The Divine and the Damned

I hoped I'd misheard the doctor's words, but to my utter dismay, I hadn't. Filled with panic, I watched as he handed the radiograph to Nurse Linda.

"Did you just say a few weeks?" I asked, my voice trembling. "Doc, please, I don't have a few weeks. I can't afford to lose my job. I just started, and I... I can't go through this right now,"

Dr Richards' expression softened, his eyes filled with empathy. "I understand, Dawn. But I have no control over your body's healing process. I can only help it heal. The rest is up to your body's natural recovery."

He sat beside me on the bed, placing a hand over mine "People heal at different rates. You can recover sooner than expected. With enough rest and additional treatments, you'll be back to normal in no time."

He offered a reassuring smile. "There's no reason to worry."

Yet, I worried.

Then he turned to nurse Linda beside him. "Get me a cast and the requirements for a sprain treatment"

"Yes, doc"

After being given some meds to help with the swelling, my leg was put in a cast and elevated.

I lay in bed, cursing myself for going to the orchard because I knew I had blown my chance of working in the mansion. Mrs Vlad would undoubtedly look for a replacement, leading me back to square one.

How was I going to pay for my mother's hospital bills? College could even wait, after all, I was already three years behind, and it wasn't like I was in a rush.

But my mother's health couldn't wait. And then, there was Dragos. As crazy as it sounded, the thought of never seeing him again tugged at my heart.

I'd known him briefly, but I couldn't help but feel a connection to him. An inexplicable one at that.

As I drifted off to a fitful sleep, I prayed for a miracle, hoping that this was all just a dream. But deep down, I knew it wasn't.

Then, the next morning, something strange, or rather, miraculous happened. When I got down from the bed to use the bathroom, I realized the pain in my ankle was gone.

At first, I thought it was my mind playing tricks on me, but after calling the attention of Dr Richards who took off the cast doubtfully, I discovered, to my utter surprise, that my ankle had healed.

There was no single sign of inflammation, leaving both Dr Richards and nurse Linda flabbergasted.

"This is fascinating!" He exclaimed in unbelief.

There was a confused crease in his brow. "I've never seen a sprain recovery as quick as this one. At least not this fast. This is... this is..."

I interrupted him happily "You said people heal differently"

"Yes, but this is... spectacular" he looked down at the short nurse "Right, nurse Linda?"

She nodded vigorously "Yes, doctor. Even I haven't seen one heal this quickly before"

"Or could it be some sort of psychosomatic healing?" The doctor muttered to himself.

"What does that even mean?" I asked.

Dr Richards peered at me. "Well, it's no new fact that the mind has a strong influence over the body. Maybe that's what's at play here"

Nurse Linda stepped forward, still gazing at my leg "You mean like spontaneous remission?"

The doctor's face brightened "Yes, yes"

He took in my bewildered expression and explained "There have been cases of patients recovering from illnesses or injuries without any apparent medical explanation. Maybe this is something similar"

"Oh, I see"

Nurse Linda spoke again "Your mind could be playing a role in your recovery"

I started to rise from the bed, uninterested in their conjecture. My attention was focused on leaving the hospital and returning to the mansion. "So, this means I can go back to work immediately, right? It means I'm free to go?"

The doctor nodded, still poking my leg suspiciously "Well, yes. I guess you can"

"Great"

"But in order not to jump to conclusions, I'll still need to conduct a thorough check-up to confirm that everything's fine before sending you on your way"

Putting up no objections, I settled into my bed again "Alright, doctor. I'm fine with that"

After going through the examinations and ascertaining that I was good to go, I picked up my phone and called the driver to come pick me up.

I had prayed for a miracle and it had happened. Whether my recovery was a result of "psychosomatic healing", "spontaneous remission" or some other factor, I didn't care. The root cause didn't matter to me.

All that mattered was that I was healed, and nothing gave me more joy than the thought of not losing my job and being able to return to the mansion where I would get to see Dragos again.

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Dragos and his mother were having breakfast at the table when I walked into the mansion without as little as a faulty gait or limp. They were surprised to see me, especially Dragos, whose brow was set in a deep frown. One born from surprise.

"Dawn?" His voice expressed his surprise. "You're supposed to be in the hospital, what are you doing here?" He asked, watching me closely, his eyes wandering down to my ankle.

"I'm all healed up so they let me go" I responded in excitement.

"How's that even possible? Darcia asked, gawking at my leg "I heard the swelling was quite bad. Right, Dragos?" She glanced towards him.

Dragos was silent.

"Believe me, I'm just as surprised, ma'am, but it's a good thing. There were a lot of speculations about psychosomatic healing, but none of that really matters right?" I grimaced and then added humorously, "It almost feels like I went through some sort of supernatural healing process while I slept, and not all that talk about the mysterious workings of the mind"

I watched both Mrs Vlad and Dragos share an expression that was hard to read, so I chose to ignore it.

It looked to me that they seemed displeased about my resumption. Or maybe I was just overthinking things again.

"I'll go about my normal duties now" I announced.

After offering my thanks to Dragos for helping me and Mrs Vlad for not immediately firing me, I headed to the kitchen to ensure everything was going smoothly.

I was on my way when I ran into Azrael. I knew he was Azrael because of the similar silver blonde hair and resemblance he bore to Dragos. Also present was the sinister countenance Rafael had described.

His words rang in my ears "...he can be a real… beast"

He was descending the stairs, dressed casually in a T-shirt that hugged his athletic build, on denim jeans. His hair was longer than Dragos', falling past his shoulders to the middle of his back.

The Vlad brothers were a sight for sore eyes, and I could only but imagine how handsome their father must've been.

But despite how handsome Azrael was, his aura was absolutely malevolent.

He stopped on the last step, watching me, his blue eyes boring holes in my body till I grew uncomfortable.

"Good morning, Lord Azrael" I greeted, trying to avoid his condescending gaze.

There was a visible look of disgust on his face as he peered at me, and I felt like a piece of rag.

"You came back. What a disappointment" he said.

"Sir?"

"I believe you heard me the first time, but I'll repeat for added emphasis."

His frightening blue eyes flickered to mine again. "I'm disappointed that you've returned."

I wondered why he was disappointed, especially when we hadn't met before and I hadn't done anything in particular to irk him.

"I'm- I'm sorry. It is not my wish to disappoint you, sir"

"Yet, you have" he snapped, his voice cutting through the air.

I lowered my gaze to my feet, keeping mute.

"Have you at least gone about your duties this morning?"

I shook my head "No, Lord Azrael, I am just arriving from the hospital, I sprained my ankle but…"

He inched closer to me suddenly, interrupting my speech, his glare dropping to my feet "Your ankle looks rather fine to me"

I lifted my head and made to speak but one look at his steely face made me reconsider.

What manner of man was this? What manner of non-verbal intimidation was this?

"When you signed that contract did you think you could do as you please? Take walks in the orchard where you don't belong, laze around in your room downstairs like a fat cat, and choose not to work because of a "sprain". This is not a charity organization."

"No sir. I swear, I..."

Azrael raised a hand to silence me. "I couldn't care less about whatever you're about to say"

He looked at me "However, I just happen to have a particular task for you"

I swallowed my saliva "What is that, sir?"

Subconsciously, he ran his hand over the banister "You will go into my brother's room"

I started to object "But sir, you see, he warned me not to ever go into his room again. He was really displeased the last time"

Azrael's eyes flamed at my response "When I give you an order, it would be wise of you to heed it, and you seem like a smart girl"