One Wrong Step
While out with her sister one afternoon, Ael isn't watching where she's walking, tripping up and into some rather interestingly colored foliage, the sensations that followed causing Ael to wish that she'd kept her eyes on the path.
Written by – Ael Rhiana
*A self-insert story, written when I was dealing with a severe allergic reaction and couldn't sleep, back in 2010. This story was rewritten in 2018.
"Ael, get back on the path! Watch out for the-"
Those simple words, though spoken with a sense of urgency had catapulted the day from one of the best to one of the worst Ael could remember. Well, it wasn't the words themselves, more like Ael's momentary refusal to watch where she was walking. An afternoon hike through the woods had seemed like the perfect way to spend the early hours of the afternoon, Ael content to look this way and that at the new wonders her homeworld had to offer from the brightly colored plants to several highly interesting species of animal. When the warbling of a red and green-streaked bird had appeared directly overhead, Ael lifted her eyes quickly, hoping to see the source of the sound, her still walking feet veering away from the path and carrying her unknowingly towards a clump of ilanya, a blue, eight-leafed plant riddled with brilliant purple patches.
At first glance to an outsider, the ilanya was a beautiful oddity; to natives of this particular province of Romulus, it was a beautiful danger: The leaves of the plant in question, while brilliantly colored and soft to the initial touch, provoked, in nearly all cases, incredibly itchiness in conjunction with a nasty rash and painful welts sprinkled across the body.
"Dammit," T'Rul swore as Ael looked away from the sky just in time to stumble forward and headlong into the patch of waiting ilanya.
"Ow," groaned Ael from her position on the ground, quickly righting herself, jumping back as if scalded when she heard T'Rul say,
"Get up and out of that patch of ilanya, Ael, quickly!"
All at once Ael was aware of a mild prickling on her bare arms and legs, followed by a sudden desire to scratch an itch that wasn't entirely present. "My arms feel all tingly," said Ael. "Um, what did I fall into?" Already she was beginning to lightly scratch at a red patch on the back of her arm, T'Rul batting her sister's hand away without actually touching her.
"Ilanya," said T'Rul. "A plant known around this province as "rash weed"; don't scratch, Ael, trust me. We need to get you home and quickly; I may have something that can stave off the more severe symptoms. Hopefully," added T'Rul beneath her breath.
"Hopefully?" Ael repeated nervously. "What does that mean?"
"Let us hope you don't find out," said T'Rul a little too grimly, ushering Ael back along the path that would lead them home.
The walk home progressed quickly, that is, until Ael began to find herself itchy in unreachable spots like the middle of her back, the girl making a quick detour, again off the path, to scratch her back against a rough-looking tree. Closing her eyes, sighing with relief as she moved her back up and down against the scratchy bark, idly scratching at one of her arms as she did so; Ael was in momentary bliss until a sharp word from T'Rul forced her to abandon her current task.
"Everything is suddenly so itchy," whined Ael, casting a longing look at the tree she was being forced to leave behind, nearly turning on her heel to return to it.
"It's going to get a lot worse if we don't get you home. Come on, away from that tree and back on the path, Ael."
Grudgingly, Ael, after one last, almost forlorn look at the tree, hurriedly stepped back on the path. "I just had to look at that stupid songbird," Ael mumbled, shrugging her shoulders in a haphazard motion as if to somehow scratch the itch on the backs of her shoulders growing fiercer by the second.
"To be fair," said T'Rul, increasing her pace, "I should have insisted you not wander ahead. You are still somewhat new to this world; there are many plant species in the woods that should only be admired from afar, never touched. I should have been paying a bit more attention to you and a little less to the scurrying noise I heard in the brush."
"So, what's going to happen when we get home?" Ael asked, not interested in casting blame, only in stopping the persistent itch. "And why are you walking so far away?"
