Welcome to Gaia! ::

Kaden brought Blaise back to the hospital wing and sat Blaise down on a bed. He was worried out of his mind about her. The Forester could only imagine what the nurses would say to him. They’d shout about how she was already in bad condition and he brought her back in worse condition. With a cringe he pushed the thoughts away. He looked up and waited for Chrono to set Rosette down as well. Eitan came over and tapped Kaden on the shoulder, leaning closer to the two of them.

“Mister Chrono says he has a bit of a favor to ask of us.” He said quietly.

“Hmm?” Blaise rubbed her eyes, “What’s that?”

Blaise smiled softly and looked to see Eitan and Kaden with the same expression on their faces.

“Well,” Eitan began sheepishly, “I myself could not perform such a ceremony. I am not the right rank. You must be of highest rank to perform legal marriage; like the captain of a ship. Blaise could do it.”

Blaise shot Eitan a look, “Are you kidding me? I can’t perform a marriage! Can’t our former Lieutenant do it?”

Eitan kept his smile, “No, hence being a former Lieutenant. Only you can, Blaise.”

Blaise rubbed her aching head. She's love to do something like this for Chrono . . . If she knew how! Eventually she sighed, “Alright. But can’t I at least have some time to heal first? I can barely even walk at the moment much less perform a marriage. And I have a feeling that both the bride and groom have to be conscious for this, so we’d have to wait for Rosette on this one.”

Eitan and Kaden both gave her an impish smile. Blaise shook her head and faced Chrono sincerely, “I’ll marry you, Chrono.”

Eitan shook his head and laughed, “No, no. You don’t need a ring. That is merely a materialistic symbol of the bondage. It has nothing to do with the marriage itself.”

Kaden suddenly went wide eyed, “Uh, we should wrap it up here reeeeeealy soon. The nurses are back and they don’t look too happy.”

Eitan looked up and winced, “Ah . . . yes. Kaden, you will now learn the true meaning of running for your life. I don’t know about the doctors and nurses at your post, but here, they can get really mean really quick.”

Kaden bent down and kissed Blaise on the head, “Gotta go!”

“Eitan!” one of the nurses shouted. Clearly she knew him.

“Run!” Eitan pushed Kaden and the two of them ran out the door. It was quite a comical sight to watch them bounce out and a nurse skipping after them.

“Here comes the treatment,” Blaise sighed, “The worst part about getting hurt.”

Blaise was getting the same treatment to all of the deep cuts down her back, arms and legs. She cringed against the pain as they cleaned off the cuts, put a salve on them, and covered them with bandaging. She coughed and up came more blood. They all looked to her worriedly and one of them left. The nurses that remained lifted her shirt up halfway and took off the wrappings around her lower ribs. Blaise was now able to see the extent of the damage done by Vader.

She winced as she saw the massive black bruise one her side, “If I ever see Vader again I’m going to kill him.”

One of the nurses poked her side and Blaise jumped back with a shout.

“Ahh! What the hell was that for?!”

“Does that hurt?” the nurse asked inquisitively.

Blaise clocked her upside the head. She wasn’t strong enough to do any damage; the only thing that hurt was her pride, “Well yeah it hurts!” Blaise shouted, “Hello?! Wake up you ninny! You can’t expect me to get kicked the crap out of and not expect me to be hurting afterwards! Do they pay you for this?!”

The nurse folded her arms and stalked off angrily. The nurse that had left returned with an elder looking elf.

“Hello,” he said warmly, “My name is Andreak. I am the healer.”

“Yeah, yeah. Just don’t poke me like ninny-nut-job over there.” Blaise sighed as the healer examined her very bruised side.

“Well if they’d be a bit gentler.” Blaise replied, shooting a glance at the nurse who had given her the painful jab in the side.

The healer, Andreak, continued to look at her side. He handed her a kerchief as she began to cough again and examined the blood on it afterwards. He ran his fingers over the delicate skin and she took in a sharp breath. He frowned and tutted, pushing the rest of the nurses away.

“It seems as if one of your lower ribs has been broken and pushed out of place,” he explained, “It has been in contact with your lung – hence the coughing up blood.”

“Please tell me it isn’t as bad as it sounds.” Blaise sighed.

Andreak looked uneasy, “I can fix it, if that’s what you mean. But . . . it’ll be painful – unless we use some sort of anesthetic. Afterwards I can wrap you up and speed up the healing, but I can’t fix the break entirely. You’ll have to rely on your own body’s remedies to do the rest.”

