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In his long life, he had never felt true terror.
At least, not until he saw you holding your stomach tightly as you writhed in pain between the sheets of the bed, tears welling in your eyes and burning with fever.
The worst part of it all, was how utterly helpless and useless he felt.
As one of the most powerful mages in Twisted Wonderland, he never thought he would feel such despair, for no matter what spell he tried to cast, none of them seemed to ease the suffering you were feeling.
For a few terrifying minutes, he really thought you were going to die. Humans are fragile beings, after all.
Your life slipping away like sand between his fingers, without him being able to do anything about it, made him feel such excruciating despair that he would feel a lump form in his throat and an void in his chest by just remembering it.
“It's appendicitis” the doctor said after a quick revision.
Appendicitis? What is that supposed to be? Was it a lethal disease?
“Are they going to die?” he asked bluntly, his heartbeat echoing in his head.
“Not at all” the doctor replied “But they need to go to the operating room right away or it could get a lot worse”
“Operating room?” Malleus's eyes widened with concern. “Is it that bad? What kind of surgery is it? What if it goes wrong? Are there any risks?” Unconsciously, he held your hand tighter, reluctant to let you go.
Didn't the operating room mean that they would cut your skin open? Wasn’t it dangerous? What if the doctor accidentally rearranges your organs in a different order and you never be you again? What if something goes wrong?
What if this was the last time he would see you breathing? What if the doctor ended up making everything worse?
If not even a fae as powerful as him could do anything to help, what was left for a human?
“Malleus” Lilia called him in a soft voice, placing his hand comfortingly on his shoulder “The doctor knows what he says and what he does. Let him do his job.”
And though he wanted to keep you by his side where he knew you would be safe, and hold you tightly until the pain fades away, with a bitter feeling in his heart, he had to disenthrall his fingers from yours and let you go, trusting that you would meet again.
As a fae, he perceived the passage of time differently from humans. Usually, hours, days, weeks, months, and even years passed without him even noticing, but the forty-five minutes the operation lasted felt like an eternity to him.
The entire time, he paced back and forth nervously in the waiting room, rain and thunder rumbling outside, while Lilia simply watched him.
“Malleus, you are making everyone in the hospital quite uncomfortable. The nurses already told you appendicitis is not lethal if treated on time” Lilia tried to calm him down “Besides, I assure you they’re in good hands, surgeons do these types of procedures all the time”
“I can’t comprehend it, Lilia” He replied, completely on edge.
“What thing, Malleus?” He asked, looking up from one of the hospital’s magazines.
"Why do humans have an appendix if it will eventually try to kill them when they least expect it?" he said frustrated after hearing the explanation from one of the nurses “What is the purpose? What is it even supposed to do?”
“There are things that even I don't know” He gave a slight laugh, trying to raise the spirits a bit. “I guess it's another enigma of humans...”
When the doctor appeared in the hallway, he hurried over to him, the heels of his shoes clicking against the floor. The poor man trembled in his coat, and a drop of sweat slid down his forehead as he faced a green and demanding pair of eyes.
“How are them?” he asked directly, willing to lose no time with formalities.
“The operation was a complete success” the doctor replied, hiding behind the clipboard he was carrying around “You have nothing to worry about”
“Finally! It was about time!” Lilia exclaimed, cheerfully jumping up and putting aside the magazine he was pretending to read “I told you, Malleus” he smiled warmly “nothing to worry about”
Malleus sighed in relief, and magically, the storm outside subsided, letting the blue sky peek through the clouds.
“So, they will be fine, right?” He insisted “They’re completely out of danger now, it's not going to get any worse, and they won't have that awful stomach ache, correct? They are now… Appendix-less, aren’t they?”
“Yes, you could say so”
“May I see them?” He asked anxiously.
“S-Sure,” he replied, mostly because he was afraid to deny the fae. Usually, he didn't have to deal with faes at the hospital, since faes don’t have to deal with all the sicknesses and infirmities of a human, and it was rather unnerving to have two demanding faes in front of him “They’re in the recovery room, but you have to know that even though they’re already waking up, their brain is still a little…”
“A little what?” he asked, and flaming lightning suddenly split the sky in two.
