disclaimer: the characters and places in this story are the creation of garth nix, i do not own any of them
The lights were bright but they kept getting further away. No matter how hard I struggle they slip from sight. In the light is school, Ancesteirre, dad, touchstone and now its fading. "Abhorsen" that name again, my father's name, my name. "Old Kingdom" the voices were getting louder. Then one cleared my head above all the darkness of my dreams. Touchstone. Suddenly there is a new light; I reach towards it as it splits off from the rest. This new light burns brightly, and for a moment I forget the other as it dims off into the past. It will always be there though, memories of a lost future. But my future is here and now; Touchstone. I'll make a new home, a new world no fear.
"Touchstone" I croak as I come out of my daze. I can feel drugs coursing through my veins. Lethargically I turn my head towards his voice. Slowly opening my eyes until I see him standing in the hallway just outside the door to my room. The walls are white and hurt my eyes as I try to focus in upon his form. I can still hear his voice as he argues with the white coated doctor.
"Touchstone," I try again a little louder. Over raised voices mid argument he stiffens as if a stag at bay smelling the wind.
"Sabriel'" he whispers so silently that my name needs to be read off his lips to be heard. He turns away from the confused doctor and limps over to the side of the bed. I lift my hand to his face, its cut. When did that happen? He grabs my hand as I reach towards his brow, my mind automatically reaching towards the charter seeking to heal the cut.
"Sabriel" again he says my name and I seem to wake u to the situation. There is a doctor hovering over me, checking over me. I cannot see him behind Touchstones intense gaze. "Don't worry, we'll get you out of here." I smile it's just like him to be worrying over me. My smile gets even bigger when I see that he is wearing a hospital gown. His face turns red when he notices the direction of my gaze.
"They took my clothes away, and won't give them back. Besides there the only things that fit over the cast." I glance down and notice his whole leg is in plaster.
"Oh, are you ok?"
"It'll be fine, as soon as they let us get back across the wall. You can't reach the charter from here. They moved us to the Bain hospital when we were out, because of the seriousness of your wounds. I've been trying to tell the doctors that it was stupid. We could've healed you back in Corvere. This electricity isn't very good for healing. I think I prefer our ways"
"Then let's go, where are my belongings." Its not as easy as that they say you cannot be moved right now or your stitching will come loose and you may bleed out."
"That's nonsense, I don't feel a thing"
"Wait until your morphine runs out, then you will feel again. It makes your head cloudy; I refuse to take any more." Sabriel yawned, starting to feel tired again. "You need your rest; I'll leave you now to get some."
The thought of sleeping was not one that appealed to her; she did not want to face the doubting darkness again. Looking up into Touchstones eyes she replied; "please can you stay, I don't want to be alone." Touchstone turned and looked at the door, the doctor was not in site and the nurses at the station were busy. He turned back to her nodded and closed the door. He went to pull the spare seat over but could not manage it with his leg in the cast. Sabriel carefully shifted herself over in the bed making room for him. Her heart beating a little bit faster as he shifted onto the bed lying besides her. He kissed her forehead.
"I meant it before when I said that I think I love you." And with that he put his arm around her waist.
"I think I love you too," and kissed him softly on the lips before settling down and letting sleep overcome them.
Sabriel sat up in bed. Pain laced through her, if Touchstone could put up with no morphine she could too. They had woken up earlier that morning when a nurse had come in to readminister her dosage. Upon opening the door the maid had blushed, and turned to close the door. Touchstone who had woken when he had heard the door open, smiled 'now people will think that I am both her sworn swordsman and illicit lover,' he had no problem with the idea. He quite liked it.
"Stop smiling like that," the poor nurse probably didn't expect to walk in and see a young, noble, fantastic woman lying in her hospital bed with a disreputable Old Kingdomer.
"Disreputable, all we did was sleep. Maybe seeing as we've already got the reputation why don't we see that it's earned?"
"You wicked man, ruin my good reputation?" and with that she leaned over and kissed him. At that moment the nurse chose to walk back in.
"Mistress Sabriel, oh do please stop. It's time to take your medicine." The nurse was red in the face and nervously wringing her hands through her blue skirt. She looked put out; her mousy brown hair was already pulling out of her bun.
"I won't be taking any more morphine." Touchstone pulled himself up to sit against the head board. Sabriel moved up to rest against him.
Touchstone looked concerned "are you sure, if they won't let us leave here until you're healed in this slow way, it will be quite painful without it."
Sabriel looked straight into his eyes, blocking out the nurses presence in the room. "Yes I'm sure I cannot think through the morphine, and I do not wish to rely on it." She took his hand in hers.
The nurse was getting increasingly more agitated by the second. Especially as she knew how she could solve their problem. She cleared her throat. Touchstone turned away from Sabriel, "she will not be taking the morphine."
"Oh, it's not that sir. It's just that I grew up near the wall, and you see my grandfather was from the old kingdom. So I know that if you could reach the charter you'd be able to heal within a day or two."
"Yes, that's true." Sabriel replied. "But I have been told that I'm not allowed to leave hospital."
