A Promise Too Far

I was the simple-minded fool that General Adelaide Knight had pulled from a pile of corpses on the battlefield. The poison had been too severe. I survived, but my mind never fully recovered. When people hit me or cursed at me, all I ever did was stare blankly and smile. Adelaide took pity on me. She brought me into her home and refused to let anyone mistreat me. She once said, "Reed may be a fool, but he's my whole life." And like a fool, I believed her. For five years, I followed her everywhere like a shadow. Then Fabian Ortega returned to the capital. He looked so much like me that we could almost have been brothers. He'd been poisoned, and none of the doctors knew how to save him. His only chance was to fight poison with poison—using blood drawn from the heart of someone whose body was already saturated with an even deadlier toxin. So Adelaide placed a dagger and an empty bowl in front of me. Her voice had never been gentler. "Be good, Reed. Your body's already full of poison. It's just a small cut over your heart. It won't hurt. Let me take some blood for him. I'll buy you your favorite candy tomorrow, okay?" I stared at the cold gleam of the blade and slowly blinked. The truth was, when the knife pierced my chest, the blood came so fast that I felt so cold. Still, I endured it and forced the same vacant smile onto my face. "Okay." I watched Adelaide pick up the bowl of warm blood and hurry toward Fabian's room. She was in such a rush that she didn't even spare a glance at the bloodstained dagger she'd left lying on the floor. I tossed the cheap candy she'd bought me into the fire and clumsily began packing my things. Since she no longer wanted Reed's life, this poisoned fool had no reason to stay. Chapter 1 The bedroom door opened, and Adelaide Knight strode in. She was still wearing the black-and-silver armor she'd had on yesterday, with several dark red bloodstains on one sleeve. My blood. She walked over and pressed a small paper bag into my hands. "Here's your favorite candy. I went back to Miller's Sweets in Southridge and got you some more." Her voice was gentle, the same way she always coaxed me whenever I had to take bitter medicine. I lowered my eyes to the bag of candy in my hands. It was still warm from her touch, the paper slightly crumpled. "Why aren't you eating it?" She reached out and ruffled my hair affectionately. "Fabian drank your blood, and he looks so much better today. The doctor said he just needs a few more days of rest before he'll be able to get out of bed and walk." Her eyes lit up as she spoke, relief and happiness shining in them. I blinked slowly and looked up at her. "Adelaide." She froze. I normally called her Addie in that foolish, childish way of mine. "What is it?" Her gaze dropped to the thick bandages wrapped around my chest. Blood was still faintly seeping through them. Her brows drew together, and a hint of reproach entered her voice. "How did you mess up your bandages again? The doctor told you not to move around too much for the next few days." As she spoke, she naturally reached for my shirt, intending to straighten it for me. I took a step back, avoiding her hand. Her hand stopped in midair. "Reed?" She looked confused. I turned and walked toward the bed. A plain canvas duffel sat on top of it. I'd just finished packing. Adelaide followed me over. When she saw the bag, she couldn't help laughing. "What is this, another one of your treasure hunts? You dragged out all this old junk again?" She casually nudged aside the edge of the bag. Inside was a kite with a broken string, a worn little wooden figurine, and a few coins. They were all things she'd casually given me over the past five years. I'd treasured every one of them. "I'm leaving." I looked at her as I said it. The smile hadn't even faded from her face. She clearly thought I was talking nonsense. "Leaving? Where are you going?" She pulled over a chair and sat down, watching me with amused patience as if I were a child throwing a tantrum. "You little fool. You can barely find your way out of this house. Where do you think you're going to go? Be good. Stop making a fuss." She pointed at the candy in my hands. "Eat your candy and get some sleep. Fabian said he wants rotisserie chicken from that place across town tomorrow. I'll pick some up for you too while I'm there." I said nothing. Right in front of her, I slowly opened the bag of candy. Its rich, sugary scent filled the room. I walked over to the fireplace and let go. The candy dropped into the flames with a hiss. Within seconds, it began to melt, the smell of burnt sugar overpowering its sweetness. Adelaide shot to her feet. "Reed, what are you doing?" She strode over and grabbed my wrist. Her grip was very tight, and the sudden movement pulled at the wound in my chest. Pain drained the color from my face. "What's gotten into you lately? I waited in line for half an hour to get you that candy." She was upset. In her mind, a decorated general like her had gone out of her way to stand in line and buy me candy, so I should have been grateful. I looked into her angry eyes. "It's dirty." "What?" She hadn't heard me. "I said the candy is dirty." She'd gone to take care of another man with my blood on her hands. Then she'd used those same hands to buy me candy. It disgusted me. Adelaide's expression darkened. She released my wrist. "Reed, I've indulged you because I care about you. That doesn't mean you get to keep pushing your luck. If you're going to keep acting like this, I won't come see you for the next few days." With that, she turned and strode out. The door slammed shut behind her. I stood there, watching the last ember in the fireplace go dark. Chapter 2 Early the next morning, a commotion came from the