.
Piya felt a smile grow over her face as she thought of Kabir. Such a polite, perfect gentleman- he had never even kissed her on the mouth- he was the only vampire among everyone she knew to like her, and not treat her like those malaises.
Piya was shunned by most, excepting the nobles and her parents. The reason was that Piya had become a Healer. In Faye, a female vampire becoming a Healer was unheard of.
It was considered most unbecoming for a lady- and a lady of royal birth- to take up Health-related professions.
Piya knew of a few women who were Potion-Makers, but she knew there were no other female Healers- as the others in the Hospice frequently reminded her.
Although of course, she was good at what she did, probably one of the best. Hopeless cases were usually referred to Healer Piyashree.
And again she felt that unassailable curiosity. It would have been more than a stroke of luck if anyone could tell her about the human world.
All she had heard that all humans were lacking in emotions, and were selfish, corrupt creatures...
But what she had read about them seemed quite contradictory.
Piya sighed, and picked up the book, opening it to the first story.
Piya was soon lost in the book, so that she didn't realise it was midday till she was conscious of a burning sensation all over her body, and the harsh sunlight began to hurt her eyes.
She looked down at herself, the skin on her arms looking pink and raw. She realised Erika had forgotten to close the curtains over the windows.
Shielding her eyes with her hand and stumbling somewhat, Piya drew the curtains, causing the sunlight to be blocked. Humans seemed to love sunlight : their idea of a nice day was a bright sun. She wondered if the moon affected them the way the sun affected her kind. She sighed- if only, if only she could talk to a Mutant. But the only contact she'd ever had was the one time she had helped save an injured Mutant years ago, and he had been unconscious all the while.
Pulling out the vial of raspberry and aconite, she gulped two measures of it, instantly feeling the pain of her blisters decrease. One of the advantages of being a Healer was that she didn't have to depend on others in case of injury.
Drawing up the covers and carefully putting the book under her pillow, Piya sank into a dreamless sleep.
The moon was up when she awoke, and Piya hurried to ope the curtains, tilting her face to the white orb above her.
Getting dressed, Piya made her way out of the castle.
As she made her way to the Hospice, passersby murmured among themselves, presumably in disapproval.
After nine decades, it hardly bothered her anymore.
The usually quiet Hospice was in a flurry of activity, which was not unusual, but Piya was sought out almost at once by one of the Healers. 'Healer Piya?' said Healer Smethwyk. 'There's a serious case here. The Mutant leader is badly hurt, by the looks of it- and he was requesting for you. Now of course we wouldn't have listened to him, but our remedies don't seem to work on him.'
Piya nodded, and was ushered into the room with a single bed.
'The symptoms are of poison, but the cures aren't working,' he said. 'He's over there- I shall leave you now, Your Highness.'
With a slight bow, he hurried out. Piya moved closer to the bed. The figure lay almost motionless, face down. They hadn't given him a pillow.
Sighing, she brought one and adjusted him on it, turning him over and feeling a jolt of recognition. Heavens! It was the same Mutant from THAT time...
She knew it wasn't poison. She'd trained herself to smell poison from the patient's body.
Working on instinct, she unbuttoned his shirt- and let out a low gasp.
His chest was covered in mutible burns of silver, the most dangerous substance known to vampires. She had prepared herself for poison administered, but this...this looked like he had been repeatedly attacked with silver weapons.
She looked at his gloved hands and arms, and peeled them off. Her fears were confirmed : the burns were even worse on them.
No vampire would have survived them : they would have been dead with one third of these wounds, but she supposed the Mutants' extra strength had saved his life.
She called for a Potion-Maker, demanding instant supply of the duckweed-ebony-yew potion she used for burns.
Slipping into her bag, she pulled out the strongest pain-relieving potion she had and carefully fed him, hoping it would ease the pain of what she was about to do.
As the Potion she had asked for arrived, she set to work, mixing it with various other concotions, applying it liberally on the wounds. Still unconscious, the Mutant jerked once, and she fed him the pain-reliever again.
Her heart was torn by the agony the poor creature must have felt, and she knew she would do everything to make sure the suffering lessened.
She knew part of being a good Healer was to make sure to reduce the patients' suffering.
Hours seemed to pass, with no response, when she decided to try the unicorn tear in a last-ditch attempt.
The response was instantaneous.
The Mutant jerked awake and his eyes opened.
Piya heaved a sigh of relief, anxiously checking if his vital organs were functioning properly.
Satisfied they were, she looked back into the deep blue eyes.
'I understand you have...more strength and endurance than us,' she began, 'But there is hardly any need to put yourself in danger for it.'
He seemed to come to himself, and sat up. Clucking disapproingly, she plumped his pillows again, so as to lessen his discomfort. She felt rather unnerved with his scrutinizing gaze.
