Poison - 626

Skymender barely noticed the mist as it was released from the concoction. He was fully focused on observing the mixture inside of the cauldron.

Suddenly, he began to cough. It was out of nowhere and sudden. He backed away and coughed, but could not stop. He grabbed his throat, and it was closing in on him.

Melly looked over concerned, but as they met eyes, she saw a drop of blood falling from his eye.

She panicked as Skymender spoke. "Leave the room!"

Melly hesitated, but the look in Skymender's eyes made no room for refusal.

She left, and Skymender knocked the cauldron onto the ground.

More mist was released, but he was not concerned at all.

He grabbed a nearby vial, his hands uncontrollably shaking, and scooped up a bit before sealing it shut. He then exited the room.

As soon as he closed the door behind him, he fell to the ground. His body was weak, and he could barely move and inch.

Melly came running from afar, bringing someone with her.

By now, Skymender had passed out. The person she brought carried Skymender to the hospital in the city.

When he woke up, he saw his father, as well as Melly looking at him.

His father was instantly relieved to see him awake, as was Melly.

Skymender felt as if he could move, but stayed laying for a moment. A doctor came over.

"As expected, your son should be fine, my lord. He inhaled some poison, but it was only temporary. However… the injuries sustained from it may not be so easy to get rid of."

Skymender could feel something wrong with his body, and the doctor's words confirmed his worries.

He sat up and took off the mask on his face. He breathed in, and it felt as if he could breathe fine.

He opened his mouth to speak, but as soon as words started to form, he began to cough.

The doctor came over and put the mask on his face. After a moment, the coughing stopped.

He looked at the doctor with confusion.

The doctor explained. "As a result of inhaling the poison, your throat has shrunk a bit, and something has changed within it. It was hard to identify it, but it seems that the trigger is the vibrations caused when you speak. The mask filters the outside air and mixes it with a chemical that relieves your throat and allows you to breathe normally, though I would avoid talking too much."

Skymender was shocked. In other words, it sounded like he may need to wear this mask his entire life.

"Is that all?" He asked. His voice was rough, and sounded muffled due to the mask.

The doctor shook his head before grabbing a small mirror. Looking at his face, Skymender saw a patch of skin that seemed wrinkled and aged.

It only occupied a small portion of his left cheek, but it changed appearance greatly.

He was once again surprised. Were it any other nine year old child, they may feel despair, but to him, the issue with his looks was minor, while the throat injury was much more important.

However, deep inside, he felt excitement. Poison! He had never thought about it before.

However, now, after thinking about it, poison was incredible. Just a small amount may have killed him without medical assistance.

A Sword Master could destroy an army, but so could poison.

The doctor took a green vial from the stand next to his bed and spoke. "We need to get this to a lab in the Imperial Capital and have it thoroughly examined. If everything goes well, we…"

Skymender interupted. "That's mine."

The doctor stopped speaking and looked confused, unsure of what to say. 

"Lord Skymender, I understand that you made this, but if it is taken to the Imperial Capital and examined, we may be able to create an antidote that can help others."

Of course Skymender understood that. He didn't want an antidote to be created.

"It's mine and I'll keep it."

His father spoke. "You're not thinking that you'll be allowed to continue researching, are you?"

Skymender looked over to him. "I will continue researching."

His father showed a rare face of anger. "No you will not! You nearly died! I'll be damned if I let you continue!"

He looked at Skymender, but who looked back was someone he did not recognize.

"I WILL continue to research, and there is nothing you can do to stop me." His voice took a tone it had never once taken in his life, and it stunned his father, as well as Melly.

At this moment, not a single person in the world would recognize this behavior of Skymender.

Melly spoke. "Skymender… Your father is right. It's dangerous for this to continue. There is no need."

Skymender's eyes snapped over. "Who let you talk, girl. Don't forget who you are."

Skymender was not in his right mind, still injured from the poison. His body began to shake as the doctor ran over.

His father and Melly were forced out of the room while doctors rushed in. Basically the entire hospital was in that room.

Baron Sky's eyes were angry, but deep inside was shock in disbelief. Skymender talking like that had thoroughly baffled him.

He looked over to Melly, whose head was lowered.

She finally remembered that she was not Skymender's girlfriend, nor his wife. They were engaged, but that was only what everyone else said.

From the moment they had first met, she had willingly become a servant.

Skymender viewed her as nothing but that.

In his moment of injury when his mind was not clear, he had finally spoken his deepest thoughts to those around him.

His unnatural arrogance finally showed. 

The doctors remained in the room for an hour before leaving. However, they kept Melly and his father out of the room.

"He needs rest and quiet. If he gets angry again, the same thing could happen. Wait until he is healed a bit more."

Baron Sky and Melly reluctantly nodded. Outside, they met the rest of the family that had rushed over, but they explained the situation to them.

Neither Melly nor Baron Sky spoke of Skymender's outburst. It seemed as if it would stay between the three of them and the doctor.