My Dearest Friend,
I do hope that you bear me no ire for my actions.
Tibold has known me from birth and is like a member of my family.
I truly love him as if he were my Uncle by blood. The thought of
him dying at your hands or Lucas'... I couldn't bear it, so I bid
him flee. Very cowardly of me, I'm sure.
Surrounded as you were by your cousins, you can't imagine
how lonely I was as a child. Papa has always been a loving father,
but his business often kept him long hours, leaving no time for me.
Fritz, the name I knew Tibold by, would spend time telling me stories of
piracy and adventure, while the wood in his hands took shape. I still
have the dolls he made from those blocks of wood. They sit on a table
under my window at home, dressed in their crudely sewn clothing that took
me hours and hours to make. I used Papa's best cravat to make a ballgown.
I've never seen his eyes narrow like that before and I hope to never see
them like that again.
From the tone of your letter, I believe you may have
understood why I did what I did. And the fact that you let him go
makes my heart soar. As always, I'm in your debt. Theus bless
you, my dear friend.
But I must tell you of the ball that you've missed!
I know you were reluctant to attend but it was most exciting! First
this strange bald man with a bird on his shoulder showed up to speak with
Señor Vlad. I've never seen Vlad so pale! He almost
seemed frightened. Now that he's explained what this man is capable
of I understand why. Evidently he's thousands of years old and he
even cured the waisen of their strange disease. Including
Armin's family! But he did speak to Vlad in the middle of the dance
floor. Lucas was most irate and tried to move them off to the side
several times. He was a bit ineffective in his effort. Finally,
the man turned and said something to Lucas that I didn't quite catch and
left.
Then as the next dance began, a very pregnant woman
stormed in our front door, called your dear cousin Lucas a nasty name that
inferred his mother had questionable heritage, and slapped him so hard
I heard the crack across the room! Lucas, of course, was all dignity
and swiftly escorted the Señora to the study. Needless to
say, the dancing couples did their best to be the one to maneuver closest
to the door. Lucas spoke to her for a time and I couldn't make out
much, since Ferdinand had procured a much better position than I.
But Lucas eventually rejoined the party, looking most dour. I believe
the Señora's name is Veronica Ochoa. Do you know her?
As I was mingling amongst the guests and amusing myself
by watching Ferdinand's efforts at winning the heart of the Ice Queen herself,
a servant came to me and advised that my services were needed in the study
where the Señora was resting. Upon entering the room, I immediately
knew that the birth of her offspring was imminent. Without delay,
I called the servants and we moved her to a more comfortable location and
I began one of the longest nights of my life. The woman was hemorrhaging
badly and her blood wasn't clotting as it should – I determined she'd been
poisoned to make her blood thin. Señor Vlad was assisting
me, having some medical knowledge himself. I sent him to get Lucas
and make all haste to the home of the Apothecary to see if she had something
that might counteract what Señora Ochoa had been given. I
then sent Ferdinand to fetch a priest. The situation was indeed dire,
and I was forced to cauterize her in several places to stop the flow of
blood. I'll spare you the unpleasant details.
Ferdinand returned with the good Padre and he knelt
at the woman's side, but she wanted nothing of him. I asked if he
would retire to the corner, which he did with good grace. As the
night wore on, the only sounds were the Padre's voice chanting prayers
to Theus, the woman's weakening screams of torment, and my own labored
breathing. At long last the Señora's children arrived in this
world, and although I had administered the herbs brought from the apothecary,
the poison had done its dire job and the babes were nothing more than hollow
shells, Theus having already reclaimed their innocent souls.
The Padre looked at me in sympathy as tears filled my eyes. Knowing
I must remain strong, I bit my lip until I drew blood and allowed the pain
to steady me. As Señora Ochoa fell into an exhausted sleep,
I wrapped her children and gave them to the Padre. Our eyes met,
and words weren't necessary.
I stepped into the hallway to find Lucas leaning wearily
against the wall. He straightened and glanced at the Padre as he
passed. I advised him that the Señora herself would live,
but that her children had been stillborn and that had he further need of
me I was retiring to my room. He placed a hand on my arm to forestay
my departure. It seems Señor Vlad had suffered an attack on
the way to retrieve the medicine from the apothecary and lay unconscious
in the barn. He had used his sorcerous arts to transform himself
into a boar.
It was on the way to tend to Vlad that I found that
Armin's family and all the other waisen in the barn had been cured
by Vlad's strange visitor. What a blessing to happen on this horrible
night! But Vlad himself was gravely injured. His injuries were
such that I was afraid to work on him for fear he would not live through
the surgery itself. I did the best I could and made him comfortable
and prayed to Theus that he would live 'til morn.
And now here I sit, so tired that sleep eludes me and
sick to my soul that I was unable to save the babes. I'd thought
that the bath that I had Armin prepare would help, but the reek of blood
still lingers, though I scrubbed my skin 'til it was pink.
I shall send this missive later this morn, and hope
that it finds its way to you. But even at that, it has helped to
talk of it.
Take care,
Meli
