Chapter 14 - Fragility
Vincent’s wings spread to a smooth halt as he touched down on the stoop of the estate. With the dragon egg tucked securely under his left arm, he reached forward with his free hand and opened the door.
"Mama! I’m back! Apparently, there was some sort of screw-up with the teleportation circle, and the old man–"
He stopped and narrowed his eyes slightly as he stepped fully inside. Something felt eerily off.
He walked into the kitchen, his boots clicking softly on the tile. Empty. He checked the living room. Empty. While he was there, he put the dragon on the couch before continuing on. Lastly, he checked the bathrooms on the main floor. Same deal. Totally vacant.
Scratching his head, the guilt set in as he looked back toward the grand staircase in the foyer leading up to the residential rooms.
’Well, I mean, she was really devastated by the fact that I was leaving. Maybe she just came back here and cried herself to sleep. *Sigh* I should probably go check the bedroom.’
Right as he placed his foot onto the first step of the staircase, a thunderous, frantic knocking rattled the front doors.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
"MEDICAL DIVISION! OPEN UP! LADY DEINA! ARE YOU IN THERE?!"
"... The hell?"
Confused and deeply alarmed, Vincent quickly flew back to the door and pulled it wide open. Standing on the threshold were two divine beings – a tall man and a slender woman – both dressed in flowing white doctor’s robes.
"Good afternoon, young man. We received an emergency distress call from this estate. Please, show us to the patient immediately."
"Patient? What patient? I think you have the wrong–"
"I’m here! Up here! Thank you so much for coming so quickly–!"
Deina’s voice cut through from the top of the staircase. Her wings flared as she dropped from the upper banister and blazed down toward the foyer in a desperate rush. But mid-air, her eyes locked onto the familiar blue-haired figure standing by the front door.
Her wings stalled and she froze completely as she dropped the last few feet to the floor with her jaw slightly slack.
When Vincent turned around, a relieved smile broke across his face. "Oh, there you are, Dee! Perfect. Is Mama upstairs with you? Because these guys just showed up talking about a patient. I’m kinda confused as to why–"
"LITTLE BIRD!"
WHOOSH—THUD!
Deina shot forward like a literal cannonball and tackled Vincent right in the chest.
"Oof!"
The impact of her collision forced him back a step, but he managed to steady his stance and wrap his arms around her waist to keep her from falling.
She let out a series of breathless gasps, laughing hysterically as she buried her face into the crook of his neck. She rubbed her cheek aggressively against his skin and breathed in deep to take in his scent with desperate intensity.
"D-Dee?!"
"You’re here... you’re actually here! Ahahaha! You’re not some phantom! You’re not some cruel, messed-up illusion from my own head! Vinny, I thought... I thought it would be at least a hundred years before I ever got to see your face again!"
"Ahaha! H-Hey... stop sniffing me! It’s okay, Dee. I’m right here. I’m not an illusion."
His expression softened, and he tightened his grip around her waist, gently rubbing the back of her head to soothe her trembling body.
Deina flinched and pulled her head back at the tender touch. Her golden eyes shimmered with tears, though a teasing smirk managed to break through her flushed face.
"Wow... you really are a bad boy, aren’t you? Toying with my emotions, leaving after such a sad goodbye only to show up again like it never happened?"
She then reached up, firmly cupped his jaw with both hands, and pulled planted her lips onto his in a deep, desperate, and incredibly passionate kiss.
*Ahem* "Lady Deina. As much as we appreciate a joyous reunion as the next person, we received an explicit distress call regarding–"
"DEINA! WHAT THE HELL IS TAKING SO LONG DOWN THERE–!"
Natasha’s fierce voice boomed from the top floor as she marched out onto the landing. But the moment her eyes cast downward, her entire body locked up.
Vincent saw her out of the corner of his eye and gently broke the kiss with Deina.
"L-Little... Demi?" Natasha’s voice cracked.
She clenched her fists at her side and slowly tilted her head downward, her fiery red hair falling forward to block her face from view.
"Nat!" Deina called out happily, waving her arm up at her. "Look! Look who it is! Vinny didn’t leave! He’s right here!"
Natasha didn’t jump for joy. Instead, she let out a soft, low huff.
But as the seconds ticked by, her breathing grew increasingly louder, heavier, and terrifyingly erratic. To the point that her whole body began to tremble.
Worried by her state, Vincent took a step toward the stairs. "N-Nat? Are you okay?"
Natasha snapped her head up. Her face was completely twisted into an expression of pure fury, even as massive tears streamed down her flushed cheeks.
"YOU FUCKING BASTARD!"
WHOOSH!
She launched herself down the staircase like a heat-seeking missile. Her target? Vincent Winters.
Vincent’s honed battle instincts instantly kicked in; he let go of Deina and ducked to the left.
BOOM!
Natasha narrowly missed his head, her fist moving with such catastrophic force that it plunged through the marble wall of the foyer, shattering the stone into a spray of dust.
She yanked her fist out of the wall and spun around to glare at him, her chest heaving.
"WHY THE HELL DID YOU DODGE ME?!"
