A/N: Heading into more adult themes here so a strong T rating for this chapter. I may up it to M later but I'm not sure. Let me know what you think. ;)
Chapter 6
The nurses quickly sedated the screaming Munchkin and the Head Nurse whirled around to the Captain.
"What on Oz are you thinking bringing that in here?" She spat. The words struck Elphaba hard and she buried her face deeper into the Captain's shoulder. Upon seeing this, the nurse immediately felt guilty.
"She needs medical attention," Khalil gave her a look.
"I'll get Doctor Haluk and Karl," the nurse nodded and was off. Khalil sat down on a nearby bed and carefully extracted Elphaba from his arms.
"The doctor will see you soon and we'll see about getting you well again," he smiled.
"Why?" She asked as she wiped the tears from her eyes. It was the question of the day. Should they help her, she would stand trial and possibly pay for her crimes by way of burning at the stake. If she could not be helped that would actually be better. It sounded like a terrible thing to think but the Captain didn't know what else he should be thinking.
"Because you hit your head," he responded.
"So they can arrest me again?" She wanted to know.
"Possibly but don't worry. We'll figure that all out later," Khalil smiled again as Doctor Haluk arrived.
"Captain the nurse said you brought in a special patient," the doctor's eyes were as big as saucers.
"Yes and she needs more help than my medic could give her," Khalil quickly explained the incident leading up to Elphaba's head injury, leaving out the other occurrences at the little Wizard-loving village.
"They want her well to stand trial don't they?" He asked.
"Yes that is the plan," Khalil said.
"Karl, would you escort the lady to the exam room? I need to get a few more details," Haluk smiled.
"Yes, sir," the assistant smiled and approached Elphaba. She scrambled up the bed and it was only until the Captain said it was ok for her to go with Karl, that she relaxed and walked with the assistant.
"Her motor skills seem rather fine but what can you tell me about her condition on the way here?" The Doctor wanted to know.
"Old memories have begun to surface but memories from over a decade ago. She had to be told that she had always been green and that it was winter time. Her memories, they…" Khalil paused, unsure of how to proceed.
"What is it?" Haluk gave him a questioning look.
"Best guess is that she was abused by her father. Some of the things she's said have just rocked my men to their core. I don't think she's trying to trick us either. If she is, she's got one heck of a twisted imagination," the Captain explained.
"Good heavens," Haluk shook his head.
"I wish I could say that I want you to help her but I worry what might happen if you do," Khalil admitted.
"Yes between the trial and the memories she may become more broken than she already is. I will examine her to the best of my ability and let you know what happens," Haluk nodded.
"Good, thanks Doctor," the Captain gave a tight smile as the doctor turned and headed for the exam room.
About an hour later, Haluk emerged and the look on his face said mostly what it needed to say. The Captain swallowed hard as the Doctor approached him.
"How bad is it?" Khalil wanted to know.
"She has severe memory loss followed by the fact that some short term memories seem to get lost amongst the shuffle. I can't imagine she'll be able to aid in her own defense. Beyond that, she may be like this permanently. I can't see inside her head to tell if there is swelling or bleeding so I can only guess that the hits were hard but not enough to fracture her skull. That may be a good thing but honestly only time will tell. I can say that locking her up might not be such a good idea…" the doctor paused.
"What is it?" Khalil asked.
"Well while I was doing a full exam I found deep scarring on her back, some on her stomach, and evidence that she had some sort of surgery in her abdominal region. The stitching was not done very nicely and the scar would indicate that she had a country doctor do the work. Without opening her back up, I couldn't tell you what they did or why they did it and to be honest, I don't think I want to press her. When I asked about it she wouldn't answer despite trying to answer my questions about the other scars," Haluk explained.
"What were the causes of the other scars?" The Captain was afraid to ask but he felt he needed to, in order paint a picture for the Council.
"Whippings, beatings, and the occasional burn from something that probably was a fire poker," Haluk heaved a sigh. What he saw had ripped him apart at the seams.
"Good Oz," the Captain shook his head.
"Her father was a sick man and I think I know what the other scar is for but I personally don't want to traumatize her any more than I already have," the doctor admitted.
"What do you think it was from?" Khalil asked.
"Delivering a baby," Haluk swallowed.
To Be Continued…