Love For Hire

Nicholas could hear the beeping of medical machinery. It was a sound he had come to know well. Slowly the steady beating grew louder, and he began to wake up. He had no idea how long he had been out. He recalled lying on his bed; he had not been feeling well. He recalled that he had been weary and lethargic. He had wanted to take a nap. He recalled Kinsley had been talking to him, but he could not really remember about what.

The mattress beneath him was narrow and firm; it was not his soft, comfortable bed. That and the noise told Nicholas he was in a hospital. How long had he been in a hospital? Nicholas opened his eyes, but he saw nothing, just blackness. Not even the fuzzy colours and shapes he had been able to see before he went to sleep. There was nothing now, no light, no colour, nothing. He was now completely blind.

“He is awake,” he heard his father’s voice. He could hear the footsteps as those in the room came closer. He felt two arms wrap around him as someone leaned over the bed to hug him. He could tell from the soft form it was female, and judging from the waft of perfume assaulting his nasal senses, it was his mother. Nicholas was too weak to hug her back. His whole body ached. “Welcome back, son; we thought we had lost you,” his father said as he touched Nicholas’ shoulder. “How do you feel?”

“Like death,” his voice croaked. His throat was sore and scratchy. “My throat…?”

“It hurts?” His mother asked. Nicholas nodded.

“It is because of the breathing tube they put down your throat a few days ago. You stopped breathing. The hospital incubated, and a machine was breathing for you for about 12 hours, then you pulled through, started breathing on your own again. I think the blood transfusion helped get most of the poison out of your system,” his father informed him.

“Poison?” Nicholas asked. Who was poisoning him?

“Turns out, Matthew got tired of waiting for his place on the throne,” Kinsley’s voice came from the left of him and then he felt her soft hand take hold of his. “So he decided to speed along your demise with a little help from a lot of arsenic. He was poisoning you for weeks.”

Nicholas was surprised. He knew his brother was a self-absorbed narcissist with designs on Nicholas’ birthright, but he had never believed Matthew would stoop to actually trying to murder him to secure his claim on the throne. He supposed that meant Matthew was not in the room at the moment. “How do you know this?” He struggled to ask.

“Well, actually, Kinsley discovered it,” he heard Teegan say. She thought something was fishy, so she had Dr. Horton runs some tests after you lost consciousness.”

“But how do you know it was Matthew?”

“Well, he was suspect, but it was when he tried to kill Kinsley that we knew for sure he was involved,” Teegan told him.

Nicholas sat up and reached out for Kinsley. “He did what? Kinsley, are you alright?” He asked, feeling for her. When his fingers came into contact with what felt like a cast, he really began to panic. “Is your arm broken? What happened?” He demanded.

“It is broken, but besides that, just some bruises.”

“What did he do?” Nicholas demanded as his anger began to grow. How dare Matthew harm her.

“He threw me down a few flights of stairs. He was trying to kill the baby… and it worked. I miscarried,” he could hear the sadness in her voice.

“Baby?” When was she pregnant? Did she tell him she was pregnant? He could not remember if she had. He remembered so little.

“Do you not remember me telling you I was pregnant?”

he lied. “How far along

“A few weeks.”

“You lost the baby?”

long time, and then he heard her speak again, emotion choking her

so sorry,” he would kill Matthew. “Where

do not know,” Teegan spoke. “He was caught by the hospital staff trying to smother Kinsley with a pillow in an attempt

find him,” Samuel spoke. “He will pay for his crimes. He may be my son, but he will face the same penalty as anyone who commits treason,” Nicholas could hear the sadness and devastation in his father’s voice. It was not easy for any

would not risk still being in the States

been moved,” Naya told

“Then he flew commercial.”

and see if Matthew has returned. If he has, I will give instructions that he is to be confined to his chambers until we return,” Nicholas could hear his father’s heavy footsteps as he left

the answer to his next question. “How long have I been in

“Three weeks,” Teegan replied.

be out of the woods, right?” there was only silence. They knew something he did not. He could feel his heart sink. After finding out about Kinsley and the baby on top

He had a feeling that the news was going to be very bad. He did not ask any more questions; he did not think his loved ones had

see you awake,” he could feel the doctor at his bedside. He

how should I

your eyes. “Can you see this?” He asked, and the room went

do not see anything,” Nicholas admitted. “No colours, no

that out, and he did not require a medical

are doing,” the silence began to make him worry as something occurred to him. “That

me when you can feel me touching you,” he instructed. Nicholas sat in bed, hoping against hope that at some point, he would feel something, but

not tell if he was or not. He could not feel anything below his waist. He heard the doctor make a confused and thoughtful sound. “Did

cannot feel yourself moving?”

“No.”

do not understand Dr. Horton. How can he move but not feel anything?” Naya

symptoms resemble congenital insensitivity; it is extremely rare and usually presents in patients with Anhidrosis. It does not make sense that Nicholas would

able to feel pain sounds like a

means your brain has no way of telling that your body is hurt or ill and to what severity. This condition is difficult to manage and life-threatening. We need to figure out how to treat it and whether or not we have any

of

He heard

you have no idea what kind of hell I