"WHY?! BECAUSE YOU WERE LEGIT GONNA KILL ME!"
Natasha’s eyes flashed with a volatile mix of rage and heartbreak as she started huffing erratically again. But before she could explode and charge him a second time, Vincent closed the distance between them and wrapped his arms firmly around her torso, pinning her arms to her sides.
"What are you–! Let go of me! Let go!" She struggled and squirmed in his grip, trying to break free. But Vincent’s arms refused to let her slide away.
Gradually, her struggles weakened.
She slumped against his chest, resting her forehead on his shoulder as she let out a shaky sob.
"You’re such a fucking jerk, Little Demi... *Sniff* Why are you doing this to me? Why did you leave? You made me think you were gone... you made me think I’d never get to say what I wanted to say... only for you to just casually show up not even an hour later?!"
"Uh... I’m really, really sorry, Nat. The old man at the gate was completely wasted. I think he messed up the spell somehow... I could be wrong though."
"You think a stupid ’sorry’ is gonna make up for what you just put me through?!" she finally lifted her head to look up at him. As she took in his smiling face, her defenses melted away into a heavy blush.
"What do I have to do to make it up to you, then?"
Her jaw tightened with childlike jealousy as she glanced sideways at Deina. She looked back up at Vincent, her bottom lip quivering slightly.
"You... you just kissed Deina, right? K-Kiss me too."
"Okay."
Natasha’s face flushed even deeper. She tilted her chin up and softly closed her eyes as she leaned into his space, eagerly waiting for his lips to meet hers.
"AHEM!"
The male medic stepped up to them, "Now is not the time, young man. Please, take us to the patient immediately. We are on a strict schedule."
Vincent shot apart from Natasha, his face burning with embarrassment as he smoothed his clothes. "Oh! Right! Sorry!"
Natasha puckered her lips still puckered when she realised the moment was ruined. She let out a silent, angry huff, glaring a hole into the back of the medic’s head.
"So, who is this patient you guys keep talking about anyway?"
Deina’s playful demeanor vanished. She looked down at the floor and laced her voice with a hesitant reluctance. "...Follow me."
The group moved silently up the stairs and down the hallway, entering the master bedroom.
The moment Vincent stepped through the door; his heart dropped into his stomach. There, lying perfectly still in the center of the massive bed beneath the sheets, was Maribelle. Her face was completely devoid of its usual vibrant, glowing color. She looked terrifyingly fragile, and although subtle, her chest barely moved.
"M-Mama...?"
The two medics didn’t waste a single second.
They rushed past him to the side of the bed, the female medic pulling back the sheets while the male medic began to cast silver magic circles over Maribelle’s chest which scanned her vitals.
"Dee... w-what happened? What’s wrong with her?"
"Well... The emotional trauma of losing you... it was just too much for her, Vinny," Deina explained quietly while standing right beside him.
"When you left for Earth, she completely broke down. She fainted right there and then. After getting her home, no matter what we tried, we couldn’t wake her up."
A suffocating feeling settled over his chest as he stared at his mother’s pale face, "My... fault? This is because of me, isn’t it?"
Seeing his guilt-ridden expression, Natasha silently reached out and gripped his left hand, squeezing it with reassuring strength. Deina did the same, wrapping her slender fingers tightly around his right hand, keeping him completely grounded as they watched the medics work.
After a few tense minutes of continuous spellcasting, the silver circles faded. The two medics let out a synchronised breath, stepping back from the bed.
The male medic turned to face the group and adjusted his glasses. "Well, the immediate danger has passed. Looking at her records, it’s been quite a long time since she last had an appointment, so we assumed that Lady Maribelle’s underlying condition had gotten better... but it appears her problems are acting up again."
Vincent’s brow furrowed in deep confusion. "Problems? What are you talking about?"
"I’m sorry, but we cannot share that information to someone unrelated–"
"I’m her bab– son!! Vincent Winters!"
The medic raised an eyebrow, looking slightly surprised. "If you are her son, then I would naturally assume you already know about the nature of her constitution."
"No, I don’t! Why would you assume we know what you’re–"
He stopped mid-sentence as he felt a sudden tremor in the hands holding his.
He looked down to his left, and then to his right. Both Natasha and Deina had lowered their heads. Their faces had twisted into expressions of guilt.
"What’s wrong? Why do you both look like that? What aren’t you telling me?"
"Excuse me, Lady Deina. Lady Natasha. Is it alright to disclose the medical history to him?"
Natasha and Deina shared a brief look before slowly nodding their heads.
"Wait, why the hell are you asking them for permission?! She’s my mother!"
"Little Bird... just please, calm down and listen," Deina pleaded softly as she gripped his hand tighter.
The male medic looked directly into Vincent’s eyes. "The reason your mother fainted so suddenly, young man, and the reason she is currently refusing to wake up... is because of heart failure. This condition of hers dates all the way back to the birth of her second child, where the symptoms first started showing."
Vincent felt the air leave his lungs.
His brain struggled to compute the words. The sheer absurdity of the statement clashed violently with everything he knew of her over the last five centuries.
"... What?"