Orelie

*5*

*5*

I awoke with a soft grunt and turned over on my back. I squinted at the light coming in through my window. Despite everything that happened to me today, I feel energized and refreshed. I sat up and stretched, hearing my joints pop. I relaxed with a sigh and looked around.

I was hoping it was all a dream, but the room I was in said otherwise. Ella really tried to kill me, Crae saved me, and brought me to this strange land called Fucrya. I saw a Sylph and many other strange beings. Crae brought me into his home and basically wants to be my new caretaker. I'm still concerned about the whole thing, mainly because he is a stranger to me.

I sat up a bit more and stared out my window to the world below me. I watched as Sylphs played just outside the wall, darting in and out of tree branches. Other creatures chased them, almost seeming to play tag. I watched in awe as a small, silver ball of light spun around a Sylph, lifting it higher in the air.

"Ah, good. You're awake." I spun away from the window to see Crae straighten his shirt. Now that I wasn't in his arms, I could see he was in a dress shirt and vest combo with black slacks.

"I was beginning to worry," He said as he crossed the room. "How are you feeling?" He sat on the edge of my bed.

I brushed my hair back. "I feel fine. Refreshed, actually. Why were you worried?"

He tipped his head to the side a bit and gave a soft sigh. "You've been asleep for nearly twenty-four hours."

My eyes popped wide. "You're kidding! I couldn't have been asleep that long! Maybe a couple hours!"

He shook his head. "A full day. I had come up in the evening yesterday to give you some dinner, but no matter what I tried, you wouldn't wake up."

"A whole day..." I said in disbelief. "I'm real sorry about that. I guess I must have been more tired than I thought."

"It's quite alright." He reached out and touched my cheek. I flinched at the pain. "I don't know how I forgot about your wounds. Let's go get those cleaned up." He uncovered me then carried me to the bathroom down the hall.

He set me on a bench and wet a rag at the sink. "This will sting." He ran his fingers over the rag then touched it to my face. Almost instantly, my cheek began to burn. I tried to pull away but he held my head in place.

"I know it hurts, but it's helping." He said in a comforting voice. I held back tears. It's just water! Why does it sting so much?

"This rag has a healing ointment on it." He said, as if reading my thoughts. "It helps close up and heal the wound faster. Let's get the other side." He wet the rag again and brushed it with his fingers. It didn't sting too bad on the other side. It might be because I was expecting it this time.

"How long have you been bedridden?" He asked out of the blue.

I let out a sigh through my nose. "I don't remember. I was bounced from caretaker to caretaker since I was young. None of them knew my birthday, mainly because I never knew it myself. If I had to guess, I've been with Ella for close to five years or so."

"Do you by chance remember how old you were when you went to your first caretaker?" He rinsed out the rag and set it aside.

I picked through my brain to try and think about my answer. "I want to say I was... maybe seven? That sounds about right. I was in foster care for a while before caretakers actually wanted to help me."

Crae nodded as he opened a chest and pulled out a couple large bandages. "Would it be safe to say you are about sixteen, maybe seventeen?"

"Maybe..." I nodded slowly. "I don't really know. I'm not sure how the calendar system works. After my third caretaker took me in, I stopped going to school. I think I was in forth grade? Maybe third. I don't remember, and I was never really good in school. I can barely read and write."