Leap 6 : LIVE ON

'Ah will be honest. I hae never had tae cure someone whose both, head and heart, had been damaged. These are, after all, the cores of the body and hence, easily the weakest,' Old Shep sighed heavily as he said this. A man of 74 and the royal healer of the Dun'broch clan, Shep Hamming took the duty of all forms of ailments in the country with un-paralleled dedication. He continued,' And it is nay lie when Ah say tha' this boy should nae hae survived in the first place'

The silence that followed was overwhelming.

Ruby, who had been crying all day, spoke weakly ,'What do you mean by that?'

The other occupants of the room, Queen Elinor, Merida and a maid stood over the boy sleeping on the bed. It was evening already and Robert still had not opened his eyes.

Shep replied to Ruby's question ,'My child, had the arrows pierced his heart, he would have died immediately. Fortunately, the arrow missed but still it was precariously close. It almost came out of the other side of his body. Such strength...,'he mumbled. 'And on top of that, he fell from such a height and struck his head. His skull is cracked and he's lost too much blood. It is a wonder he didn't die immediately.'

Everyone in the room led their gaze towards Robert's sleeping figure on the head. His T-shirt had been removed and bandages were wrapped around his head and all around his chest in a what would be a naked torso. Red patterns of blood could still be seen where he had obtained the injuries.

'He managed to survive these tragedies, but… ,'Shep trailed off.

'But what?,' Queen Elinor asked.

'But his body has taken too much damage. His wounds are fatal and he has lost a massive amount of blood. I fear that he will not even survive the night.'

'What?,' Merida gasped

'No!,' Ruby wailed. 'It can't be. He will make through. He has to. He can. He will live on!'

But even so, Ruby knew his was a losing battle. Her brother was completely pale. He had lost too much blood and as if death was on his way, his pulse was very weak too.

Queen Elinor bent down and put an arm around her. 'My child. I am so sorry for his loss. We all grieve this.'

'How do I get back home now?,' Ruby sobbed, ' What will I tell mum and dad? I feel so scared.'

With that, she walked up to Robert and sat down on a stool beside his bed. Tears welled up in her eyes once again as she held her brother's face with both her hands. Her voice shook as she spoke.

'I won't let you go, I promise. I won't let you go.'

Everyone in the room watched in stunned silence as Ruby placed her hand on Robert's chest and sobbed.

'Are you sure nothing can be done?,' Queen Elinor asked Shep.

'I am afraid not. He has reached his limit,' the latter replied.

Shep then spoke in a low voice,' Your Highness. If I may have a word, In private, please.'

'What is it?,' Queen Elinor asked once they had left the room.

'About this boy, Ah feel something different in him – something strange. Him and tha' little girl with him too. Might Ah inquire as to who they might be?'

'Ah do not know much about them myself. They are but a mystery to us. I cannot say more than you already know. You asked Merida about them, I believe, ' Queen Elinor replied.

'Yes, I did. Apparently she just met them in the forest.'

'That's all there is to the story,' said Queen Elinor firmly, signaling that their conversation was coming to an end. 'Are you sure nothing can be done to save him?'

Shep shook his head,' I am afraid not. Such a tragedy to a boy so young, And in the royal palace itself! What of the attacker?'

'No news. Fergus organized a search party all around but no one could be found.'

'I see,' Shep paused. Then he remembered.' I don't know if you saw but the boy had a strange picture on his body.'

Queen Elinor, who was making to go back into the door, turned around.

'A picture?'

Shep nodded,' Yes, what seemed like a pair of wings etched onto his back. I saw it when I was removing his upper garment to apply his medicine.'

The queen thought a while. ' It must be a tradition where he comes from,' She finally stated.

'It is,' Shep replied,' Out of curiosity I showed it to his sister and asked if it had any meaning. If it was a custom. She replied that from where she comes some people do indeed fancy inked pictures on their body. I believe she referred to them as a "tattoo" '

'Well, there you are then,' said Queen Elinor.

'Wait your highness,' the old man raised his hand in a motion of request.' The strange part is that the little girl is certain that her brother never got a …. tattoo. I told her that perhaps she was mistaken. She said it could not be so. She claims to have seen him a day ago, yesterday, after he had finished his bath, apparently, and there were no wings on him, she says. The girl herself is baffled by the existence of the mysterious wings.'

'Hmm,' Queen Elinor wondered aloud. 'Well my good man. This does seem strange indeed. Sadly, the boy is on his deathbed. I believe we should not disturb his personal life at the moment.'

Shep bowed his head in a manner of respect,' I agree your majesty.'

The queen walked back into the room and the old man followed. Neither noticed the crow, black as charcoal, perched on the windowsill nearby. Its yellow beady eyes followed the two people entering the room. The moment they were in, it took off into the night.

It was a dark place, even without the veil of the night, it would have been so. The trees stood still without a flicker of air passing through their leaves. The uneven rocky ground was gathered with moss and grass. Everything was still.

But then, out of nowhere, a fluttering sound of wings could be heard. It lasted a brief period of time. The source of the sound perched itself comfortably on a piece of wood as silence ensued once again.

Suddenly as before, a high crackling voice disturbed the night as the crow began to talk oh so excitedly.

'The boy is dying. Your precious child of the Vias is dying.'

'WHAAATT!'

The small lady, white in hair and ancient in age screamed in utter disbelief. The piece of wood she had been carving lay forgotten on the table as she turned around and advanced on the bird.

'What are you talking about? ,' she demanded. Her voice was sharp and husky.

'The boy, the boy,' the crow cawed excitedly,' I heard the queen talking to an old man. He said he would not survive the night. They were also talking about how he was shot with an arrow and fell off one of the castle terraces. They saw his wings too.'

The old woman, having heard this rushed to a small chest at the corner of the room. She put a key into it and unlocked it. Moving with a sense of jittery haste, she put her hand inside and pulled out a small bottle as small as a thumb with a sea-bluish liquid in it.

She brought it close to her and nodded,' My last one. To think I'd have to use it for this.' She shrugged her shoulders. 'but in a time of emergency….'

With this, she walked out of her door.

'You're not going there, are you?,' the crow flew after her.

'I must,' said the old woman without looking back. 'For his sake. For everyone's sake. He must live on.'