Epsilon Twilight
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5. Business
🕑 Added 2024-03-18 15:11:17 +0000 UTCAloe wasn’t left alone in the room for long, but when the physician came back, he unfortunately came empty-handed as Rani was sleeping. Apparently, she and the Sultanah had a heated discussion that lasted for hours and halted today’s audiences. Aloe didn’t know how to feel about that. She couldn’t be grateful to Rani for confronting the Sultanah because if she hadn’t hired her nothing of this would have happened in the first place, but at the same time, she appreciated the thought.
The blame obviously fell on one person alone.
A person untouchable to simple concepts like blame, to begin with.
The scribe did her best to keep Aaliyah-al-Ydaz out of her mind, no matter how deep she had been engraved in her retinas and body. She almost cried again. She managed to hold it together, then as she tried to shift her position on the bed her hips shot a ping of pain reminding her of what had happened, making her cry for real.
Far from a comforting presence, the physician walked away from the room and came back with a maid in tow. The girl carried a bucket full of steaming water.
“May I wash you, venerable scribe?” The maid asked weakly. Aloe couldn’t identify if the maid was scared, intimidated, or pitying her. She should be better than this, to recognize simple emotions at a glance, but the truth was, she couldn’t care what the maid was thinking about her. Aloe couldn’t almost care about herself.
Aloe didn’t respond, so absorbed in her thoughts to bother.
“Ahem.” The physician cleared his throat. “I would recommend taking her offer. You will not be able to bathe in a while, and being covered in bodily substances will not do you any favors to your health.”
The scribe slowly tilted her head to look at the physician. She wanted him dead, in more than one manner.
“Proceed.” The woman’s voice was weak and dead.
“I will leave the room then.” The old man nodded, unaware of the pain he was causing her. “Please be careful with her, her fractures are great so avoid moving her even if that means not washing her.”
“Understood.” The maid dutifully bowed.
What followed next was an hour of slow washing as the maid carefully brushed Aloe’s skin with a wet towel. She feared the lightest touch would hurt the scribe, so she barely dared to scrub her, instead taking more time than necessary to remove the sweat and blood.
It didn’t matter how many perfumes the water was filled with; Aloe could only smell the pungent stench of sex. On more than one occasion, she almost puked. The slow caresses reminded her of something she didn’t want to be reminded of, making her feel nauseated. She especially got dizzy when the maid cleaned her crotch. Whilst Aloe had near to no line of sight with her lower body, she felt it was dirty. In more than one way.
In the end, the maid had to change the water of the bucket once after it lost its temperature from the wait and the aroma from the blood. Even if she was cleaner now, Aloe felt as much as defiled, having had to watch a woman barely older than her clean her when she couldn’t move freely.
“I am done, venerable scribe.” The maid spoke for the first time and covered the scribe’s naked body with a blanket. She then stood up with the bucket in hand, ready to leave.
“Wait.” Aloe stopped her.
“What is it, venerable scribe?” The woman turned to face her, her visage showing the same unwavering servitude.
“I need to go to the bathroom.” It had been almost a day since the last time she had gone, and she had had a lot of water since then. Considering how she didn’t have the need to pee that much compared to the other business, Aloe feared she had done it before whilst unconscious. At least not in this bed. I should have defecated on her bed too. Aloe thought with a spark of hatred, even if that would have likely ended in her execution.
“I have been ordered to not move you.” The maid responded dutifully. “Let me consult it with the court physician.”
A minute later the physician barged into the room.
“I am afraid you are not in a position to go to the bathroom.” The bald man explained. “You should stay in bed for a few days before stepping a foot out. I am not sure your hips may support your body weight even then.”
“Then what am I supposed to do?” Aloe shouted with indignation. “Shit myself?” The physician didn’t respond. “Are you kidding me?” The scribe’s voice became louder, unlike her previous sickly self.
“I am not.” The self-appointed doctor replied. “You are hospitalized, girl. It is normal for patients to not be able to do their business. At least you can willfully control it, others are not so lucky.”
“Lucky?” Aloe felt she was going to tear her throat with her screams. “Are you saying that I am lucky? You call this luck?” Blood vessels began showing in her head and arms.
“Please, calm down.” That exact wording did everything but calm her down. “I know you are in pain and enraged, but it is by the Sultanah’s mercy that you are alive right now.”