"Once we reach home, head to your room and get out of your clothes so they can be laundered, and then I want you to get under the shower, wash the affected areas you can reach, gently, with soap. Afterward, start a bath. I will bring you a powder to dissolve into the water that should relieve the itching and reduce the chances, hopefully, of a very nasty rash. After that, I'll give you a soothing salve that should keep the itching from becoming unbearable. Oh, and I'm over here because I am very allergic to ilanya. Very," she said, almost a little too grimly.
Instead of asking T'Rul to recount what was likely a horrible memory from childhood, Ael kept her eyes on the path ahead, willing her feet to carry her on, faster towards home. What felt like an eternity and a half later, Ael spied home just ahead, tears in her eyes when she thought of the relief that awaited her just inside its walls.
Usually, upon returning home from an afternoon walk, Ael would happily greet Movar, her adoptive father, with a warm hug and immediately begin recounting her day with T'Rul. Today, however, Ael was, after leaving her shoes out front, ushered quickly through the front door and back to her room, T'Rul recounting instructions before hurrying away to see to a bit of an addition for Ael's bath.
"What has happened?" Movar asked, making an appearance from his study upon hearing the commotion.
"Ael wandered off the path, tripping up and into a patch of ilanya," explained T'Rul, hastily moving back towards Ael's room with a small container of pale colored powder. "I'm going to have her soak in a tub with a bit of nadi powder, for at least a half hour; would you be able to launder her clothes, Father, once she puts them in her washing basket? I dare not touch them."
"Of course, T'Rul." He said. "Tell me when to collect her clothing and I will do so."
"It should only be a few minutes," said T'Rul with a thankful glance, disappearing into Ael's room and placing the container of nadi powder down on Ael's nightstand. "Ael, I have something for you, near your bed. Put a good-sized palm full of powder into your bathwater and allow it to dissolve before you get in. It may be a little slippery so take care. Also, if you could, please put everything you wore today into your washing basket and leave it close to the door for Father to collect."
"Got it," said a frustrated voice just behind the bathroom door. T'Rul took the frustrated tone to indicate that Ael's condition was worsening.
"I will wait outside your bedroom door; call out when your clothes are in the basket and it's safe for Father to come get them."
"Got it," said Ael again, most of the words flying in one ear and straight out the other as she collected her clothes from the bathroom floor and placed them in the basket, peeking her head out to make sure the coast was clear before placing the item down nearest the door, retreating back into the bathroom before calling out, "it's safe, T'Rul," and then turning to the task of putting the nadi powder into the warm water.
Ael had just finished sinking down into the wonderfully warm water till only part of her head was above it when she heard someone take two steps into her room, presumably to collect her laundry basket, and then leave again, closing the door behind them.
While soaking, Ael did her best to take her thoughts to a happier, more carefree place instead of focusing on the tingling sensation on her extremities just beneath the water, limbs that she desperately longed to scratch, though not quite as intensely as before. Ael soaked until the water had nearly gone cold, the itchiness, she thought as she climbed from the tub, only barely held at bay by the fact that the nadi had had a good hour in which to soak into her skin.
Once dried and into fresh clothes, Ael could feel the itchiness beginning to return with vigor and she quickly left her room to go in search of T'Rul who was waiting in the sitting room, an open book on her lap, a jar of something sitting on the table.
"Help," squeaked Ael, holding out her red, rash covered arms. "The bath helped but only while I was in it," she said. "Now it feels like I want to scratch the skin off my arms, legs, and back."
"Unfortunately, you seem to be allergic," said T'Rul. "Fortunately-"
Ael glanced up as their father made an appearance, back down from his study after hearing Ael now up and about. "Daddy," sniffed Ael, suddenly tearful. Worried, admittedly frightened of what might happen in regards to the rash from the ilanya; suddenly she longed to run to him, wrap her arms around him and hold tight, but with T'Rul being so allergic, what if he was, too? It would mean she wouldn't be able to find the comfort that was desperately needed; she would have to go through this new, frightening ordeal by herself, the family as far from her as possible.
