The Arcana One Shots

♡♤MC x Valdemar - A Fine Specimen♤♡

It was always so gloomy in the dungeon.

With the Red Plague at its peak, there was no shortage of patients, both dead and alive, inhabiting the dungeons of the Vesuvian palace.

And there were never enough doctors to see to them.

Without a cure, the majority of the infected died in an unfamiliar dungeon, separated from their loved ones, alone and afraid. 

Any and all doctors and apprenticing doctors were welcomed with open arms. One such apprentice was MC.

Working under Dr Julian Devorak, MC was brought down to the dungeons and outfitted accordingly with a full gown, gloves, boots and beaked mask.

As a new apprentice, MC was required to make the acquaintance of Quaestor Valdemar, the head physician.

"Quaestor Valdemar," Julian began. "I'd like you to meet my apprentice, MC. MC, this is the head physician, Quaestor Valdemar." 

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Quaestor," MC said, hand outstretched.

"We shall see," the head doctor began. "Are you quite certain they are qualified to be in the medical field, Doctor 69?" They questioned. "I need to ensure that we have only the best as our apprentices. They seem a little..." Valdemar hesitated, "Soft."

"MC is the best I know, Quaestor. I wouldn't accept just anyone as my apprentice," Julian assured them.

"Very well, Doctor 69. I will need to question your apprentice further, I'm afraid," Valdemar concluded, waving away the red-haired doctor.

"MC was it?" Valdemar questioned the young apprentice. "What makes you think you have what it takes to be a doctor, much less one on the team investigating the plague, hmm?"

With that, MC's first day on the job was spent being interrogated by the head physician whose questions were relentless. Before they knew it, it was late into the evening and they were scheduled to return home for some rest.

*~*~*~*~*~*

For the next two weeks, Valdemar hovered over MC's shoulder as they conducted their appointments with patients, any medicinal concoctions and brews and all surgeries. Never did Valdemar let MC out of their sight.

By the end of their observation period, Valdemar had concluded that MC was, in fact, a very competent apprentice who conducted themselves very well. They also found that MC was a much more productive and well-practised apprentice than most of the official doctors on staff.

Because of MC's level of competency, Valdemar found themselves asking for MC's assistance more than any other member of staff. Whenever they required an extra set of hands, MC was always the go-to person, not only because they worked very efficiently, but because they were one of the very few people who weren't insufferable to the Quaestor.

Over time, MC had made quite the name for themselves among the doctors. No longer were they just "Julian's apprentice". They had gained the reputation of being the most well-liked member of staff who somehow managed to keep chipper and upbeat, even when faced with the most tragic of plagues in history.

MC always found the good in the job, even if the job was hacking a poor corpse to pieces to find any and all information about the plague. 

Their attitude did not go unnoticed, especially by the head physician themselves.

The more MC and Valdemar worked together, the more Valdemar found that they were actually enjoying MC's presence, and not just the joy of all of the death around them. They noticed how the long midnight shifts in the dungeons were less painful when MC would stay behind to clean up or finish reports or even help an extra patient or two. As they talked, the two found that they had more in common that one might think. MC, a little odd as they were, was just as fascinated with the specimens of the plague as Valdemar; something that no other doctor could say. Valdemar had found the last shred of humanity they had left was saved by MC, who never failed to make their day brighter.