Chapter 39: Prognosis
The smell of smoke was quite the ambiguous one. At a fireplace it provided nothing but comfort- soothing company and maybe accentuated a grilled fish or meat.
It was an indicator of warmth on cold nights and a way to celebrate on days of joy. A book occasionally enjoyed its light during long nights as well.
Yet its engulfing flames also flirted with death. When it came to this topic it didn't differentiate between funerals or murder. It was as neutral as it could be yet the culprit of so many calamities.
It was when Izaya opened his eyes that he was met with the smell of crackling coal and forced to conclude his own deduction.
Fire. There was one. But of which nature?
Limbs heavy and conscience drowsed, Izaya turned his head to the side. His neck felt awfully stiff and sweat glued his hair to his burning ears.
Arrays of cupboards filled with various crucibles were arranged on the wall opposite to him. A chandelier, dark black and made of iron was occupying the center of the room with the weak glimmer of a few half burnt candles. But that was not the source of the smell.
Moving just slightly, Izaya tried to sit up, only to meet resistance.
The blanket on top of him seemed awfully heavy, and he soon learned why.
Shizuo.
Like a panther having grown tired after chasing its prey all day long he was resting there. His head had settled on Izaya's waist and his arm served as a makeshift pillow. A blanket had been spread across his shoulders and it took Izaya a couple seconds to realize that this warrior had fallen asleep while waiting for him to wake up.
Like a gush of fresh water on a hot summer day the previous events replayed in his mind.
Their trip. The villager's trust. The coldness, the dizziness. Shizuo. His order. The doctor-
"Feeling better?" as if on cue that very same man suddenly spoke and forced Izaya's attention away from the blond king.
Next to what appeared to be the source of the smell of burnt coal the doctor was sitting. A small chair had been placed next to it and a steaming pot was hovering at the hottest point. Stirring quietly the brunette moved a large wooden spoon back and forth within the liquid.
"You treated me last time," Izaya announced quietly. His mind was fuzzy and his body shaky but he could at least rely on his memory.
The day he had tried to poison himself, the day he confessed to Shizuo- this was the guy that had treated him after coughing up blood.
Amazing confidence and an interesting relationship with the king were what Izaya kept in mind from last time, and the doctor flashed him a quick smile before rising from his chair.
"I think I haven't properly introduced myself," he announced curtly, before moving over with quiet steps. "I am Shinra the castle´s doctor."
Izaya blinked at the guy.
He seemed… awfully young. Younger than the king by a few years maybe and Shizuo wasn't old either.
"Nice to meet you," Izaya quickly mumbled, and the doctor's expression quickly spread into a questioning smile. "So?" he asked, and Izaya was left with slight confusion as to what exactly he wanted him to say.
It was only after a hot second of flames crackling in the fireplace that Izaya remembered having been asked about his condition.
"I feel better." The words came out as a reflex more than an actual assessment, but they happened to contain truth nonetheless.
The dizziness was still very much present and his body hotter than it was supposed to be, but compared to what he had been going through when he stepped out of the carriage this was at least a form of improvement.
Smiles and satisfaction made Shinra's face as he nodded to himself. "That's good to hear." It was somewhat cute. The way the doctor behaved. Like a puppy that had just been praised for having been a good dog. It caused Izaya to smile and feel a certain kind of relief wash away his worries to make room for curiosity.
"How?"
A fingertip was pressed against Shinra's lips as he seemed to ponder on an answer.
"I tried a lot, so I can't really pinpoint the exact reason, but I gave you a large variety of herbs. One of them must have helped."
Izaya had expected a lot from a castle's doctor, but certainly not that amount of honesty.
If anything then any doctor he had met so far thought themselves to be god himself. They were not only convinced about their own capabilities and actions but also very prone to defend their pride over mistakes made.
Hearing Shinra talk this humbly was certainly refreshing.
"What kind?" Izaya asked, and Shinra smiled amused. "Curious aren't we?"
Of course he was.
Despite feeling quite sluggish and exhausted Izaya had noticed that the weight on his chest decreased, if only a little, but it did. That was more than the doctors back at his father's mansion had managed to do.
… right. His father.
Feeling the cold grasp of ice back at his neck Izaya glanced towards the doctor.
He knew. About the charade.
"... so you treated me." Izaya started slowly and the words carried more content than they appeared to. Recognition flared across Shinra's face and for a moment he hesitated before cracking a smile.
"I did. I couldn´t let our dear lady die, could I?"
The words were clear, and even without emphasizing the word lady Izaya would have figured their true contents.
He wasn't quite sure how to feel about that fact. Had it not been for the searing headache that was still throbbing at the back of his head he might have been able to, but that way…?
Sight trailing to the blond mob of hair soundly resting on his lap, Izaya sighed. What use was there to worry?
"He trusts you a lot," he announced, and Shinra's smile faded for a moment.
Oppressing silence replaced the soothing banter and before Izaya knew it the doctor had reached for the chair.
The quiet sound of protesting wood filled the space as Shinra dragged the object across the cold ground.
Sitting down right next to the queen he folded his hands in his laps as he sighed.
