Mei Li hurried in an knelt, ushering the servants to one side so she could examine the woman more closely. Blood spilled out the corners of her mouth and each gasp became more labored than the last. Her airways we blocked and with a sinking heart, Mei Li realized there was nothing in her power that could be done. Even if she could be made to breathe again, the disease had done its work. It would only be a day at most before the rest of her organs shut down and her body failed.
"Please. If you would, take the young lady outside. There is nothing anyone can do for this woman now, so I will ease her passing. But I would prefer to do it in privacy."
A younger lady devolved into tears on the spot, but two of the matron's swallowed their sadness for the sake of the others and took charge, gently leading Lifen from the tent as the healer requested.
Mei Li began humming under her breath a dirge for the dead as she took a stream of water from her pouch and joined it with a small black liquid from another. The water turned inky as she mixed it using her bending and sent it down Lien's throat and through her bloodstream. Paralysis began to take effect almost immediately, slowing Lien's gasps to shallow, slow breaths before they disappeared altogether, her body no longer rigid with pain. Tears clouded Mei Li's vision and cracked her voice as sat, staring at the life leaving Lien's eyes and still humming her song.
Another full minute passed before Mei Li could bring herself out of the sadness that threatened to suffocate her. She leaned forward to close Lien's eyelids before she worked up the courage to face the woman's daughter outside.
"I... am sorry. She has passed, but please take solace that her last moments were without pain and her spirit free in death at last...."
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