Theodore’s consciousness was slowly returning back to him. He fluttered his eyes and slowly opened them. His eyes fell on the familiar ceiling and a soft smile appeared on his face. He tried to move his body but the wounds had still not healed and it was very hard for him to even move an inch.
He slowly turned his head to the side and saw that Adeline was sitting upright beside him but she was dozing off. Then he glanced out of the window to check how much time he was out for. “It is still dark so I must not have been unconscious for much long”, he thought.
Theodore tried to move his hand to wake Adeline up but the wound on his stomach stung him and he let out a small grunt.
That sound from Theodore was enough to wake Adeline up. She gasped and opened her eyes, and she saw that Theodore was awake. She immediately held his hand and smiled with her eyes full of tears, “Theo! You’re awake!”
Theodore also smiled back at his little Princess and just made a small approving sound, “Mhmm…”
Adeline leaned down and gave a warm kiss at the back of his hand. Then she lifted the cotton cloth and checked his wound on his chest. “Why aren’t you healing? Shouldn’t you have healed by now?”
Theodore slowly parted his wounded lips and whispered, “I have to go home. Come with me okay?”
Adeline nodded her head and whispered back, “Okay.” Then she braced herself and was prepared to teleport.
Theodore was holding Adeline’s hand with one of his hands and with another he slowly waved it around. Then both of them vanished from Adeline’s room.
And in another moment, both of them were inside Theodore’s room and were on Theodore’s bed.
Before cleaning Theodore’s wounds, Adeline had torn all of his clothes off of his body. She had just covered him with a thin sheet of cloth. And when they teleported, that cloth did not teleport with him because to be precise he was not wearing it.
And the first thing that Theodore did after landing on his own bed was that he looked down at his own body and gave a mischievous glance to Adeline. And then he whispered slowly, “Now I know why I was feeling cold.”
Adeline’s whole face turned red and she shifted her gaze away from Theodore. And then she stuttered, “Hey d-don’t look at me l-l-like that. You h-had wounds all over your b-b-body so I had to t-take off your clothes to clean your wounds.”
“I am not complaining or anything. I’m glad that it was you who cleaned my wounds. Thank you!” Theodore could not help but look at Adeline’s red face with whimsical smile.
Then he whispered to Adeline again, “Help me up, will you? There is a fountain outside of my room. I need you to take me there.”
Adeline gave a stern look to Theodore and scolded him, “You’re hurt so badly and you want to go to a fountain? Just lie down and rest.” Then she looked around and asked, “Where are your clothes? I will bring them to you.”
But before Adeline got off from the bed, Theodore caught her by her wrist and said, “That fountain is my cure. That’s why I am asking you.” Then he playfully asked, “Or do you want me to call my maids and let them see me in my full glory?”
Adeline’s jaw almost dropped to the floor because of what he said later. She narrowed her eyes at him and was about to lash out, “You…” but she clenched her fist and stopped herself.
She inhaled sharply and spoke in her normal voice, “Come, let’s get you healed first. We will return back to this topic after you are completely healed.”
Theodore could not help but burst into laughter but he instantly regretted it and screamed in pain, “Aaaaaahh!”
“Shhh!” Adeline caressed his long hair and tried to calm him down. Then she placed her hand below his head and supported him to lift his head. She helped Theodore get up slowly and then shifted his wounded feet to help him climb down the bed.
Once Theodore got off from the bed, Adeline stood on the left side of Theodore. She slowly lifted Theodore’s left arm and then placed it around her shoulder. She held his hand firmly that was around her shoulder with her own hand and then she carefully wrapped her right arm around Theodore’s waist without touching his wound.
Theodore’s whole body weight fell on Adeline but still she managed to support him and slowly led him out of his room.
Theodore was also slowly dragging his feet towards his door. It was apparent that he was hurt very badly. His body stiffened with pain as he walked and his breath was also getting heavy. He was trying his best not to show too much pain to Adeline.
Adeline opened the door and the exquisite garden that was outside of Theodore’s room came into their view. The garden was as beautiful as she remembered it from her childhood. Faint moonlight was falling on the indoor garden through the dome-shaped glass. Flowers and trees were standing beautifully on the garden.
And in the middle of the garden, the lone fountain water was glistening in the soft moonlight. As they inched closer to the fountain, they could hear the soothing sound of water trickling down the fountain.
Adeline and Theodore stood right in front of the huge fountain. Adeline still had no idea how a fountain was supposed to be the Devil’s cure. So she asked in confusion, “What do you want me to do now? Are you going to drink this water? Do you need me to fetch some water for you?”
Theodore took a deep breath and said, “Help me get inside the fountain.”
At this point Adeline did not even bother asking anything. She just did as he had asked. She placed one of her foot inside the fountain and helped Theodore to move his feet inside the water.
After Theodore was in the fountain, he sat down and then submerged his whole body in the fountain water.
Adeline stood right beside him fearing that he might pass out and drown. She was ready to pull him out if he did not stick up his head above the water soon.
And that’s when she noticed something extraordinary. She thought to herself, “Does this water have magic of some kind?”
All the wounds, scars, cuts, and bruises that were on Theodore’s body were slowly vanishing. It was as if the wounds were never there in the first place. Seeing him healing so fast, Adeline let out a huge sigh of relief.
And within a few moments, every little scratch on Theodore’s body vanished. After being fully healed, Theodore got up from the water and stood tall in front of Adeline.
Adeline’s lips parted softly and a soundless gasp left her lips as she was witnessing the breathtaking view in front of her.