"Have you heard about his mother?" he whispered, as if only now remembering that there was someone sleeping close by that they didn't want to wake.
Casting a glance towards Shizuo's peaceful expression, Izaya nodded.
"He told me she died of the same cough when he was young."
"I think she could have survived if my father hadn't treated her." The words hit harder than the coughs that usually befell Izaya.
Looking at Shinra he searched for a joke, or hints of insecurity, but none of those were to be spotted.
He was serious.
The soft crackling of coal decreased in intensity, almost as if it were trying to listen to the conversation as well. "He was a doctor. Stuck to the good old methods," Shinra picked the conversation back up with a low voice, "He thought cutting open people was the best idea to treat any illness when obviously his patients were getting worse from visit to visit."
Izaya swallowed hard. He had heard about those. Usually made up by a mixture of priests and doctors they believed every illness stemmed from a curse that needed to seep away from within. Only once did they have one visit back at the mansion.
The way he tried to explain to Izaya's mother that they needed to drill a hole into his skull in order for the demon within to escape had left a pretty horrifying impression in Izaya's mind.
His mother had chased the guy away, but the memory stayed. Now hearing that someone like that had tried to treat Shizuo's mother felt like a blow to his gut.
"I accompanied him when he treated Shizuo's mother. I wasn't convinced my father's efforts were doing anything to help and I wanted to try something different. Shizuo even agreed. But when we returned to the castle-" fading out softly Izaya swallowed.
Shinra didn't need to say it out loud.
She died.
Izaya knew of it as a fact already and the conclusion wasn't hard to make.
The softest sound of wind rattling against the very small window atop the wall disturbed the moment for a second and Izaya shivered.
"I'm about as new to this castle as you," Shinra continued with a sigh, "His father insisted on keeping my old man as his doctor- funny but I guess he deserved digging his own grave that way. Shizuo came to fetch me the day after his death, firing all other doctors his father had."
Pulling the blanket up just a little bit to escape the cold breeze of air, Izaya snorted. "So I'm an experiment. How assuring."
A quick smile flashed and Shinra nodded.
"I would ask you if you mind, but sadly I'm the only doctor available."
This guy- really.
Well, at least that explained his modest behavior. Not only was he inexperienced, he also seemed rather open to new techniques and approaches that most doctors influenced by the church would only scowl at. It was funny, but in a way that idea seemed quite assuring considering none of the old bastards had been able to treat Izaya so far.
"I do feel better, so maybe I'm in the best hands after all," he agreed, and took a deep breath as if to emphasize the point. "It´s been a while since I could breathe this freely."
"That´s most probably the lavender." Pointing towards the ceiling, Izaya's gaze followed the direction Shinra was looking into.
And really.
Right above his head a string had been tied to one of the candles on the wall. A small bouquet of dried gray leaves and violet petals hovered above the bed and Izaya found himself wondering how he hadn't noticed it earlier.
The delicate and sweet smell circled around Izaya as well as Shizuo and suddenly he recognized the herbal fragrance.
"Is that why he smells so good?" Shizuo. From time to time Izaya had caught exactly this smokey scent lingering around the blond. He had thought it stemmed from the fireplace or maybe the king's campaigns and camps. Or maybe even James who was trying to present Shizuo as kingly as possible.
"I feel like it has some serious health benefits to rinse yourself at least every second day and combining that with cleaning stones made of herbs seemed like a natural addition," Shinra shrugged and Izaya chuckled.
"I have been wondering why he always smells so good. So it´s a medical approach." Gazing at the king Izaya couldn't help but feel his mind trail back to all these small instances he had caught the scent. Usually when Shizuo had come close. Be it when he pulled him from the ground or supported him in his many shows of weakness, he had had quite the numerous chances to… and somehow that thought caused Izaya to realize just how much this man had done for him anew.
"Why is he here?" he found himself sighing louder than intended and Shinra gave a heartily shrug.
"You are his wife of course he would be."
A glance was cast and a bitter smile spread across Izaya's face as he looked at the doctor. "You know that's not true." The joyful smile Shinra had been showing wavered just a light bit as he remained silent. "I betrayed him, I lied to him. I wonder how he even still talks to me," Izaya continued, "Hanging. A death sentence, that was what I expected when he realized what's been going on, but…"
None of that had happened.
Quite the opposite.
A soft moment of silence followed as Izaya waited to be scolded by the doctor as well. Instead he found nothing but a gentle tone.
"You like our king, don't you?" Shinra asked and Izaya couldn't help but feel his lips curl into a bitter smile.
Of course.
"How could I not?" He returned his question, "He is gentle, he helped me without a second thought, he thinks of his people first before anything else, he is just-" somehow, offtrack of his own mind Izaya had reached out for the blond. Softly, as if petting a sleeping cat, his palm had reached for Shizuo's hair. Realizing what he was doing he quickly retracted it with the speed of having touched a burning flame.
For a second he feared Shinra was going to protest or maybe scold Izaya for his actions and words, and yet none of that seemed to be the case as he showed nothing but a gentle smile.
