"I…do not have anywhere that I am needed to be, so…" She trailed off, unsure what else to say in response to Anna. "Ah…could I have that tea now?" She needed something to help settle her; plus she hadn't had adequate food or water in a few days now.
"Oh, yes! Uh, do you need anything else? Any other conditions to tend to? You look a bit too pale for just blood loss." she worried, getting El her tea and some dry crackers to get a bit more color to El's face. "If you can swallow, you can chew. I won't take a patient who refuses to eat, and the tea will flush out all the bad from your system. Pushing fluids is good when you've lost a lot of blood."
"I, uhm…the blade was poisoned, I think." Elanor said slowly. She had broken the tip from the poisoned sword and wrapped it in a handkerchief. It was in her bag now, not that she knew what to do with it. She took the tea thankfully, taking a sip of it and closing her eyes, careful not to gulp it down.
"Ah. drink the tea, if the poison's still in your stomach sometimes fluids help dilute it. If it's any further there's nothing I can do for you but wait, hopefully you'll just get very sick at most. I'll try and stay here as often as I can but I do have my practice, and I'm still learning. I… I have friends, who can help take care of you. They'll visit while I'm away. I can make arrangements for that sort of thing." she said.
She nodded to show she had heard, drinking some more tea. "Understood. Thank you, miss Saville." She said, her soft accent still tinging her words with that soft Danish tone. "It seems I am in your debt for this."
(I have found a major difference between Elanor and Alek: what Alek went through broke him, but it only made Elanor stronger)
(Aww oh no! Although, I do see it.)
"I expect nothing but bed rest and to keep yourself alive as payment. I am not cruel, you may find your own way to pay me back if you feel obligated." she said seriously, helping prop up El against some cushions she bought just for times like these, where sitting up would help the person get their blood flowing at least a little without overexerting themself. "If you were poisoned, I think I'd better get something beside you to vomit into. Here, have a bin." she offered the little can currently filled with scraps of paper with the words all scrawled out.
(yeah. Mainly bc Alek has a much harder/more traumatic backstory than El had, but it's kinda sad :( )
El nodded again, glancing down at the bin and then taking another sip of tea. "I see. Thank you again, then." she said softly, looking up at Anna. "But– how will you rest, if I have been put into your bed?" she didn't want to inconvenience this young doctor too much; after all, El was only here by chance.
"I can sleep on the floor, I have spare pillows and sheets for this reason. And, well, to change the sheets on the bed, which I forgot I should do. Can you stand up for me and go to sit at my desk while I clean off the bed? It won't be a minute." she said.
(I just realized that this Anna and other RP Anna are really different due to marriage and having a child, or lack of those things. This Anna prioritizes her ability to care for the people no matter how thin it stretches her, the other prioritizes keeping her family safe above all else. Idk the contrast is interesting. Also this Anna is a lot more flustered all the time, while the other is much more composed. I'll be excited to see what moments in this lead her to that conclusion!)
El got up, making her way to the chair and sitting down. Now that she was less stressed and the adrenaline was slowing down, her movements were growing shakier and more unsure with each step she took. She tapped one finger against the mug, the ring on her finger clicking faintly against the ceramic. She had forgotten about the signet ring that perched on her right pointer finger; in all the worry of her past few days, it had faded into the background. The noise, however, jogged her memory, and she pulled it off and slipped it into her pocket, not wanting the emblem on it to give her away.
(ooh that's neat! Honestly I love character development, so I'm Here For It)
(Also my brain keeps going "hey what if El had sex with either Laertes or Horatio at some point before the fatal duel and now she's pregnant but doesn't know it" and I have no idea if I wanna follow through with that or not?? jkhbdgjsdhfbgjh)
(I mean two gaydies raising a kid together isn't the worst that could happen? Plus, Bi Hamlet Rights.)
Anna saw it, and felt some suspicion, but she said nothing. From the Danish accent to the very obvious signet ring, she felt like there was something more to the situation, but she wouldn't push it. It wasn't her place to know everything about her patients, it was her job to take care of them. And she planned on doing that, to the best of her ability, until she couldn't do it ever again. The wound hadn't been that deep, right? She hoped it hadn't been. She changed the sheets quickly enough and helped El to lie back down, concerned for her health.
(kdjhgsbdkjh right but also like. Idk lmao. But yes, Hamlet is 100% Bi/Pan and I stand by that)
El was careful not to spill the tea as she lay down on the bed again, wincing as the movements jarred the wound. She shifted a little when her leg landed on the scabbard for the sword, and she carefully moved her leg off of it, not wanting the edge of the scabbard to be digging into her the entire time.
