Devilish

Rosehip

2 weeks later –

Leila awoke to a cold compress being placed against her forehead. Startled, she sat up quickly which made her scream slightly in pain, she caught herself and gritted her teeth through the pain, holding her side.

"Whoa there little lady. Don't be so rash, you're in quite the state here". A man's voice said. Despite his warnings Leila jumped up from the hospital bed, causing her to fall to her knees and tears welled up in her eyes due to the pain. She looked up at the man who was dressed in a long doctor's coat, he had messy brown hair and dark blue eyes and wore some old-fashioned black glasses.

"A doctor? B-but why I thought ...." Leila stammered, not quite believing her situation. "Did I somehow make it to heaven?"

The doctor couldn't even laugh at the sad remark; he just moved towards her and helped her back onto the hospital bed. "I'm sure you'll make it to heaven eventually my dear, but for now you're in Littleroot's make shift hospital ward."

Leila took in the information, still clutching at her side. Littleroot was a town nearby to where she had collapsed, but it was quite a walk away. The fact she had even been found in such a dingy cave was a miracle. Leila looked around the room and noticed it wasn't a fancy hospital room, but instead it was a makeshift ward, with a thin bed sheet covering the doorway and cheap equipment.

"I know it isn't much, but Littleroot isn't a big town. Our hospital is facing some issues with a pandemic also, so this is one of the stand-up wards." The dark haired man explained, picking up his clipboard. "So, what's your name?"

"I don't need to tell you that" Leila coldly replied. "More importantly, how did I get here?"

The man sighed, understanding her position but slightly worn out from being overworked. "I found you, I had to carry you back here on my back – I was scared I'd damage you more though. You had a lot of injuries.... Don't worry I won't ask why. But be more careful, I'm not sure you'll survive another round of that"

"Thank you...." Leila murmured, knowing he was right. "B-but...I was in a cave. Why were you looking around there?"

"The herb market is in a couple days – it's a market where doctors and pharmacists flock to. Many merchants come to display their wares and doctors find some hard-to-find ingredients. It's the only thing that keeps Littleroot alive to be honest. I was gathering some herbs when I heard a whimper from the cave, thought it was a cat or something. But it was you." He explained. "I took care of the body too". The man curtly added the last bit without flinching, causing Leila to eye him suspiciously. He found her collapsed with a dead man and he didn't question it?

"Honey!" A petite woman lifted the sheet on the door, her blonde curls falling down her shoulders. She spotted Leila sitting up and smiled warmly. "Oh, you're up. That's good!"

"Angie – what's going on dear?" The man explained before smiling at his wife.

"Sorry to interrupt but Dr Pritchett is asking for you, something about some rosehip oil. He said it's urgent" Angie answered before bowing her head professionally, exiting the makeshift room after her husband nodded in understanding.

"Well, I'm sure you'd like to get out of here as quick as you can but I'm afraid you'll have to stay for a week at leas-"

"No! I can't do that" Leila shouted, fear coursing through her body as she knew she had been found. She couldn't stay, and she didn't know how long she had been passed out for. Maybe Xander already knew she had killed his guards.

The doctor sighed and put his hand on his hip in thought. "Nope, sorry. No way around it. Nobody will know you are here, don't worry. But I can't let a patient in your condition walk out on me.