The Legendary Healer

Chapter 7

Elias turned away from the doors where Kevin had been dragged through like a dog and looked at the crystal bed where the Princess lay, his heart beating steadily against his chest.

The hall was still buzzing with whispers about the crazy traitor who had just barged in and gotten hauled away in handcuffs. People were still throwing curses at the doors, calling Kevin a disgusting liar, a jealous fool, a slum rat who deserved everything coming to him.

Elias could not help the scoff that came off his lips.

A broad smirk cut through Elias's face as he reached into his robes and pulled out a small, worn book.

Kevin's book.

The pages were filled with Kevin's handwriting, years of research that Kevin had poured his life into before Elias stole it all. 

Elias flipped through the book without shame, his eyes scanning the instructions like he was reading a recipe. He found the page he needed and started preparing the medicine exactly as Kevin had written it.

His hands moved carefully, mixing herbs and liquids according to the stolen notes. The royal physicians stood at the side watching him with anger flickering through their faces, but after three years of failure, they didn't dare to say a word.

When Elias finished, he held up a crystal vial filled with glowing liquid and walked to the Princess.

He carefully parted her lips and poured the medicine down her throat drop by drop, making sure she swallowed everything.

The hall went completely silent, everyone watching the bed with heightened interest.

The Princess's fingers twitched against the sheets.

A gasp rippled through the crowd like lightning.

Her chest started rising and falling with stronger breaths. Color rushed back into her pale cheeks and the dark circles under her eyes began to fade.

Then her eyelids fluttered, then opened slowly.

The Emperor shot up from his throne, his eyes wide with shock and desperate hope.

"Daughter!" he called out, his voice breaking.

The Princess blinked against the light, looking around in confusion. She tried to sit up, her movements weak but real.

The entire hall erupted like a volcano.

"She's awake!"

"Lord Elias did it!"

"He actually woke the Princess!"

"After three years!"

"She's moving!"

Even the royal physicians stared with their mouths open, shock washing through their faces. They had tried everything for three years and failed, but Elias had done it in minutes.

Elias straightened up and turned to face the crowd, his smirk spreading wider as the praises washed over him.

"Lord Elias is truly our god sent!"

"There is no one greater on this continent!"

"He is beyond genius!"

"A miracle worker!"

"The greatest mind alive!"

Elias absorbed every word, his chest puffed up with pride and his eyes gleaming with satisfaction.

"This is nothing," he said loudly. "This is what I do."

However, as the praises for Elias grew louder, the hatred for Kevin grew even more vicious.

“And that slum rat dared to speak ill about the man that was sent to us by God himself!” A bitter sensation missed with hatred rose through the throat of the crowd.

“Honestly, it would he doesn't even deserve to share the same air with humans, he's better off death.”

Their words clawed at Kevin even though he wasn't there each insult more vicious than the last. Elias's gaze grew darker as he listened to them tear Kevin apart with their mouths.

The Emperor rushed to his daughter's side, tears flowing down his cheeks as he grabbed her hand.

"My daughter," he choked out. "You are finally awake."

The Princess squeezed his hand weakly.

"Father? How long was I asleep?"

"Three years," the Emperor whispered.

The crowd cheered even louder at the sound of her voice.

The Emperor turned to Elias, his face filled with gratitude that looked like worship.

"Lord Elias," he said, his voice shaking with emotion. "From this day forward, you are the greatest benefactor of this empire. Anything you want, land, gold, titles, speak it and it will be yours."

Gasps rippled through the crowd at such an offer from the Emperor himself.

Elias bowed respectfully, making sure his voice sounded humble even though his heart was burning with pride.

"Your Majesty is too generous," he said. "I only did what I could."

The Princess continued to sit up slowly, her breathing getting stronger. People started talking about celebrations and rewards, about how this day would be remembered forever.

Elias stood there soaking in all the glory, his chest burning with satisfaction as he thought about Kevin being dragged through corridors toward his execution while all of this fell on him.

However, just when everyone thought it was over, just when the hall was at its loudest and most celebratory, something changed.

The Princess's hand suddenly tightened around her father's with desperate, crushing force.

The Emperor looked down at their joined hands, confusion crossing his face.

Then the Princess's body jerked so violently that the bed below her vibrated.

Her back arched off the bed violently and a horrible sound tore from her throat that made every voice in the hall cut off instantly. She was screaming in pain, so much pain that seemed like her body was tearing apart from the inside.

The hall went dead silent.

Her body started convulsing, shaking with violent tremors that rattled the l bed against the floor. 

Her head twisted from side to side and her fingers clawed desperately at the sheets beneath her.

The Emperor's face went white.

"What is happening!" he thundered, his voice shaking the entire hall.

The Princess convulsed again, harder this time. Her whole body twisted with pain that made everyone watching feel it in their own chests.

Then she started coughing out blood.

It poured from her lips in a dark, thick stream, spilling down her chin and onto her white robes. 

Every single person in the hall froze completely, trying hard not to believe the sight that was right before their eyes.

"She's bleeding!"

"Do something!"

"The medicine is killing her!"

The royal doctors rushed forward, their faces pale with horror, but nothing they did worked. The convulsions only got worse and more blood kept coming.

Elias stumbled backward, his confident smirk completely gone.

His face turned white and his hands started shaking uncontrollably.

He quickly rushed forward, pouring more veils into her mouth and hoping that it was going to do something. 

However, the blood only poured out faster and her body jerked even more violently.

The Emperor's eyes instantly turned blood. He tore Elias away from his daughter and interlocked a cold sneer into his eyes.

“If anything happens to my daughter, you will be buried with her!” He vowed and sweats together with cold chills poured throughout Elias body.