"It's all right, my winged one," said Movar soothingly, opening his arms to his daughter. "I am one of the fortunate: I am not allergic in any way to ilanya."
Relief flooding her face, Ael ran to her father and hugged him, content to stay in his arms even though she needed what T'Rul had brought for her. "What do I do?" Ael suddenly refused to hide her fretfulness. "H-how long will it itch like this; is it going to get worse?"
"Truthfully, Ael, it could take anywhere from five days to twenty for the rash and itchiness to clear; it depends how sensitive your allergy to ilanya, is. At this moment," he said, gently detaching Ael's tight hold on him so he could inspect one of her arms, "I would say you are only mildly allergic."
"This is mild?" Ael said in disbelief.
"Yes," said T'Rul seriously. "In the more severe cases, one can have a rash that covers their body, blisters forming within a few moments of exposure, the itch that feels as if it burns beneath your skin, maddening, most salves, useless, sedation the only means through which one has any hope of rest."
Wincing, Ael cast an apologetic glance at T'Rul. "Is that what you had to go through?"
"Unfortunately, and when I was barely eight. It took about three ten-days until I was completely recovered," said T'Rul, shivering at the memory. "You, however, should be fine in a shorter time frame, but it might feel worse before it feels better," she said sympathetically. "Make sure you keep that salve on the worst areas and soak in a bath with nadi powder at least once a day, though you could make it twice. A soak before bed would be the most helpful."
Nodding, Ael turned to the task of covering the rash on her legs and arms with the light blue salve that didn't smell nearly as medicinal as expected, quite mild, almost like a summer's breeze; her father had to help her with the backs of her shoulders and the middle of her back, two places Ael couldn't reach on her own.
While the desire to scratch was still present, mostly due to a niggling tingle on her arms, the salve was working as desired, a cooling relief washing over most of Ael's skin where the ilanya had touched her. Relaxing in one of the large comfortable chairs that sat facing the gardens until last meal became Ael's chosen activity, an open book on her lap though she wasn't reading it. During the final meal of the day Ael's attention began to wander away from her dinner and back towards the red rash covering her arms, legs, and parts of her back. The itchiness was beginning to return, Ael slightly squirming in her seat as if to scratch her back against the chair she was seated in.
Eating, at least for Ael, seemed to take twice as long as usual and by the time she was finished all she felt like doing was jumping into a bathtub full of that blue salve, allowing it to coat every inch of her before falling into bed and trying to sleep.
I'll wait until bed before getting more salve, thought Ael after dinner, heading back into the sitting room to curl up in a chair, picking up the book that she'd been ignoring earlier. Maybe this time she would read it.
Though the itchiness wasn't as bad as it had been before, it was enough to keep Ael in a constant state of annoyance for the better part of two hours, at which point she sighed, closed the book that she (again) hadn't been reading, and picked up the container of salve that was still sitting on the table.
Not wanting another bath but having one anyway, using almost double the nadi powder her sister told her to use, Ael allowed her mind to wander away, becoming increasingly worried that the coming night hours were going to be less than pleasant. A tub full of cool water, cool enough to make her shiver pulled Ael's focus away from her worries. At least the wandering thoughts, as unsettling as they'd been, had kept her mind off the slight itchiness that was still present on her skin despite the soak.
Stepping from the bath and wrapping a towel around her shivering body, Ael began to examine the rash on her arms and legs, finding that it seemed to look a little lighter in color than earlier in the evening. Deciding the lighter color might have had something to do with the fact she'd just soaked in ground nadi, Ael dried, coated her arms and legs in the salve, got into the most comfortable sleepwear she owned – a singlet and pair of soft cotton shorts – and then flopped down on the bed, exhausted.
Normally, before bed, Ael would have lounged around the sitting room with her family, either reading one of the many books from the home's library, playing a game of khariat with T'Rul, attempting to play chess with her father, or just having a pleasant conversation about almost any topic. Tonight, though, only sleep held any real appeal for her; the itchiness made concentrating on a book virtually impossible, T'Rul couldn't get too close to her so it made khariat a bit difficult especially since they would be touching the same pieces, and truth be told Ael didn't feel much like talking, fairly sure that she would only be snappish if invited into conversation.
