Chapter Text
Has it been an hour? Two hours? Maybe three? Has it been a day? Stolas couldn’t tell. After his text conversation with Blitz, he remembered that he simply rolled over and closed his heavy eyes. Before he knew it, he instantly drifted into a dreamless slumber. Pure, comforting, and sweet void like darkness. Ever since that night at Ozzie’s, the Goetia Prince hasn’t truly slept. Not without the assistance of alcohol and happy pills anyway. Tried as he might, every night, his mind and his heart would always linger on his darling Blitzy.
“No,” Stolas scolded himself in his mind, “stop that. I can’t call him that. Not anymore.”
In his coma-like state, he longed to escape. Not forever of course, but just long enough for the press to forget about him and to leave him in peace. Long enough to avoid any unnecessary chit-chat with any of the nurses. Long enough to forget this whole assassin ordeal all together. And hopefully, long enough to forget his phone.
Just thinking of that imp’s name alone makes Stolas’s already numb form even heavier than it already was.
“ So much for my escape, ” He sighed to himself internally, “ But, at least the drugs they’re pumping me with are pretty good. ”
Stolas needed all of the medication he could get in this state. It was the only defense he had against the throbbing pain in his arm, his chest, his ribs, his leg, and well… pretty much everywhere.
“ That egotistical cowboy really did his finest work on me, didn’t he? ”
Luckily, the first thing to greet him was Octavia. Looking so beautiful and bright in the piercing daylight breaking through the very thin hospital room curtains. His eyes somewhat struggled to adjust to this light. He smiled as he faintly heard her singing the lullaby that he would always sing for her.
She still remembered… after all this time…
However, his heart sank as he witnessed the tears streaming down her doll-like face. His hand reached out for her instinctively with his free hand. His heart sank some more as he heard his little girl whimper out for him. Her singing and her sobbing ceased when his palm cupped the side of her cheek.
“Dad?”
“Oh Via…” He replied with a soft, weak smile, “Don’t cry, my special little starfire.”
“Dad!” She exclaimed as she grabbed onto his hand with dear life. Yet, she was careful not to squeeze onto it so hard.
Octavia was unsettled by the fact of how weak her father’s hand felt upon her cheek. Chills went up her spine as she felt the tremble of her dad’s palm. She could barely glance upon his arm in a sling or the large white gauze pad tapped up near his heart. She could only cry again as she took in the tender warmth of Stolas’s touch.
Octavia tried calling her mom over and over again to come, but she didn’t pick up. She even had the nurses and other doctors call her mom, her uncle, and every member of the Goetia family. She even had the hospital call her grandfather. But, every single call was met with silence. Not even their servants or messengers came to convey their thoughts or their wishes. Thus, leaving Octavia to wait in the hospital by herself for hours on end. Leaving her to pace the halls as her father endured the surgical procedure. Leaving Octavia to talk to the royal medical team all by herself. To answer their questions all on her own. But, how could she? She had no idea how an assassin of all things could possibly get the jump on her powerful father, let alone hurt him. He was supposed to have tea with her mother that day, then the next thing she knew, he was on the brink of death.
“ How did an imp hybrid get a hold of holy weapons and blessed rope? ” was all that she could ask herself as the press tried to bombard the front doors of the hospital.
But to Octavia, such questions could wait for tomorrow. She was thankful that the surgery went well for the most part and that some kind bystanders brought him in when they did. Octavia knew deep down somehow that I.M.P were the kind bystanders. She couldn’t explain why, but she had this gut feeling. Maybe it was because whenever her father got himself all caught up in some kind of chaotic trouble, it was always I.M.P starting the fire. As Loona would put it, with a strangely affectionate smirk on her face,“When there’s smoke, you’ll always find those three fucking idiots there starting the fire. But don’t worry, they’ll put out the flames. Eventually.”