“Confused, to say the least” He answered, and took several steps back, “But I assure you is nothing to worry about, it’s completely normal during these procedures”
“I understand…” He didn't understand at all. “I am forever grateful for your services. I will compensate you accordingly, but at the moment, I shall take my leave” He said, so regal and formal as always.
He turned around, and with Lilia following him, he went to see his friend.
He saw you lying on the stretcher, your chest rising and falling peacefully, and finally felt that he could breathe again. An enormous weight was lifted from his shoulders, since he really thought he might lose you.
Quickly, he approached the stretcher and took your hand in his.
“Child of man” he looked intensely into your eyes “Pray tell, how are you feeling?”
“I’m feeling… Quite funny…” you replied weakly with narrowed eyes “Why do you have horns? Are you a goat?” You laughed suddenly, reaching out your arms clumsily to touch his horns. “No... It can't be... What would a goat do in the hospital? The goats go to the vet, silly... Are you lost? You silly, silly goat…”
“Lilia…” Malleus looked at the ancient fae with concern “They are speaking pure nonsense; the surgeon must have broken them…” His eyes turned watery “What are we supposed to do? I want them back…”
Lilia chuckled.
“Don't worry, they aren’t broken at all” he replied, trying to reassure the young prince “Those are the effects of the anesthesia the doctor mentioned, nothing more. They will pass soon enough”
“Are you completely certain, Lilia?” He insisted, not convinced at all.
“Of course.”
“Liliaaaaa!” You called out to him. “Lilia, pay attention to me, Lilia!”
“No need to raise your voice to get my attention” he looked at you with a tender smile “What is it?”
“Come here…” you whispered, gesturing for him to come closer “I have to tell you a secret… But it's very, very secret!” you placed your index finger on your lips “You can't tell anyone, not even the goat…”
The goat? Did you mean Malleus?
“No one at all?” He asked entertained.
“No, you mustn’t! And we must be quiet!” You said, ironically raising your voice again “It’s very, very important and confidential information…”
“My lips are sealed” his smile grew wider “So hurry and tell me everything”
“I have been conducting an investigation on the sly… A very deep and… Professional one” You said “I’ve been… Observing”
“Wow, really?”
“Yeeeessss!” You nodded proudly “And I have come to the conclusion...”
“Yes?”
“That Lilia is…” You looked around, making sure no one else was listening, and whispered softly. “A wampire…”
Lilia burst out laughing, and even a tear came out of his eyes. He had to take several deep breaths to calm down, and hold back his laughter before waking up all the hospital’s patients.
“Please tell me” He asked with laughter bubbling in his throat. “What makes you think such a thing?”
"Exhibit number 1!" You raised a finger in the air energetically “He doesn't like the sun... And you know who else doesn't like the sun...?” You remained silent for a few seconds, and he, playing along with you, pretended to be thinking oh so hard about it.
“Perhaps-”
“Exactly! Wampires!” You interrupted him.
Wampires? He assumed that what you were trying to say was “vampires”.
“I can't argue against that logic”
“Exhibit number B!” You cleared your throat. “He's very pale… Hmmm…” You narrowed your eyes, and reflectively caressed your chin “Very suspicious, don't you think…?”
“I completely agree” He nodded, crossing his arms, pretending to be utterly involved in your little research.
“And exhibit number 3!” You held up four fingers “He likes tomato juice! Nobody likes tomato juice…! But you know what else is red just like tomato juice?”
“Beats me”
“Blood!” You suddenly blurted “Very, very convenient… Is it a coincidence? Cause I don’t think so!”
“Hmm, you're right”
“And because of that, I'm sure that Lilia is a wampire…”
“I have to admit...” He chuckled “You have a very solid research”
"I know, but I need more evidence to prove the undeniable and bring truth to the light… Or was it light to the truth?" You said, quite lost in your mind “Doesn’t matter, just remember it's a secret!” You said wrapping yourself in the sheets “So don't tell Lilia I told you”
Lilia burst out laughing and this time he wasn’t able to control himself. His stomach ached, he felt like he would run out of breath, and he even started to cry.
“Oh, Lilia…” Malleus called him worriedly, while Lilia laughed uproariously. “I am afraid our worst fears have come true. They did seriously break them…”