(Honestly you have time to decide. Don't think too much about it, just let the plot take you places.)
Anna draped a heavy quilt over El and allowed her to rest for a while, studying at her desk and resting her head on the cool wood every so often, other times making sure there was enough coal burning in the woodstove, and staring at the large washbasin on the wall from where she sat, wondering if she'd be able to clean herself off at any point in time. Probably not at this point, but she didn't need it, she'd just throw these old bloodied clothes away and dress in something less dirty that she'd hastily shoved in a drawer. She was tired, more so than ever these days, but she'd find a way to manage.
(yeah I know)
El kept sipping at her tea, her eyelids starting to droop with tiredness. She had been awake and stressed for so long that now, in the warmth, in a bed, with her wound taken care of…all the exhaustion was creeping up on her and starting to drag her back down to sleep.
Anna eventually fell asleep at her desk, snoozing softly as she dreamed about finally getting enough sleep. Yes, that was what she dreamed about, literally, and she had no idea as to why. She woke up when the sun was just rising, yawning and stretching, and preparing for work. She grabbed her bag with her tools, and retrieved a shriveled fruit, taking a bite out of it and swallowing the near-fermented thing with some difficulty. She'd have someone at her place before El knew it, and would be able to take care of her work with no problems, definitely.
El was asleep on the bed, still stretched out on the bed beneath the blanket. She stirred slightly, rolling onto her side and then wincing before rolling onto her back again. It hurt too much to lay on her side or, god forbid, her front. She didn't awaken when Anna started moving around, either.
Anna finished gathering herself, and posted a note on the door that she'd be sending someone along to watch over El whilst she was gone and not to worry, but send for her if the stitches broke. She then left, allowing El her rest, and started her day in full. She passed through the busy streets, where vendors were shouting out for people to buy their goods, more posh shops were just opening up, and an overwhelming amount of noise began to fill the area. Once she reached the hospital, she gave a note she'd prepared the night before for a friend to go visit her newest patient, to ask no questions and expect no answers, and to be kind. That covered all the bases for that particular friend, and she felt secure in the knowledge that El would be well taken care of. She checked in and began her rounds, making sure everything in her admittedly small section was secure and safe for the patients.
El continued sleeping for a good long while, and when she eventually did wake up, she took off her cloak, wrapping the sword in the cloak and setting the bag on top, putting them all in a corner of the room so that they wouldn't be stepped on and the swordblade wouldn't shatter. She read the note, and then sat back down on the bed, wincing and pressing a hand to the stitches. They were sore as hell, but she supposed she should be grateful to be alive.
Eventually, someone knocked on the door. It was a soft knocking, barely there, but insistent, very obvious if you knew the right way to hear things. The woman let herself in, sitting down on the edge of the bed wordlessly. After a few minutes, she appeared to remember how conversation worked, and startled a bit before saying "Hello! Uh, I'm your new caretaker. I'll be handling everything Anna usually does while she's away, you'll be perfectly fine with me here." she flustered. "Ahem. Well, you're an interesting little thing, aren't you? Came in bleeding out half your body weight so I've heard, with no story behind the whole thing. I won't push you for your story, but wow. What an entrance."
El's mouth pulled in a faint, sideways smile. "Yeah. I know how to make a dramatic entrance, that's for sure." she laughed faintly, then winced again, frowning and shaking her head a little. "So. What's your name? I'm El, if Anna didn't tell you that already."
"You are indeed. And I am… well, it depends on who you are and how you think of me, or more specifically my work, but friends call me Boston. After the city, see, in the Americas. I don't remember if I've even been called different." she shrugged. "So, El, what do you say I get some meat into you? Anna doesn't keep any in the house, she says it goes bad too quickly, but the butcher's just down the street and I could make us a lovely sandwich. Yeah, I think getting some food into you would be good, you look quite starved if I do say so myself." she considered.
El blinked, unused to this rapid outpouring of English, and it took her a long moment to translate it in her head. "A sandwich would be…herlig…no…delicious, that is word I was looking for." she gave an embarrassed smile, looking over at Boston.
"Oh, you're so cute. I'll be just a minute, don't get up for even a second until I'm back to make sure you don't fall and crack open your thinker, alright?" she said, rushing out the door and leaving El in silence. Soon, however, she was back with a thick slab of beef and a smile on her face, looking very satisfied with herself. "I'm back! Did you get lonely without me? I bet you did, I'm a lovely person to be around if I do say so myself. Oh, I'm not actually that centered of the self, don't worry. I managed to haggle my way to getting one of the best cuts they had, I'm just that charming. I'll cook it up while you rest."
(why didn't I find this sooner? XD stalking)