Medicine for the Demon

The early morning was filled with noise and bustle in the kitchen. Women in white caps and aprons were scurrying about. "You heard? Our prince has lost his mind, adopted a slave. No, not just a slave... a demon. As if there weren't enough orphans in the orphanage, he could choose anyone," grumbled the old cook as she chopped vegetables. "It's just a whim of the young mistress. She wants to have a unique pet." So the prince could not refuse her. She's a favorite," said the young cook. "What are you clucking about. Milagros can be quarrelsome, willful and moody, but she is a kind girl. And the children are from the orphanage...None of them knows what a slave collar is. This boy is lucky, and instead of being happy for him, you're throwing mud at him, gossips," a woman stirring something in a saucepan replied with displeasure. "Now stop talking, breakfast won't cook itself," the head cook said sternly as she entered the kitchen. The women fell silent and focused on their work. The rays of the rising sun ran over the thick eyelashes of his closed eyes. He was lying on a soft featherbed, as if on a cloud. It all seemed so unreal to him. "Maybe I've died and this is heaven," the demon thought. The door to his room opened, and Milagros appeared on the threshold. "Good morning, Tsiri, it's time to get up!" she announced, somewhat disappointed that Antsifer was already awake. "Are we going somewhere?" "What is it?" he asked, sitting up in bed. He slept shirtless, as was his habit, because it was warm. So the clothes served longer, and often they were the only ones for slaves. "Where do you mean?"?? — the young lady was indignant. "To school." She walked quickly down the corridor of the huge school building, hurrying to her classroom. She was a young woman in her early twenties, the best student of her teacher, who taught only one craft: teaching. And her students were quite peculiar. As she approached her classroom, she could hear the commotion inside. She stood in front of the door for a moment, then took a deep breath, opened the door, and entered. "Hello, children," she greeted as kindly as possible. But they didn't even notice her because of the general noise. Books, notebooks, and writing materials were flying around the room. There were about ten children, but this did not at all reduce the noise they made. The only one who didn't take part in the general debauchery was a tall, black-haired teenager sitting in the back. "Just a moment's attention!" she tried to attract them again. But she was ignored again. The girl sighed heavily. Then the boy got up from his seat. "Quiet!" He said shortly. The classroom immediately fell silent. It was only then that they noticed the girl standing at the teacher's desk. "Thank you," she said, looking gratefully at Ancifer, who sat down in his seat. "My name is Laura Viel, you can call me Lady Laura, and I'm your teacher. I'll teach you how to read and write, and you'll learn a lot of interesting and useful things. Now, take your notebooks and open them to the first page, grab your pens, and dip them in the inkwell. Try to copy what I'm writing on the blackboard into your notebooks," she said, drawing lines and curves with a piece of chalk. There was some commotion in the classroom again. Laura turned around. "Damian, stop chewing on your pen." "Eligor, you're holding your notebook upside down." "Andras, stop pulling on Rakuel's wings." She made comments to her new students, realizing that her job in this classroom would not be easy. She approached the desk of the yellow-eyed brunette and looked at his notebook. The sticks and hooks weren't always straight, but it was clear that the teenager was trying his best. "Am I doing it right, Lady Laura?" he asked, looking her in the eye. "Yes, you're doing great," she praised him, suddenly blushing. When the lesson was over, she left the classroom, heading towards the teacher's office. "You're behaving like savages," Antsifer said sternly. "We've always done without this science, and we'll continue to do so," said Elygor, a red-eyed brown-haired demon of about thirteen years old. "I prefer working in the forge, for example. Why do we need all this?" replied Andras, a demon with red hair and blue eyes, who was about twelve years old. "My mother teaches me to sew, and I have good brothers and a sister, but she's still young," said Rakuel, a thin, dark-haired demon girl of about eight years old, the only girl in the class. "Who put you in charge anyway? Only because the ruler adopted you," another teenager named Renat, who was assigned to an orphanage, said indignantly. "We have to follow the rules of this country. What people have given us, they can take away. Or do you miss the slave cage?" Ancifer was saying sternly. The children quieted down, remembering the horrors they had to go through. But the next moment, the classroom door opened and several children entered, led by Milagros. She found her brother with her eyes and approached him. Others also went to their new relatives. "How did you like the teacher?" she asked. "Friendly, very attentive," he replied. "Aha, they're all like that at first, and then they're cantankerous and nervous," Mily said. "You're doing pretty well," she replied, glancing at his notebook. Soon the teacher returned and found other people's children in the classroom. The presence