Pleasurable Venom
Chapter 07: Red Everywhere
Water…
The burn and dryness in the back of my throat refused to leave unless given water. My eyes blinked open slowly, my vision burned and blurred so I shut them again. My legs and arms felt too heavy to move. I was cold. My head hurt, like a drill was trying to get through my temple and into my brain. My body felt sticky and slick with sweat. Mentally my face scrunched into a disgusted face but physically I couldn't move. Air barely squeezed into my lungs and my heart beat quicker. I decided I didn't like feeling like this and fell into sleep again.
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Undertaker left Helain to her reading again. She seemed rather out of it and he had a scare when she started to freak out on the shopping trip. Perhaps he should have left her at the shop, but she seemed fine before they left and fresh, fresher, air was always good. When he had noticed her freeze and start shaking, he was quick to be concerned about the lady. It was almost a replay of the night before, when he really had no clue was had triggered her or how to help her. He hoped that grabbing her shoulder would shake her out of it but it took him yelling at her. After that, he had kept a very close eye on Helain. All throughout their trip he noted her silence and made sure that if she began to look unstable again he would catch it before she could zone out again. Other then her ghosting around behind him, the rest of the trip went on without incident and when they got back he watched her pick up her book and begin reading again. Giving her space felt like the best thing to do, so he busied himself with putting everything he had bought away.
Even though the woman had said she didn't need anything, he had purchased her better clothing, seeing as she was wearing clothes meant for the dead. He also bought some pastries he thought she might like and a set of proper night clothes. He put everything he had bought for her into the wardrobe and the pastries on the counter before he braided back his hair and began on his most recent client. Alice Holmes, a 47 year old woman who died of a heart attack in her sleep.
Engrossed in his work, he stayed that way for another couple hours. After he had applied very little makeup to poor Alice's face, he smiled and placed her into her coffin. It was simple and completely brown excepted for the lining inside. That was a creamy color. He shut the lid and made a note to contact her family to tell them she was ready. He carefully washed his hands at the basin nearby and made sure to get all the chemicals off his hands. While they may not have hurt him, he wasn't entirely sure what the effects would be on his resident lady.
He patted his hands dry and shuffled into the main area with a wide grin. Then it dropped…
Rushing forward he immediately placed fingers to the woman's pulse and waited a minute before he could feel a very faint heartbeat. He checked her forehead by placing the back of his hand gently onto the skin and gasped. She was burning up. He didn't have very much knowledge in the way of keeping people alive. His job was after all the quite opposite. He knew he needed to cool the fever and keep her hydrated. So he easily scooped her up in his arms and carried her to the bedroom where he pulled back the covers and placed her down on the mattress. He didn't cover her, knowing that would make the heat worse. He hurried to fetch a cold wash cloth and fold it over her forehead and he also fetched a beaker of cold water incase she woke up. He frowned and looked at her wondering how she had gotten so sick, so fast. She certainly didn't have this fever before he had gone to work on Alice. He thought back on her behavior and decided she might have not been feeling well but instead of choosing to tell him so, she decided not to. Then again she didn't seem like she was sick. Perhaps tired but that was it. He felt a tinge of worry and concern in his chest the more he sat there, the more it grew. After half an hour he changed the washcloth. He did this a couple more times before leaving the room, knowing there wasn't much else he could do. He would check up on her every half hour to change her washcloth and our her fresh cold water.
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Uhggg...The dryness in my throat felt like a hot desert. Worse then it was last time. The boneless, liquidy feeling that sat in my legs and arms was ten times worse then before. Everything was worse then before. The sound of my blood pumping in my ears gave me a headache and I groaned, the raspy gurgle stung my lungs and throat. My eyelids slowly lifted and the blurry scene of white above me swam and made occasional ducks, the distance impossible for me to measure with it changing. My ears picked up muffled noises. Each sound seemed to trudge through water and mud before it got to me. The twisting blank of white above me was broken by a black and white smudge of color that leaned over me and reached to place something cold on my forehead. I jerked away from the sudden cold and was stilled by a calming whisper.
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"There, there, my dear. It's quite alright. It's just me. You've been running a heavy fever and I am afraid I might need to call in someone more experienced to deal with your illness, if you don't get better. You must be thirsty, would you like me to help you sit up to drink?" Undertaker whispered softly with a small smile despite the sea of worry and concern his mind was drowning in. He barely caught the small nod Helain had made. Quickly, he placed his hand behind her head to cup it and when he got her slightly elevated he slid it to the center of her back and gently placed the other on her own hand to encourage her to sit up. Once she was sat up he reached for the beaker of cold water and pressed the edge to her far to pale lips. She took a shuddering breath and he tilted the drink upwards to provide her with a small but steady stream of water. She took small sips and coughed here and there but overall she got most of the beaker into her system before she pulled her lips away from the glass. He felt some of his concern ease and placed the almost empty container down on the bedside table. "I will get you more water in a moment, but first how do you feel?" He wanted to know, placing the back of his hand onto her forehead, her fiery forehead. Frowning he pulled it away, finalizing his decision to call in a doctor.
