The Librarians
And the Tarnished Knight
Chapter 3
After laying Jenkins carefully on the bed in his room, the librarians quickly sprung into action. Jake and Ezekiel ran to get the first aid supplies while Cassandra ran for hot water and clean clothes. Eve and Flynn carefully removed first Jenkins jacket then his bowtie and shirt. The guardian began to examine the wounded caretaker, a frown forming on her face as she took up the discarded shirt to try and stem the bleeding in Jenkins side "is this normal, what kind of knife could do this to an immortal ?" she enquired up at Flynn who was concentrating on the dagger in his hand, he looked up for a moment brow creased in concentration as he began, "its Carnwennen, Arthurs dagger, it's said to be able to shroud its wielder in shadow", "Yes, but... Jenkins is immortal" Eve intoned incredulously, Flynn looked at her, frown still evident on his face as he replied, "Eve, Jenkins may be immortal but he is not invulnerable and this", he said holding up the dagger, "is magic. Arthur used this dagger to kill the witch Orddu by slicing her nearly in two". "Will he heal or is it like Excalibur, will he... bleed out?" Eve asked voice growing horse with emotion. Flynn looking worried now too said "I don't know, but we'll find out" his hands came up as if to encompass the whole library and he said with more conviction, "this is the library".
Jake and Ezekiel both rushed back in with the first aid supplies followed by Cassandra carefully carrying a bowl of water and a bundle of clothes; once she had placed them on the table beside the bed she stepped back with a sob as she saw the damage done to Jenkins. His left side seemed to be painted red as blood seeped from two wounds, one on his shoulder running across to meet his arm the other a large puncture to his side. Cassandra felt the warmth of both Jake and Ezekiel as they held her but she felt their combined warmth only added to her realisation of just how cold she felt, it wasn't an outward cold but seemed to emanate from within insinuating itself into every part of her body and mind, she felt numb as she stood looking on as Eve cleaned away the blood. How could this be, how could this immortal man whom she loved dearly lay there looking as if he were dying? How could her Knight, her shining silver-haired Knight be like this when only a few months ago he had seemed so strong as he came to her rescue, saving her as he had scooped her into his arms and carried her to the hospital for her surgery. She had been terrified as she drew close to the theatre. But with the lingering warmth of Jenkins hand gliding down her arm to squeeze her fingers as she was wheeled away and the echo in her mind of his voice as he had said "someone I love very much" helped to lull her into peace as the anesthetic took her. She couldn't process this so she turned her head burying it in Ezekiel's shoulder and closed her eyes tight.
Ezekiel felt Cassandra turn to push her head into his shoulder and without realizing it he tightened his arm around her. He was in shock, he knew he was but this was Jenkins. Ezekiel had secretly started to think the man was awesome, the way he had killed those vampires had left the usually cheeky thief speechless. He knew Jenkins was semi-immortal but the man looked to be in his late 60's. And when he had seen Jenkins skill and speed with the sword it had rendered the usually unflappable young man in awe. To see him grievously wounded and weakened, left him reeling as his heart suddenly opened up to how much he had come to respect and care for the grumpy caretaker. Ezekiel had never had a male adult in his life that he could look up to, who had given a toss about him. He ran away when he was 12 for a bloody good reason but this man was someone he could depend on, someone he could trust and see him like this scared the young librarian.
Jake Stone held Cassandra as he watched Eve and Flynn work on Jenkins. He felt Cassandra shaking as silent sobs wracked her petite frame. He couldn't remember when he had started to trust her again but he could pinpoint when he had realized she was less like a friend and more like a sister, it had been after that whole vampire fiasco when they had had to be rescued by the caretaker. He could admit to himself that he had been slightly embarrassed when he saw how effortless Jenkins had made it look with his sword gliding through the air, all the times he himself had picked up a sword and flung it around as if he really knew what he was doing. But he had been amazed too and full of pride that he could call this man friend and more recently to think of him as family. When he had seen Jenkins scoop Cassandra up into his arms and cradle her to his chest not only had he realized what Cassie had come to mean to him but he had also realized that this man would always come for them, that he would protect and save them like he had many times before. He had commented to Eve once that they were all like a bunch of misfit orphans to which Eve had replied, "I suppose we are, but we're like a family too". When he thought about it Eve was like the big bossy sister and Jenkins the grumpy old uncle whom everyone secretly enjoyed seeing, he inwardly chuckled at that thought, but quickly sobered when he heard a groan coming from the bed, he looked on as Jenkins arched his back and twisted his head to the side in obvious pain.
Flynn stayed close to Eve ready to offer assistance if needed. His mind partly on the dagger that now lay to one side. He was going over all he knew about magical blades and the varying types of damage they could inflict, the majority of them caused fatal wounds to humans. He just could not recall if he had ever come across anything about their effect on immortals like Jenkins. Flynn hated not having the knowledge to solve a problem, it frustrated him beyond patience and he resolved to go and look it up as soon as he could.
Eve worked on auto-pilot, glad her training had kicked in as her mind kept drifting away to all the times Jenkins had saved her, not only in the physical sense but how he had oftentimes saved her from herself. When she had been full of doubt over her role as a guardian, how his wise words could snap her so effectively out of herself and instil in her a sense confidence and purpose, it had at first seemed like he only did it out of a sense of duty, but recently there had been a gentleness to it, it had become so evident to Eve how much this ornery mans attitude had changed towards all of them compared to when they had first met. She had come to depend on him more than she had ever really depended on anyone and the thought of doing this on her own without him... well she didn't want to think about that right now. She was a guardian to them all, and boy did they need one. But Jenkins was her guardian right back and she needed him. She focused her full attention back on the task at hand as she reached for the surgical needle and thread. She asked Flynn to hold him down and took a deep steadying breath as she brought the now threaded needle to the worst wound in his side. She gritted her teeth in determination as the first stitch went in and Jenkins let out a groan, he shifted his body as if he were trying to flee the pain. Eve's heart wrenched with every pull of the needle that brought Jenkins pain. She had seen her caretaker so inscrutable and steadfast many times, to see him like this after his heart and soul had been laid open for all to see was almost unbearable to Eve. When she had finished the stitches and applied the bandages she pulled a blanket over him and looked up at his pain creased face in concern as she noticed his cheeks were flushed and a thin sheen of sweat coated his skin, she brought her hand up and gently lay it upon his brow, yes he was hot but not worryingly so, not yet at least. She turned to Flynn a thoughtful look on her face and asked: "do we have antibiotics, do you think they would do him any good, I mean would they help with a magical wound?" Flynn seemed to ponder this for a moment before he replied: "I don't know, it couldn't hurt to try, I mean I don't think it will do him any harm". When Flynn left in search of antibiotics Eve finally raised her head towards the three librarians with unconcealed worry plastered on to each face she took a deep breath before saying "Flynn's gone to get antibiotics and I've done all I can for now". Eve took another deep breath as she looked down at Jenkins again and in a gentle voice said: "the rest is up to him".