After the Duke left, the Physician was brought in.
The physician's hands trembled slightly as he pulled back the silk of Lucius's shirt. As soon as he saw it, he felt a chill run down his spine. It was worse than he expected.
The bruise looked worse than it had looked from a distance—a deep, angry purple that seemed to throb against the boy's tanned skin. The center was already turning a deep, sickly plum color, and the skin was tight with swelling. But that wasn't the only reason why he got chills. What made him feel even more chills was how Lucius didn't flinch even as he pressed on the bruise to see how bad the situation was.
He almost misunderstood the situation and thought Lucius didn't feel pain from the bruise until he saw the cold beads of sweat that began to break out across his forehead.
But even at that, he sat perfectly still, his small jaw locked, refusing to let even a huff of pain escape his lips.
