I know this isn't exactly a trigger warning, but this chapter does deal with some blood and a little trauma and just plain old angst. Just watch Richard suffer with his face, alright? I've said too much. Anyways, enjoy.
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Richard ran ahead of the group, looking for the right store. Luke and the others were paying a Thuron man at the port to repair and keep an eye on the ship, but Richard wanted to get something made first.
He finally found it, a jeweler’s store, with a Thuron man at the window.
“Can you make a necklace out of this?” Richard asked, showing the jeweler the caeruleum.
The jeweler put a pair of glasses on, magnifying his eyes. “Caeruleum,” he mused, “A perfect material for jewelry. And who would the necklace be for?”
Richard glanced over his shoulder at Helen, who was walking with the group.
“My uh…” Richard didn’t know the word to describe his relationship with Helen, but the jeweler helped him.
“Your lady?”
“Y-yeah…” Richard slowly agreed.
“Well, I think I can make this perfect for her. Anything fancy?”
“No, just a simple necklace would be fine,” Richard wanted it simple, and he thought anything fancy would not be Helen’s style.
The jeweler nodded, turning the caeruleum this way and that, trying to figure out which angle was the best for the necklace.
“So…can you do it?” Richard asked.
“Yes.”
“When will it be ready?”
The jeweler pursed his lips, thinking. “Come back tomorrow morning and it should be finished.”
Richard began to walk away, but then came back. “Wait…how much will this cost?”
The jeweler, who was still studying the caeruleum, said, “Oh, I’m thinking about giving it to you for free.”
“Really?”
“Yes,” the jeweler smiled, “I’ve always enjoyed watching young love, and I think your lady deserves this gift. People quite enjoy gifts.”
“Thank you,” Richard said as he began to walk away again.
“Treat her well,” The jeweler called.
“I will!” Richard called back and ran back to the group.
…
Richard’s good mood quickly faded as he got into his room from an inn they’d rented, as Ruby had brought some money with them.
There was a bathroom, and Richard took a bath, a luxury he hadn’t had in a long time.
Usually, the servants in his father’s house helped bathe them, but he’d watched them do it so many times he figured he could do it himself.
The bath wasn’t what killed the mood, it was the mirror.
Richard began to get dressed again, but he stopped putting his shirt on as he caught sight of the mirror.
Leaving his shirt open and unbuttoned, Richard walked over to it with curiosity. He hadn’t taken the bandages off his face yet, and he had been unconscious when Luke had bandaged it up.
Luke had avoided the topic of Richard’s face, but he had to know. How bad really was the damage?
Richard fumbled for the end of the bandage, and slowly unwrapped the bandages, closing his eyes as they began to uncover the ruined flesh beneath.
He opened his eyes to see the damage and immediately gasped.
The left side of his face was red with cuts and a few burns, inflamed and infected. His eye was squeezed shut, and now he knew why he couldn’t see. Richard gently opened his eyelids, revealing a faded look in his eye. Richard still couldn’t see out of it, and the light hurt it.
Richard was blind in one eye.
The realization hit him so fast, that tears filled his right eye. Richard gingerly felt the left side of his face, sending jolts of pain to the tender skin below.
Looking back in the mirror he didn’t see himself, but the ruined flesh and the eye that could no longer see.
“I’m a monster,” Richard whispered to himself, suddenly angry at his appearance. It ruined him, looking at the ugly left side of his face. The only spot that was untouched on the left side was above his lips, allowing him to still talk and smile properly.
But Richard couldn’t see the rays of sunshine through the storm clouds. All he saw was his ruined face, the ugliness of it all. He would never look normal again.
Richard’s anger flared and in a fit of rage, he punched the mirror. It did nothing but hurt his hand and produce a small crack in the mirror.
Cradling his hurt hand, Richard groaned, now mad at himself for punching the mirror.
“Richard?” he heard Helen call.
Suddenly scared of being seen, Richard hastily started to wrap the bandages on his head, but Helen came into the room and saw him.
Defeated, Richard took the bandages off and slumped to the floor, leaning his back against the wall. Richard covered his face in his hands, still trying to keep Helen from seeing him.
“Please,” he begged Helen, “Don’t look at me.”
“You don’t have to be afraid,” Helen said, “I’ve already seen the damage.”
“Then you must see the monster that I am!” Richard said bitterly, looking up at Helen.
Helen walked over and sat next to him as Richard covered his face again.
“You’re not a monster…” Helen comforted, “We all have our own scars. Some you can see, and some you can’t. Some of us, have a bit of both.”
Helen lifted her skirt a little, and Richard felt his face flush as she pointed to a white line on her calf. “This is a scar I’ve had for some time now, from the time I fell down a hill and was cut by a sharp rock.”
Helen rolled her sleeve up, showing him another scar. “This is from a man who got mad at me for begging for food. He stabbed me with his fork. I barely got out of there alive,”
“And this one,” Helen pulled her hair back a little, showing a dark line around the base of her neck, “Was from a time I got caught by goblins. That’s how I know that the jackleberry plant can kill them. They tried to make me into a stew, too.”
Richard smiled a little but turned away from Helen.
“Your scars aren’t as noticeable though,” Richard sighed, “The first thing people will notice about me from now on is my face.”
Helen leaned into Richard’s shoulder, grabbing his hand. “Some of the most painful scars are the ones you can’t see, the ones on the inside.”
“Well, it seems like everybody else sees those ones too,” Richard grumbled.
“It’s alright,” Helen said to him, “When I first saw you I didn’t see your scars, both the visible ones and the ones on the inside.”
“Oh yeah?” Richard asked, “And what did you see?”
“I saw a boy who didn’t know what his place in the world was, a boy who was both scared and brave. I saw a boy who hadn’t been shown love before, and one who hadn’t shown others love. I saw a boy…who needed help. So I wanted to help you. And I’ve tried my best to help ever since.”
Richard swallowed a lump in his throat. He had felt that Helen had only been around him because it seemed like Luke and Skylar were together and Peter and Alice were together and she had nobody to turn to. He had never thought that Helen had truly seen him for who he was, and not as somebody to turn to.
She saw him as somebody to help.
“And besides,” Helen teased, “I think you’ll look good in an eyepatch.”
Richard laughed at that, glad for some humor.
Helen got up from the floor, offering a hand to Richard. “Now come on, put those bandages back on so you can give your face a chance to heal. What good are they if you keep picking at them?”
They began to walk out of the room, and Helen added, “Besides, that bathroom floor is cold.”
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