Theodosia

Chapter 3

She was in a dark room.

Terrified, she cowered in the corner, hidden in the darkness. She stayed in her spot among the debris from the ruins of the house, the ashes from the explosion nearly suffocating her as they floated in the air. There were sounds coming from outside, but she didn't dare go out of the remains of the house.

The door swung open, and she let out a small shriek before covering her face. Engulfed in darkness, the only source of light came from a bright stream of red light. The flickering of the blade of light reflected off a man's tall form, revealing a black robotic helmet.

With the man towering over her, she fought to keep her panic in check, her breathing becoming rapid as he approached her. And then there was a feeling, a feeling that was warm and comforting. Safe.

Confused, her eyes turned up to the man. He was dressed in black, his robe covering his tall frame and waving in the air. Through the helmet, he stared at her, intrigued. He reached out a gloved hand towards her, but this time, she didn't shrink back.

She stared at his hand for some time then her gaze flickered upwards. Slowly, she reached out a shaky hand and took hold of his own hand, suddenly feeling a sense of reassurance. She would be alright.

Astrid woke with a start, the dream having ended abruptly by a small beeping sound. She looked around her and was shocked by the unfamiliarity of the room she was in, but the short moment of panic made her jolt up from her sleeping position. And then the world began to spin. Shutting her eyes, she tried to fight off the nausea. 

Poe had woken up from his sleep as well when he heard the beeping and only had a split second to realise that Astrid was turning very pale before he grabbed a bucket from underneath the bed and held it up to her. His spring into action had paid off because as soon as the bucket was within her reach, Astrid threw up, feeling very horrible indeed. He held her hair up as she emptied the contents in her stomach, wondering if he had to call the healer.

When she was done, she gratefully accepted the cup of water he offered her and rinsed her mouth. "Sorry you had to see that," she mumbled, groaning as she sat up fully. Although feeling slightly better, the room was still spinning slightly, and her eyes fought to adjust to her surroundings.

Poe waved off her apology, making quick work to clean the bucket in the bathroom to the side. Once done, he sat by her bedside, feeling her forehead for her temperature. Thankfully she didn't have a fever, but the fact that she looked pale worried him. 

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Just a little bit nauseous," she admitted lousily.

"I'll call the healer in," Poe said and got up to do just that. The healer, Nurse Oswald, came in with a tray of tools. 

"And how are we doing today?" she asked as she took out a thermometer and stuck it in Astrid's mouth. Astrid made a 'so-so' gesture with her hand since she couldn't speak. The healer then shined a torchlight in her eyes to check if the pupils were dilating. After a minute had passed, she took out the thermometer and nodded her approval of her temperature. After checking her pressure, the healer turned her attention towards the wound on the side of Astrid's head.

She peeled away the wrap of cloth she had put on to keep the wound from getting infected and cleaned the healing wound. It wasn't a major injury physically but mentally, the injury was enough to hinder her memory.

"Has there been any progress in your memory so far?" Nurse Oswald asked.

"None as far as I know," she replied, although now that she had been awake for some time, she could remember fragments of her dream of the man. But that's what it was. A dream.