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"Sick." I rasped out. He chuckled and grinned and I felt the corner of my mouth lift up into a small smile. "Yes, of course." He said in between , he face went into a line and my senses screamed. Something wasn't right. He paused for a moment, looking the most serious I had ever saw him and then he opened his mouth.
"I am calling a doctor, named Angelina Burnett. She is a good doctor and won't hurt you." He added, seeing the anxiety swimming in my eyes. I tried to breathe but the air left my lungs and a hot tear slid over my cheek. I started to shake and I forgot about my sickness and the aches filling my body. "Of course." Was all I could say. My thoughts whispered to me and I closed my eyes slightly, hiding everything I was feeling. Of course...Of course you didn't want to deal with me, a monster….Of course...Why would I even think...Then, something snapped. NO...Undertaker is kind, nice, caring, not cruel or malicious. He said he was calling a doctor. A NICE doctor. Trust him...Trust Undertaker
I nodded and heard him shuffle about before he left the room and I finally opened my eyes again. A doctor. Female. Angelina, she sounds kind enough.
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Undertaker shut the door quiety behind him and tapped his chin in thought. Helain seemed scared to see a doctor to him but he couldn't just keep her here. As she was, she was only going to get worse and he knew that. He frowned once again. Yes, he would call Madam Red and see if she would help with the lady. While usually the higher class doctors wouldn't help him and the Madam was specialized in more feminine practices, he knew her secret. Both hers and that butler of hers as well. They had been keeping him busy with clients after all. Soon the little Earl and his butler would be showing up for information and things will start to get interesting.
With a smile plastered across his face he made his way to the front area to write a note out to the Madam.
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"Where am I?" I groaned out. The words felt like sandpaper over my tongue and throat. Beside me someone gasped and hurried to sit me up. "It's alright honey, I am Doctor Burnett. You are at my home, under my care." Said a woman covered from her head to her toes in shades of red. Her hair, nails, eyes, clothes, everything was a bright shade of crimson. Too much red. It took up my vision and made me want to snarl. The words rang in my ears. Brunett...where had I heard that before? The doctor. I instinctively stilled and turned toward her with wide eyes. She looked back with rubies for eyes, filled to the brim with concern. My back relaxed but my mind kept wanting to run. I didn't know her. I didn't know what she was capable of.
"Grell, hurry and fetch my stethoscope." She barked and I winced. Grell? The name confused me, like I had heard it before but I couldn't remember where. I darted my gaze over to movement near the door and it settled on a frail man dressed in black. His brown hair was tied back in a low ponytail, bound together with a red ribbon. It tilted my head. A striped ribbon wrapped around his neck and tied off into a bow. His face was pale and pieces of loose hair fell into his eyes. His eyes...they took my breath away. A ring of bright yellowish green, ran around a pool of emerald. They were beautiful, inhumanly beautiful. Over them, was a pair of clear lense glasses framed by a thin sliver of silver. Two delicate chains fell from the edges. And something else pulled at me. The feeling pushed my teeth to my bottom lip and worried the skin. Something was off. The Undertaker gave me the same feeling but it was different somehow. My brows knitted together and a frown decorated my face.
Grell, bowed and hurried out the door almost tripping and falling over the rug as he did. "Darling.." I tore my attention off the doorway and refocused it onto the doctor in red. Once she saw she had my attention she smiled. "How are you feeling?" I thought about the question. My head hurt and my throat was scratchy. "Sick, but not as bad as before." I gave her a short answer and she nodded. " I am just going to do a once over and if you feel better tomorrow we can see about getting you up and out of bed." I nodded and Grell returned with a tool in hand, which he handed to the red woman. She placed it into her ears and placed another piece on my chest. After a moment she took it off. "Your heart rate is faster the usual but it isn't uncommon. You are healing up nicely and should be better in no time. I gave you…" I stopped listening. My attention was back on the butler. He fidgeted and fumbled with his fingers. Sweat beaded his forehead and it oddly reminded me of a beaten dog. It caused me to tilt my head again because something told me he wasn't what he looked like. Shy, fragile, those were not complete. Not a lie but it felt like there was more I was missing.
"...so if you need anything, don't hesitate to ask Grell or myself." mindlessly I nodded and she smiled again before standing and leaving with the butler, leaving me to my thoughts. I focused on my surroundings, what I could hear, smell, see.
The room I was in was decent in size and simple. A dresser was under a large window to the left of the bed. A loveseat sat at the end of the bed where it gave away to carpet and a chair and small table. A wardrobe sat by the door, which was to my right along with a vanity table and trunk.
The air smelt of wood and cleanliness. My tongue darted out from my lips and I picked up the smell of roses, faint but there, and an unreasonable amount of perfume. It curled my nose up and I hissed quietly.
I took a moment to take in my surroundings and sighed before laying back and falling asleep.
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