Images flash through my head, blue sky and a face coming into view, a baleful eye and a sword, scales....

The next thing I know I am looking up at a ceiling, it is a stone one. I feel sunlight on my body and as I try to get the grogginess out of my eye I wince in pain. My chest feels in pain, heavily in pain. Finally getting clearer vision I see that I am in a bed and my ribs feel like they are burning in acid. Looking to the sides I can see my room, I can see my desk to the side and shelving with books. On the wall to the other side is more shelving with some of personal things, my first practice sword, a fang from my first wolf kill, some unusually shaped stones from trips to the forest and other knick knacks. Placing myself back down on the bed since the pain was getting a little too much to keep looking I try to think back, I remember the lizard giving me one last present before dying. I remember getting hurt and Relan coming over, I remember something about not moving about and Azalia watching over me. Piecing these things together I realize that I got hurt, was healed to a degree and now I am probably supposed to be recovering in bed. Looking back to my side I see the table next to my bed and take up the bell, someone is going to be on duty and I need a drink. My throat is dry and I need to know what has gone on so far while I was out.

Ringing the bell I wait for a few moments and see Cade come in through the door with a tray, she walks to my side and places the tray down on the table. She takes up a cup on it and holds it over for me to drink, wincing slightly I get a few gulps down before signally to take it back.

“How long was I asleep Cade?”

“About a day Marc, Healer said to stay in bed. Nothing special has happened so far other than the lizards getting cleaned up, they managed to butcher the lizards for food. They also managed to get your sword back, it is in ok condition though your armour is not in good shape. Azalia wanted to know as soon as you woke up so I am going to have to tell her, anything else you wanted to know?”

“No I think that is everything, but do you know where that healing talisman is?”

“I can get it after I tell Azalia that you are awake, she will probably want to heal you first”

I nod and lie back down on the bed and Cade heads back out, this is going to be a bit of trouble to recover from. I believe I heard something about broken ribs which explains the pain, bed ridden for weeks is not going to do my sanity well but I need to keep breathing as i regularly would. It hurts like no tommorow but not breathing enough will increase the risk of infection while not helped by the bandages I doubt I could stay coherent for long without them if I remember my random bits of medical knowledge from 68W though it has been decades. I had enough of bed rest before, being stuck for the better part of a month is not going to make me happy. While it is nice that I got the sword back, thinking on it I could have been fine not having broken ribs in exchange. I doubt my parents would have truly cared about the sword in comparison to me, still I was not trying to kill the lizard just for the sword. A few more minutes go by and I hear a knock at the door, after saying enter I see the opening again with Azalia coming through. She looks slightly worried and walks over to me and places a hand over my chest while speaking the aria to a healing spell. The pain subsides mostly though it is still there to a degree, I say my thanks to her and she nods before taking a seat on a chair next to my bed.

“You got hurt pretty bad during the battle my knight”

“Yes I got hit rather badly by the lizard, it was during the killing blow and I managed to make sure to not get killed by a bite instead”

“I suppose there is nothing I can say or do about what has happened now can I?”

“I do not know for sure my lady”

“I see, there will likely be times when you are hurt badly in the future though”

“As a knight I doubt I can avoid having to fight battles, especially as your guard”

“I know, I do not like it but I know. I believe that the only thing we can do is get stronger then”

“ We, my lady?”

“Do not expect me to be some blooming flower that can only hope that the fence can stop people from coming. I will not simply stand by and watch people being hurt for my sake and do nothing”

“I would find that rather uncomfortable for me ‘sigh’ but I assume you will refuse to be stopped?”

She simply smiles wryly at me and says “But of course, you will be needed to accompany me will you not?”

“Of course my lady, of course” I could only say those words while smiling both sadly and wryly back at her.

“Rest for right now your parents asked me to tell them as soon as you woke up”

“Right”

____

Thanks to a mix of healing spells from Azalia and my use of the regeneration talisman along with visits from Dalen I managed to get back on my feet in only a week though I was not allowed to do any serious practice for another. During that time my parents came by checked how I was and spent a little time talking about how things were going on the estate and the kingdom itself. They talked about some of the sights I should go see once things are calm enough to go visit the fortress city and advice for how things will go there. I got a bit of light scolding during the time but the did not try very hard at all, I got a few books on sightseeing to add on to the stories they told. My siblings also came by if they could manage to see how I was doing, some jokes about lizard skewers and a few more vulgar things occurred. I feel that they were trying their best to delay my healing ribs though the effort was appreciated.

The aftermath of the battle was taken care of during that time though, the lizards were carted back somehow and butchered up which probably explained the skewers thing. The scales went to the house for use for a variety of things and the meat was preserved for use as winter supplies. The organs and bones were also taken and carted off to be sent to a city for various purposes. Those who were wounded eventually recovered, I met with my squad after I got back on my feet and they had recovered rather well. They expressed some concern for me but I managed to assure them that I was fine and recovering well, I think they are taking this event as a reason to train harder. I heard that they actually sought out Landon for some extra training which he was happy to oblige. I was recommended by them to show myself at the village since people were worried having heard that I was hurt during the battle. I could not actually visit for most of a week being not allowed outside the estate but I spent that time with Azalia and the others. She had taken to practising her spells with Cade and Brad as partners, she certainly has improved herself. I feel that against most normal opponents she can protect herself rather well, however it is against the ones that are not normal that I will be needing to work against. As I found out from my parents when they came to check on me earlier on a couple of weeks after I recover they plan on having me go visit the fortress town to get stronger. Apparently I will be placed under the watch of the knight group of the house there, judging from the looks on their faces I do not believe I will have a boring time there. Exhilarating and a learning experience certainly, but not very fun for me. I sigh to myself but can see that I definitely need to be better, I was rather limited in what I could do when fighting and I need to get more techniques and skills to broaden my options. But that is for the future, for now I walk in the present and must make sure that fate does not sweep me aside though not having a true goal bothers me but then does anyone ever have a true heartfelt goal.