The Difference In Capital Letters

Reality

  I wake with a shudder, my legs are still limp, I can feel the warmth of the blood sticking to my black jeans. We've stopped moving, Viktor is playing with Fillin but Kazi and Loki are standing anxiously beside me.

'We heard you yelling, and I could feel you shuddering whilst you were sleeping. We pulled up, so to speak, and I could see the blood seeping through your jeans - we must have flown past some sharp branches or something. Are you okay?'

I glance at both of them and sigh a little before trying to get up, with my legs completely useless I end up lurching to the left. Kazi catches me and with a combined effort, Kazi and Loki help me off Agripin's back. Agripin is obviously worried, but he goes to keep Fillin distracted and give us some space. So with a shaking breath I tell them my dream, but the expressions from my friends tell me that it's more than just a dream.

  They get to work on trying to heal my wounds. My hands are rather burnt and I feel the fire rising in my useless legs. I lay down on the forest floor with my back to the green canopy over our heads. Despite the inability to move, I can feel Kazi's ice-cold hands rolling my jeans up to assess the damage. I hear a slight gasp and a muttered curse, to which I laugh slightly and tell Kazi in the sternest voice possible when laughing to mind his language.

  To look at my hands, Loki gently picks me up to rest me on his lap. His hands are warm, but I can feel them cooling as he touches my burns. I know their both using their ice abilities - but it does make sense that Kazi is seeing to the deep cuts on my calves. With a smile, Loki sets about making some ice bandages and wraps them around my injured wrists and palms. His rough hands make the burns tingle, but the ice bandages sooth them so much. I give a small smile to him, which he returns. To further protect my hands, Loki also makes some gorgeously white gloves - they nearly reach my elbows and they make me feel like a Disney princess, only I couldn't be more different from a Disney princess that actually wears their white gloves. These gloves are also tinged with ice, but not so much that my hands freeze.

  Loki gives me his mischievous pixie-look and goes to help Kazi. As soon as Loki sits down I hear another muttered curse. I can hear Loki speaking in his charismatic voice as he says: 'You shouldn't curse in front of a lady.'

'Oh, so I'm a lady now am I?' I retort with a giggle.

'Come off it, you burnt my hand when I just touched your shoulder and you gave me an absolutely killer look when I said I beat you in a fight.' Kazi says, matter-of-factly.

'Actually, your boyfriend does have a point, shadow girl. You are about as ladylike as Max is.'

'So now it's insults, weren't you ever taught to be polite to a princess?'

They answer me in unison. 'No, we were told to be as horrible as possible.'

I can hear them laughing behind me, at least they're getting on now.

Their voices drop to a whisper, but my hearing is better than most, I feel like throwing up when I hear what Kazi says:

'She's had a lot of muscle and ligament torn, it could take forever to heal, I've not had the healing course I was meant to have yet, I can ease the pain, but she won't be able to move her legs for at least six weeks, I don't know how she's gonna cope if she has to fight, she won't be able to put any weight on them.'

'Well, I'm no healer, but she did fix herself up after I fought you both, maybe if we told her she could...'

'I'm not sure that's an option, she can't even see the wounds for herself.'

  I halt them in their conversation as I begin to move. They both go to restrain me, but I haul my legs underneath me so I'm sitting and facing them in a cross-legged position. I give them a smirk and go about assessing the damage. Looking at my legs, Kazi put it mildly, I'm surprised I've not lost more blood, but Kazi probably cauterized the wound as best he could. My legs are torn to shreds, but I set about putting the muscles back together, drawing the ligaments and fusing them together. It hurts like nothing I've ever felt before but if I'm going to get anything done, I need to be able to walk.

  I can't replace the skin, most of it is lost, so I grab some ice bandages and wrap the wounds up tightly, slipping my still damp jeans over the top. I steadily get to my feet, a shock of pain contorting my face into a grimace. Kazi, scolds me and picks me up into a bridal carry and ceremoniously dumps me into a fiery wheelchair that Loki pushes towards me. I sigh and go to stand up, but I'm stuck.

'Sorry princess, couldn't let you go walking around with legs like that, the superglue will wear off in a little while, it's not too strong so you won't be stuck there for much more than a week.' Loki's head leans over the back of the wheelchair and he gives me an innocent looking face.

I groan and thump his arm; 'what happened to not playing with fire?' I tease.

'I'm a bad-boy, since when do you think I've listened to what people tell me?'

I just sigh and push myself over to one of the trees and wait whilst Kazi tries to cook us a meal. I can feel the need to fall asleep, but I don't dare try. I'd risk further injury to myself.