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?”

“How far along

“A few weeks.”

“You lost the baby?”

for a long time, and then he heard her

kill Matthew. “Where is that son of

to smother Kinsley with a pillow in an attempt to silence her. He ran off

hear the sadness and devastation in his father’s voice. It was not easy for any parent when

would have revoked his diplomatic immunity status. He would not risk still being in the States when that happened. To avoid prosecution here,

private plane has not been

“Then he flew commercial.”

has, I will give instructions that he is to

answer to his next

“Three weeks,” Teegan replied.

something he did not. He could feel his heart sink. After finding out about Kinsley and the baby on top of his near-death, Nicholas was not sure he could

woken up,” his mother said, and Nicholas could hear his sister leave the room. He had a feeling that the news was going to be very

doctor at his bedside. He was doing something. Nicholas could hear him handling something.

how

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

do not see anything,” Nicholas admitted. “No

completely gone,” Nicholas had figured that out, and he did not require a medical degree.

what you are doing,” the silence began

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

below his waist. He heard the doctor make a confused and

feel yourself moving?”

“No.”

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

symptoms resemble congenital insensitivity; it is extremely rare and usually presents in patients

pain sounds like a blessing?” He could use a little relief from pain

problem. It means your brain has no way of telling that your body is hurt or ill and to what severity. This condition is difficult to

the idea of feeling

He heard

have no idea what kind of