Chapter 8: Somber melody
She nearly dropped the teacup when Jude uttered the words his father had written.
Upon displaying symptoms of acute upper respiratory distress, the patient has an anticipated life span of approximately one to two years.
Immediately she regained her composure and quelled her fears by thinking of more imminent concerns. The Symposium would last until the final lecture of the day. She still needed to keep schedule, check the menu and give last-minute instructions to the cook for the elaborate feast ordered for tonight. Her head started spinning.
Jude noticed her shaking hands and gingerly took the cup and saucer and placed them safely back onto the tea table. After going over the data he concluded there was a direct correlation with failing organ function and the use of the booster transmitter implant present in all Labari subjects that was used to resonate with the booster frequency. It was bad enough that the first and second generation boosters had increased resonance output with the implant to make up for the design flaws, but now the implant itself was corroding leaving trace amounts of toxic metal in the blood. Stress on the heart from booster usage created additional damage to the arteries. Circulatory failure over time was inevitable to the lungs.
Elize had used her booster more extensively while outside the Labari Institute, and now the consequences were apparent.
"I have to find the others," she concluded.
"You're taking too much upon yourself, Elize," he said with concern.
She shook her head, "It's only right that I do."
Jude looked at the young lady before him and grit his teeth. She was still young by any standard, and she had already gone through so much. His heart ached to help her. "The implant is embedded into the nervous system so it will be complicated. After removal, the surrounding arteries need precision repair and then the lung tissue needs to be regenerated. This can be done with spirit artes but it would take hours and regeneration can only be done by healers of the highest caliber, and those are rare. They'd each have to be trained to do everything precisely and it could take days. One false step…"
"What about spyrite?" asked Elize tentatively.
"I could design a precision device that could recalibrate itself depending on the patient's situation," said Jude thoughtfully.
"I'm sorry to impose like this, Jude," she apologized.
"What are you saying?" he asked, slightly offended. He tousled her hair roughly as he would a little sister. "How long have you known me?"
"Since I was twelve," she replied with a smile.
"How many times have you seen me back down from a challenge?"
"Never," she responded in earnest.
"I'm going to ask Ludger if he can use his Spirius connections to build it for me. I'm sure he'd be more than happy to help," he smiled in encouragement. "Hang in there, Elize. I'll figure something out."
"Don't beat yourself up if it…doesn't work," she said, trying to smile.
"It's going to work," he said resolutely. She relented with a broadened grin at his resolve and hugged him fiercely.
-000-
By the time the guests had gone, ideas had been exchanged and promises and proposals had been offered so that everyone left Sharilton better informed and with a little bit of progress in their pocket. Everyone praised the event as a success, especially Rowen.
"I've heard from Alvin that you two ventured out with Gaius to the Culmar Trail and fought a resurrected monster. I would warn against those exploits and keep your health in mind," he admonished in his usual grand-fatherly way.
"I'm sorry Rowen, I didn't mean to worry you. I needed the venom."
"Yes, so I've heard. While I appreciate your generosity of heart I would advise against another such quest. Whatever possessed the king to go along, I do not know, but I am grateful he was there and that you all came back safely."
"Erst-I mean, Gaius has been very helpful since the beginning. He's my sponsor after all."
"The king can continue his sponsorship from afar. As you know he has many duties. It would be best if he had few distractions, my dear, especially at this crucial juncture with the first session of Parliament upon us."
"I understand," she nodded.
"Yet, I find it peculiar that he has taken a particular interest in you."
There was something behind Rowen's mischievous smile that made her feel like he was on to something. It was no wonder her mentor was such a talented politician. Elize was glad she was able to escape any additional scrutiny when Chancellor Marcia came to escort him to his carriage.
With the Manor finally quiet, Elize was at the mercy of her inner thoughts again and felt utterly drained. Restless from the quiet she went over to her sitting room and switched Teepo on. He blinked at her. Since it was really an extension of her own psyche she didn't have to explain anything.
