- SINDRI'S POV -
I felt as if awaking from a horrible dream as my head finally cleared. My every inch of me ached and my mind was foggy. I could hardly take in my surroundings. The entire windowless room was made of stone, save the wooden rafters and door. It was lit by an unseen source, and was uncannily warm. A white sheet lay over me, concealing my naked body from the shoulders down. A similar cloth separated me from the dark wood table I had been placed upon. My arms were neatly at my sides and feet shoulder width apart, not unlike the charts found inside books in the anatomy section of the Royal Library.
A damp cloth sat on my forehead, keeping me from overheating. Without the ability to use actual words to describe how I felt, I groaned. "Good. The effects are wearing off." a voice said. An elderly man stepped into my unfocused view. He came forward and sat on a simple chair next to me. His calloused hand supported me by the back as he helped me drink water from an odd wooden goblet. He lifted a spoon made of the same natural material. I was fed an awful stew, filled with stringy, slightly rancid meat and thin vegetables that were burnt and smashed beyond recognition, all smothered in a thin and bitter gravy.
I gagged, and tried my hardest not to spew the disgusting excuse for nourishment over the man kind enough to care for me. He laughed, a joyful, potbellied sound that had the ability to lift even the most sorrowful of spirits. "Maybe I shouldn't give you any of Brother Treth's food. It may make you even more ill than you already are!" he said quietly. I was grateful for his change in volume, since anything louder threatened to give me a tremendous headache.
I struggled to focus my eyes and get a better view of the elderly man. Brother Treth... I must have been at an abbey of some sort, a religious place. How I managed to get there was a mystery, but the reason wasn't. I wouldn't have been touched in such a state unless there was an emergency. Ryon.
I used every ounce of energy I had and more to sit up on my own. I was shaking with the physical effort. I clutched the sheet to my chest to keep myself covered. My only thought was to get back to camp and find Ryon.The man placed a hand on my bare shoulder and gently lay me back down. "You're strong, Princess Sindri." he said. "But not that strong. Tell me what you need."
"Ryon." I muttered breathlessly, almost too quiet for even I to hear.
"He's the one who brought you here, Your Highness. You're on the coast of the Yolandic Sea in the west." he informed me. "You've been out of it for a week. Ryon managed to give you a high fever, which worsened the effects of the poison you were given. It was a mixture of crushed aerobane and vervain root. Nasty stuff, that is." A week... hm. It felt like much less time. Maybe an hour or two.
Accepting the fact that Ryon was safe and unharmed, I settled myself back onto the table. "My name is Brother Stephen of the Setting Sun Abbey." my caretaker told me as he walked to my other side. "I do apologize for your lack of proper clothing. Some of your injuries were in rather difficult places, and you need to cool off." He moved the sheet and exposed bloody bandages wrapped around my mid to upper thigh.
Brother Stephen unwound them, gently washed the dried blood away with a wet cloth, then examined a carefully stitched wound. Clean linens swiftly replaced the old and he concealed the bandages once more. This process repeated with a few of my lower ribs before he made it to my head. Brother Stephen removed the cloth from my forehead, put a weathered hand in its place and sighed.
"You're getting warmer." he mumbled, and dipped it in a shallow dish of water. He wrung out the excess liquid then replaced it where it had laid. "Strange. Very strange indeed." He stood and looked to the door. "I'm afraid I must depart, Princess. I will return shortly." With those final words, he shuffled from my limited sight range. I couldn't even turn my head to watch him go. There were multiple clicks and grinding noises as the portal was unlocked. In seconds, the old monk was gone. I closed my eyes and silently prayed to Maldein that I would make it through the night.
*******
- RYON'S POV -
I turned around at the sound of walking feet. Brother Stephen was coming toward me, a look of worry crossing his features. To ease the elderly Brother's journey, I met him halfway down the drafty stone passageway.
"Her Highness has awoken, Ryon." he told me. I sighed in relief, but it was mingled with fear. "We both know something's wrong. She should have come to her senses the day after she was given the liquid, not a week. Her fever should be gone by now, but is instead getting worse. We can't hide her from the Abbott forever, my boy."
"Stephen, I-" The man cut me off.
"That's Brother Stephen."
"Whatever. You know I can't tell him. He's throwing a fit that I brought Kian uninvited, let alone a girl. He'll string me from the rafters by my toes if he finds out about Sindri!" I rampaged quietly, not wanting to disturb the sleeping monks. It was, after all, the middle of the night.
"If anything, he'll yell a bit, then host a party for all the riches she can donate. You know how he is. Always wanting more. How he managed to get in charge of this dusty old place, I'll never understand." he huffed.
I sighed heavily. "Fine. But I'm not going to tell everyone. I'll get Brother Damon to. He can't resist flapping his gums at every piece of information he hears." I then had an idea. It probably wouldn't work for long, but it could buy us some time. "If anyone asks, her name is May Fields. I don't believe Brother Damon has figured out her identity yet."
"What about Abbott Deron? When will we tell him?" Brother Stephen inquired.
"Tomorrow at sunset. The moment it vanishes beyond the horizon." I said with finality. By then, the man will be tired enough to agree to anything. If we're lucky, he may even let a cursed princess stay within the walls for another week or two. One could only hope.
________________________________________________________________________________
It have five words to describe this chapter. Short, short, short, short, and-you guessed it-purple. You probably didn't think that... Oh well. I thought it was pretty obvious. I've officially decorated my trombone case with Veggie-Tales stickers. You know, Tom the Tomato, Larry the Cucumber, the Squash Brothers, and that random asparagus whose name I can never remember. I'll fill you in when I figure it out. I've even memorized the theme song...
VOTE!
COMMENT!
FAN!
AWKWARD MENTAL SILENCE!! .*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*
YOU ARE READING
The Blood in Our Veins
Fantasi(Book One in the Storm Trilogy) Sindri Willow is next in line to become High Queen of Arkenon. She accepted this responsibility with a heavy heart, though she may need to rule sooner than she wanted. Her uncle, Lord Gallahein, plans to take the thro...
