The Commander's Wife

3: Stohess District

When I open my eyes, light is glittering all around me. It's so bright that I have to close my eyes again. For a blissful moment, there's no pain and I let out a murmur, one I would make if I was waking up from a normal nap.

"Lydia? Lydia!" I heard someone call and I recognized the voice. It must have been heaven, surely. It was Erwin's voice, his beautiful deep voice. Except if this was heaven, it would mean that Erwin had died on his expedition. No, no that can't be right. Erwin couldn't die. I force my eyes open again and see Erwin's face over me. It's a look I've never seen before, his eyebrows were furrowed and his eyes were strikingly red against his blue irises. I look around to take in my surroundings and it's unfamiliar. A plain room, and a small plain bed. There were drawers and cabinets and there was a subtle scent of blood. I looked down at myself and saw the horror of the state of my body. Bandages covered almost my whole torso and there were big, dark bruises all over my limbs. I saw Erwin's hand in mine and I looked up at him, the reality of the situation finally starting to settle in. With the realization, came the pain and it washed over me. I gasped, feeling the pain everywhere.

"My Lydia, my Lydia," Erwin kept repeating under his breath while I convulsed in pain. I held onto his hand, my anchor, and squeezed to help ease the pain. But it didn't help with the pain at all, it just helped me feel like I wasn't alone.

"Erwin. Erwin. Our baby. Is she okay?" I gasped out, feeling sweat starting to mat my hair onto my forehead. His silence pained me more than my injuries and he just leaned forward, resting his forehead on my hand. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw his shoulders heaving and I figured he must be crying. Why are you crying, Erwin? I wanted to shout at him but I couldn't. Tears collected in the corner of my eyes and fell down the side of my face. I heard the door squeak open and tried to lift my head to see who it was. I got a good glimpse before letting my head fall back onto the pillow. It was a man, a doctor.

"My wife is in pain. Can't you do something?" Erwin growled when the doctor closed the door behind him. The doctor walked closer to me, ignoring Erwin, and inspected my bandages.

"Of course, I'll bring pain medication shortly. I just need to ask your wife a few questions about what happened to her," the doctor said, his voice full of sympathy, "Is that alright, Mrs. Smith?" I nodded, still feeling the tears flowing out of my eyes.

"You were found this morning, terribly hurt and bleeding in an alley near your home. Do you remember what happened?" he asked a question from a paper in his hands. I nodded again and he jotted something down.

"Did someone do this to you? Who?" He asked again and the memory came back in vivid detail. The scarred man, his face illuminated by the lit cigar, smiled viciously at me.

"It was...," I struggled to get out, "it was three men," I felt Erwin's hand involuntarily tighten around mine in anger and I wince, "A man with black hair. Dark brown eyes. He has a scar." I found the courage to lift my other arm and slowly, shakily trace the scar the man had on my own face. Starting just above my jaw down my neck to my collarbone. The doctor nods, urging me to continue.

"Two other men. They were both big. One was blond and the other was bald," I finish. I rest the hand I had used to demonstrate the scar on my stomach but there's an uncomfortable dull ache when I let the weight of my arm settle. I notice Erwin lower his head, loose strands of his hair falling over his eyes when I do this.

"Why did they do this?" He asked after writing the previous information I had given him on his paper.

"They wanted money. I didn't have any." I sigh, turning my head so I can pay more close attention to Erwin. He looked so worried, so hurt. The doctor nodded.