Page 50 of The Ballad of a Bard

There was a storm of emotions brewing under her pale skin, one that she was desperately trying to hide but one that he was privy to, nonetheless. He could make out the strugglingthat overtook her, the way her hazel eyes hardened to the point of moss-covered stone.

West understood why, too.

In her mind, her father was an asshole for leaving them. For getting up without any explanation as to why, for abandoning them to fate’s cruel whims, even if she was half a Saint. For hurting her, he might have punched Heartache for it all, might still if they came across him. Because the immortal male in charge of hearts and the emotions tangled around them, of love and all the conflicting feelings that came with it, had broken his daughter’s heart. The already fragile heart of someone that West cared about.

And nothing, nothing, was more horrible to him.

He was curious if being half a Saint allowed for the same causes of death as a full did. If part of her died, the immortal part, when Heartache broke her heart.

Crimson fiddled with her fingers anxiously as they reached the healing ward doors and pushed in, holding it open for him to follow on her heels like an obedient hound. “I wonder if he’ll be awake. The last two times I tried to see him, he was fast asleep.”

“It would appear that you’ve found some luck then.” He pointed towards the small figure that sat upright on the mattress, a small dish of what appeared to be sweets in his hands.

Crimson bolted past him and he helped himself to a small smile. “Cobalt!” She tossed herself around him, arms squeezing tightly as her brother dropped the candy he’d been meticulously unwrapping. “You’re finally awake.”

She turned his head this way and that, searching for something. Her face contorted into a playful frown, a humming noise echoing from her throat.

“What are you doing?” Cobalt tried to squirm out of her firm grasp, failing. “You’re squishing my cheeks.”

“I don’t see any drool. Just checking that you’re truly awake.” She grinned and planted a wet kiss atop his black hair. It was messy, mused from days sleeping in the cot but West assumed that it almost never had been neat.

“I could have told you that, you know.” He grumbled.

West approached the cot. “Good to see you up, Cobalt. Though, with the amount of sugar that Leysa clearly gave you, I doubt you’ll be sleeping anytime soon.”

He held the bowl up to him, offering any of the remaining pieces of candy. “She said I was being good and listening to her instructions when she ran some more tests. When she tried to stab me with that large needle, I didn’t want it. Leysa said I could have as much candy as I could possibly want, as long as I sat still for her.”

“You’d do anything for sweets, won’t you?” Crimson poked him, teasing as she swiped a sugar-coated blueberry from the bowl and popped it into her mouth.

“Pretty much.” He confirmed and shoved a handful into his own. His lips were stained red with what appeared to be raspberry juice, and flakes of the sweet stuck to the bottom one. Even his tongue had turned to an off shade of purple, as he showed both his sister and West.

West laughed at that.

“How are you feeling?” Her tone fell into a motherly one, concern warring against the youthfulness that she had every right to feel. “Any better?”

Cobalt thought about it, ate two more candies, and thought about it some more. “Better than I was last time, but not as well as the one week where we went swimming.” He clapped a hand over his throat, running up and down it. “My throat was itching, so Leysa gave me a huge spoonful of honey with some peppermintand lemon in it.” He made a disgusted face. “It didn’t taste good.”

“I’m sure you managed to make out like a bandit with more sweets afterwards.” West commented, winking down at him.

There was more colour in his usually gaunt face, more light in his eyes, but there was still a sickliness that surrounded the poor boy. His arms and legs were too thin, his chest looked to be caved in and his skin was nearly transparent.

He caught a shuffle out of the corner of his eye and turned towards the back of the room, finding Leysa. She ushered him to follow, ducking behind a privacy screen. He took one last look towards Crimson and her brother, momentarily enjoying the delight and joy she showed, letting go for once. Then he left, before his heart could make a foolish decision.

Leysa waited until he dropped the sheet behind him and glanced towards the two on the cot. “I’ve taken his blood, tested it for multiple illnesses, for poison. I’ve done physical scans, evaluations, had him take several medicinal tinctures, even recorded his sleep cycle and restroom habits. I’ve checked each bulk he coughs up, each blood clot and taken skin cells to see if perhaps the issue lay there.”

“You didn’t find anything.” He exhaled in disappointment. “Damnit!” His teeth were clenched as he ran a hand over his forehead, boots clicking on the tiled floor as he paced a couple of inches.

She nodded shallowly. “Nothing. I have no idea why he falls ill so quickly. Unless it’s something to do with your sort.”

An idea popped into his head, wiggling out from the cracks between his mind like a fresh vine in the grass. One he desperately grabbed ahold of because the very last thing he wanted to see was Crimson’s soul as it shattered if Cobalt died.

“Is it possible that it’s related to his father being a Saint?”West had never heard of anything going wrong with sireing half Saints, but that didn’t mean that nothing could go wrong. It was certainly a possibility.

“I don’t understand what else it could be. I’ve expanded all of my medical knowledge on trying to figure out what could be ailing him.” She peered around the corner as a gale of laughter came from Crimson, followed by a younger, male giggle.

“Is there any way to know for certain?” He pushed.

“Find Heartache. I could test his blood if we had some, but I’m not sure what it would show me considering it’s a magical property. I’m assuming his mortal side and his immortal side aren’t settling well with the other. It’s rare, but it’s happened once before. A very long time ago.”

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