Moongrace

Part 5

Next morning, he tried to get out of bed without disturbing her, but she moaned and slowly opened her eyes.

"Good morning", he called softly and kissed her gently. He somehow thought she tasted of raspberry. But, when she moaned again his thoughts turned back to her state again. "Do you feel like eating something?" he asked. She shook her head and suddenly turned to the other side and puked on the pillow. He reacted very fast, he got hold of a bowl lifted her up and over the bowl. She puked the whole soup out. Then fell weak on his lap. "Sorry..." she said it so softly he almost thought he had imagined it.

"Don't be. Everything is going to be alright. It is not your fault." he tried to calm her.

"Evan", she called ever so softly. He bent down to her. "Evan, you need to get Nasca... only she knows what to do!", then she fell back totally exhausted. He put her back on the bed again. He knew she was right and though it was the last thing he wanted to do, it was her only choice.

After he had cleaned the mess and put on his nicest cloths, he went to the secretary of the royal family and told him he needed to talk to Nasca about Girl. The secretary must have understood how important it was and sent him straight to Nasca. Nasca had her breakfast when Evan was allowed to see her.

"Yes, what is the matter?" she asked in her arrogant way.

"Dear Princess Nasca, it is about Girl. I found her and cared for her. But she is so very weak, miss. I do not think she has a chance to live this week if you do not help her, Miss.", Evan said.

Nasca got the message at once. "You do not think she will live until my next party? Where is she? Let two of my guards bring her to me and see that she lives until that." With this she released him. He almost ran back to his room, the guards followed him catching their breaths when they arrived.

"How will you carry her?" Evan asked.

"Don't you have a blanket? That will do!" said one of the guards. Then they simply marched into his room, took the ends of the sheet that covered his mattress and carried Girl out like this. She stirred, Evan running along with the guards, took her hand, "It's going to be alright. Trust me. Just hang on. Please." Finally, they arrived at the dorms of the Princess and Girl was laid down in the room of Nasca's own maid. Nasca came in the moment the guards let go of the sheet.

She bent down next to Girl, felt her pulse and lifted her eyelids. Then she went back to her room and got a small bottle. She made Girl drink a sip of it, and then closed it. Waiting she sat next to Girl on the bed. Evan was desperate. Was this it? He did not see a change? Had he been wrong about Nasca, did she want to kill Girl? Though he was impatient, he did not dare to say a single word.

After a while even Nasca shifted her position, a concerned look on her face. But there, did Girl not lift her finger? Did not just one of her eyelids move? Yes, she woke. Nasca slapped her cheek a bit and Girl opened her eyes looking around her confused, dislocated and helpless. Then her eyes found Nasca and widened, whether from fear or surprise Evan did not know. Finally, they found his and she seemed to relax a bit. He saw Nasca noticing it.

"Here we are again. Girl, how do you feel?" she asked.

"Better" Evan was so relieved when he heard this, he could not hide a smile. Nasca noticed this as well.

"Well, then your friend can go back to work again. He has done his job for you." she made a hand sign to dismiss Evan. Evan walked very reluctantly towards the door. Right before he stepped through the door, he asked: "Miss, might I ask where I can find her this evening?"

Nasca looked at him irritated: "If you must. I shall need only two more minutes with her, and then my guards will bring her back to wherever they found her."

Evan hoped she meant his room and went out in the garden. He could not concentrate on work, he could only think of Eleeza. When he got scolded by the master for the fifth time he was sent home, after a short whipping. Holding his back, he limped back to his room. He stopped right in front of the door, desperately hoping that Eleeza was in there.

He opened the door and smiled over his whole face when he saw Eleeza sitting in the bed, holding a book in her hands.

"Evan, it's so good to see you!" she said smiling.

"Look at you, you look way better. Are you hungry? Because I am as hungry as a lion." he laughed and limped towards the oven.

"Yes, definitely. Though not as hungry as you, I guess. This time I won't puke it out, I promise." He was relieved when he heard her in such a good mood.

"Seems that you are better now given the fact that you can do jokes again. What did Nasca tell you in the end?"

"She checked on the magic and told me that it was very important that I drink a lot of water. More than one would usually drink, I mean. She had her guards bring me a bucket of water every second hour. Strangely I did not need to go to toilet the whole day." she said, her face thoughtful. "I wonder what the enchantment will do to me. Those bubbles are a bit swollen, but that is all. And I got some more."

He turned to her and sat down beside her: "Do not think of it so often. Let's just hope that it is not so bad. I can check on those bubbles later, if you want me to. But first let's get the soup done. I am sorry I could not get anything better for today. They cut my wages because I did my work only half day."

She looked at him more closely: "They hit you? Let me see, maybe it needs to be bandaged!" her tone was worried.

Evan was beaten quite often. His master disliked him for some reason. He mostly used only his hands, but sometimes his master would take a stick or a whip. Eleeza had bandaged him more often than she could count and knew what happened when the wounds got infected. She cared for him, they ate and he was looking at her pink bubbles which got bigger and spread.

Over the next two days Eleeza could get out of bed and walk in the room. But the bubbles got bigger with every passing hour. Her body morphed more and more and her true forms were almost beyond recognition on the third day. She had to drink litres of water to keep steady and with that the bubbles size only increased. It pained her to walk because of the bubbles on her feet, to sit and even to lie down. Nasca checked on her every day, pleased by what she saw. She had to widen the isen since even her neck had swollen.

On the fourth day, Nasca's guards transferred Eleeza to another room that was bigger and closer to Nasca's dormitories. Evan could stay there as well. The two of them kept even closer now. Even though he got beaten more by his master because he could not concentrate on his work and ran to Eleeza whenever possible. Eleeza was on the edge of despairing since absolutely everything hurt. But the most heart wrenching were Evans expressions when he looked at her. Then she saw concern, uneasiness and sometimes despairs.