War Zone

Capital of schemes (3)

I don't know how I managed to stay awake throughout the night. But I did. I wasn't able to see a single strand of Helen's hair, but the knight who I pleaded to retrieve her came back with a fractured rib in the wee hours of the morning and informed me that although he wasn't able to get her back, she was alive, and well.

I sighed in relief, and offered to patch him up.

"It seems the magician spoke the truth as the snake listened to her well."

"What?" I couldn't believe my ears.

"Well, I couldn't believe it myself either!" The knight yammered away while I assessed his chest. He was reserved a while ago and couldn't seem to meet me in my eye when I told him I was going to cut his shirt to see his chest, but he soon became comfortable after I told him to drop the embarrassment as I'm only doing a medical examination. There were a few other knights with a bare chest and bandages around their torso which was enough to convince him.

I do understand their sentiments, as it's quite rare to have a female Physicker who dabbled with the messy work other than taking care of child birth.

"Doctor! I might need a second opinion. I can't say I'm familiar with fractures." I called out. You'd need an imaging for these cases to have a clear diagnosis in the modern world, but I'm not sure if they have that here. Maybe they have a method I don't know of.

The younger one, who later introduced himself in the middle of the night as Timothy, stood gloatingly after assisting the last patient. His senior, Warner, had surrendered to sleep after assessing the ratio of patients to one physicker and a trained herbalist are manageable.

"Well, of course. Only registered Physickers are allowed to use sofisticated equipments."

"So there is a way to see the bones! Amazing!"

"I see you've never even seen one. I'm not even surprised. I'll go get it from the equipment room."

"Okay!"

When he came back with the "x-ray", I was surprised, by how portable it was. When he said he would fetch it, I didn't know it was that convenient to carry. A black mass of rectangular glass stood on a stand where it could be rotated and fixed at an angle freely.

Timothy easily flipped it horizontally atop the knight, and after being in contact with his pendant, the glass glowed. With a few adjustments, we were able to see the fracture in the knight's ribs through the glass.

"Wow! Is this made with magick!?"

"Of course. Invented by Dr. Astarte Weinfried in year forty five."

A series of questions left my mouth after his introduction. Soon, it became a lecture about bone fractures, until the knight spoke beneath the glass.

"I'd love to hear about bone fractures, too, but my chest really hurts when I breath. Can I get a pill to alleviate that, please?"

"Oh, we're so sorry, sir! I was so excited to discuss about this amazing equipmen-gguh!"

My lids were peeled wide in shock as I got hauled back by a magick I was now all too familiar with.

"Your patient has returned, Miss Cher." Sir Klein's voice hovered above my head, and I snapped my chin up to glare at him.

"Sir Klein!" I exclaimed his name in a fit. "I am not a thing you can just grab and place anywhere you like! Could you please be more polite!?"

"I apologize. I merely think you might be more inclined to attend to the magician now that she's back."

I held down my rage as I looked at how he carried Helen by a water tentacle, dangling mid-air like a wet sack of potatoes.

"Please carry her more gently! She's battling bruises and a high fever, for Christ's sake! Also, we must dry her instantly! You-" I returned my gaze at Sir Klein. "Can't you do that using your magic?"

"Done."

I stared at him, dumbfounded at the quick result. "Then... Please put me down, so I can walk." I uttered.

He relented, sighing remorsefully. "Apologies, Miss Cher. I called out to you when I came in, but you were too engrossed in a conversation. I wanted to get your attention quickly, so I pulled you close. I'll be more careful next time."

"Fine... Just-Just don't do it again." I replied, and he beamed at me again while nodding.

I promptly guided him to an empty bed to place Helen after excusing myself from Timothy, so I could re-apply the ointment and the ice pack.

"I guess that will suffice. She seems more stable now, actually... Which is a miracle." I frowned at the slight pinkish color on her cheeks that have returned. Is it because she's a magician so she has much more tendency to recover faster than an average human?

"That's because of her consort." 

I turned questioningly at Sir Klein who was sitting on the empty bed beside Helen. "Well... Whatever that means." I was too exhausted to be curious at this point. "But what happened to the snake?" 

"It will not be a threat from now on." 

I nodded before eyeing him. Aside from seemingly rolling in the dirt, he looks fine. "And what about you? Are you feeling fine? No injuries whatsoever?" 

He smiled. "I think you need rest, Miss Cher." 

"We're not talking about me. I was not the one who faced a giant snake twice. Are you really fine?" I asked, traversing the small distance between us to inspect his body more closely. 

He suddenly stood up, surprising me. I stepped back when I felt his breath on my forehead. "What's the matter?" I asked.

"As you can see. I am completely fine." 

I measured him up and down before shrugging. "Okay..." 

"Now... I think you should really rest, Miss Cher." 

"No..." Shaking my head, I glanced around the ward. "I need to monitor a lot of the patients and-"

"Listen to the knight, Miss." An older maid suddenly spoke up. "You've done so much for everyone. The worst has already passed. We will handle the rest," she smiled gratefully, and I just sighed before returning her smile. Looking around for the second time, I finally soaked in the peaceful silence. Save for a few snoring here and there, the moans of anguish had vanished, and a tranquil atmosphere enveloped the clinic. 

"I guess I am exhausted..." I chuckled as I cocked my head at Sir Klein. "Good night then, Sir Klein." 

He nodded, moving away from the nearby bed so I could sleep on it. I soon collapsed on the mattress with yet another sigh. "But if you're short on hands. You can wake me up." 

The maid snorted in disbelief as she walked over and enveloped me with the blankets. "If we're short on hands, the knights can choke it up until you're awake. Sleep now, Miss." 

I giggled at her stern voice and nodded before finally shutting my eyes. It has been a very long day. I wonder how Imaya's doing at the main building. My worries were later extinguished as sleep quickly took over my consciousness, seemingly waiting for me to lie down for a long time.