of the young princess immediately caught her eye. "Antsifer Villamain," she remembered the name of the tall teenager she had visited. After returning to the manor, Antsifer decided to take a walk around the house. He didn't remember the location of the rooms and halls very well, so he just opened every door on the first floor and looked inside. That's how I came across the library. The bookshelves reached all the way to the ceiling, and some of them could only be reached by climbing the stairs. Antsifer began to examine the spines of the books. Some of them were bound in leather, while others were bound in velvet or even ordinary paper. He picked up one of the books and opened it. He had just started learning the alphabet at school, and he began to examine the pages of the book, looking for familiar letters. As he was engrossed in this task, a teenager dressed in an expensive dark green coat approached him from behind and snatched the book from his hands. "Why the hell do you need books if you can't read," Karmin replied rudely. Antsifer looked at him guiltily, as if he had taken something else. "I'm sorry, I wanted to..." He said uncertainly. He was used to the fact that excuses from slaves in case of wrongdoing often provoked even greater punishment than silence. "I don't care what you want. If you think I'll consider you equal just because you were brought here out of pity, you're very much mistaken. To me, you'll always be a dirty slave. I don't care what clothes you're wearing or how you look. It doesn't change anything for me. I hope Mily will soon get tired of playing your sister and ask her father to kick you out," said Carmine with a menacing glare, then returned the book to the shelf and walked away, making it clear that he was disgusted to be in the same room with him. After leaving the house, Antsifer wanted to walk around the house territory. He considered Karmin's words to be completely fair, and he did not expect Mily to be consistent with him. As for Aldo. He's the ruler, he wants to give his word, he wants to take it away, and you can think of any reason for that. So he thought, slowly wandering along the alleys, until he reached a huge building consisting mainly of glass. "The greenhouse," he remembered what it was called. The room was filled with rare and sometimes exotic plants, and it was relatively quiet. The high ceilings allowed for the cultivation of trees. He walked along a path between the rows, observing the blooming shrubs with interest. The light, sweet scent filled his head, causing him to pause. After a moment, he continued on his way. As he reached the center of the greenhouse, where a small artificial pond was surrounded by benches, a table, and a wide swing, he noticed a young man reading a large tome. He had straw-colored hair with linen highlights that fell just below his shoulders. He was dressed in a shirt with loose, wide sleeves, a vest, and narrow black trousers. "He's handsome," the demon thought involuntarily, taking in his broad shoulders, which were evident despite the loose-fitting clothing. Feeling his gaze, the young man turned around. The intense stare of his azure-colored eyes caused a slight shiver. Ancifer turned his back to leave. He's been made clear that he's not welcome in this house. "Stop," he heard his voice say, and the demon obeyed. Antsifer turned around. The boy called out to him and invited him to sit next to him on the wide swing. Antsifer approached him. As he sat next to the ruler's eldest son, he was on the lookout for any potential pitfalls. "You've been dealt with by Karmin," Alesion guessed, observing Antsifer's somber expression. Demon nodded in agreement. "Well, what did you expect? I can't say that you should wait for him to change his mind. Time is not on your side. Only an opportunity can help you. Perhaps if you save his life, something might change. Despite his individualistic nature, he still has a sense of gratitude. My advice is to avoid him as much as possible. And he also doesn't like it when someone he doesn't like surpasses him in some way, and this can play into your hands," Alession said. "In what ways can a slave surpass a ruler's son?" Antsifer smiled bitterly. "Horse riding, fencing, playing musical instruments, dancing, by the way, Karmin doesn't really get along with them. Perhaps you can do things that are not taught to aristocrats," Alession replied. Antsifer was thinking. He had been doing various things: weeding in the garden, taking care of the livestock, and serving in the kitchen. The latter had given him an idea. The last owner's cook had praised his culinary skills. Antsifer glanced at the other man's open book, noting that the letters were unfamiliar to him. "Don't try to read them. These are magical runes. They don't teach that in school," Alission replied, noticing the demon's interest in the book. Antsifer found himself liking this calm and reasonable young man. He did not show any obvious aggression towards him, being rather neutral and simply putting up with the presence of a stranger in his family. The guy got up from the swing. "After tomorrow, I'm leaving for the academy and I'll be gone for a month. So good luck to you," Alession said and walked away. Antsifer, watching him go, decided for himself that he would be the best in everything he would be taught. Milagros came running to him, out of