CHAPTER 11- WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?!

It would soon be dusk. Adriana had begun to grow impatient waiting for Bren. He was supposed to be back this morning! She thought. She really did hope nothing bad had happened to him. In the mild light of the mid evening sun, she looked lovely.

Adriana wore a golden yellow gown that further complemented the warm glow of the sun. Her rich locks were pinned up into a large bun that emphasized her lovely doe green eyes. She heard some footsteps approaching and looked up eagerly. The scene presented before her made her blood run cold. Bren was limping slowly towards her. His clothes were covered in blood. He had a wound on his calf, probably from an arrow, and there was a small cut on his face.

Something was terribly wrong with his eyes. They had a far away look in them. One that could scare birds off trees. Adriana rushed towards him quickly, her voice and facial expression registering concern. "Bren? Bren!" she called but he didn't answer. His eyes were glued to the floor as if he were searching for something. But Adriana would not give up. "Bren?!What happened to you?!" she asked. He finally looked up at her. "Oh my God! cone on let's get you inside!" she said. She was lucky that the servants were having their dinner at the servants quarters when Bren decided to make an entrance this way. If anyone had seen him like this, word would get to her parents eventually and there would be major problems. But she still had to get him inside. And quick!

Bren whimpered gently and threw his hands around her, embracing her tightly and sobbing. He reeked of blood, but Adriana didn't care. She hugged him back and let him cry on for as long as he wanted. "What happened during the journey to Gondor with Silvia that made you this way?" she asked as she stroked his head lovingly. When he was a bit more stable, she hooked his left arm over her shoulder and began to assist him inside before anyone saw him.

Bren stumbled many times, and whenever he groaned in pain, Adriana felt it a million times more. Gaius had come to help her along the way, but though she clearly saw him raise an eyebrow at the sight of Bren, she appreciated the fact that he didn't probe to ask any questions. For the time being.

Gaius had helped her peel off his blood soaked clothes, while she dashed out and came back moments later with a pain relieving tonic and forced him to drink it all. Adriana felt her heart breaking to pieces as she pulled out the arrow head from his leg causing him much pain, then as she cleaned the wound on his leg which was quite deep.

When she had wrapped his leg tenderly with a bandage, she proceeded to take a look at the wound on his stomach which was the source of most of the bleeding. Adriana unbuckled his belt, and slid his trousers just low enough to see the wound. What she saw made her shriek.

On the low side of Bren's stomach, was a familiar round wound, that looked more like a penetration than a cut. The wound was on the left last of his six pack stones, and the skin around the wound was purplish and tender, probably due to delayed treatment. Adriana's eyes went from the wound to meet the equally wide eyed gaze of Gaius whose voice dropped to a low growl as he said..." a bullet wound."

"I... don't know how to handle this..." Adriana said. "... I'll go get Priscilla. look after him." Adriana said as she hurried away. Many thoughts ran through Gaius's mind as he watched over Bren, such as... 'where the hell did this brat go?!' and... 'I wonder if reporting this matter to the governor (Adriana's father) would get him kicked out of the manor'. At the thought of that, Gaius Chuckled. But on the other hand, if he were to do that, Adriana would hate him. That was out of the plan.

The plan was to get rid of Bren and in the process, gain Adriana's affections. He would bring an end to Bren no matter the costs! He vowed. Suddenly, Adriana practically ran into the room closely followed by Priscilla. As soon as Priscilla saw Gaius, the atmosphere in the room charged. She brushed past him little he were a leper, and she purposely ignored his audible questions.

Adriana blinked a few times at the hostility of Priscilla towards Gaius, but she let it go for the time being. Bren had passed out as the bullet was being taken out, but Adriana was glad that most of it was over. "He should be fine in a couple of days." Priscilla said as she put the finishing touches to dressing Bren's wound. "Thank you so much!I won't forget this Priscilla" Adriana said almost hugging her in joy.

Then came the straw that broke the camel's back. "What happened to him my lady?" Priscilla asked inquisitively. "I'm sure he couldn't have suffered a bullet wound at the manor." she said. Adriana froze for a moment before she regained her composure. "Don't bother yourself about that." she said in a Stern voice in other to prevent Priscilla from asking any more questions. Priscilia bowed submissively. "Yes my lady." she said, then she went out.