Not bothering to seek anyone out to bid them goodnight, Ael closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep much more easily than she figured she might but by the time the clock ticked over to midnight, Ael found herself awake, very uncomfortable; the itchiness on her skin so fierce it may as well have been burning her from the inside out. The area on her back and shoulders that she hadn't been able to coat after her bath was particularly painful.
Without a second thought, Ael tossed back the covers, hopped out of bed, fumbled for the salve that was still sitting on her desk through the darkness, and made a beeline for the door, flinging it open and heading down to the sitting room to see if her father was still there with his book.
No such luck, Ael hurrying down the corridor to check his private office where he sometimes worked until the wee hours of the morning, the search for Movar, there, ending as it had when she'd peeked into the sitting room. That only left one spot she could think of: the master suite at the top of the stairs. Ael had only been there a handful of times since coming to Romulus, each instance times when she had been feeling afraid, lost, helpless; in need of the comfort that could only come from a father.
This time was no different, Ael climbing the stairs and fighting back tears all the while, longing to be held tight by the only one in the world who could make everything okay even if it was just for a moment.
Though Ael wanted to rush headlong into the room, she knocked on the door to the master suite, the simple sound carrying a sense of urgency that she hoped her father could hear. The door opened within a few short seconds, Movar barely able to open his mouth to speak, to ask Ael if she was all right, before she threw her arms around him and lost herself to frustrated tears.
Movar didn't need to inquire what the matter was, able to see a dark patch of red on Ael's shoulder, the discoloration slightly creeping up the back of her neck. It was plain to see how miserable she was, Ael holding almost desperately tight to him, body trembling as she fought to keep from scratching.
Through her tears, Ael told him of her sudden distress, of how the itch on her skin felt hot, almost as if nothing was capable of quelling the fire, of how the rash seemed to be worsening in spots, though at least there were no blisters, and of how sleep suddenly seemed to be an impossible thing to secure.
"Unfortunately, it would appear you are more than simply mildly allergic," said Movar with a soft sigh.
"C-can you do anything t-to help?" Stammered Ael, pulling out of the embrace to wipe her eyes.
"I believe so, Ael, come."
Keeping an arm around her father, Ael followed him into the room, and then into the washroom where a soft cloth was gathered up, soaked with cool water, placed on the reddest patch of skin Movar could see: the back of Ael's right shoulder. Almost instantly Ael sighed in relief at the cooling touch of the cloth, the burning sensations slowly ebbing away, the itch mildly decreasing in intensity. Rinse and repeat; the cloth was easily refreshed with cool water and placed wherever Ael was most in need of relief, mainly, back, shoulders, and arms.
While the cool compresses brought relief for a time, the instant the cloth was moved elsewhere, the burning itch found its way back to the surface, though it wasn't as intense as before. Even so, Ael doubted she was going to get much sleep; she doubted very much she would retain any measure of sanity if she had to stand in the bathroom all night and continually press a cold cloth to her skin, one affected area at a time. She also wasn't terribly keen on the idea of Movar having to stay up all night with her, either. True, he would without hesitation if either she or T'Rul were ailing, but truth be told, it still made Ael feel like a bother, a burden.
"This is pointless," said Ael in frustration, attempting to keep what was left of her wits about her, her father applying the third round of cool compresses to the back of her shoulders. "It helps while the compress is on but it's not like I can wrap up in a cold, wet towel to sleep." The very idea of it made her shiver. "Sorry for being snappy," she said softly, biting back further tears of annoyance. "I'm just…"
"I know, Ael; I understand how miserable you feel and how tired you are."
"So, you're not mad at me?"
"Not in the slightest, my winged one," Movar assured her. "I think it's time we tried a different salve on your rash, a more potent one. It should be capable of seeing you through the night without a sedative."