breath. "There you are... let's go."She said in a broken voice. "Where to?" Antsifer asked. "Home, I've called a doctor. He'll check your wings," Mily replied. The demon returned to his room. Soon, a middle-aged man with a valise entered the room. Upon seeing his patient, the man appeared perplexed. "What is your complaint, young man?" he asked in a formal tone. "It is this. My father will reward you if you can cure it," said Milagros, who was in the room, spreading her injured wing. "I'm sorry, Milady, but I can only treat humans," the doctor said with a shrug. "You're useless," Mili said in frustration after the doctor left. "Don't worry, I'm used to it," Antsifer tried to comfort her. "If I promised to cure you, I will. You'll be able to fly," Mily said firmly, sitting on his bed. "I have an idea! Let's go!" she suddenly exclaimed. "Where?" the demon asked in surprise. "Where we can get help," she replied. Half an hour later, a carriage took them away from the manor, heading for the city. The carriage stopped when it reached a low building, and the young princess and her young companion resolutely went inside. When she reached the reception desk, she addressed the girl in the white coat. "We need a doctor, the most important one, who performs operations," Milagros said sternly. Antsifer looked around the room. There were people with animals. Someone had brought their cat, someone had brought their dog, and there was an elderly woman with a goat. The visitors were staring in shock at the winged demon that the princess had brought. The demon immediately realized that this was a veterinary clinic. Milagros had brought him to a veterinary hospital. "I'm sorry, My Lady, but the head doctor is busy right now. He is currently undergoing surgery. Could you please wait a bit," the nurse said. "We need him urgently!" the young lady insisted. Antsifer touched her shoulder. "Let's wait," he said softly. And the receptionist looked at him with gratitude. "Okay," Milagros replied reluctantly, and they sat down on a bench. They had to wait for about an hour. And Antifer noticed that Milagros was already losing her patience. A tall, thin man came out into the reception room, wiping his wet hands on a towel. Finding the ruler's offspring with his eyes, he invited them into his office. "How can I help Your Grace?" he asked with a smile. "Can you cure this?" Milagros asked, turning Antifer's back to him and spreading her wounded wings. The doctor stepped closer to the teenager and examined the wings carefully. "I've never had the opportunity to treat demons before," he remarked, examining the jagged edges of the cuts. "My father will reward you handsomely if you can heal them," Milagros stated seriously. "It's unlikely that I can fully heal them. I'm not a wizard, after all, but it's possible to restore the integrity of the wing. However, I'm uncertain about the impact on aerodynamics. Well, young man, let's go to the operating room and see what we can do. And you, young lady, can wait in the break room," the doctor said, calling a nurse. He led Antsifer further down the corridor until they entered a bright, spacious room with several tables. "Take off your clothes," the doctor said. The demon complied by removing his open-back vest and wing-slit shirt, leaving him bare-chested. The doctor carefully examined the extent of the damage. One membrane on the left wing was torn, and two on the right. However, the left wing was more severely damaged, with more extensive tearing. He asked the demon to lie down on the largest table and measured the damage, spreading the wing as much as possible before allowing him to stand. — When you were injured, how much pain was there? The doctor asked, trying to figure out the sensitivity of the demonic wings. From the memories, Ancifer involuntarily shuddered and tensed, and the man noticed it. "You don't have to answer. I get it," he said. "I don't know what Mily was hoping for when... " Antsifer said hesitantly. "Help me. Don't get discouraged," the doctor said, feeling the membranes. "Pork skin would be too rough and inelastic, calf skin would be too thick and heavy, but young horse skin or chevreau goat skin would be perfect for patching," the doctor said. After entering the waiting room, Antsifer relayed the doctor's words to Mily. "We'll keep looking," Mily said, and they left the clinic. They toured several tanneries and shops, and Milagros bought the most expensive horse and goat leather. The advice of the coachman, who understood this, was useful here. The material was immediately taken to the hospital. "Well, I will inform you additionally when and where the operation will take place. You don't really need to prepare for it. So you shouldn't change your daily routine," the doctor said. "Tell me, you didn't believe I could do it," Milagros said as they returned home in the late afternoon. "I'm not used to being taken care of like this," the demon confessed. "Well, get used to it now," said the young lady. Returning to the mansion when it was already dark, she was reprimanded by Lady Sofia for being late for dinner and she threatened that the girl would have to go to bed on an empty stomach. She did not make excuses, but retired to her room with a haughty air. However, Antsifer's persuasion and explanations softened her, and she allowed the servants to bring her dinner to her room.