The Thorn in My Shed-Chapter 35: Dr. Lein

Dr. Lein stared at Marix’s head maid, his arms were crossed as he tapped his foot. He’d asked her three times already to leave but she was adamantly refusing.

"Jinya, listen. I’m not going to ask you again. Please leave. Stand outside the door at the very least." He pleaded a final time.

He had moved Eilownia from Marix’s dark, luxurious bedroom to the white, sterile medical room on the first floor.

The bed wasn’t large or pretty, but rather small and efficient for cleaning. There was a white desk against the wall at the opposite end of the room, with a simple beige leather chair, and a few journals and books on the side.

Next to the bed was a small cabinet full of medical instruments while gauze and ointments sat on a shelf neatly above it.

Jinya frowned and copied Dr. Lein’s body language, "Like you, I’m also not going to say it again. I’m not leaving. I have a direct order to stay with her. I will not leave her side!"

Dr. Lein pressed his index and middle fingers against his temples as he hissed, "You’re going to drive me to insanity! Please. I have to treat her and it’s not appropriate for you to watch."

Jinya turned around and covered her eyes, "Then I will not look. I absolutely will not go against the General’s orders!"

"....Fine! Then please stay that way until I am done."

By the time Marix returned home, the sun had set and the moon was rising. He marched straight to his bedroom without stopping to address any of his staff that greeted him, his boots thudded loudly against the wooden floors.

He entered his bedroom and was surprised to find his bedroom empty. He stared at the bed where Eilownia should’ve been sleeping.

"Has the room been slept in?" Marix asked as he pointed inside towards the bed.

She shook her head, "No. Dr. Lein believed it would be better for her in the medical room and had her moved as soon as he got here. They are there now."

Marix felt a pit in his stomach. Dr. Lein had gone against his orders? Was she that bad that this was necessary? He knew she was probably in safe hands and it would most likely be alright if he just got in bed and trusted Dr. Lein’s care, but something in him wouldn’t allow him to settle.

Without any further thought, Marix headed down the flight of stairs to the first floor. The medical room was housed in the back, towards the end of a long hall. He’d had it built near the servant’s quarters for quick and easy access especially during difficult or long recovery nights.

Yet now he found himself regretting that decision as the way there felt like an entire journey all its own.

Gauze wrapped around Eilownia’s arms. Bandages covered various cuts on her face. A cloth had been tied temporarily around her jaw to apply ointment to the bruising on her cheeks.

She looked so fragile laying there asleep underneath the thin, white blanket. Her breathing, labored.

Eilownia’s body was still trembling terribly. Marix reached out and thumbed the fabric of the blanket.

’It’s thin.....too thin.....’ he thought as he began to wonder if her trembling could also be due to temperature? It didn’t feel cold but then again, she’d been through so much.

’Her body is probably too weak and drained.’

Dr. Lein was busy monitoring Eilownia’s vitals to address Marix’s arrival into the room. He had his fingers pressed against her wrist with a clipboard in his other hand. After a few moments, he scribbled down his notes.

Marix turned to the left to find Jinya curled up in a chair fast asleep.

Marix gently placed his hand on Jinya’s shoulder and gave her a subtle shake.

Her eyes fluttered open and she had to blink a few times to reorient herself.

"General," she yawned, "I’ve been by her side the entire time, just like you ordered. She was conscious a few times here and there but was mostly in and out."

"Good. Did she say anything?"

Jinya shook her head, "It did sound like she was muttering something but neither of us could understand or make out what she was saying. She fell asleep a while ago and hasn’t been awake since."

Marix nodded, "Alright. Thank you, you’re dismissed. Take the rest of the night off and go sleep in your room, you’ve earned it."

Jinya stood up and stretched before curtsying to him, "Thank you General. I will be praying for her recovery."

After Jinya left, Marix turned to Dr. Lein, "How is she?"

Dr. Lein let out a sigh and shook his head, "She’s been through so much. I did what I could, but the damage is significant. She’ll probably have life-long scarring, psychologically as well. Even now, her body is still under stress."

He gestured towards her trembling body with his pen.

"I can see that," Marix said before he stepped forward and grabbed the blanket. He slowly pulled it back to see she’d been changed out of his cape and into a simple nightgown. Her legs were covered in gauze and bandages and he could only assume underneath the nightgown was the same.

"I want her moved to my room immediately." Marix said. He wasn’t about to let Dr. Lein get away with disobeying his orders. That was his plan to begin with and he was going to stick with it.

Dr. Lein moved to pull the blanket back up, "Sir, I think it would be better if she stayed he-"

"That’s an order," Marix interrupted as he pulled the blanket back down, "You’ll be on call until she’s fully healed."

"General, you can’t be serious!"

He tried to protest, tried to stop him, but Marix was already hoisting Eilownia up and carrying her to his bedroom.

"General, it would be much more beneficial for her to stay here in the medical room! What are you doing?!" Dr. Lein scurried after them as Marix carried her down the hall.

"You’ve gone against my orders. I am responsible for her, she is under MY care. I want her in my bedroom and that is how it will be."

Marix began to ascend the stairs despite Dr. Lein’s continued protests.

"You don’t know what you’re doing! Do you really think that’s what’s best for her? She may be under your care but she is MY PATIENT!"

His face was beginning to turn a little red and Marix wondered if his anger was to do with ego or genuine concern. Dr. Lein was considered one of the best doctors on their continent after all.

Marix arrived at his bedroom and sat on the edge of the bed where he pulled his comforter back.

"You don’t know what is best for her." He placed her his bed with the utmost care and tucked her in.

"General you are no doctor! Her recovery should be left to me! I know what she needs!" Dr. Lein patted his chest.

"What she NEEDS is a SAFE environment, not a sterile one. Not one she doesn’t know. Not one where she is just another....another....thing!" Marix stood up and ran his fingers through his long hair, "Another thing to server some purpose. She is NOT your patient! She is Eilownia Evans!"

"And what if she gets blood all over your sheets, YOUR HIGHNESS!" Dr. Lein tried to shift to a different approach, putting as much emphasis on ’your highness’ as he could.

However, this only served to anger Marix who turned and snapped at him.

"THEN I WILL GET NEW ONES!"

Meanwhile back at the palace, Arlon was laying in his bed with his own set of worries to think about. He tapped at his thigh with his middle finger in a steady rhythm as he thought about the day’s events.

No matter what he’d done to try and relax he couldn’t shake the feeling of impending doom. Not even when his beautiful, buxom, blonde maid laid right next to him underneath the blankets.

She rolled over and pressed her lips against his cheek, "Your highness, you seem so tense~ Would you like a massage...or maybe something else?" She whispered in his ear with a delicate nip to his earlobe as she slid her perfectly manicured hand down his chest.

As much as he enjoyed her touch, he knew it was merely a bandaid placed over a ticking time bomb.

No, he needed to do something, to take initiative, right this very second.

He shoved her hand away and sat up, causing her to gasp in confused offense. He wrapped his robe tighter around himself and tied it shut as he headed over to his desk.

"Perhaps afterwards."

She stared at him with her eyebrows furrowed, "Your highness did I do something wrong? Do you not enjoy what I have to offer?"

He chuckled and shook his head, smiling wide as he grabbed some stationary.

"No, you haven’t. But in the meantime I will need you to send another letter."

She slid out of bed and stood in front of his desk, "Another one?"

Arlon nodded as he started to write, "Yes. Unfortunately, damage to the war efforts has been made."