"Gaius?" Adriana called sweetly. "Could you please watch over Bren and in the process get me some more tonic while I go change my dress?" Gaius nodded in approval. Adriana did need to quickly change that dress before anyone else caught sight of her with so much blood on her. He held the door open for her as she stepped out.

Gaius waited until he was sure she was gone, before dashing out of there and to his room. He took something that was well hidden under a tile nearest to his bed. It was tourxide. A most deadly poison. He poured a very generous amount into the mug of tonic he'd just fetched, and was satisfied to see the contents darken visibly with a slight hissing sound. Now he faced the sleeping Bren. "Don't blame me Bren..." he began. "... It's not my fault that you decided to pick a rose that was already mine from the start..." Now he smirked. "...You could've disappeared from my life, from Adriana's life, but no. You chose to stay. Now you're going to have to die. Like a dog." with that he cackled loudly and grabbed the mug, ready to empty it's contents down the throat of his victim. At that same moment, Adriana entered the room.

Gaius was so startled by the sudden intrusion that he dropped the mug and it fell to the ground. It smashed into pieces, the tonic splattered all over the floor. "What are you doing Gaius?" Adriana asked suspiciously. "You startled me!" Gaius replied in an irritated tone. "That doesn't answer my question." Adriana pointed out, taking a step forward. "You asked me to get him some tonic and I did, so...I ....I was trying to give it to him when you barged in." Gaius explained with his heart in his mouth. "oh my goodness Gaius, I'm so sorry." Adriana said. "You've done so much for me already, I just can't bear to keep you a second longer. That'll be all." "Gaius...?" Adriana called just as he turned to leave. "Thank you. Really. I can't explain how thankful I am." she said patting his shoulder.

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Adriana hit her head on the post of the bed. "Ouch!" she said waking up with a start. She had fallen asleep again. she looked at Bren. Her fingers were still entangled in his, and she carefully touched his forehead to see if he had fever. He had a terrible fever! She noted pulling her hand away from his forehead again. He also seemed to be very cold she noticed from the way she saw him shiver, and his teeth chattered against themselves.

She covered him with all the warm wooly blankets she could find, and after swiping his forehead with cold water to break his fever, she took his hand in hers almost in tears. "Bren..? Whatever it was you went through whilst meeting with Silvia, you're going to pull through.. " she said, a tear rolling down her cheek. "You cannot leave me, not now please. Bren come back." she said kissing his forehead. "Come back to me Bren."

When it seemed that he was getting worse, Adriana reached out her hand and touched his cheek. "I'm here Bren. Can you here me Bren...? I love you...I love you so much." Now she was sobbing softly. "You are stronger than this! You will fight!"

An hour passed in silence, and then Adriana put her hand on his temple again. This time, she noticed that his fever had broken. She let out a dramatized sigh of relief, and then took up his hand in both of hers, gently lifting it up to her lips.

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I opened my eyes slowly, and for a moment I could not perceive objects in three dimensions. I felt like I had been gored by a bull, and the pain in my abdomen where I'd been shot was worst of all. I groaned and tried to sit up, but found out that my fingers were entangled in the soft hands of a female. It was Adriana! After Silvia had died, I vaguely remembered coming back home in a haze. I remembered Adriana bringing me into this room, and then nothing. I sat up gently, and Adriana stirred beside me and woke up with a start.

She looked like she had been crying a little, because her eyes were slightly reddened. "Bren! I'm so glad you're alright!" she said throwing her arms around me. I winced at the biting pain that seared through my body, and yet somehow I still managed to reach my hands up to her back, as high as my wound allowed.

Adriana started sobbing. "I was so worried about you. I thought you were going to die." She said sobbing even more. "There, there. I'm sorry for making you so worried." I said patting her back soothingly.

Her sobs soon died down to a whimper, and Adriana spoke again, this time in a muffled, whispery, sleepy voice. "You know, you had a terrible fever throughout the night." she said. "I had to stay up all night taking care of you. I'm so tired and..." Her voice trailed off from there, and after a few minutes of patient waiting, I came to my conclusion. The poor girl had fallen asleep.

Adriana's head tilted off my shoulder where it had been resting, and slowly made a downward dive towards the pointed edge of the bed! Luckily, I caught it just in time. I gently brought her head on top of the pillow handling it like an egg, and then lay down on it too, facing her, wishing this moment would last forever. I smiled and whispered softly into her ears at the same time nibbling it gently. '' I love you too Adriana." I said, and as if she had heard me, she giggled softly to my delight.