"I think most people would describe him as short tempered and simple minded. It's refreshing to have someone talk this well about him."
Quickly pushing himself off the chair Shinra ended the topic as quickly as it had been brought up.
"Here, drink that." Within a few seconds he had fetched a small crucible filled with a liquid of questionable smell and origin.
"What is that?" Izaya asked upon being offered to hold onto the object. The smell was out of this world. Sweet, yet somehow oddly stingy. It held a kind of intensity that urged Izaya to put it away as quickly as he had received it.
A smile spread across Shinra's expression as he laughed.
"Garlic and honey."
Okay. That explained.
Staring at the viscous liquid Izaya couldn't help but frown at its contents. "What do you think I am? A vampire with a sweet tooth?"
"Judging from the color of your skin you might be."
Shinra was probably right- and so Izaya couldn't help but laugh.
Laugh- and regret the action almost instantly.
Coughs ripped from his chest at the harsh intake of breath and before Izaya knew it the corners of his lips had pulled downwards again as his chest screeched with painful screams.
Intense pain of having someone peel skin off your body stemmed from the inside of Izaya's chest and his eyes squeezed shut as he bent over. His palm was clutching his shirt's front as if it were able to help with that silly action and his body broke out into a cool sweat.
It was horrifying. Painful.
And it only subsided after what felt like ages of agony.
Regaining control over his breathing and senses, Izaya only now felt the palm Shinra had put on his back. The doctor was hovering over him, and the look on his face spoke of deep concern.
It made Izaya's guts plummet and hopes shattered.
It was one thing for Shizuo to look at him like that, but when a doctor showed this expression it added a horrifying note.
"How did that not wake him?" Izaya tried to joke, referring to the tightly sleeping blond. Shizuo had not even flinched in his sleep.
"He stayed up two nights in a row," Shinra whispered quietly, and the one question that suddenly hung in the air grew darker and darker by the second.
"I was out for two nights?" Izaya tried, but it was not what he really meant to ask.
"Three. Today is the third."
... There was no avoiding it was there?
There was only one real question he should have been asking from the moment he woke. But he was afraid to hear the answer.
With his chest hurting like this, Shizuo sleeping here and Shinra's gaze turning to what it had-
Swallowing harsh Izaya grasped the sheets covering his body.
"... am I going to die?"
Painful silence clutched the room for a moment and Izaya's guts churned in the absence of quick assurance.
Not daring to face the doctor, Izaya waited for a response, for a death sentence.
He didn't want to see it. Hearing about his end was enough.
Putting the crucible aside Shinra sighed softly before speaking.
"Do you want to be smothered or hear the truth?"
Feeling his guts churn, Izaya frowned at the question that already served as an answer.
"I prefer the truth."
"You are sick."
Feeling the urge to laugh, Izaya quickly suppressed the need as doing so was probably only going to send him into another painful coughing fit.
"Goodness, thanks, I didn't know," he replied with a voice that bathed in sarcasm.
Wordlessy Shinra got up. A cupboard not too far was pulled open and a device of odd construction pulled from its confines.
Sitting back down Shinra raised the white linen shirt covering his own untrained body and presented his chest.
"Here. Put that on and listen," he instructed while putting a round end to his skin as he held out a branch looking end connected to it.
A bit confused and unsure of how to handle the object, Shinra quickly helped and adjusted the branchlike headpiece.
Touching the inside of Izaya's ears the raven jerked for a moment at the odd and cold sensation.
But he did as told and in a short moment of silence Shinra pointed to his ears before taking a deep breath.
Noises of unfamiliar nature suddenly reached Izaya's ears closer than he liked and he jumped in his body.
The momentary idea of witnessing witchcraft came to mind for just a moment until he realized he was hearing some sort of wind.
A breeze hallowing through a forest on a summer day. That's what the sound came closest to.
"Sounds like wind. What is this? An instrument?" Izaya found himself asking and Shinra nodded before retracting the device.
"That's the sound a healthy chest creates," he explained curtly before switching the end. "Now listen to this." Pulling Izaya's shirt up, the coldness of the round end came as a surprise and Izaya flinched.
"Take a deep breath."
Unsure about what to expect Izaya did as told- and the warm summer breeze warped into the gruesome image of a nightmare.
Rattling sounds of wagons riding across cobblestone and harsh whistles of high pitched noise disrupted the scenery Izaya pictured. A small cough ripped from his throat at the same time as the deep breath had tickled his chest in the wrong way and the scenery turned even more unsettling.
"Sounds awful," Izaya commented dryly- he wasn't sure what to make of this sound, of the demonstration and the way Shinra had avoided his question.
"We are trying to get rid of that noise so you can sound as healthy as me," Shinra suddenly said and a soft spark of desired hope blossomed in Izaya's chest.
"And you can do that?" He must have sounded awfully unsure and scared overall. But he had told Shinra not to smother him and somehow he had a feeling he wasn't as he showed a deep and confident smile.
"I will do my best."
to be continued~
C: C:
At this point I'm not even gonna say anything about the next chapter xDDDD
See you next Saturday