'Does it still...hurt?' she asked.
The compelling eyes showed confusion. 'Hurt?' he repeated, the first word she had heard from a Mutant, and it was hoarse.
'You know...pain,' she said, feeling slightly put out. Of course, she thought, they were right. Mutants didn't feel pain.
He shook his head. 'Not anymore.'
Piya drew in a breath. 'Was it- was it hurting very badly?'
He looked at her and she immediately regretted her question. 'I'm sorry,' said Piya. 'I- didn't meant to-'
'Why?' he asked in the same hoarse voice.
Piya broke off and looked at him. 'Why what?' she said perplexedly.
'You...tried to take away my pain, again,' he said . 'Why?'
'Did you want to feel pain?' she retorted.
He flinched. 'No,' he replied. 'But...you...cared. You cared that night, you weren't just saving my life, you wanted my pain to go away as well.' He sounded extremely confused.
Piya smiled. 'I'm glad you recognize me,' she said. 'And I always try to reduce the pain of my patients. Every Healer does that-'
A disbelieving look flashed across his face, before being masked by a more neutral expression. She decided not to press it further; she had a feeling she wouldn't like the answers to her questions.
'Do you want something to drink?' she asked. 'Or- eat? I could get it for you-'
He stared at her in astonishment. 'Princess-' he began, but Piya shook her head. 'Not here. Call me Healer, or simply Piya.'
A ghost of a smile flickered across his lips, and his eyes sparked to life for a tenth of a second, before it was back to the deadpan expression.
'What's yours?' she said. 'What's your name?'
'10121' he replied.
'That's not a name,' she protested. 'It's a number. What's your name?'
He stared at her blankly, and she was struck by an awful realization as he shook his head finally. Piya's hand flew to her mouth. 'You don't- have one?' she said, shocked beyond belief.
He shook his head again, looking as vacant as ever.
Piya tried again. 'What was your name when you were human?'
The stormy blue eyes jerked to hers. 'I mean,' she continued, 'You must have had a name then, right?'
He didn't answer for a long time, and then he said finally, 'Abhay.'
'Abhay,' she repeated, tasting the word on her tongue. 'Fearless, right?'
He nodded.
'So- can I call you that, then?' she asked him.
He gave her a nod.
'Why were you attacked like- that?' she asked, gesturing to her healing wounds.
He gave her a grim smile. 'I got into a tangle with some merpeople. Please don't ask more- I cannot tell you.'
'Of course,' said Piya. 'I'm sorry I bothered you, you should be resting. Please lie down.'
She helped him lie down, then covered him with the blankets.
'Please do not move till your wounds are healed,' she said.
She turned to go, when from behind there was the sound of his clearing his throat.
She stopped. 'Was there anything you needed? I said I could bring-'
'Thank you.'
The words left her puzzled. He continued, 'I never said that- neither that time, nor this one. Please accept my thanks. I ask nothing more.'
She smiled. 'Of course,' she said. 'I would always do my duty.'
She turned and left, unaware that Mutant 10121 was staring at her retreating figure, holding back the words he so desperately wanted to say.
As Piya walked down the corridors, her mind was in a whirl. With the way Abhay acted, she was fearing that Mutants did indeed have feelings and emotions- and if that were so, how would they feel, uprooted from their world and treated like non-living beings?
She knew Kabir would have never allowed that. The Strategists who had made the genetic transplants must have hidden it from him.
She made up her mind to speak to him about it as soon as she could.
She spent the rest of the night in a daze, as she mixed and applied concoctions. The other Healers did not treat her badly- they simply steered clear of her, and sometimes, it felt worse than if they had been mean outright, and then she thought about the Mutants, and her own life seemed a paradigm of perfection.
Her thoughts were brought to a halt as she checked the moon and saw it waning, and she made her way to the castle.
The castle seemed unexpectedly busy, with slaves and messengers hurrying about, but Piya thought little about it, till she went to her room.
She soon got lost in the stories of her book, when Erika came to her and said her father had urgently called for her.
This in itself was so unusual that Piya's eyebrows rose : Her father rarely summoned her to his private chambers. They mostly met in her own rooms.
Feeling a tingle of trepidation, she entered the room. Her father and her mother looked grave and solemn.
'Father,' began Piya, 'What is the meaning of this?'
'Please sit,' said her father, sounding nervous himself. 'I have bad news for you.'
Piya expected a war breaking out. She expected her father to tell her that he knew she had been speaking to a Mutant. She even expected him to say that she should change her profession.
But she had not been prepared for what he told her...she could never have been!
Note : Seing as I wasn't in the happiest frame of mind while writing this, my sincere apologies if the update seemed forced to you.😳
Edited by bookworm-ALS-- - 11 years ago
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