"When do you think he'll wake up,ma'am" the female servant who had been by Aildris' side asked.
The healer had arrived moments ago and taking a look at aildris he had used his gift to resuscitate him, though now he just slept.
"He should be better in about an hour, the fumes from the fire had crept deep into his lungs and since his body lacked divinity from a gift the poisonous effects of the fumes couldn't be lessened or rather endured" the healer said, a tall male with broad shoulders and a sympathetic look on his face.
"It's good that I got here on time, the child would have barely made it," he added.
"Thank you once again sir" the female servant said, giving a slight curtsy.
"It's okay, just let me know how I would get my fee" the healer asked casually, using a hand to cover the yawn that was so determined to escape his lips.
"The other staff will take care of that" she told him, watching his broad back leave the room he waved,a sign to show that he understood.
Moments from when the healer left the room the female servant noticed movements from the bed,slight groans and turns.
Aildris was awake.
Aildiris's eyes fluttered open, a dark brown mixed with confusion and uncertainty. It didn't even register to him that there was a servant standing beside him. The last thing he remembered was the fire.
The fire!
He frantically attempted to get out of bed but a pair of arms wrapped around him along with a soothing voice telling him to calm down. He struggles but eventually succumbs to the voice.
He looks at the owner, a female servant of the family which he recognised all too well.
"Mary" he called her name, his voice light and a bit groggy since he just woke up. The female servant referred to as Mary had been one of the few people who had actually been good to aildris making it easy for him to remember her.
"I'm here aildris" she told him,her tone reassuring.
As she spoke a wave of calm seemed to wash over aildris, like there was nothing that could bother him at the moment. He couldn't really tell, it didn't feel natural. It was too coincidental, almost like she had used a gift.
Thoughts like this made way for panic to creep into aildiris's mind.
Why was Mary desperately trying to calm him down?
"I'm…. fine Mary" he said, the crack in his voice betraying his own words.
"You can let go now," he added.
Mary released him from her embrace, she tried to avoid his gaze, she couldn't bring herself to tell him about Isla.
"We got a healer in time to save you. He said the fumes had nearly damaged your lungs" Mary told Aildris, her eyes still practically avoiding his.
"A healer was here" Aildris said, his voice raised from interest.
"Has the healer taken a look at mother, she spent more time inside the fire than I did" he added.
Mary felt a pang in her chest, Aildris was caring for what he had already lost.
"Lady Isla is with your father. He said when you wake up you should come see him in his study" Mary said, her back facing towards him as she already proceeded to leave the room.
She felt that any more time she spent with him would just chip away at her heart. The young child was unaware of the disaster that had befallen him.
"You should tidy up yourself before heading there, you're still covered in sooth" she added before closing the door behind her.
"It's true" Aildris confirmed looking at his sooth covered hands.
"Plus…I stink"
****
Aildris walked through the hallways of the winter manor but something felt entirely different. Whenever he passed the servants, those who barely even gave him a glance looked at him with pity. Some even murmured to themselves the moment they felt he was out of sight.
Has something happened?
Well he didn't have time to waste, he couldn't be pondering on the matter of gossiping servants who never gave a damn about his being.
He had arrived at the study.
He gave a slight knock on the door, no one answered.
But the force of the knock creaked the door slightly apart, it was open.
He walked into the room, it was dark and chilly. This was a first, he had been to his father's study multiple times but the atmosphere had never felt this gloomy.
Alias's study has been structurally designed in a way that allowed him to see major parts of the manor from the large snowflaked shaped window behind him. But tonight he wasn't looking out. His back hunched over slightly, hands placed on the desk In front of him, head notched downwards.
The moon's light gave the room slight illumination, just enough to see Alias's silhouette.
Something felt off to Aildris, Alias didn't seem to have registered his presence even though he stood before him.
Finally, after what has felt like an eternity Alias rose his head, his pale white hair that usually would have been been packed in a bun hung loose, stray strands running amok.
Strands of hair covered a part of his face but his sapphire blue eyes seemed to pierce through. They looked deep, broken and scarred. Like the pain they felt was unfathomable to anyone else except them
Aildris felt that his father's gaze looked both at him and beyond him, as if he waited for someone else to walk through the door.
"Father, Mary told me that mother was with you?" Aildris said in an attempt to break the heavy silence.
"Where is she?" he added taking a small look round the study.
Alias didn't respond for a moment, the silence resumed. He seems to be stuck in his own world, his body unmoving with just the occasional blink of his eyes.
His lips parted in an attempt to speak but the words refused to come out.
He sighed.
"Isla's dead" he finally said.
Alias's few words broke two things, the silence and Aildris.