It's a Long Story

chapter twelve

Mary

Keeling over in the chair, I seized my shirt as my heart throbbed in my chest.

Worried I'd overdone it - which I probably had - Barnes rubbed my back. "I'll grab the bag and some water, just give me a second," he said before storming the curtain and crossing into the other room.

Shivering, I looked around to make sure there were no people around. Gleeful for the solitary, I arched my back as far as I could manage and let out an 'unladylike' groan I'd been holding in for the past half hour.

"Mnnnn, fuuck mee." I complained maybe a little louder than I meant to.

It's so hard being a proper lady. If anyone heard me, there'd be no end to the lectures I'd get from Phyllis when she found out. And she would. The woman has informants everywhere.

Overhearing a few muffled chuckles behind the curtain, a light blush and a tingle of embarrassment spread to my ears. Oh, my gods. I cringed further into my seat and like a turtle's retracting head, I shoved my face beneath my arms. Why am I like this? I blame my parents for my upbringing.

As I admonished my reprehensible behavior, I heard a soft cackle as the hanging drape was jostled to the side. Damn it. I just wanna rip that son of a farmer's di-

"Here you go, Mary. I've got chilled water here and I found the empty bag of lady's mantle on the table". Refusing to look into his smirking face, I ripped the bag from his hand and left him holding the glass of water like an idiot. Rhythmically exhaling into the canvas bag I vented all of my frustration's with myself into Barnes. Stupid little shi-

"Can you do any more today?" He cut my thoughts off with genuine concern. Finally looking into his eyes, I found honest worry and scolding my quick temper, I let out a tired breath and turned to observe the kid's condition. The deep claw marks had become shallow cuts that would hurt if he woke up but he'd survive it. Jax's face needed a little more work as well but he'd be fine for the night too. With the two stable for now, it'd be for the best if I got some rest and came back tomorrow.

With that in mind, I hauled myself out of my chair and, Draw-drained, I grappled for Barnes' extended arm to prop myself upward. Still somewhat shaky, I took a moment to steady myself. I grabbed the metal tin cup of water and downed it like a shot of fine spirits...another behavior I wasn't proud of.

Ending the chug with a gasp, Barnes took the cup and managed to look both amused and concerned. "Are you alright?" He asked.

I let go of his arm and began walking to the front. "Yeah Barnes, I'm fine." I reaffirmed. Grabbing a handful of the curtain fabric, I looked back over my shoulder and assured him of my health. "I'll be okay, I just need some rest right now." Tilting my head towards Jax and the boy, I added, "They need food, so have someone help you mash up a nutrient-heavy liquid you can have them swallow." Noticing his blanched face and remembering the feel of his clammy arm, I added, "After that, you get some rest as well." I instructed. "They'll be okay, Barnes."

"Alright ma'am, try to get well." He implored one last time before getting to work: bandaging leftover injuries and making final checks. Grateful to have such a reliable assistant, I opened the curtain and left the room. Now if only he wasn't such a di-

"How are they, ma'am?" Holden inquired as soon as I walked out. The man stood within a group of five or six others positioned along the front wall, all tense and restless. Despite the situation, I allowed a smile to play at my mouth and rolled my eyes.

I'll never understand why people like that playboy so much.

"They're both stable...They'll be okay," I assured them with a smile, and almost immediately the tension slipped from their shoulders and sighs of relief and 'thank gods' filled the room. And as the others began to beat around all sort of theories like - 'What do you think happened to Jax?', 'Who do you think the boy is?', and 'How do you think they ended up together?' - I waded through the crowd and slipped through the door, closing it to the sound of raucous laughter and tales of the Hunt.

Gods, how can men get over things so quickly? Shaking my head, I didn't think I'd ever know. Walking along the cobblestone path back through Market and then into the living quarters, I wondered whether or not I should've taken psychology instead of medicine. Maybe then I could figure out how to restrain my temper, or how Jax is so happy-go-lucky despite our circumstance...but then again, that's why I loved him in the first place. As much as his shenanigans make my eyes roll...he makes me happy.

Missing a step, I didn't know it was this late already. I'd gone to the infirmary to check on the two patients sometime late afternoon and it was already dark outside. Time flies when you're saving lives.

The moon sparked the night and stars littered the vast sky. But as beautiful as both were, the moonlight was too dim to walk along the road without the torches lined along the stone path. Once worried about the potential of fire spreading should one fall, I'd been assured that they, like other things, were well watched at all times of the night. Guards were put in place to patrol because, like the villagers themselves, the beasts of the night liked to hunt as well.

Passing by idle workers, late-night strollers, and tavern-goers, I eventually made it back to the house. Like a lot of the buildings around, ours was lined along the bottom with stacked grey stone bricks and then walled off with cut-to-order wood. Some walled their houses with the harder to cut red maple or the more commonly used brown oak, but ours was a rarer white birch. Few houses were made of the material but I fell in love with it instantly. The clean cuts and the buffing gave the white wood a near gloss. The walls were beautiful and then they were accented with the popular choice of thatch roofing, ours being red like most others.

Opening the redwood door, I twisted the glimmering cast iron knob and entered the house, immediately regretting my earlier mistake because a cloud of yellow dust poured out into the night air. Coughing into my lifted shirt, I grabbed a fig leaf the size of the door and spent the next few minutes fanning the room out. Having so much random crap in the room helps sometimes.

With breathable air again, I closed the door and immediately ran into my room, stripped my clothes off, and leaped into bed.

"Uhh." I felt a searing pain as I landed on my chest. Rolling onto my back, I swept the hair from my breast and looked down. Lamenting the sight, it was too familiar at this point. Right above my heart, a bruise had formed in the shape of a hand. Poking the blued skin, it was tender and hurt to touch.

