The Lost Princess

Chapter Thirteen

I laid in bed staring at the bottom of Kat's bunk. I stared at the letters Giselle craved into the wooden bed post. G.I.K. The three girls of the room. G for Giselle. I for Ivy. K for Kat. Giselle had craved it into the wooden bed post right after we moved Kat in. Kat use to cry herself to sleep every night. Giselle promised Kat that she would always be safe with us, and to prove it she craved the letters into the bedposts.

I wished she was just asleep above me, but she was still on the kitchen table asleep. She's been asleep for two days straight. Her fever kept getting worse after Keaton and I went for our walk. Her whole body was covered in sweat. Giselle and I took turns wiping the sweat off of her body with clean wash cloths.

Keaton and I had played in the lake for a while. Then we had sat on the bank of the lake drying off in the sun. We talked about the Zenith and people of the town. Keaton and I avoid talking about Kat. Keaton had helped me get my problems out of my head for a little while. My problems still surrounded me, but he made those problems vanish for a little while. Then Keaton walked me back home. He seemed to be worried about either me or Kat. He had talked about how infections are hard to treat without medicine. Keaton tried to tell me that everything was going to work out, but he hesitated on his words.

I sat up in my bed looking around at the dark room. Giselle was fast asleep, snoring. The room was completely dark with only a little moon light shining through the window. I got out of bed and quietly got a dress out of the armoire. I slipped on my stockings. Then I grabbed my boots and held them to my chest.

I crept out the bedroom I shared with Giselle and Kat. I slowly crept down the stairs. I winced after each step I took that creaked. I stood on the stair after each creak listening to see if anyone woke up. My heart pounding. I didn't want to wake anyone up, and I didn't want anyone to stop me.

I sat down on the last step. I slipped on my boots, and tied them quickly. I walked over to Kat. She was still laying there, completely still. Sweat and dirt coated her skin. Dried, reddish black blood covered her clothes and bandages. Even though we cleaned her up several times, blood, sweat, and dirt still coated her body. My heart raced as I looked at her chest quickly moving up and down.

I walked around the table Kat was laying on. I placed the back of my hand on her forehead. She was burning up. I shook my head. We have no money for the medication. We have no way of even knowing if that medication would even work.  We can't risk the rent money on Kat.  She might not even make it if we get her the medication.

I paced around the kitchen table Kat was laying on. My heart fell to my stomach about how helpless I was for her. Memories of how the soldier sliced through her wrist, sliced through my head and heart like the blade of the sword slicing through my body. I felt my entire body shake as the memory replayed itself in my mind. I felt guilty and pain flow through my body.

Kat's body began to shake. I touched her arm. "Kat?" I whispered in her ear.

She tossed her head to the side. Her eyebrows were creased. Tears ran down her cheeks through her closed eye lids. I felt the veins in her right wrist. Her heart beat had turned rapid. Her leg twitched as she tossed her head the other direction.

"Kat? Can you hear me?" I whispered in her ear.

Her eyes didn't open. I couldn't tell if her twitching was good or bad. I stared at Kat, not knowing if I should wake Aunt Rosalie or find a way to get the medicine. Kat's body began to shiver. I grabbed a blanket from our storage in the bathing room. I placed the blanket over Kat.