Chapter Thirty-Two

It was...agonizing seeing Anthony so pale and limp, his breath ragged while he slept. But I was at least relieved that he was alive. It was pure luck that one of the Healers had been traversing through the halls and had heard my cries for help. And we were even luckier that he, not only was able to identify what the tea had been laced with, but also happened to have the antidote on hand. It really did seem like God had been watching over us, but...the question still remained.

Who was behind this?

Was it someone I knew? Was it the same individual that had tried to kill me before? After all, it was my tea that had been laced with the poison. So whoever it was, was pretty serious about killing me. And that terrified me.

I jumped when I felt a hand on my shoulder, my heart nearly jumping out of my chest until I realized it was only William. The poor man had bags under his eyes from crying so much earlier, and his skin was paler than normal as he gave me a barely-there smile.

"How's he doing?"

I glanced down at Anthony, my heart aching as I gently placed a hand over his. "He still shows no sign of waking." I felt tears form in my eyes as my thumb stroked the back of his hand. "I-I worry he may be in a coma."

William placed his hand against Anthony's forehead, a frown on his lips as those beautiful sage eyes turned towards me. "Anthony is a strong man. If anyone can pull through this, it's definitely him. And hopefully the herbs Thomas is bringing back will aid in his recovery."

My mind jumped to the wizened Healer, and I could only pray that he brought those herbs quickly, for Anthony's sake.

"I'm scared," I admitted after a moment of silence, tears springing in my eyes as I turned my attention to my husband, the man immediately frowning as he pulled my body towards him and held me, trying to soothe me by rubbing at my back. "S-Someone really wants me dead, a-and I have no idea who it is. What if they try to come after me again when they find out I'm still alive and that they got the wrong guy? What if you get hurt, o-or worse? I-I can't live with myself if anything happened to you too."

"Shh," William tightened his hold on me, and I don't know if he realized it, but his body was shaking as he nuzzled his face against my neck, "everything will be alright. Y-You have to have faith. We'll figure this out as we had with the situation with Arthur."

I jumped in fright when the room door opened, my body relaxing when I realized it was only the Healer finally back from his runs. Now, Thomas was a short man, only taller than me by a mere hair, with long silver hair and small brown eyes, his body covered with a modest grey robe.

I let out a breath I didn't know I had been holding, and watched as Thomas hobbled his way over to us, those grey-brown eyes on Anthony. "How does the boy fair? Any signs of consciousness yet?" He asked as he sat down his basket of herbs.

William tightened his hold on my hand, the man shaking his head sadly. "Unfortunately not. I'm hoping those herbs you have there will help bring him to a conscious state."

Thomas began tossing various herbs and oils into a bowl that appeared to be made out of stone, the older man grinding the ingredients together with a spoon, stick thing, whatever it was. "This concoction I'm making should surely wake him up." He then paused in his actions, brown eyes gliding towards me. "How is your wound fairing by the way, my Lady? You tore those stitches pretty badly and I know I fixed them, but if you are feeling any pain, I do have a powerful pain killer remedy that may aid in lessoning any agony you may be feeling."

I placed my hand lightly on my wound and gave him a barely there smile. "I'm fine for now. I'd rather you help Anthony than me, right now."

William shook his head and turned towards me. "Let me take a look at it. I know your adrenaline from today's events are dulling your pain, but I want to make sure you're alright."

I nibbled at my bottom lip, my eyes quickly shifting to the older man, who seemed to have gone back to making his concoction. Finally, I sighed and allowed William to unbutton the buttons around my wound, the man careful to not graze me with his nails.

He then leaned close, sage eyes inspecting me as his fingers gently touched here and there. "The skin around the cut is severely bruised." He glanced over to Thomas. "Do you have any paste to help this heal?"

Thomas nodded and rummaged in his knapsack before he pulled out a small jar and tossed it to William. "Apply that twice a day and that bruise should fade."

"Thank you," William said as he turned towards me, the blond opening the jar before he dipped his fingers into the clear gel. He then began applying it to the bruised area, goosebumps raising on my flesh from how cold the substance was.

"S-So William? Does Marvin know about Anthony?" I wondered as I stared at my fingers, my husband pausing in his actions as he glanced up at me through his lashes.

He nodded and went back to what he was doing. "I did. And he's even more determined to find who's doing this to us." He sighed and put the lid back onto the jar. "I'm worried about him. I don't think he's slept a wink since the night you were stabbed, and every time I see him now, he looks closer and closer to the verge of collapsing. He needs to see you, and you need to talk to him about taking care of himself before he wears himself out."

I looked at my lap, ashamed that Marvin was so stressed about me that he would deny taking care of himself. But...I guess I should be happy that he cared about me that much. I mean, growing up we were never that close, thanks to our twelve-year age difference. But...knowing how hard he was working to catch my attacker, made me realize that, despite our massive age gap, he was still extremely protective over me.

Finally pulling myself out of my head, I sighed and glanced up at William, staring deeply into those gorgeous sage eyes of his. "Tell him to see me tomorrow. I-I'll talk to him."

William gave me a small smile and cupped my cheek, his thumb resting just under the corner of my eye. "If anyone can talk sense in that stubborn man, it is you, Mel."

I snorted half-heartedly and placed my hand on top of his. "I don't know about all that, but I'll definitely do my best."

"I hate to break up your conversation, but I have finished with the remedy," Thomas spoke up, causing the both of us to look at him.

My heart began racing in my chest as I turned to Anthony and held his hand, William doing the same as Thomas walked over, bowl in hand as he opened Anthony's lips, pouring the reddish looking liquid into his mouth before he lifted the man's head and traced his thumb down his throat, helping the remedy go down.

We then waited with bated breath, my heart hammering in my chest as our eyes remained on the raven-haired man. Then, after a moment, Anthony's brows twitched and we were blessed with the sight of those beautiful teal eyes as he opened them, a groan leaving his lips. "W-What happened?" He wondered as he sat up, his voice gravelly as William immediately darted to help him.

"You were poisoned," I answered him, sadness and relief in my voice as I squeezed his hand.

Anthony frowned. "The tea. I-I remember taste-testing it before I gave it to you...after that, all I remember is darkness." He looked over to William, grasping the other man's bicep tightly. "We need to find the person that did this and we need to find them soon. They stabbed Melani and then attempted to poison him as well. They're not going to stop until Melani is dead, and I will not stand for it."

A/N: Sorrrrryyyy for the long wait, hit a small block for this chapter, but managed to finally pull through. Not really much to say other than, Yay! Anthony is ok!

Also, here's question one from Kitemite answered! Hope this answered the question you asked of Anthony! :P