AN: It's been awhile since I worked on this story, I thought I'd give it a go. Reviews are always appreciated!

When Fate Takes a Hand

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Chapter Three: The Infirmary
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Nadiana was too tired to worry about Conal of Mindelan. If he meant to give her more trouble, then she'd deal with it when it came.

For now, she had a much more arduous task at hand- deciding what to wear to supper. The king and queen only ate publicly a few times a year, so the pages were allowed to dress casually and report to their own dining hall.

Nadia wondered if she should wear a dress. It would remind the other pages of who she was, and show them that she was not ashamed.

Ambrosia had sent two gowns along with the girl. One was a blue dress that was trimmed in grey. The other one was gold with a red overdress, the same colors as her page uniform.

After staring at the blue frock that lay across her bed beside a purple tunic and brown leggings, she sat down and sighed. She was too tired to make this decision either.

"Wear the green," Dennis said sleepily. He was leaning against the doorframe, half-asleep on his feet.

"I don't have a green one," Nadia said, collecting up some clothes and heading into the dressing room. It was easier to don the tunic, so that was what she did.

…..

As the new page's days passed into a pattern, their endurance increased and they felt less spent in the evenings. Nadia still slept soundly through the night, but she no longer fell asleep at supper.

Since Dyson and Jackim were her friends, the pages who didn't like her gave her very little trouble. Conal was the worst of her problems, and he never made more than a snide remark.

In October, Nadia was surprised by Conal in the stables once more. She was prepared for a fight, but it didn't come. Instead he offered to make amends with her.

"I've been thinking lately. I have a little sister who is going to want to try for her shield in a few years. I guess I've had the wrong mindset about girls, and I'm sorry."

"You're forgiven," Nadia said, not knowing what else to say.

…..

Nadia felt confused. Wherever she was, it was very dark. Was Conal trying to play a trick on her? Was his apology a farce?

Something felt cool against her cheek. She was sprawled across a stone floor. Nadia tried to push herself up, but her wrist churned painfully beneath her, sending a searing pain up her arm.

"Nadia?" a voice called. There were several voices, and they seemed to be looking for her. She tried to sit up again, putting her injured wrist carefully out of harm's way, but the pain in her right leg was far worse.

"Nadiana?" She could pick out Dennis, Dyson, and Charli from the voices calling her name.

"I'm here," she tried to yell, but it came out in more of a muffled mumble.

"It's a shortcut."

Nadia started to piece together what had happened. She had been late for supper and was trying to run all the way there. An older page who was also late had stopped her in the hallway and walked part of the way with her.

"Blast!" he'd exclaimed. "I forgot something. You go on ahead. Follow that corridor, it's a shortcut. I'll catch up."

Nadia had followed the corridor, but at the end, a flight of stairs plummeted sharply down. Nadia could remember tumbling downward, banging head, feet, and limbs against the stairs, until she finally lost consciousness.

He never meant to catch up, Nadia thought bitterly as she lay with her arm above her head. She tried to remember the anonymous page's name, but she hurt too much to think about it. She looked up the stairway. The flickering light of a torch carried from above.

"Nadia!" Dyson exclaimed, running down the rest of the way.

"I'm here," she whispered. Dyson turned so that his voice would carry up the stairs.

"She's down here!" he yelled. In moments Charli and Dennis were at her side. The three boys helped her to her feet, and she leaned on Dy's shoulder, supporting herself with her good leg.

"Can you hobble along like this?" Dy asked.

"I think so," Nadia mumbled.

"What happened?" Dennisin demanded.

"I fell down," Nadia said, chuckling at the irony. But laughing made her ribs hurt, and she winced in pain.

"Let's get you to the infirmary," Dy said. He looked at the other boys. "I think we need help getting back up the stairs, but then you should go back to supper. There's no sense in having more punishment added to your work load."

Charli nodded in agreement, passing the torch to Dennis. He scowled at having the menial task, but started up the stairs nonetheless.

…..

The infirmary was a strange place. There was a waiting room with three long wooden benches around the edges of the walls. A potted begonia plant was set in one corner, and a fire was roaring in the hearth.

A boy with brown hair and brilliantly emerald eyes sat on one of the benches, looking bored. He sorted what looked like files. Upon hearing Nadia hobble in, he looked up, and a grin grew on his face.

"Well, if it isn't Dyson of Merwon? And what's this? A new partner in crime?"

"G'day, Garrett," Dy said cheerfully. "I've brought you a new patient." Dyson introduced Nadia to Garrett. He was the son of Duke Baird of Queenscove, the Chief of the realm's healers. In a short time, Nadia learned that Garrett was a third-year squire, and that his father had taken him as squire so that he could also learn the healing arts.

"Well, that ankle looks swollen," Garrett said. "It's probably broken. I'll have to go get my father. Duke Gareth insists that the pages only be seen by Father. Something about accountability. I wasn't really paying attention when it was explained to me."

Garrett helped Dyson settle Nadia on a cot in the examination room.

"Don't worry now, my Da will be gentle," the young man said. Dy and his green-eyed friend went to retrieve Duke Baird from his rooms. Nadia smiled and closed her eyes. She felt very sleepy. And the pain was starting to feel unbearable.

"Now, what do we have here?" Duke Baird asked, coming into the room.

"I fell down, your grace," Nadia said. The Duke chuckled.

"I remember the Lioness trying that one," he said. "My own sons tried to tell me that once, too. You don't have to tell me who beat you."

"I really did fall down," Nadia insisted. "A whole flight of stairs."

"What hurts?"

"My left arm and my right ankle."

"And a few ribs, and your eye," the Duke added, healing a bruise. Duke Baird made small talk while he healed Nadia's various cuts and bruises. Her wrist was broken and her ankle, which she had thought was worse, was sprained.

At long last, the Duke finished healing, and ordered her to bed.

"All better?" Garrett asked when Nadia came into the waiting room.

"Mmm-hmm," she nodded with a yawn.

"I suppose you need help back to your bed," Dyson said. He turned to his friend. "I guess I'll be seeing you."

"Stay out of trouble," Garrett teased.

"You two seemed friendly," Nadia said when they were in the hallway.

"Garrett was my sponsor when I was a first-year," Dy said, chuckling. "We got each other in and out of more trouble than I can remember."

As the fourth-year helped his charge limp to her room, he told her a story about how Garrett snuck into Duke Gareth's rooms, and "borrowed" his red dressing gown. The following night during supper, he put the dressing gown on a pig and set it free in the dining hall.

"It was a jolly good joke, but Garrett had to wash dishes in his spare time until he was a second-year squire. Here we are, Miss Emralín, your lovely suite. May I fluff your pillows for you?"

"No thank you, sir. I'm sure that there is someone else you could bug for awhile," Nadia said with a smile. She bid Dyson goodnight, then closed her door and fell into her bed, still dressed in her uniform.