courtyard. I opened the door to see several groundskeepers outside with shovels, digging up the camellia tree in front of my window. Adelaide had planted it for me herself three years ago. She'd said I hated going outside in the winter because I was always cold, so she'd plant a tree where I could see the blossoms from my room. "What are you doing?" I stepped outside. The men stopped and exchanged uneasy looks. Edward Reese, the head steward, came through the gate with a perfunctory smile. "Mr. Valentine, you're awake." Even the way he addressed me had changed. Before, everyone here had called me Master Reed. "General Knight gave the order. Mr. Ortega has always had refined tastes, and he loves camellia blossoms, but his courtyard is rather bare." Edward spoke as if that explained everything. I looked at the tree, half its roots already exposed. On the trunk was the crooked letter "A" I'd carved into it last winter. "This is my tree," I stated calmly. Edward smiled, impatience creeping into his voice. "Mr. Valentine, everything on General Knight's estate belongs to her. She can give it to whomever she chooses. "You should go back inside and rest. We wouldn't want you catching a chill and having the general blame us for not taking proper care of you." He waved for the groundskeepers to continue. The sharp crack of shovels severing roots cut through the morning air. It wasn't long before Adelaide returned from duty. The moment she entered the courtyard, she saw the torn-up ground. She hurried over, removing her cloak as she came and reached to drape it around my shoulders. "Why are you sitting out here in the cold?" I leaned away. Her hand paused. "Are you still angry about last night?" She sighed and sat down beside me. "Fabian coughed all night. He said he dreamed about the camellia blossoms back home. His condition is serious, so I had them move this tree to his courtyard to cheer him up." She turned to me, sincerity in her eyes. "Come on, Reed. When spring comes, I'll have them fill this whole courtyard with camellia trees for you, okay?" She was always like this. She took away the things I treasured most, then promised me some distant future that never came. I looked at her. "Don't bother." "What?" "I said you don't need to plant them." I stood and brushed the dust from my clothes. Adelaide stared at me, apparently surprised that I was giving in so easily today. Usually, if someone touched something that belonged to me, my eyes would fill with tears, and I'd make a scene. A flicker of approval crossed her face. She reached into her coat and pulled out a polished onyx circlet. "You're growing up, Reed. You're finally learning to be reasonable. I passed a jewelry store today and saw this. The onyx looked nice, so I bought it to make up for the tree." I stared at the circlet for a moment. I'd seen something similar on Fabian yesterday. Except the one he'd been wearing was an elaborate gold-and-onyx piece, exquisitely crafted and obviously expensive. Mine was plain and unremarkable. Maybe the store had thrown it in when she'd bought Fabian's expensive one. "I don't like plain onyx." Adelaide finally seemed to run out of patience. She set the circlet down hard on the stone table beside us. "What exactly are you upset about? I moved the tree, and I bought you something to make up for it. What more do you want? "Fabian was poisoned. He nearly died. You've suffered a little inconvenience—can't you show him some understanding?" She stood over me, looking down at me. "You never used to be like this." Looking at the anger on her face, I suddenly found it almost funny. What had I been like before? A fool who came running whenever she called and disappeared whenever she wanted me gone. A fool who would give up his own life for the smallest scrap of affection from her. "You're right, General Knight." I lowered my eyes. Something about me calling her "General Knight" seemed to sting. Her expression shifted. But in the end, she said nothing. She turned and walked away. Chapter 3 Moving into the guest wing was my idea. At first, Adelaide refused. "The guest wing barely gets any sunlight. Your body can't handle the cold. How are you supposed to live there?" She sat behind the desk in her study, reading through military reports without even looking up. I stood across from her, my voice calm. "The main house is too noisy. I want somewhere quiet." It really was noisy. Ever since Fabian moved in, doctors and servants carrying medicine had been coming and going every day. Adelaide had even moved her study into the room next to his. At last, she looked up from the report and glanced at me. "Fine. Once Fabian has fully recovered, you can move back." She thought this was some petty attempt to compete for her attention. I didn't explain, turning to go back to my room to pack. There wasn't much to take anyway. I left behind all the expensive clothes and belongings she'd given me over the years. All I brought were two sets of plain clothes and the bag filled with the odds and ends I'd treasured. The guest wing was freezing. There was no proper heating, and several cracks around the windows let the wind straight in. Every cold draft made the wound in my chest ache. That night, the poison in my body flared up. It was a consequence of having blood taken from my heart. My body had always survived through a delicate balance of different toxins. Now that I'd lost so much blood, that balance had been disrupted, and the cold poison was turning against me. I curled up on the hard mattress, trembling uncontrollably. The door suddenly flew open. Adelaide stood there holding a lantern. The moment she saw me curled into myself, her expression changed. "Reed!" She rushed over and gathered me into her arms, blanket and