Chapter 590: Contagion 2 (Ch.591)
The wooden doors swung open and right in the courtyard of the cottage was a young couple clinging to one another as burning rubble crumbled down from their ho all around them
They stared at Estelle, stunned to find the doors had been opened in the nick of ti.
Their young daughter who could not have been more than ten years old was held between them, barely conscious.
She shivered and coughed violently, visible symptoms of the plague.
"Co out! Hurry!" Estelle urgently called them.
Shaking off their reverie, the couple hurried out of the burning cottage with their sickly daughter, getting to Estelle right as the cottage began to crumble.
The maroon dragon swooped down, his form shielded the commoners from the burning debris and knocked Estelle and the couple over, away from the descending fiery rubble, his vast wlings tore into the roofs of so nearby cottages, dealing the damage he had hoped to avoid.
Dante shifted forms over the rubble, walking over the burning wood and debris like it was nothing but a path just like any other.
He walked over to Estelle just as she sat up from where she had fallen. He crouched down and took her hand, studying the extent of the damage by the hot iron handle of the cart she pulled.
Estelle just sat in place and let Dante make his confirmation, knowing that was the only way to settle his mind.
When Dante was satisfied, he helped Estelle up to her feet, before he fixed the mob with a withering glare.
"Do you understand that murder is a cri in Scabbard territory, regardless of the cause?! Do you believe the contagion is an excuse to act barbaric?! Burning properties in the city?!" Dante roared furiously.
The front liners of the mob were quick to retreat at Dante’s visible rage.
"Disperse...at once!" Dante ordered sternly, his voice booming above the quietly protesting crowd.
The crowd swiftly dispersed till there was just Dante, Estelle and the couple who had just narrowly escaped death.
"Thank you, My Lord...My Lady." The father of the sick girl expressed his gratitude vehently, bowing low.
As he bowed, his shoulders still trembled visibly and Estelle’s heart broke at the sight.
"No thanks required. Your daughter requires urgent dical attention and your ho is..." Estelle trailed off a that.
"No longer conducive. I will have temporary accommodations prepared for you in the infirmary while your ho is rebuilt." Estelle assured.
"Thank You..." The man expressed, still sobbing.
Estelle breathed a quiet sigh and Dante reached to her, tugging on her hand from behind, signalling it was ti for them to leave.
As much as the dragons could offer assistance when needed, they refrained from getting overly involved in the lives of the citizens.
Estelle nodded in understanding and turned to follow after Dante, however, a pained scream from right behind them stopped them both in their tracks.
"No! No!" The young mother of the sick child sobbed out.
Estelle spun around, her eyes going wide to see the hand of the little girl lay limp by her side.
Estelle was about to hurry over but Dante held her back. Estelle looked over to Dante in dismay and he shook his head slightly.
Dante went over to the sobbing mother himself, crouching down to a knee, he checked for signs of life, but the look on his face was enough to tell he already knew without having to confirm that there was none.
Dante took the hand of the little girl, rolling up her sleeve, his brows twitched slightly as he found her skin had rumpled up and taken on an ashen shade.
Other than her face, the rest of her was overco with the third symptom.
Estelle’s hands shot up to her lips at the sight, her eyes wide and pained.
"Tell
she is fine...tell
my baby is just sleeping!..." The devastated mother cried, clutching desperately to Dante’s hand.
"Forgive , My Lady... and accept my condolences." Dante replied in a low tone,
"You said she could be saved! You promised !" The young mother cried out,
To whom she directed such accusations, neither Dante nor Estelle was certain.
But with a solemn look, Dante rose up to his feet and retreated from the grieving mother.
The father of the child still stood frozen in place, like he had been struck by lightening and Dante inclined his head to a small bow of condolences before he walked past, over to Estelle.
"It couldn’t be... she was fine just a mont ago... she was breathing..." Estelle whispered to Dante in horror.
Dante wrapped an arm around Estelle’s shoulder and drew her to himself. Placing a kiss on her forehead.
"She is gone, Elle... hold together." Dante murmured quietly.
"But...but how? There have been no deaths recorded to the contagion in this month.... none..." Estelle whispered, clutching to Dante’s robes.
"I fear the statistics have changed... this...is the first death." Dante whispered.
It had been a month since the contagion hit and while many had been infected by it, with a number that rapidly increased daily, there had been no records of death.
The first and second symptoms hit quickly, but the third was much slower, the skin of the victims withering little by little.
This was the first event where the third symptom had taken effect so rapidly, and the result of the complete spread of the third symptom was now obvious... death.
With the first death recorded, the contagion presented a whole new horror, a confirmation that it was indeed fatal.
A somber silence fell over the two, a silence that could not prevail for the cries and wails of the bereaved mother echoed down the quiet streets at this early hours of the morning.
Many watched from behind their doors, in horror and trepidation but none dared venture out to offer comfort for fear that they could beco the next victims.
"We should return to the tower..." Dante whispered to Estelle.
But Estelle just stood, frozen in place and staring behind her...
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