Island Dream [a Damian Priest fantasy story]

23 Fear

The next few days passed without any incidents. Damian kept a close eye on Sanja and carried her everywhere so that her ankle could heal. Of course, she didn't really like this. She would have much preferred to run around to make herself useful. But apparently the injury was a little worse than expected. The bruises that covered her entire left side didn't help either. It hurt Sanja to take a deep breath.

At first, she hadn't expected the fall to be so bad. But she was obviously wrong. Or it was simply because she wasn't used to injuries lasting long.

"Good morning. How did you sleep?" Damian asked one morning after he had pressed a kiss to Sanja's temple.

He immediately felt how hot she was. But that was probably because she had pulled her blanket up under her chin.

"I've hardly slept. My hand still hurts a lot." she said softly.

She sounded so exhausted. No sooner had she said it than her eyes fell shut again.

"I'll get everything I need to change the bandage. Do you want anything special for breakfast?" Damian asked.

"No... I'm not hungry... Can I get some more sleep?" Sanja wanted to know.

"Of course. I'll be back in an hour. But then you have to eat something," he replied, unable to shake off the worry in his voice.

Sanja had hardly eaten anything in the last few days. That wasn't good. He should get the doctor after all and if he had to go into town anyway, he could ask him to accompany him. So far she hadn't shown any signs of infection, but... Something was wrong here.

"Okay..." she breathed softly.

Damian leaned over her to give her another kiss. He gently wiped some of her hair from her forehead and smiled at the sight of her face. The love he felt for her was almost overwhelming. He had never thought it possible that something like this was meant for him in his life.

"Love you," he whispered.

"Love you too..." he heard Sanja breathe and saw her lips curl into a smile.

Reluctantly, he rolled out of bed and then got ready for the day as quietly as possible. With one last look, he left the room. He walked down the stairs where he met Rhea.

"Good morning. No Sanja today?" she asked.

"No... I'm really worried, so I'll ask the doctor to accompany me here later. I have to pick something up, but try to get back as soon as possible. If I'm not back in an hour, please check on her." he replied as he put on his long coat.

"Will do. Am I right in assuming that the present is ready?" she wanted to know.

"Yes. I hope she likes it. After all, it's something very special." Damian said with a proud smile.

The journey there and back from the town took longer than he had planned. Partly because he had to wait a while for the doctor, who was on a house call with someone else.

"Oh, thank goodness. Come quickly. I just can't get Sanja awake." Rhea shouted as she came running down the stairs.

"What? What happened?" Damian asked as he jumped off his horse.

"I don't know. But it's like she's on fire." she replied as she took over the horse.

Damian immediately made his way inside and upstairs. The doctor followed on his heels. When he entered the bedroom, he saw Paya sitting next to Sanja on the bed, trying to cool her down with cold cloths.

"Please all leave the room," he told the doctor, but Damian didn't even think about complying.

"The hand is not the problem. No inflammation, no pus. Stitches look fine. But she has a high fever. Has she complained of any other injuries?" he wanted to know.

"No... Just the hand and ankle, like I said. But she has a lot of bruises. And she was holding her side," Damian replied breathlessly.

The doctor immediately pushed Sanja's clothes up so that he could take a look at her midsection. The bruises looked so much worse than they had yesterday. He carefully examined Sanja. A serious but concentrated expression on her face.

"Well?" Damian asked impatiently.

"A rib has shifted. I would assume that this has injured the lung. I don't hear any noticeable breathing sounds. The lung itself is not affected. But there has clearly been inflammation at the point where the rib has irritated the lung. I'll have to adjust it," he replied and then immediately did what he had to.

He pressed on the ribs with his hands to bring them back into the correct position. Almost immediately, the previously unconscious Sanja screamed out. The pain must have been unbearable. Damian knelt next to her and held her firmly so that she didn't hurt herself any more.

Sanja was panting heavily, but she didn't manage to stay conscious for long. The fever raged through her body like a wildfire. She must have been in pain. Why hadn't she told Damian? He could have reacted much sooner.

"We should get her awake so she can take medicine. But we can do that without it if we have to. And we have to bring the fever down," said the doctor.

He looked around and saw a glass of water on the bedside table. Then he took a small bottle of pills out of his ba. He carefully put one of the pills in Sanja's mouth while Damian straightened her up a little. The doc poured a little water into her mouth before massaging her throat to get her to swallow. And luckily it worked.

"Now we have to wait and see. Try to give her a pill every four hours. Cold compresses should be changed every 20 minutes." he continued.

"What are her chances?" Damian asked, although he wasn't sure he wanted to hear the answer.

As he held his beloved in his arms and stroked her forehead with the cold cloth, he was gripped by a fear he had never felt before. Fear of losing this woman. Fear of not getting what he wanted so badly.

"I'm afraid it could lead to sepsis if we don't get the infection she has somewhere in her body under control. The fever has to go down, that's the most important thing... If that doesn't work... then... Then I don't know if she'll survive," the doctor replied honestly.