Shadows in the Trees: Book 1

Chapter 43

Awareness crept back to the Captain slowly. When she finally had the strength to open her eyes, she gasped in pain. Sunlight, sharp and warm, flooded the room, and it took a moment for her eyes to adjust. After blinking a few times, she recognized the room she had stayed in previously. 

The windows that dominated the wall to her left were open wide, and a salty breeze wafted in. She was propped up in the enormous, feather-stuffed bed, a wall of pillows behind her. She wore another ridiculous nightgown, sheer and white with ties down the front. She had been cleaned, and her hair had been plaited back away from her face. Bandages had been placed on her various wounds, and some sort of brace was on her injured knee. 

Though the windows had an expansive view of the sea, none of them faced the harbor. She hoped her crew had not abandoned her. 

She realized she desperately needed to relieve herself. She maneuvered her way to the edge of the bed, but when she tried to put weight on her legs, she cried out in pain. The door to her room burst open almost immediately, and a young, thin boy scurried in. His hair was white, falling stick-straight to his shoulders. Seeing her precarious position on the edge of the bed, he rushed to her. 

"Miss!" he said, his voice as clear as a bell. "You mustn't leave your bed!" 

She shied away from his touch. "And who are you, exactly?" 

He fell back, seeming to sense her discomfort. "Oh. I am Fenno. I am your healer." 

She laughed, then clutched at her abdomen from the pain. "You are my healer? You're a child." 

He shrugged. "A gift as powerful as healing is rare. I am one of the strongest healers left." 

"Ah." she said. "Well, Fenno, I'm afraid I have to use . . . well, whatever the Fae use for, ah, bodily waste." 

"Oh, the washroom!" Fenno said, the pointed tips of his ears turning red. "Of course. I will take you." 

She frowned, but he seemed harmless enough. I can't believe I need the help of a child to relieve myself, she thought to herself as Fenno eased her into a strange chair with large wheels on either side. I should've stayed a vestal.

Fenno rolled her out of her room to a tall door across the hall, the creaky wheels echoing on the marble. The door pushed open to a large room dominated by an enormous tub. A large chamber pot stood in the corner. 

"You have indoor plumbing! Impressive," she crowed, eyeing the structure. "Some cities still haven't managed to figure out plumbing. It was quite a change when I left --" she paused, realizing what she was about to say. She shook her head. She must have been fatigued, not thinking straight. She had to be more careful. The truth about who she was could be dangerous. 

Fenno frowned. "Yes. Plumbing has always been here. They do not have it in the human world?" 

"Not everywhere, no," she said. 

"Why?" 

She shrugged. "I don't know. Too expensive, too difficult perhaps. And people are used to chamber pots." Fenno grimaced. 

He helped her transfer herself from the rolling chair to the pot, carefully arranging her dress so that she could remain modest while she relieved herself. He placed his hands on her shoulders to steady her. 

She cleared her throat. "Would you mind leaving the room?" 

He frowned. "Leave the room? But what if you fall?" 

"I'll be fine. Please, I would like privacy." 

"But, miss, in healing I have seen all there is to see -- there is no need for shame, really, I have already seen you nak-"