Maybe they were behind this mess in the first place, sure, but they were also protecting her dad. She may not know how to feel about her father’s relationship with this Blitz character. She honestly did not know what he saw in this guy, but whatever Blitz was doing, that imp had a way of making her dad smile somehow. Even if it means Blitz was encouraging her father to be uncomfortably inappropriate and embarrassing to no end. And yet, he’s also the kind of guy to adopt Loona when she was seventeen and give her a home. So, to Octavia, Blitz was at least the kind of guy to at least be there for her dad no matter the danger.
However, Octavia couldn’t help but wonder why Blitz, or Loona, or the rest of I.M.P. wasn’t here yet? Is it because of the paz outside? Is it because the hospital is denying visitors outside of the family?
“Shhh, it’s alright sweetie,” Stolas cooed quietly, using his thumb to lightly clear the tears from her eye, “It’s alright…”
Right now, Octavia just wanted to lie to herself and pretend that her dad was going to be okay. It feels good to just give in to this small fantasy. It feels good just to have him comfort her in the same way he did when she was a little girl. It felt wonderful to her to know that the world wasn’t going to explode for her. However, Octavia is also the type of sort to be honest to a fault. She couldn’t fool others. She couldn’t fool her dad. She couldn’t even fool herself, even if it meant normalcy and comfort.
“No Dad,” She disagreed in a regretful tone, “it’s not okay. It’s not.”
Stolas’s smile fell at Octavia’s remark. He knew she was right. In more ways than one. The prince wished he could properly hold his daughter at this moment. To sing her to sleep like he used to when she was a fluffy owlette, and just imagine that the horrors of the past hours never happened. But not even this powerful demon couldn’t fool himself forever.
The challenge now was that he would have to face whether to confess about Stella’s involvement in all this to her. As much as the owl demon despised that woman, he couldn’t deny how much his daughter loved Stella. Did he have any right to break that illusion in Via’s head that her mother was, at least, a decent person that cares for her own family? Even in the mist of the divorce? Stolas sighed softly to himself thinking of how much has been taken from Octavia lately. He almost lost her in the human world because of his anger and frustration towards Stella.
Stolas couldn’t help but blame himself for the assassin attempt itself. After all, if he had just tried harder not to make enemies with this woman, then he wouldn’t have been put into this vulnerable state in the first place. She could be rearranging his standing with the Goetia family and his father as they speak.
“ Nevertheless, ” He told himself, “ she would not harm Via. She may be spiteful with me, but not with her own daughter. ”
He scanned the room for Stella or even her brother, but they were nowhere. Nothing but a private suite filled to the brim with dead flowers and some blossoming buds.
“ Maybe they were conversing with the doctor? ” Stolas questioned to himself, “ That would help them save face since they decided to let me live and all. ”
His eyes took a peek at the withering bouquets on the table near the door.
“ Pity about these flowers though. ” He reflected, “ The poor things. If only people were smart enough to bring you all in pots instead of cutting you all at your roots. ”
The silence in the room was soon broken by the sound of a cane tapping against a marble floor. Octavia and Stolas tore their eyes away from one another and directed towards the group of doctors and nurses strolling in. The team consisted mainly of the short pastel colored goat and hybrid goat demons native to the Ring of Sloth, and a couple of grimly dressed plague doctors. However, one doctor stood out to Stolas.
His eyes widened as he saw one incredibly tall goat demon doctor leading the pack. Or at least, Stolas could only assume that this doctor was a goat demon. It was hard to say due to unusual height, his skeletal hands, and the top half of his head being skeletal as well. It made him wonder, not only if this doctor was possibly taller than he was, but if this doctor had a dangerous incident in the past. Stolas had sometimes heard of demons in the Sloth Ring, in their extremely intoxicated state, who would end up in near fatal accidents. Sometimes, such injuries can be healed. However, there have been some instances according to the grape vine that some of these injuries were so extreme that the individual’s bone or muscle can still be seen. Even with the work of thousands upon thousands of healing spells.
“ Or perhaps? ” The owl demon darkly reflected, “ What if he was one of those alchemists? Or maybe a victim of an alchemist’s experiment? ”
For many years, all of Hell have heard of the hushed yet terrible whispers of the dreaded alchemists that lived in the Sloth Ring. These alchemists, with their great power, would either experiment upon themselves or on others. They would often steal the body parts of demons and sinners and combine them with living hosts.
