The Doctor’s Dilemma

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Dr. Melissa Le Bleu’s muscles ached as she stretched in her swivel chair, letting out a long, weary sigh. Overworked? Without question. But it was the price she had to pay to prove she wasn’t merely a nepotistic shadow clinging to her parents’ reputation. Her achievements needed to be entirely her own.

The clinic was undoubtedly hers, but could it have existed without her parents’ legacy?

She released a frustrated breath.

And among the clients referred by her parents, Eydis Von Apfelhof was particularly intriguing. Peculiar, to say the least. There was something about Eydis—an air of mystery beneath the mask of teenage naivety.

Melissa couldn’t shake the feeling that the girl knew far more than she let on, as if every word and gesture were laid bare to Eydis’s perceptive amber eyes.

Her gaze shifted to the envelope on her oak desk, gold-embroidered and bearing an intricate silver mask: an invitation to Thomas Blackwood’s final fundraising event.

She considered the fundraiser a necessary step to connect with key players and build her own network separate from her family’s reputation—a risk that had seemed justified at the outset.

But then… Eydis’s final remarks had been unsettlingly rational. Was it wise to risk being wrong, with the eldritch eye and the smoke monster casting shadows over their future?

On top of that, why hadn’t Thomas reached out for her help? Given the Le Bleu family’s respected position in the medical field and their history together, she was clearly the best choice for his treatment.

Why, then, had her phone remained silent?

Melissa picked up her phone on her desk to check for any messages or missed calls from the Blackwoods. Finding none, she decided to research Thomas. She stared in disbelief as page after page of information surfaced.

Eydis had been spot on—Thomas Blackwood was a sensation.

Frowning, Melissa clicked on the most-viewed video, watching as Thomas appeared, shrouded in eerie purple smoke, only to emerge with barely a scratch.

“What’s going on?” she whispered to herself, rewinding the video. “The smoke monster had him surrounded for so long—there’s no way it just let him go.”

Melissa pressed her eyes shut and leaned back in her chair, her manicured fingers drumming against the armrest for a moment before she gripped it tightly. Her blue eyes opened with determination as she swiftly made a call on her phone. Following a few rings, someone picked up the line.

Finally.

“You don’t have to accompany me tomorrow,” Melissa said bluntly, skipping the pleasantries.

The reply was a deep, amused voice, “Hello to you too, doc. Isn’t it a little late to back out now?”

“It’s just…” Melissa’s voice faltered as a sudden prickling sensation crawled up her spine. She spun in her chair, eyes darting around her room, but saw nothing. Just the quiet hum of the clinic after hours.

“Melissa?” The voice on the other end grew more concerned. “Everything alright?”

“It’s probably just exhaustion,” she reassured herself, working to calm her racing pulse. “I’ll explain to Thomas that I’m not feeling well if he questions me. Ideally, he won’t even notice my absence.”

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“You’re not going to send a formal excuse?” her friend asked.

“It’s a last-minute situation,” she replied.

“Sure it has nothing to do with Dr. Le Bleu and Professor Le Bleu?”

Melissa rolled her eyes. “Professor Le Bleu’s lecture on unfulfilled commitments is always riveting. You should attend it.”

A hearty laugh came through the phone. “Your parents haven’t changed a bit. Remember when we joked about them being helicopter parents?”

“Ha, very amusing,” Melissa’s lips twitched into a slight smile.

“But the renowned Dr. Melissa Le Bleu falling ill? Surely you can come up with a more convincing excuse. What’s behind this sudden change of heart?”

Touché. Melissa rubbed her temple in frustration. She’d keep her newfound perspective to herself—especially since it was influenced by a barely-legal client.

“Look, Lionel, I’m buried under a mountain of work, and the last thing I need is to be photographed cosying up to a politician,” the doctor replied defensively.

“Is that so?” came the skeptical reply. Melissa could almost hear the raised eyebrow in his voice.

“Yeah, and honestly, broken promises are practically a job requirement for them; they should expect it,” Melissa smirked.

