Before we fall

(Chp.3) A Helping Hand

Karl awoke from his restless night, he couldent sleep with all the tension in his home. However, there was now no time to catch up now as the sun rose with a pretty mixture of orange and pink- Karl couldent see the sunlight, for he had a secret, a secret he could share with none. (But let's not get into that now, we must continue the story.)

As Karl drew the shades to the window there was a sudden knock upon the browned, hard wood of the door. He calmly walked over and opened it, looking up to see a rather tall and wealthy appearing man.

"Well hello there! I'm Pablim. Have you seen a rather putrid looking child around here?" Pablim spoke without hesitation as he tipped his hat, peering further into the house for a chance at seeing the child he searched for. Befor Karl could speak, GC responded for him. She was leaned against the kitchen doorway for support- holding her stomach tightly with her right arm. She looked rather weak, in fact- Karl wondered how she was even standing by herself at the moment. None the less she stood as she spoke to the tall man claiming his name was Pablim.

"Pablim, what are you doing here? Do you even know what your little servant has put me through?!" GC started to get a little riled up as she shouted twords the man, soon regretting that as she clutched her stomach more- bending over with a groan. Karl began to run to her aid when he was suddenly placed aside by the tall man whom had decided to simply let himself inside of another's home.

"Tsk tsk, and I thought I told him to play nice." Pablim spoke as he walked up to GC, looking down upon her frail figure with pity befor returning to his monologue.

"May I see your wounds?" He inquired, kneeling down and holding a hand out for GC to grab onto for support.

"Why not, how much more damage could you possibly inflict." GC spoke, slight annoyance tracing her words as she took the hand offered to her as support.

Pablim then unwrapped the bandages previously placed there by Karl, leaving GC to find another method of support as he took off his black tophat- rummaging through it for contents unknown. Soon from the hat emerged a small vile of herbs and other ingredients. Pablim then proceeded to slide off his silky glove and put a few dabs of the substance in the vile he had previously retrieved on his hand and rubbed it into GC's wound, she instinctively pulled away from the cold hand but finding herself facing Pablim it had no affect. Within a flash of a secont the wound seemed to clear up, not closing fully. However, the bleeding now dripped at a medium- a far faster improvement that what could have been achieved with the medicine from the time of which they lived, and it looked clean- no longer plauqed with the rust of the screwdriver that caused the wound itself.

"Wha- what was that?" GC spoke, studdering over her words. She appeared astonished as she could now stand up straight herself- with zero aid or effort what so ever. Without response Pablim then rewrapped her wounds, understanding it wassent fully healed.

"Even if I healed your stab wound abit, you should continue to rest. It seems Robin did more damage to you than initially expected- I'll have to discuss this with him during a later date." Pablim spoke with GC, now familiarising himself with the current whereabouts of his being. Befor Pablim had a change to finish, Karl spoke up- the two had completley forgotten he was there!

"Exuse me, but who might you be?" Karl questioned, walking up to the two- placing a comforting hand on GC's shoulder, sort of forcing her to take a step or two away from Pablim as he knew nothing of the character himself- despite how acquainted the little girl seemed with him.

"As yes, please exuse my previous behavior- it was infact rather crude of me. You see, I was just a tad worried about my little friend here- she always seems to be getting herself in some sort of trouble." Pablim explained, apologising as he did so. He never intended to cause trouble for the homeowner, he just needed to make sure GC stayed alive for the time being.

"You are exused. Now, would you care to explain to me just exactly who you are? I could brew some tea for us as you explain." He asked, putting a pot of water upon the stove and lighting a small fire underneath the burner to bring the water to a boil, making sure to keep an eye on the man as he did so. Typically he would have just kicked him out, but he wanted to hear more about why this man knew the little girl so well, so he beckoned him to stay. He then brought out a plate of chocolate chip cookies and rested it neatly on the table top. Even if Pablim no longer wished to be in the old house with Karl and GC, than at least the residence could partake in some tea and cookies.

"Yes please! I would be delighted to." Pablim's eyes lit up at the mention of tea, he was quite the self-proclaimed tea fanatic himself. He hastily pulled out a chair, helping GC up into it befor sitting in a chair of his own. Pablim then proceeded to take his top hat off, digging through it and pulling out a graceful teacup which sat upon a corresponding plate. Its design was rather simple, white with a light blue rim which occasionally jutted off into dainty swirls.

Karl turned off the fire on the stove as he poured 3 cups of tea, one of which was Pablim's personal dishware. As Karl served the tea, GC had already managed to gobble down 3 cookies- it was as if she hadn't eaten in days. He brushed this off befor returning to his previous task.

Once the tea was served, Karl took a seat for himself- taking a sip from the piping hot jasmine blend he was serving. He then proceeded to ask the first of a long line of questions, some better left unanswered.

"So, how do you two know eachother?"

Word count 1071