Those words slapped her like a bucket of cold water. Strength left Aloe’s arms. Even when she had broken her legs, the Sultanah could still end her life whenever she wanted. She didn’t even need to dirty her hands, there were dozens of guards in the palace.
“Now,” the physician continued, “you must not let yourself be shamed by acts like urination and defecation, they are basic human functions. If you are not comfortable with me being present, I can call a maid for you to do your business. Of course, that would be in bed, and most likely without raising your body.”
The logical side of her understood the words of the physician. Her body was badly hurt, and it needed recovery. But the human side of her wanted to strangle the life out of the man, to crush his windpipe with her hands and kick him in the face. She may be able to do the first thing with ‘strength’, but no infusion would help her with the second in her current state.
She channeled as much patience and tranquility in her body to not assault the man. This would be easier with ter’nar tea. Aloe found herself craving the tea, it helped her relax, and she needed a lot of relaxation.
“Please call a maid.” She admitted in defeat, the call of the wild growing strong enough to overcome pride.
The physician nodded and made his way out of the room. A few minutes later, someone knocked on the door and Aloe allowed them to enter. The person in question was an older-looking maid who carried a bucket and some towels on her hands. Aloe was thankful for the doctor’s foresight – calling an older woman rather than the previous maid around her age – but in a way, it was even more humiliating. Now she didn’t feel like a patient, but like a newborn that needed its diapers to be changed.
“What do you need to do, venerable scribe?” The older maid asked with a serene and respectful tone. Aloe knew she didn’t intend any harm, but the formality only made her feel worse.
What’s venerable about this? Aloe gritted her teeth before responding. “Both.”
She had never felt such humiliation before. And it would only get worse with time. There was no way she could hold her body from relieving in the many weeks that would take the fracture to recover.
“Understood.” The maid responded in an unfazed manner. “Allow me to put these towels below you.”
“I can do that myself.” Aloe snatched the towels from the mature woman’s hands to regain a bit of control of the situation and heal her pride a bit. That all changed when she tried raising her upper body and an explosion of pain burst in her body. “Aaaaah!” The scribe collapsed in the bed, her body turning limp as the pain bypassed her ‘toughness’ internal infusion easily.
Tears formed in her eyes, she was not used to pain, less so with her infusion active.
The maid rushed to her side, but instead of talking, she helped Aloe with her posture. Her hands were careful but experienced, the maid knew where to put her hands without inflicting the scribe any pain.
“Please, relax your muscles.” Her voice was almost motherly. “The more strength you put in, the more pain you will feel. Just relax~” The maid caressed Aloe’s uncovered bottom with the back of her hands, the woman’s bony knuckles feeling comfortable to the touch. “I have been made aware of your problems. Feel no shame, nor try to make it difficult for yourself. Just do what you must have to do.”
The woman didn’t lift the scribe’s body, but she managed to get the towels below her body with ease.
“I know it must not be comfortable nor easy, but there is no better way to do it.” It wasn’t just the neutrality, but also the emotion in her tone. She cared for her well-being. A thing Aloe had almost given up on. “Do not let yourself be tied up by social constrictions and evacuate.”
Aloe didn’t know what it was – if her imperious need to finally release her growing urge or the woman’s soothing voice and dexterous movements – but against her best interests, she heeded the call for nature.1. Business
Comments
Zachary Patterson
Thank you for the chapter!
BrGustl
Ugh. Shame is equally important and mind boggling. How something as simple as needing help to take care of your buisness can send you into a 'living hell'. Also interesting. Aloe blames most of it on the Sultanah, but she can't because she is scared the shit out of her. That might change when she starts to go through other phases if grief, but at the moment it seems that shes putting the blame on the next best person. The physician. She also puts some blame on rani, but it seems not to that much extent thst might be fair. I think she doesn't have realized that Rani "sold" Aloe. I wonder what their relationship will be going forwards I think if she realizes the extent she might feel feelings akin to betrayal towards her. But at the moment she seems to hold ranis accountability not high - I assume it might also be because Ranis 'charm' already ingrained partially into Aloe? I wonder how much of its influence can be reverse of if it will ever be possible to do so. Making this a truly fucked up situation. Just yikes.