For Stolas, at a distance, it was hard to confirm which was true or if this was the case at all.
The doctor’s horns were the most grand pair that the prince had ever seen on a goat demon. In the corner of his eye, the doctor attached some kind of red and golden facial veil. Like most children of Belphegor, this doctor too had a natural candlewick sprouting on top of his head. Except his was made out of bone, and it produced a turquoise flame. The gentleman fashioned a strangely long, pointed tail; certainly not like the cute fluffy tails that most goat demons have. The thin fur that covered the lower half of his face, his legs, his long floppy ears, and his tail was dark gray. A pair of bright, glowing, beady red eyes glowed through the doctor’s dark eye sockets. The head doctor made himself quite dashing to look at in his weirdly dark hospital uniform. Which looked more like an outfit than a doctor’s medical robe. Extragravant black, robe sleeves with a maroon red vest fitted over it. Layers of golden necklaces with a purple jeweled bolo tie, and a pair of straight legged black professional work pants. To finish the look, the doctor used a golden cane with a bird head handle at the top.
Stolas was not used to ordinary demonic citizens to display such a command and presence into a room simply by gliding in. Such posture was usually reserved to royals, such as himself, and overlords. Stolas certainly wasn’t used to seeing such a calm yet unassumingly confident display in a goat demon no less. The owl demon often saw the creatures of Sloth as demure, sweet beings so caught up in their own lucid daydreaming that they can’t notice anything around them. But this doctor, on the other hand, was fully aware of all his surroundings. The demon walked with intention, his eyes were clear and focused. Without this doctor, it would seem like the other nurses and plague doctors in the room wouldn’t know where to go.
“ What? ” Stolas stuttered in his mind, “ What was he? ”
Octavia turned to this abnormal doctor with a smile. In return, the towering medical professional bowed to her gracefully.
“Greetings Princess Octavia.”
The rest of the team followed in their leader’s lead and bowed to Octavia as well, “Greetings young princess.”
“Oh Dr. Ainsworth,” Octavia responded, “perfect timing actually.”
It didn’t take long for Dr. Ainsworth to take notice of his patient, now awake and sitting up in his bed.
“Oh! And greetings to you as well, Your Highness,” Dr. Ainsworth introduced himself with a bow, “It’s good to see that you’re finally awake.”
“Greetings Your Highness,” His medical team repeated soon afterwards with a bow as well.
Meanwhile, Stolas couldn’t help but blush a little as Dr. Ainsworth approaches him, “ Oh my stars, his voice is so fuckin hot. ”
Stolas unconsciously bit the corner of his mouth as he continued to daydream, “ So deep, smooth, and soothing. Damn, the things he could say in bed with that voice… ”
“Ugh, snap out of it!” He scolded himself, “This is your doctor! Your daughter is right there for darkness’s sake! How is it possible to be so emotional, horny, and high all at once?!”
“Dad, meet Dr. Elias Ainsworth,” Octavia informed him with a relaxed grin on her face, “He’s your surgeon.”
Dr. Ainsworth placed his hand upon his chest and corrected her politely with, “Just your head surgeon, I assure you.”
Then, he gestured to the rest of his colleagues in the private suite, “Your procedure went quite well thanks to the diligent efforts of everyone in this room.”
“He’s also the Department Head of the Surgical Wing here,” Octavia explained.
“We hope that you rested well, milord,” The surgeon included as he checked all of the numbers and vitals on the various machines that Stolas was attached to.
“Y-Yes, I did,” Stolas replied in the most proper voice he could muster. But, it was still a little groggy. So, he cleared his throat before proceeding, “Thank you, but how long was I out exactly?”
“About twenty four hours, Your Most Goetia-ness,” said one of the female nurses as she handed Dr. Ainsworth his clipboard.
The doctor then proceeded to take several notes attached to it, “Are you still experiencing any pain in your left arm, or your left leg, or your chest perhaps?”