"I don't think I'm explaining this very well. But you see I know who you are and how important that is so I'd like to help. You may not be allowed to leave hospital, but you can leave this hospital, and be transferred to another. One close to the wall where you could reach the charter and heal yourselves." She ran her hand through her hair to push it back, and that's when Sabriel noticed the faint charter mark on her forehead. Sabriel held out two fingers, a gesture universally known in the Old Kingdom, but obviously not here.
"May I touch your charter mark?"
"Yes, milady." At this Touchstone and Sabriel shared a laugh, the nurse just walked forward.
Sabriel leant forward, "we touch each other's marks as a greeting, but also to check if people are really who they say they are." She placed her fingers to the girl's forehead, and felt a tentative touch back on her own. She felt a faint flare of the charter in the girls mark and knew she was who she says she was. As she began to refocus on the situation, she noticed that jenny; the nurse appeared out of breath. "Well that was unexpected."
"Have you never done that before?" Touchstone was puzzled, how did they know if they could trust each other. Ancesteirre was a very complicated place.
"No. I'd better get back to rounds. If you need anything ask for me, I'll send ythe doctor in for you so you can start your transferral papers."
"Thank you Jenny." Sabriel said.
Touchstone started to gently shift Sabriel. He manoeuvred himself off the bed with minimum hurt to both of them, placed a kiss on Sabriel's lips then sat in the chair in the corner to await the doctor. It did not take long.
"What is the meaning of this; you were transferred to this hospital for expert care. By me! I know how important you are over in your country miss, you may be secretary of state or some other such nonsense-"
"She will be going to the other hospital. Not staying here to boost your reputation."
"And just who do you think you are to boss me around. You are nothing but a body guard, and will never be anything better."
"I don't need to be anything better; as long as I get to stand next to the Abhorsen's side I will be content."
Sabriel smiled, and to head off the pompous doctors tirade she added, "Oh, and as an aside he is also the king of the Old Kingdom, not officially yet but once he's signed up properly he sure will be. Do you enjoy insulting kings?"
The doctor spluttered out an incoherent reply, placed the transferral request sheets on the bed and left the room.
The next day they got to leave the hospital. What was left of their belongings was put into a travel bag, supplied by the old kingdom consulate. This consisted of a family who managed the funds and only had to deal with citizens every few years when one actually crossed the wall. They also supplied new suitable clothes. This consisted of a suit for touchstone and dresses for Sabriel when she was able to get about. Touchstone fumed about his new clothes.
"They are nice but they are hardly practical, this suit wouldn't stop anything getting through to you."
"Well, I have dresses. Which I don't mind too much. They consulate don't know all that much about the kingdom, they've been shut off for quite a time so they probably thought this was appropriate. Its okay I have other clothes at Wyverly, and I'm sure there are some more at the wall."
The ambulance driver turned the engine on; Touchstone was getting used to this and barely jumped. He turned to Sabriel to find her smiling at his sheepish expression. "at least I still get to carry me swords."
"Actually it kind of puts off the locals. So you might not be able to wear them." Seeing the look on touchstones face she amended, "visibly at least."
As they neared the hospital, they began to feel the charter again. Touchstone tapped on the window and asked the drive if he might not mind taking the long route to the hospital. One that carried them further northward towards the wall. With the resurgence of the charter flowing through them they began to heal. Typically touchstone was not doing anything for his own injury and was pouring his own energy into Sabriel's more immediate wound. When that had closed over, they moved onto touchstones leg. Finally when both of them felt exhausted some hours later; the ambulance had broken down as they neared the wall. Sabriel reached her hand out and healed the cut on his head.
"How did you get that."
"After you passed out I thought you were dead, and I was so angry that we never really got our chance together. Then when I saw you open your eyes, my world opened up to me again. And I couldn't bear to see you in pain. So I picked you up and cast a spell to keep you from bleeding out, then ran with you to find help. When I found the ambulance I knew you'd be fine. And as I collapsed I hit my head on a rock."
"but you couldn't have run, your leg... oh you berserked." Seeing the doubt in touchstones mind Sabriel reached out to him. "It's okay, its twice you have saved me when berserked; you have nothing to be ashamed of." Touchstones hold on her tightened.
"I love you." He said, and kissed her. She replied by kissing him back.
Sometime later the ambulance driver returned back to the vehicle, after looking for a phone to contact the hospital with. He knocked on the back doors to find his patients sleeping exhausted but healed in the back. He knew they would have woken upon his opening the door. Tough times had taught them both to be light sleepers.
"mam, sir, I phoned the hospital. People in our area understand that you may have made a speedy recovery so are not too concerned about your immediate absence. And as my sister lives near here, we were wondering if you would care to stay the evening before you return to the Old Kingdom."
Sabriel and touchstone looked at each other, both thinking that this idea sounded better than staying at the hospital. Sabriel replied "we would love to, thank you for the kind offer."
"It's not all good will, we know who you are and we would be honoured to ave you round our area. It's not every day you can have such august personages as yourselves at our dinner table. In fact I'd ave you over to my place if it wasna too small. No you'll be at my sisters as she has the manor round these parts." He grinned then added, "ye mus be warned tha' she'll probably have guests round though. She does most nights."
"Oh, but I don't have a thing to wear," said Sabriel. Touchstone stared at Sabriel never having heard her like this before. This was going to be an eye opener.