Caged (Book One)

Chapter Twenty-Four

"Oh, hello! You must be the new guests!" The innocent looking girl greeted the girls as they stumbled in. "Oh dear, what's wrong?" She immediately changed once she saw the way Eveleen looked to be in pain. The infirmary itself was small, only enough for four people at a time. The girl helped get Eveleen on the bed, as Kristine explained her condition.

    "Has she been wounded recently?" She asked Kristine instead of Eveleen. Kristine thought back,

        "An arrow, she was shot with an arrow a few days ago. But the hospital she was treated at said she hadn't been poisoned?" She explained as she gently reached for Eveleen's shoulder. The girl swatted her hand away, taking the cloth and ripping it off her shoulder. Revealing a black swollen wound!

Kristine gasped, seeing how black the veins in her shoulder were as the wound itself bleed through wrapped bandages.

    "She's been poisoned." The girl confirmed. Eveleen raised her head to look at her shoulder, the sudden motion made her nauseous, as she leaned over to vomit on the floor.

    "I need to get Aiden!" Kristine blurted out, darting out of the infirmary as she ignored the girl calling for her. She saw only one passerby outside, with no hesitation Kristine ran up to them, clutching on them,

    "I need to find Aiden. Do you know where he lives?!"

        "Whoa, calm down-" The passerby tried but was interrupted.

    "I need to find Aiden." Gulping nervously, the passerby pointed behind her, "He's down that road, about three rooms down and then turn right. He's on the corner the most."

    Kristine nodded, taking off down the road. She didn't know how he could help, but she felt he just could.

Aiden's place was oddly on the corner the most, like he wanted to be alone. Once she got to his door, her fist pounded against it. He had to be home, he had to be.

    After a few knocks, Aiden swung the door open. His annoyed look turned into a scowl when he saw Kristine's panicked look,

    "What do you want?"

        "Eveleen, she was poisoned, she's at the infirmary." She told him in between breaths. Aiden's mood changed, he actually looked worried.

    "Hang on," He darted behind him, rummaging through a bag on his table.

    "Please tell me you have another gift from Whitefall." Kristine tried to catch her breath. She could sense him rolling his eyes,

    "No, I have something from here. It should help." He dug out a blue pouch before running out the door. Kristine followed him back, curious of what he grabbed.

    "Is it medicine? The poison spread all over her shoulder!" Kristine informed him as they came upon the steps.

    "For once, Kristine. Shut it!" He snapped back at her as he stepped in where Eveleen laid.

    "There you are! Oh!" The girl looked at Aiden, with horror in her eyes.

    "She's um," The girl stopped again. Aiden ignored her, only watching Eveleen as she laid in the cotton bed, clearly in pain as she curled up, pressing onto her wound.

    "This should help." Aiden spoke, but helped himself to walking over to Eveleen, who by now seemed to be unaware of her surroundings. He took out some flowers from the pouch. The girl and Kristine watched as Aiden rubbed them into Eveleen's shoulder.

    "But she still needs to be treated for the poison inside her. That stuff only stops it from spreading, which is what she needed as well, but still," The girl spoke. Aiden turned to look at Kristine.

    "Where do we get the right medicine?" Kristine was the one to ask.

        "Well, it would depend on the type of poison that was used. Who shot her with an arrow?" The girl asked.

    "Dungeon keepers," Aiden and Kristine spoke in unison. The girl gaped at them, "The same people you were rescued from?" She asked Aiden cautiously,

"That would be them. Great. We have a better chance of going to Arksea."

    "That would be insane, that city is filled with criminals who are supposedly looking for a second chance. Not to mention The Skeletons had claimed Arksea as headquarters." Kristine told them.

    "Well, aren't you optimistic? Nobody is gonna bother us if we swing by to get some stuff, people tend to do that you dunce." Aiden insulted. Kristine fumed at him,

    "Would it kill you to be a little nice to me!?"

    "Guys,' The girl tried, but was once again ignored.

        "Cause last time I was nice, you tried to kill me." Aiden snipped back.

    "I can help." The girl attempted to get their attention.

    "We can't keep fighting, Aiden. Eveleen needs us right now." Kristine turned from him, facing Eveleen on the cot. Eveleen's forehead was now drenched in sweat as she tried to lay comfortable on the bed.

"Arksea is only a 4 hour ride. We could go there and make it back today. That is, if there are no interruptions." Aiden's voice had calmed down, he knew there was no time for fighting.

    "I can watch over her while you guys go." The girl managed to get their attention this time, Kristine gave her a soft smile.
    "Thank you, um what's your name?" She awkwardly asked.

    "Jezz, not like you'll remember it. Before you leave, here," Jezz stepped away to the cabinets across from the cots, she pulled out a leather book and handed it to Kristine,

    "Use this to buy medicine, it should be more than enough so be careful. I know a man who will help get exactly what we need to treat her. His name is Ellison, and please, be nice to him." Jezz gave Aiden a look, "He's a nice guy, he'll help however he can. I can use the medicine here to keep the poison from spreading but you need to be quick."

    "Don't worry, we'll get back as soon as possible. On another note, keep any weapons away from her in case she has weird hallucinations. I'm told she can be quite violent." Kristine warned. Jezz nodded, turning back to Eveleen.

"We'll be back before we know it. Come on." AIden roughly grabbed Kristine's arm, throwing her ahead of him. She already felt weak in the legs as she stumbled forward.

"Ok, Ok, we can do this. She'll be ok. Right?" Kristine looked

at Aiden, feeling completely vulnerable under his intense gaze. Aiden sighed, before giving her a nod. It's Eveleen, the most feared woman around, she can pull through this.

    Kristine did well taking deep breaths as the two found their horses. She had no idea where they were, she had to rely on Aiden so she wouldn't get lost.

As she rode fast behind Aiden, Kristine thought back to Leo. He's probably going to think they just up and left, if only she told Jezz to inform him of the situation.

    She shook her head, why is she thinking of that! Eveleen is sick! All of her attention should be on helping her. Looking at Aiden's back, she watched how tense he was. He's always looking over his shoulder, always prepared for a fight.

    How can they both not see they are perfect for each other?