Blaise rubbed her forehead and shrugged, “Alright, I’ll take the anesthetic but it better not knock me out for—”

“Two days.” Andreak interrupted.

Blaise gaped, “Two days! I can’t be out for that long, I have an entire—”

“I’m sorry, but based on the severity of your injuries it’s what is going to have to be done. We cannot do it without the anesthetic because you could move and that could lead to something more serious such as a punctured lung. I’m very sorry, Lieutenant, but it must be done.”

Blaise shot a helpless glance to Chrono and shook her head, “Alright, I really don’t have a choice. I’m just worried that while I’m sleeping . . .”

“Do not worry.” Andreak assured her, “I have been informed that the hospital wing will be held under tight security because of recent events. There will be guards at every possible entrance at all times. Only certain people will be granted entry. All of you will be in safety during your stay.”

Blaise nodded grudgingly as a nurse returned with two cups of a clear and potent liquid. She handed one cup to Blaise and the other to Chrono.

“Drink this,” she said softly to Chrono, “It’s not very strong but it’s enough to let you sleep. Now rest and regain your strength.”

As the nurse left Blaise stuck her tongue out at her. Andreak cocked an eyebrow and Blaise shrugged. Glancing down at the liquid in her cup uneasily she took a sip. Even that small bit was enough to knock her into a daze.

“Drink the rest,” Andreak urged.

Blaise did as the elderly elf held her shoulder so her swaying form wouldn’t topple. He helped her sit down and slowly eased her to lie back. She was nearly gone as soon as her head hit the pillow – drifting into a dreamless sleep.

Kaden and Eitan had managed to escape the nurse’s evil with a laugh or two on the way. Most of those who saw the two’s silly escape thought it normal for Eitan, that’s just the way he was; however, they did frown at the fact that the Commander was dragging yet another young soul into his tomfoolery. Many couldn’t complain – they always loved his lightheartedness and were glad to have another to bring a spot of happiness during troubling times.

After a short while of hiding Eitan had to leave.

“I have the missus to attend to. She’d eat me if I don’t make dinner.” He smiled.

Kaden cocked an eyebrow, “Oh? And who might your wife be?”

Eitan laughed, “The nurse that was chasing us!”

After another good laugh they parted ways and Kaden began heading back over to the hospital wing. He was still really worried about Blaise and feared the worst for her health after what she had been through. As he walked nearer he saw Chrono. With a wave he walked over.

“Hey, how are you doing?” he asked, “Feeling better?”

Kaden nodded thoughtfully and scratched the back of his head. Chrono was very hard on himself and Kaden knew he wouldn’t be able to change his mind about anything.

“Any person who can care for another as you care for Rosette is human enough for me.” He said sincerely, “You are only foreign to me once you have chosen cruelty over earnest. You may be a demon, Chrono, but you are not demonic. There is a difference. You can fight with me all you want on this one, but nothing will change my mind. I know who you really are at heart – human heart or demon heart; it makes no difference to me. This is why I defended you. You are a better person then you think. If you’re really such a terrible person then how can you feel guilt the way you do? Like I said, anyone who can care for another as you do, anyone who is as compassionate as you, is human enough to me.”

Kaden let the thoughts linger a moment before continuing, “I should go check with the nurses on how Blaise is doing . . . I still have yet to explain to her everything that has happened.”

Kaden nodded to Chrono as he left and cautiously went up to one of the nurses. He hoped it wasn’t one of the nurses who had chased him our earlier, she’d surely be angry. Luckily it was a different and much more kindly nurse this time. She brought Andreak to speak to him and answer his questions. Kaden was bit worried about the procedure taken to mend Blaise’s ribs but it was all done and over with and she seemed to be getting better – she didn’t look as pale.

“You should get some sleep, young sir.” Andreak suggested, “You look as if you could use the rest. Hasn’t our council provided you with a homestead yet?”

“Ah, yes, they have. I just can’t sleep. I’m just too worried about everything right now.” Kaden answered.

“Feel free to lie down if you’d like.” Andreak invited. The elderly healer handed him a book to pass the time and left. Kaden sat in a chair next to Blaise’s bed and looked over to Rosette. She appeared much better as well. This brought him a little more relief as he tried to relax.