“No, not particularly,” Stolas groaned as he tried to position himself into a proper and regal sitting position on the bed.
“Dad,” Octavia scolded under her breath, frustrated with not only his little “pretending to be fine” act, but also for trying to get up on his own.
However, Dr. Ainsworth was able to get to Stolas before she could.
“Allow me, Your Highness,” The doctor patiently insisted with his hands now gently placed on Stolas’s back and shoulder.
Stolas’s eyes widened. Not with shock or disgust. No, he was simply surprised. At first, he was taken back. However, this somehow subsided a little. It was like Stolas was experiencing a strange sense of awe at this doctor’s gentle touch. Stolas couldn’t tear his attention away from the surgeon’s emotionless expression.
Dr. Ainsworth immediately took notice of the patient’s sudden silence and retracted his hands away, “My apologies. I should have offered the option of having my face covered before continuing further.”
“And why do you need to offer to do that?” Octavia asked in a skeptical yet confused tone, cocking her head to the side.
“Many of my patients in the past have informed me how distressing my appearance can be,” Dr. Ainsworth addressed formally, “As a doctor, my patient’s comfort takes immediate priority.”
“What? Why? That doesn’t-”
“Um, Via? Via, sweetheart?” Stolas interrupted his daughter as kindly as he could, “I’ll explain why a little later. Alright?”
“But Dad, that still doesn’t…” But Octavia couldn’t argue further, not with her dad in this state. So, she had no choice but to sigh in defeat, “I mean, sure thing Dad. Whatever you say.”
Then, she slumped back into her chair and mumbled to herself, “This is still so messed up though.”
“To answer your question Doctor,” said Stolas, returning his attention back to Dr. Ainsworth, “there’s no need for a face veil. I am perfectly fine, I can assure you.”
“Are you sure?” The skulled head goat demon inquired further in a still polite but curious tone. He even titled his head slightly to the head in a display similar to Octavia earlier.
Stolas waved a polite but regal hand at his question and simply answered like any good Goetia would in this situation, “Continue as you were.”
Dr. Ainsworth blinked twice in slight bewilderment. However, he couldn’t let the silence linger for long, “Y-Yes, quite.”
He cleared his throat before briefing the Goetia Prince with, “It looks like your temperature has returned back to normal and your heart has been constant. However, the healing spells we placed upon your body will need a week in order to combat the effects of the holy blade and rope.”
“I see,” Stolas acknowledged casually, almost too casually, “Thank you Doctor, that will be all.”
With this granted permission, Dr. Ainsworth and the rest of the staff bowed to Stolas before exiting. The head surgeon let his team exit out the door before he could. Just as he was about to join them, the sight of the dead bouquets near the door stopped them.
“Oh dear,” He murmured to himself. As he lightly petted the petals of some of the withering flowers with the tips of his skeletal hands, he finished his thoughts aloud with, “they never do learn, do they?”
With both hands on top of the bird head of his cane, Dr. Ainsworth swiftly lifted his cane off the ground. When the bottom of the cane touched the marble floor below, it let out one quiet but echoing “TAP!”
This action sprung to life lengths upon lengths of thorny ivy made of light red magic. This ivy/magic spread all across to all the flowers. This made Octavia and Stolas jump in their respective seats. Their eyes took in the unusual beauty of the doctor’s magic, especially Stolas. His eyes darted back and forth between the flowers and the doctor behind this spell. Goosebumps formed underneath his skin. His own breath became almost mute.
Once the magical ivy disappeared, in its place, the room was filled with flourishing flowers neatly planted in pots filled with nutrient rich dirt.
“Ah, much better,” Dr. Ainsworth exhaled with relief.
He spun back towards Octavia and Stolas. With a bow of his head, he apologized with, “So sorry milord. I had to fix these flowers on your behalf. I hope that you soothe you during these troubling times. Please, enjoy your time here and my nurses will be here shortly with your lunch. Have a good day.”
As soon as the mysterious Elias Ainsworth glided out of the room, all that Octavia could fill the silence with was, “Woah…”
“Woah indeed…” was all that Stolas could say too.