"Oh, Elize," he said consolingly. Immediately she grabbed Teepo and hugged him close to her chest.
"I never meant for this to happen," her doll said forlornly.
"What am I going to do Teepo?" she gestured, her voice echoing against the stone walls of the manor. "I feel so lost in the dark."
"Elize, you can't fight this on your own. You need a hug. What about your friends? What about the grumpy guy?"
"Ugh," she groaned. "Don't start. Rowen said-"
"The geezer needs to shut it. Don't you feel better when Mr. Grump is with you?"
"I do," sighed Elize.
"And he tastes just like a Gaius dumpling!" Teepo exclaimed. "Dee-licious."
"I wouldn't know about that," she said in dismay.
"Trust me on this. He's uber strong and a VIP wherever he goes. Such a useful guy to have stick around. Not to mention he kind of stalks you, right? I think he likes you," Teepo teased.
"That can't be true."
"I don't think he only had friendship in mind when you kissed in the dark," winked her doll.
She held her face as it grew hot pink. "I can't believe I did that to the king."
"Not the king. Erston," Teepo countered.
"King Gaius is Erston," said Elize pointedly.
"Erston is Gaius," argued Teepo. "But he's still Erston underneath."
"Ugh, talking to you is so unhealthy," Elize frowned.
"I could have told you that," he shrugged. "I'm turning myself off."
"Teepo!" True to its word, the doll was already in the off position. She often wondered how much psychological damage she had really suffered as a child to have a split personality that didn't listen to her.
Elize let out a self-deprecating laugh and sat down to the piano forte in the room, found a minor key with which to mull her thoughts over and started to play the "Hymn of Proof," the melody Ludger had taught her.
Her eyes started to sting. Elize had suffered enough in her childhood to last a lifetime. The smiles of the parents she couldn't remember were replaced by the kind face of Jiao. The scowling children at the Institute and those who threw stones at her in Hamil were replaced by the warm expressions of her friends. The feel of the bitter cold was replaced by the warmth of the sun. Warmth that sustained her…like the warmth from Erston's hand….
She pushed down all the other images that followed and as the refrain continued, it built up in complexity until her octaves were wrapped up in an angry mezzo forte. Just as Rowen had taught her, she channeled the darkness now through the music instead of destroying her surroundings, allowing it to rant and rage against everything, biting and snapping at the world. Just underneath the surface of her smile was a darker, scarier Elize that rarely ever saw the surface unless she was casting a mystic arte.
The melody changed into something foreboding. Her fingers frantically played the notes, clear but tumbling like a rolling thunderstorm. Elize now played in fortissimo as her fingers ran up and down the keys, chasing something that could not be caught. The entire length of the keyboard was busily at work and chord upon chord, octaves wide, both long and quick, singing out her tumultuous feelings. Her fingers never stopped, even when the thunderstorm was rolling away in a different key. A final clash of lightning struck the board unleashing a deluge, drowning everything in an angry finish.
Her fingers lingered on the keys she started with, and once again returned to the hymn, a solemn, wistful melody floating to the surface. She needed more time. She wanted more chances to splash in the rain; to eat her favorite dishes with gusto like Milla; to go to her favorite nook in the Talim Library and study herb lore; or to hold…his hand…. The refrain played until it was nothing but a whisper, and then it was gone, like a flame extinguished in the dark.
Elize had not cried since she remembered her past upon a chance meeting with Isla. After all this time, perhaps she had never been one of the strong.
Author's notes: I had rewritten this chapter at least twice, and the previous chapter is completely new. I originally wanted Elize to get stuck with someone in a broom closet, but it was silly and too romantic for the flavor of the story. While deleting entire chapters I continued to write, but then had to rearrange the chapters to try and maintain the flow. I didn't write this chronologically and that's really different for my style, so I apologize in advance if earlier readers found the story disjointed.
This is and angsty version of Elize's feelings, but I wanted to show this girl has a lot more depth to her, and underneath the sweet little girl everyone sees is a young lady of depth.
-Kero