Another Scaled Person

Chapter 2. Awake

Madame Truska had a few moments to relax and watch over the unconscious girl that Mr. Tall had saved the other night. Madame Truska began filling a kettle with hot water to make some tea before she grabbed a wet washcloth and pressing it against the girl's skin. 

Mr. Tall had walked into Madame Truska's tent as he saw her putting the kettle on. 

"She still has not woken up?" He asked. 

The sudden voice caused Madame Truska to jump. She softly chuckled, seeing who it was. 

"I'm afraid that she hasn't woken up, just quite yet. But something tells me that she is going to wake soon," Madame Truska informed him while she pressed the washcloth against the girl's skin. 

Evra Von Britow was walking around, looking for Mr. Tall when he heard Mr. Tall's voice in Madame Truska's tent. He was going to wait, but something told him to walk into the tent, so he did. 

When Evra did, he was amazed to see a young girl, roughly his age, with patches of scales. Of course, she was unconscious. 

"Evra? What are you doing here? You shouldn't be in here," Madame Truska said, removing the washcloth and standing up from the bed. 

Evra's eyes widen as he shocked about everything that was going on. 

"I... I, uh, was looking for Mr. Tall... And I heard his voice in here. I was... I just looking for him," Evra stumbled on his words. 

Then there was a sudden cough. 

It wasn't from Madame Truska. 

It wasn't from Mr. Tall. 

And it certainly wasn't from Evra. 

The three sets of eyes quickly turned to the young girl. 

The girl was sitting up straight coughing into her hand as her eyes raced around the room. 

This time, a soft gasp came from Evra. He had never seen such beautiful blue eyes in his life. To him, the girl's eyes reminded him of water. 

The motherly instincts kicked into Madame Truska. 

"Easy, young lady. Relax," Madame Truska spoke softly, "We found you unconscious by the river... Do you remember anything?"

The young girl looked at Madame Truska, then at Mr. Tall, then finally at Evra.  

"I... I don't remember... I was swimming with... I don't know if I was swimming with anybody... Something must have hit me on the head... That's all I remember," she explained to the three of them. 

"Do you remember your name?" Mr. Tall asked. 

The young girl thought for a few seconds, "Iris... Iris Kingsley, sir."

"That's a beautiful name, Iris. Are you aware of your body doing anything unusual? Like these scales?" Madame Truska asked. 

Iris' eyes looked at the scales on her arms and hands. Iris' eyebrows bunched up together as she looked. 

"I'm... I'm not too sure..." Then there was a soft chuckle that left her lips, "I was always told I would turn into a fish if I stayed in the water too long."

Madame Truska and Mr. Tall looked at each other before looking at Iris. 

"Then how about we go for a swim, my dear child?" Madame Truska asked. 

A smile appeared on Iris' face. "I'd love to go for a swim," she said as she tucked her legs underneath her.