Ael desperately hoped so, rubbing at her arm while her father went to fetch another topical treatment for the rash that plagued her, tipping her head in mild confusion when he not only brought back a jar of salve but a hypospray.
"A sedative?" Ael asked. Perhaps he thought one might be necessary after all, though he shook his head in response to her question.
"It contains an antihistamine; it should relieve what remains of any itchiness through the topical."
Music to Ael's ears, she rubbed the newly offered salve deep into her skin, this one smelled a bit more medicinal and she wrinkled her nose as she applied it. Once the areas on her back had been tended to, Ael received the hypo; it almost felt like she'd never tripped into the patch of ilanya, to begin with.
"That feels better," said Ael with a relieved, tired sigh.
"I'm pleased to hear it."
"Daddy, could I stay in here tonight? I just… I don't feel like being alone tonight."
"Of course, Ael," said Movar, Ael smiling tiredly, thankfully, glad he hadn't said no not that she had ever expected him to.
Slipping beneath the bronze colored quilt, Ael waited until her father got into bed before she sidled close, attempting to tuck herself neatly under his arm like she was a much smaller child, easily finding a comfortable, comforting spot that made her sigh again, this time in contentment.
"Thank you for taking care of me, Daddy," said Ael quietly, laying her head on his shoulder, yawning and closing her eyes.
"Always, my winged one." A gentle kiss found the top of her head, telling her goodnight.
With a final sigh, Ael, cozied up beneath the warm blanket, beside her father, finally fell asleep.
…..
The following morning Ael was shocked awake by a familiar, painful itch across her shoulders, extending its grasp everywhere the rash had taken its hold, the morning starting off far more miserable than Ael could have guessed, the remainder of the day nearly as bad.
The following ten-day was no better, sorely uncomfortable to be precise: Ael upping her daily soaks to three, continually keeping the rash on her body covered with salve, every waking moment seeing her almost on the edge of snapping in frustration from the burning, persistent itch that seemed to break through the coolness of the salve every hour on the hour. A hypo of antihistamine was given every evening before bed, once or twice, a mild sedative. Nearly every night saw Ael passed out in her father's room as she sought his comfort, curled up beside him in the oversized bed, his presence becoming the only way she could sleep without fretting.
For the first few days, Ael felt on the edge of what she could stand in terms of discomfort; three times at least she had broken down and cried, it was either that or toss things around her room in a frustrated fit, like a toddler in the throes of a tantrum. Ael didn't feel like feeling quite that foolish. It seemed like her sanity was held in place by one very thin, very frayed piece of thread, sure to give way and break like the fragile thing it was at any given moment.
As they say, however, "This too shall pass".
At last the day came, just over a ten-day and a half later when there was no longer any sign of a rash on Ael's skin, the itching finally, thankfully, having stopped two days prior, sleep coming much easier, her daily soaks in warm water and nadi powder down from three to one, always right before bed, hypos of antihistamine and sedative no longer needed to help her sleep.
After having spent so much time indoors over the past ten-day and a half, Ael suddenly longed to be outside, and it didn't take long, shortly after breakfast, to persuade her sister that a morning out and about was a wonderful idea.
"Shall we go on another nature walk?" T'Rul asked as they stepped out of the house and into the sunlight. "Or would you prefer heading into one of the smaller cities for the morning?"
"Hmm, it's actually a difficult choice," said Ael honestly as they walked down the path, through the yard. "Walking through that one wooded area was nice and relaxing, well, at least until I fell into the rash weed."
"At least this time, you know what to watch out for. And none of the other plant species' in this province is going to inflict days to weeks of misery if you brush up against one or fall into it," T'Rul added with a wry smile.
Looking from right to left, once the girls had reached the front gates, Ael pointing in the opposite way they'd previously gone, she said, "You know, I think we should try going that way today. Oh, and I think this time I'll be staying on the path!"