𝙖 𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙠𝙚𝙩 𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙩𝙝'𝙨 𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙮.

Chapter 2.

Waking up with an entirely fuzzy brain is not the exact thing that Kateryna found to be entirely pleasant, but, it wasn't her first time. It felt like a ton of bricks had been hurled at her cranium and battered all the, very limited, intellect right out of her. That's precisely why she'd woken up with such a hellish headache, brain pounding her skull, begging to get out so that it could gain the much needed oxygen that the Sevastipolian felt as though she was not receiving.

That was the likely reasoning to why her eyes were practically padlocked shut, no amount of impenetrable spirit letting them gape at her surroundings. Her life truly lay in the hands of what she could smell and hear. Inhaling a whale sized breath of air, she could basically taste the disgusting stench of metal, blood flowing through the air is if they were still in someone's veins – not to mention the asphyxiating effluvium of gunpowder, which decidedly coated her body like another layer of skin.

As for her hearing, she was deafened by the urgent clamour of millions of voices at once, all trying to rush to her earn, like an influx of sudden people. But, she felt grateful that it wasn't the ear-shattering boom of a musket, or the dying wails of her fellow soldiers. Somehow, this felt almost amicable, somewhere she could just bask in for the rest of her worthless existence. For once, she didn't need to feel like the tsar's pawn.

Then, came the hefty stomps of shoes, or, perhaps it was just because her hearing was so honed in – despite the dullness of it. The deliberately measured steps made the woman think her heart was going to rip through her chest – she couldn't look, she couldn't move, she was practically paralysed and comatose, for all anyone knew. That didn't cause the fear to shy away from her being. It didn't stop anything, the entire fact that she was paralysed scared her even more.

So, glued to the spot, she gave heavy breaths, the sensation of her heart trembling feeling like an earthquake inside – a horrible feeling, to be entirely frank. Wishing for an escape, it was all she could do; pray to the lord that she would get out, that she would slip like an eel through the cracks of her memories and these footsteps.

Just as she felt as though her heart could stop, an exceptionally subtle, mellow voice flowed through the room – it was as if she were hanging onto the angelic singing of a siren, one of the most exquisite things that had ever had the pleasure of invading her ears. The voice was as ethereal as the northern lights, as luminescent as the sun, as unearthly as the moon. This was just a deduction derived from a sparse few words – Kateryna was invested in this woman.

"Seems stable, I do hope that you can hear me..." Called the considerately angelic voice to her, as she noticed a weight on her shoulder – but, not figuratively this time. It was comforting, kind... It caused her heart to thaw in her chest, as if she were a frozen slab of meat that was left to defrost. Her cold heart, somewhat, melted. "I am unsure if you understand me, but, you have sliced your calf muscle, and I had to fix that up for you. It could have easily gone septic, so, I used something relatively new – completely safe, though!" The, presumably, woman assured her, hand still conclusively taking residence on her shoulder.

Kateryna tried desperately to say something back, but, alas, her efforts were in vain – she was glued to the spot, no pun intended. Fortunately, she could comprehend the words – she'd learnt extremely broken English from her Welsh grandfather, luckily. Although, the Ukrainian was not advanced enough to know what a calf muscle was, she had a pretty good idea of what it was, due to the one thing she remembered before the darkness had consumed her, suffocating mossy eyes.

Demanding herself to say or do something, her lips moved gently. Her greatest asset was truly her determination. "Th... Than-k-k... Y... Ou..." Came a, virtually inaudible, murmur from the soldier. This caused the bed she lay on to speedily shift. "You can hear me? You can slightly speak? Well, this is a miracle – a true gift.." The woman spoke, her words dripping with relief and celebratory joy.

After a long awaited silence, she'd decided to say something else. "Just so you are aware, my name is Nurse Mary Lewis-Edwards. Due to a shortage of doctors, I shall be your doctor." It was practically unheard of that a woman could possibly be a doctor, but, Mary was an ambitious lady. "Subsequently, as your doctor, I have figured out your little secret."

The words coerced her heart to freeze in it's pounding tracks. She knew. Mary was fully aware that she was, in fact, a woman. She'd alert someone – now, she wasn't just an enemy, she was also a woman. Her mind hurtled over obstacles, breathing becoming heavy as her chest rose up and down. But, the angelic voice came back to comfort. "Do not worry, I won't tell anyone. I promise. I understand fully – I would fake being a man just to achieve my dreams of being a doctor." She admitted.

The consolation convinced her to mollify her, the breathing flattening as she appeared to relax into her bed. She was fine. Her secret was safe. Finally, she could sense herself drifting into unconsciousness. She hummed quietly as she finally let her body relax fully, falling into a slumber.

Meanwhile, the nurse stood, ready to take her leave. "Sleep well, dear."