all. "Why didn't you send someone to get me?" She pressed a hand to my forehead, only to jerk it back at how cold my skin was. "Where's your warming stone?" Her hands immediately searched around my neck. Years ago, she'd traveled for three days to seek out a renowned healer who'd given her the stone to help suppress the cold poison in my body. I kept my eyes shut and said nothing. When her fingers found nothing around my neck, her voice rose sharply. "Where is it?" I opened my eyes and looked at the panic on her face. "Did you forget, General Knight? Yesterday afternoon, Fabian said he was cold. You took it off my neck yourself and gave it to him." Adelaide went rigid. Only then did she seem to remember. Fabian had caught a chill in the garden yesterday and sneezed several times. She'd immediately become worried. When she happened to see me walking past, she'd taken the warming stone from around my neck without a second thought. At the time, she'd said, "Reed, let Fabian borrow it for a few hours. I'll give it back to you later." Adelaide's lips parted, panic flickering through her eyes. "I... I'll go get it back right now." She lowered me onto the bed and started to leave. "Don't." She stopped and turned back. "I don't want something that's already been given to someone else." I rolled over to face the wall, leaving only my back to her. "Reed..." She stood beside the bed for a long time. In the end, she didn't go get the stone back. Instead, she had several heaters brought in until the room was warm. Then she sat beside me and gently patted my back through the blanket. "Tomorrow. I'll go back to that healer tomorrow and get you an even better one. Come on, Reed. Go to sleep." Her voice was gentle, but somehow, no matter how warm the room became, I couldn't feel any of it. The next day, she never went to see the healer because Fabian started coughing up blood again. Chapter 4 Fabian needed one final treatment to neutralize the poison. The doctor said this time, they needed an entire bowl of blood taken from near my heart. Adelaide walked into the guest wing carrying a white ceramic bowl twice the size of the one she'd used last time. She wouldn't look me in the eye. She simply set the bowl on the table and sat across from me. "Reed, this is the last time." Finally, she looked up, her eyes intent on mine. "Once he's better, I'll take you to Bellhaven. Haven't you always wanted to see the coastal towns? We'll buy a house there and fill the yard with the camellia trees you love." She painted such a beautiful picture of our future. The old Reed probably would've jumped up like a fool, so happy he would've handed her his heart without a second thought. But I only looked calmly at the empty bowl. "I could die." Adelaide froze. "What?" "If you take that much blood from my chest, I could die." I looked her in the eye and repeated myself seriously. Adelaide's expression darkened at once. She thought I was threatening her with my death. "Reed, stop being ridiculous!" She shot to her feet, her voice turning stern. "The doctor examined you. Your body isn't like everyone else's. Losing this much blood isn't going to kill you! "Fabian is fighting for his life. Are you really going to stand by and watch him die?" She walked toward me. "I've taken care of you for five years. I've given you everything you needed and never let anyone mistreat you. "Now I'm asking you for a little blood, and suddenly you're acting like you're going to die? Reed, I'm so disappointed in you." Every word was like a dull blade slowly cutting into my heart. No blood was drawn, yet the pain went straight to the bone. I looked at the anger and disappointment on her face and suddenly laughed. "Okay." My smile faded as I picked up the dagger from the table. Adelaide visibly relaxed, a flicker of approval crossing her eyes. "Just hang in there, Reed. It'll be over soon." She even came over and wrapped her hand around mine as I held the dagger. I didn't resist. I let her guide my hand, positioning the sharp blade directly over the wound on my chest that hadn't even healed yet. The blade pierced flesh with a soft sound. Blood immediately welled from the wound, running down the groove in the blade and dripping steadily into the white ceramic bowl. Adelaide's eyes remained fixed on the bowl as she watched the level slowly rise. She never looked at my face. She didn't see the color drain from my skin. She didn't see the cold sweat breaking out across my forehead. All she could think about was that Fabian was going to be saved. Finally, the bowl was full. Adelaide immediately released my hand and picked up the bowl of warm blood. "Get some rest. I'll have someone bring you something nourishing later." With that, she hurried out of the room without looking back. She didn't even spare a glance at the bloodstained dagger lying on the floor. The room fell silent again. I leaned against the bedpost, struggling for breath as unfamiliar images suddenly flashed through my mind: the names of hundreds—maybe thousands—of medicinal herbs, poisonous swamps in the far south, and somewhere among them, what seemed to be a blurred face. I shook my head. Blood was still flowing from my chest, soaking through my plain shirt. I didn't call for anyone. Instead, I forced my trembling body to move and pulled my canvas bag from beneath the bed. Then I took out a few scraps of cloth, clumsily pressed them against the wound, and bound them tightly around my chest. When I was done, I slung the bag over my shoulder and opened the back door of the guest wing. At some point, snow had begun to fall heavily outside. I drew a deep breath. The icy air filled my lungs, clearing my head. This time, I didn't look back. Step by step, I disappeared into the falling snow.