The Vampire King's Possession
Chapter 174. Urge To Return

Chapter 174: 174. Urge To Return

Mauve woke up to soft sounds, something was moving about in the room. It wasn’t loud enough to cause any worry but because she was awake, she could hear it clearly. She opened her eyes to see the physician rummaging around the room. She carefully moved to a sitting position and rubbed her eyes.

She watched for a few seconds as he searched around. "Is everything alright?" She asked, concerned. She blinked rapidly as she stared at him as she tried to get them working.

He jerked at the sound of her voice, completely stopping his motion, and slowly turned around to look at her.

"Yeah, I was just looking for some of my belongings," he said, chuckling awkwardly. "Did I wake you up?"

Mauve shook her head, she would have woken up eventually. "Are they missing? Do you need help finding them?"

"No," he said and slowly started to approach her. "They are not important even if I don’t find them, I can do without them."

Mauve frowned. She was not pleased by his response. "But it is yours," she protested. "You should find it. Would you like me to help you find it or I could ask Mill to ask one of the servants to help you instead?"

"No, no, no," Jean said, waving his hands vigorously. He forced a chuckle. "There is no need for that. More importantly, how do you feel? Does your arm hurt?"

Mauve looked at her wrapped arm at his words. It wasn’t unbearably painful but it still did hurt, it also felt a bit numb and she wondered if it would feel less so since she was awake now.

"A little," she replied.

"Would you like some painkillers for it? I could give you some herbs for it."

Mauve grimaced at his words. "No, thank you."

She would rather bear the pain than take any more of those nasty-tasting liquids. The thought of the slimy feel going down her throat brought shivers down her body.

"Okay, princess," Jean said and took a step back.

She smiled softly at him and looked out of the open window. It was pretty dark and there was no sign of the moon. She knew it must be pretty late at this point but the physician was still awake. He was getting better and better at staying awake for longer hours during the night.

He turned away from her and walked to the edge of the room and sat down at the edge of the bed. He kept his gaze down and fiddled with his fingers. Mauve could sense his awkwardness.

She could tell he wanted to ask her questions but he has never dared to and no matter how much she tried to put him at ease, it didn’t make much difference.

"When do you think my arm will be completely healed?" She asked. She was curious but at the same time, she wanted to ease the tension.

"Completely?" He asked as he slowly raised his head. "I can’t say specifically."

"Oh," Mauve said and her face fell.

"However," Jean continued. "After the next bandage change, I should be able to remove your bandages and in less than a week most of the scabs should have fallen off. Please, don’t try to force them off. Once your arm is healed, they will fall off on their own. If you do force them off, it could delay the healing process."

Mauve nodded, "I won’t." she was even too scared of touching the wound, there was no way she would be able to peel anything off it. "Thank you for coming out here to treat me."

Jean shook his head, "Please don’t thank me so much. I am not doing this out of the goodness of my heart, I am going to be paid handsomely for my services."

He scratched the back of his neck and Mauve could see the tips of his ears reddened.

"Still, you could have chosen not to. I am sure you must miss your family."

Jean’s expression softened and he looked away from Mauve. "Yeah but I have been away from home several times, they will be fine without me."

Even though his words said he was fine, Mauve could hear the worry in his voice. She did feel a bit bad keeping him away from his family. She knew he was married and that was all she knew.

Mauve heard a soft sound and then the door was pushed open, Mill appeared at the entrance. "Mauve, you are awake." She said as she walked into the room.

Mauve nodded.

"Would you like anything?" Mill asked and rushed to the bedside. "There are still a couple of hours before the last meal but if you would like to eat anything, I can get it ready for you."

Mauve shook her head, "I am fine." She wanted to go outside but she knew she could not request that just yet.

Mill’s brows furrowed and looked toward Jean as if she just noticed the atmosphere. "Is something wrong?" She asked.

"No," Mauve said and Jean vehemently shook his head.

"Okay," she said and sat on the edge of the bed.

"Are you sure you don’t want anything?" She asked Mauve.

"Well," Mauve started and bent her head.

"Yes..." Mill said as she waited for Mauve to speak.

"I am tired of being in this room all night, it would be nice if I could go outside of it even if it’s just for a few minutes."

Mill’s face fell and her expression changed to something unreadable.

"I don’t mean outside the house,’" she immediately added. "The only other place I have been to is Jael’s room."

"I don’t think it advisable that you move around that much," Mill said.

"The physician said it’s okay, right, Jean?" Mauve said and turned to look at him.

Jean adjusted as their attention turned to him. He sat upright and looked everywhere but their faces. "Yes, as long as she doesn’t strain her injured hand."

"See," Mauve said, staring wide-eyed at Mill. "Does that mean I can travel back to the castle?" She turned around to look at Jean.

"Slow down, Mauve." Mill cried, she looked exasperated. "One at a time."

Mauve forced out a smile, "Can I have some fruits, please?"

"Of course," Mill replied. She jumped to her feet immediately. "I will be right back."

Mauve leaned back against the headboard at the closed door. She shouldn’t take her frustrations out on Mill. If she wanted anything, she knew who to ask.