The sound of churning hinges and creaking metal fill the air as the iron gate opens inward toward the estate. Markus turns his attention to watch, seeing an older gentleman prying back both doors. Once they are partially opened, he rushes outside with a Noverran rifle in both hands.
Markus notices right away the old style butler uniform the man is wearing. Salt and pepper hair with a short, trimmed beard. The man must be at least in his fifties or sixties. Interestingly, noticeable scars are prominent on his face. A body of muscles can be outlined under his uniform. The old man is clearly more than a butler.
“Oscar! I'm so glad you heard us.” Versa calls out. A sigh of relief escapes from her.
The butler called Oscar quickly moves to the Crimson with the gunshot wound. The man is kneeling, gripping his shoulder in pain. He's about to stand up when the old butler reaches him. The Noverran rifle carried by Oscar flips around in his hands, and just like a baseball bat, he swings. The butt of the rifle smashes against the head of the Crimson man. He tumbles over, motionless.
“Versa! Get inside now with your friends. We have company.” Oscar yells right after the blow. He swings his rifle to point down the cobble road.
Markus turns his head to see at what the old man meant. Down the hill, near the edge of Montillo, a large group of people is running in their direction. It's too far away to see who exactly they are, but Markus can only assume more Crimsons are on the way.
Versa picks herself up off the ground and dashes to the iron gate. Markus quickly follows as Aurora flies pass everyone. The group soon makes it within the estate compound. Oscar enters last, then frantically begins closing the gate with both hands. The doors swing shut and a loud clicking sound is heard.
“Come on. Get inside everyone. I'm sure they won't be happy when they see their friends.” Oscar says with a laugh.
Markus stares in disbelief at the old butler. No signs of fear. He's actually smiling as he walks everyone to the front entrance of the estate. Looking behind, Markus sees the compound wall, but it wouldn't prevent any Crimsons from simply climbing over.
Walking beside the butler, Markus sees he's only a few inches shorter than himself. From the side, Oscar is clearly older. Some wrinkles in the skin, but his scars are the most noticeable. The man has sturdy features with a defined chin. Oscar must have been a tough man in his younger days.
From the iron gate to the estate, the group hurries pass a circular driveway. They then walk onto a paved path leading to the main building. A few stairs up from the path leads to a porch. Large, twin wooden doors greet everyone. Oscar moves in front to push the entrance open.
Through the estate front doors, Markus is taken back by the elegance of the interior. A large, bifurcated staircase is directly ahead leading to the second level. A chandelier hangs above him made of crystal or glass. The furniture is hand carved wood and beautiful portraits sit on every wall. Trims and accents of wood flow in every direction.
As Markus looks around, he spots a wooden couch with cushions against the wall. Next to it is a decorative table. He immediately moves to the furniture while taking off his backpack. The backpack is swung to the floor, rolling on its side. The empty pistol is now set on the edge of the decorative table. Markus then grabs the sling for the rifle in order to lift it over his head. The weapon is dropped right beside the backpack against the wall.
Carefully unwrapping the bloody cloak from his left hand, Markus gently lowers Eclair onto the table. Markus loosens his grip, but realizes some portions of cloth have fused with his wound. The cloak can't open all the way. Dried blood, puss, and fabric are binding together.
“Someone come over here and help me.” Markus calls out, and soon everyone gathers around him. Gripping the table with his good hand, he then says “I need someone to hold cloak.”
“Nasty cut. I'll do it, but what's inside?” Oscar asks while leaning his rifle against the wall. He then firmly grabs the cloak with one hand.
“A friend that's hurt. She needs help.” Markus replies. A deep breath is taken. Markus suddenly yanks the cloak free from his left hand. Terrible pain returns to the wound. Tears form at the edge of his eyes as he stumbles to sit on the wooden couch. He desperately grips his cut hand to stop the bleeding.
“Yup... nasty one.” Oscar quips, then yells down the hallway to the right. “Get some disinfectant and a pan. Hurry up girls, don't want blood everywhere!”
Markus turns his head in the direction Oscar is facing. He sees two young, homely maids peeking their heads around a corner of the hallway. They're dressed in traditional french maid uniforms with long skirts, but both of them scatter down the hallway before Markus can take a good look.
“Poor little one, I'll help. I'm the physician for the mistress here.” Versa says to Aurora. In his pain, Markus didn't notice Versa already opened the cloak to examine Eclair. Aurora is walking on the table beside her hurt friend.
“Here and here.” Aurora says to Versa while pointing. “She also hit her head hard. I tried my best to heal her, but I wasn't able to finish.”
Versa is quickly moving her elongated fingers all over the body of Eclair. Her bat ears twitch occasionally as she intensely looks over the patient. Just like in the alley with Aurora, her fingers also begin to glow intermittently. After a few moments she says “Good, nothing serious. Bones not broken, just bruises. Cut on head, minor concussion. Yes, I think she'll be fine once I get working on her.”
A huge sigh of relief come from Aurora. She sits down beside Eclair, watching Versa begin her healing work. From the couch, Markus looks with curiosity at the healing magic being performed. Looking down at his cut, he secretly hopes the process works just like movies and games he's seen. It would definitely be useful now.
A few moments pass before the two maids from before appear in a hurry. Each one is carrying items in her hands. A metal pan, towels, bottles, and other materials. They rush to Oscar to drop off all the items at his feet. Before Markus can look at them closely, they scurry away again. Both of the maids end up right back at the corner they were peeking around earlier.
Oscar kneels down in front of Markus as he begins organizing the items brought to him. The pan is set up under the injured hand. Towels are set aside and several bottles are opened. Satisfied with what he has, Oscar suddenly grips the cut hand of Markus.
“What's your name?” Oscar asks.
“Markus... the fae are Aurora and Eclair.” Markus replies. Pain and numbness are creating breaks in his voice. Tiny beads of sweat are forming on his face.
“Alright Markus. I'm going to help you get patched up. I've just got one piece of advice.” Oscar says with a smirk.
Markus is a bit confused, asking “What is it?”
“This is going to hurt like a bitch. Better pray to whatever god you believe in.” Oscar says back.
The eyes of Markus widen as he watches Oscar grip his wounded hand. An open bottle is then grabbed by him as he pours it directly into the cut. Stinging pain, all Markus can feel in his hand is incredible stinging. The pain is so great it forces him to bite down on his vest to prevent screaming. The pan below fills with liquid, along with blood, dirt, and left over fabric.
“Are you okay?” Aurora says as she flies over to Markus. Distress is all she can see on his face. “Hey, take it easy!” She yells to Oscar.
The old butler ignores her. After the disinfectant, Oscar starts cleaning the wound with dry towels. They quickly turn red, but process ends in short order. Taking a close look at the wound, he then gives a nod to Aurora.
“Okay miss. He's all yours. Versa is busy with your friend, so you need to finish this guy.” Oscar says while standing up, patting Markus on the shoulder as he walks away. “You're definitely a tough fella for an Earthling, I'll give you that.”
