El Turnia: Becoming Fire *DISCONTINUED*

Chapter 27: Stange Actions

The next few days passed by uneventfully... well except for having nightmares and waking up screaming my head off at 2:00 AM. I didn't know why I was having these horrifying dreams and I never really found out. Although I guessed it was because I almost died and that probably had an effect on the images that formed in my mind while I slept. On those stressful nights when the nightmares came I usually woke up and lay staring at the ceiling wondering what the kingdom was doing and when I'd get to find out. Sometimes I tried to get a glimpse of the outside world on the days when the nurses opened the curtains, but all I saw was the top of a depressing dead tree and a dull grey sky. I wasn't sure what season it was for I hadn't really been paying attention to those sorts of things lately. And I never really bothered to ask the nurses or Christilia about it.

Christilia sometimes came to visit me in the evenings when she got the chance, but she usually almost left immediately, to get back to work as the only current ruling queen of El Turnia.

It was hard lying in bed unable to do anything. More than that it was infuriating! Being useless was honestly one of the most aggravating things in the world! The fact that so many creatures might be doing something important and helpful and I was just lying in a hospital bed staring the ceiling... honestly made me fell pretty guilty. And yes I was injured and I needed to stay indoors but.... well you get the point. Which was why it was a relief when the nurses said I could finally try going outside.

I sprang out of bed and ran out of the claustrophobic hospital room.

"Your majesty, wait!!!" Nurse Rose called after me.

But of course I didn't and kept running. The long grey hallways and carpeted floors seemed to go on forever, occasionally there were doors on the right or left or just more hallways branching off this one. But none of the doors or passages led to the outside. I halted and tried to catch my breath, my heart was pounding unusually fast and my lungs felt like they would pop out of my chest. I was not fit to be running like my life depended on it after lying in bed for about two weeks! I sighed.

"Ok, Gloria use your brain."

I looked around. There were signs by the edge of the different passage entries. They all were printed in large, bold letters and read things like:

SURGERY
ER
MAIN ENTRANCE
WAITING ROOM

The hallway next to me was labeled "COURTYARD". I smiled.

Courtyards are outside!

I ran down that hallway. I could see a door at the end and sunlight filtered through it. My smiled widened and I began to realize how much I had missed going outdoors! Was it warm? Was the sun out? Was there wind? How many clouds were there? Was it cold? My pace quickened as I neared the doors. I burst from the doorway, tripped, and landed face first in a pile of something cold and wet. I lay there for a second and felt pinpricks of cold start to spring up all along my body. What was this? Then I realized.

"Snow!"

I sat up. My eyes widened, it was beautiful. Everything was sparkling, from the trees to the hydrangea bushes, all was coated in a vale of glimmering ice. I sprung up, laughing. I hadn't seen snow in forever! I leaped from place to place laughing and whooping. I felt the cold crisp air flow through my lungs. A shiver ran from my horn all the way to the tip of my tail, I sighed as a feeling of refreshment swept over my bones. I had missed the outside.

"Gloria!"

I stopped prancing and stood frozen.

Oops...

I turned slowly around. Christilia stood furious at the door.

"Are you mad! You're going to freeze to death!" she roared.

What is wrong with her? I'm just going outside!

"Uh.. sorry? I guess?" I said raising my eyebrows.

Christilia snorted.

"Get in here!" she said commandingly. "Now!"

"Why are you ordering me around?!" I thought out loud.

Christilia glared at me with her one seeing eye, stuck her nose in the air and walked back down the hall, signaling me to follow. I sighed and walked slowly back inside the suffocatingly hot hospital.

I followed her slowly down the long grey halls in silence. I kept my head lowered and my eyes to the ground, but occasionally I snook a glance at Christilia and would catch her glaring at me over her shoulder.

Maybe she's just stressed! I mean she has been ruling a kingdom by herself for a month... that would probably make me irritable too. But I wonder why she's just furious all of a sudden, she's never been like..... well this!

"Hurry up will you? We have a kingdom to lead!" she hissed.

"Wait you want me to start ruling again right now?!" I said halting and staring at her. "But I just—"

"I don't care! You're a queen! And queens are supposed to rule!" she spat cutting me off.

"But what about Lunacy? I asked panicking. "Wha—"

"I turned her to stone, ok!" Christilia growled. "Now come on! I'll show you her when we're out of this dump!"

My eyes widened and I halted once more in shock but managed to keep my mouth shut and continued walking.

Turned to stone how does that even work!?

"I know I should act less suspicious you cretin, now shut up!" Christilia suddenly hissed at the air.

"Um.... what?" I said cocking a brow.

Who in Sunbeam's name is she talking too?!

"Nothing!" Christilia said a little too quickly. "Just uuuhh.... talking to myself hehe!"

She paused awkwardly, coughed and continued briskly down the hall.

"Ookkaayy then." I said to myself and followed slowly.

The hallways seemed to be abnormally long and I felt like we would never walk out of this place again. Occasionally there would be a nurse pushing a patient in a wheelchair or a doctor hurrying back and forth from room to room. They all seemed to avoid Christilia but each of them bowed there heads respectively to me. I wasn't sure why, but I couldn't shake the feeling that they were one of the reasons Christilia was acting so... cold.

"Your majesty!! There you are!"

Nurse Rose galloped out of a room to my right leaving the door swinging back and forth on its hinges.

"Oh.. hello!" I replied.

"You really shouldn't run like your being chased by a pack of rabid squirrels after having your neck sliced like sushi by a maniac!!" she stopped yelling and panted.

Pack of RABID SQUIRRELS??! What?

"If you don't mind we're trying to leave." Christilia said glaring down at the pink pegasus in front of her.

"I... uh.. sorry your majesty.." Rose stuttered, seeming to shrink under Christilia's hard stare.

She shuffled her hooves awkwardly, then she turned her gaze to me.

"Well... goodbye!"

Then she turned and hurried away before Christilia could do anything more. I watched the pink pegasus slowly disappear between the other residents of the hospital and sighed.

"You didn't have to be like that you know." I said turning to Christilia. "She saved my life."

"Like what?" Christilia said still glowering.

You seriously don't realize you just yelled at a nurse of all ponies? Where's the kind gentle queen of El Turnia I know?

Christilia muttered something under her breath so I couldn't hear and turned away and walked down the hall that led to a large glass door. Outside it I could faintly see the outline of ponies milling on the streets, walking in to shops, and flying in the snow filled sky.

Finally! The main entrance! That took forever!

"Are you coming or not?" Christilia barked and all around her ponies turned their heads to see if she had been yelling at them.