Lionel chuckled deeply. “You realise you’re telling a government agent that you don’t trust politicians, right? The irony isn’t lost on me.”

"Yeah, yeah, how terrifying, super-secret Agent Robin," Melissa snickered as she stood up, yanking off her lab coat and tossing the envelope into the trash with a sharp flick. "Does your little sister still believe you’re just a regular guy, Lionel? How’s she doing these days?”

There was a pause before Lionel’s voice lowered. “She’s been… determined lately. More than usual. I thought… never mind.”

Annoyance crept into Melissa’s voice as she shut the office door and fumbled for her keys. “Look, Agent Robin, she’s eighteen—legally an adult now. You can’t protect her indefinitely.”

Lionel’s tone darkened. “Melissa, you and I both know being a highly ranked Gifted isn’t some privilege. It’s a burden.”

“Yeah, tell that to the average person on the street who’d probably think you’re whining,” Melissa snapped. “Suppressing your own power is like standing idly by with your eyes shut while your house burns down, hoping the flames will vanish if you just ignore them. Oh wait—” she added with a sharp, sarcastic edge, “that already happened, didn’t it? Ever tell her I’m the one who healed you, Lionel? Completely?”

There was a drawn-out pause, and Melissa could picture Lionel's crimson eyes blazing with anger.

She softened her voice, aware she might have gone too far. "I don't want to keep debating about this. By the way, I’ll be seeing Natalia soon.”

“Are you planning a visit to St. Kevin’s?” Lionel sounded surprised.

Melissa exited her empty clinic and locked the door. “It’s going to be a longer stay. I’ve agreed to help Dean Saito with St. Kevin’s Gifted Show this year.”

"You have? But you’ve declined every year.”

“The smoke monster is becoming an increasing threat—who knows what might happen. Adrian's attendance is another red flag; his insistence that I be there only confirms it. If you want to protect Natalia, this is how you do it."

The call ended just as Melissa stepped into the lift, the weight of the day felt even heavier. She leaned against the cold metal wall, her arms crossed as she replayed her final words to Lionel in her mind.

She wondered about Natalia—had she changed at all? Was she still as naïve, clueless, and bubbly with childlike innocence as she had been the last time they met? Melissa recognised that beneath that candy-sweet exterior lay a girl haunted by her own past.

Lionel, in his superhero fantasies, thought he could protect Natalia from the very thing that made her special. Gifted powers weren’t a curse; they were a badge of distinction. Ignoring them wouldn’t make them disappear.

He was, without a doubt, a buffoon.

As the elevator reached her penthouse floor, it struck her that Natalia and Eydis were the same age, in the same year group. Could they possibly know each other?

“Eydis,” she murmured, her ocean eyes lighting up with curiosity. “Looking forward to our next meeting.”

The oak door clicked shut behind Melissa, and with it, the air in the elevator seemed to freeze. Unseen wisps of smoke flowed down the shaft, quietly infiltrating her clinic. Once inside Melissa’s office, the smoke thickened and formed into a striking obsidian serpent.

“Striking is an understatement.” Envy, the serpent, slithered toward the trash can. "But can you believe this wonderfully magnificent creature—me—reduced to trash duty? It’s almost tragic."

It let out a dramatic sigh, replaying Her Majesty’s absurd command: “Swallow everything, as if you were a cleaner.” Simple in words, but far less so in execution, especially with all that non-organic rubbish!

With clear reluctance, Envy unhinged its jaw, swallowing the trash whole, including the—ugh—plastic bag. Its serpentine body rippled and twisted as it begrudgingly stored the revolting contents.

"Your Majesty, I sincerely hope tomorrow’s performance will justify my… suffering.” Envy purred. “But how will my Queen respond when she hears the blue doctor is heading for St. Kevin’s?”

The serpent faded into a delicate, invisible mist, slipping into the shadows. "Well, let's keep things a little interesting by withholding this teeny weensy detail. After all, the Queen of Shadows’ charm is in how she navigates the unexpected...”

‘Wouldn't you agree?’ it thought with a sly grin, amused by its own cunning.