"Son of a fletcher, that hurts!" I yelped. "Why did I want to be a mender?" You could Draw from anything, but life was the only mana you could Over-Draw. Whenever I pulled too much, it affected my health. This time leaving a bruise. Slumping into the down bedding, I was grateful that a bruise was all I got.

Over-Drawing could kill.

"Whatever. At least I could help." I was content with the path I'd chosen. If I wasn't here, what would've happened to Jax?

You did good today girl.

I know.

Now get some rest, because you'll need energy for tomorrow.

You're right.

Pulling the fur cover over my body, I closed my eyes to sleep.

It wasn't till several long minutes afterward that I had a realization that made me groan into my feathered pillow..."I can't sleep!"

Rolling into a thousand different positions, I just couldn't sleep. My body was physically drained but my mind was racing. What happened to Jax? Who attacked him? How bad was his brain damage? Like the hunters' idle gossip, ideas filled my head until there were too many to extinguish and I was left rolling around in curiosity. "Mmmmmm!" I screamed into the sheets and covered my head. I ran all kinds of scenarios in my head for what must've been hours before I finally exhausted even my brain and fell asleep.

Muscle strained and groggy-eyed, I reached an arm around Ja-

...Oh.

Dewy-eyed, I let my arm lay over an empty half of the bed, using my fingers to trace along the grooves his body left behind. It had been more than two weeks since he'd lain here and the bed still remembered him as much as I did. "You miss that dummy too, huh?" Giving the down bed a comforting rub, I peeled the black fur covers back and threw my feet over the side. "I'll go tell him you want his ass back here then, okay?"

Lifting my arms above my head, I arched into a heavy stretch. "Mmmm." My chest was sore. The color may have faded but the bruising was still there, tender to the touch.

I got up and got dressed, throwing on a red shirt and a basic pair of skin-tight brown leather leggings. "Alright." Clapping my cheeks to get some blood going, I walked out of the room and through the front door.

Trekking back to the infirmary, I grew antsy. Worried Jax may have suddenly gotten worse, I would hurry along with my small legs and then, aware I'd need my energy to help him when I got there, I'd slow down to a steady march. The back and forth continued all the way through the living quarters. Tearing at my hair for being such a pansy, I screamed, "Damnit, Mary!" Taking on awkward glances, I blushed and sped along, becoming one with the Market crowd.

Finally reaching the infirmary many outbursts later, I found myself thrusting the infirmary door open and rushing to the back. But as I grabbed a handful of that thick curtain fabric, I hesitated. "Please, be alright," I whispered, slowly sliding the divider.

"Wheww" My heart rate eased as I moved to sit at Jax's bedside. "You're okay." Taking his hand, I squeezed him, wondering whether he could feel me as well. "Either way...I'm here for you," I whispered. Leaving his hand with a kiss, I got back to business. All the major work was done yesterday, so all he needed were a few minor touches, which wasn't easy at all, but it wasn't as hard as yesterday.

I healed his face in bursts, properly pacing my mana use this time, and in half an hour I had him almost looking normal. Twisting the chair to face the other cot, I grabbed the boy's first hand. It twitched at the touch. The movement made my brows furrow. Maybe he's having a nightmare. Shrugging my shoulders, I ignored his sweaty hands and got to work.

My gods, what happened to him?

His fingers were mangled and infected in ways that made the healing tedious. By the time I finished, sweat rimmed my eyebrows and dropped from my chin.

"All done." I leaned back and breathed. Taking a moment to relax, I closed my eyes and took a light nap. It didn't last long, but it felt good.

Opening my eyes again, I lowered my head. So taken off guard, I practically flew back from my chair and onto Jax's cot.

"You're up." I squeaked because when I looked down just a moment ago, I was met with a pair of bright blue eyes.

My gods. Son of a fletcher scared some pee out of me.

Flinching, he avoided further eye contact and timidly nodded. Whether he was shy or scared, I wasn't sure. I wasn't really sure what to say either but lucky he did. He nodded to Jax.

Maybe a little overprotectively, I inspected him and his intentions. But I could only find genuine worry. Releasing some tension in my back, I gave him a nod and looked to Jax. "Yeah," stroking his cheek I felt my eyes sting, "he'll be alright in a few more days. I took care of everything serious." A tear slipped down my own cheek and fell onto his bottom lip. Moving to wipe it off, I whispered, "I just hope he wakes up soon."

Trailing a finger along his lip, I let it linger a little longer. Would it be weird if I just gave him a little ki-

Hearing an intake of breath from behind me, I gave myself a moment to calm my blush before turning around. The boy was checking his body and his expression went blank as he stared at the fingers I'd healed.

Expressionless, he bound and unwound his unscarred hand, clenching it into a fist and then observing his open palm. All the while, still blank-faced, tears leaked through the corners of his probing eyes.

Slowly, he brought his face down to his hand and began crying. He let out a tortured howl like I'd never heard.

"What's going o-" Stopping Barnes with a hand, I motioned for him to leave. A little confused, but ever the loyal assistant, he followed instructions and ducked his head back into the front room.

When the tears died down a few minutes later, the boy placed his chin on his palm and turned his puffy eyes to look out the window between his and Jax's cot. Stalk still, he stared into the dense forest they'd found him in.

"What happened?" I asked softly.

Without looking away from the window, he opened his mouth and I heard him talk for the first time. "It's a long story." His voice cracked.

Laying a hand on Jax, I parted my lips and patiently responded.

"I've got time."