Colt and Robin are sitting talking in the sitting room when they see Amanda go past them and quickly out the back door. "I wonder what that's about?" Robin asks.
Colt shrugs, "I figure if something is wrong, she'd have stopped and asked for help."
"I would hope so," Robin replies.
"Hey, have either of you see Saber or Amanda today?" April says coming from the kitchen a few minutes later.
"Amanda just blasted out the back door a couple of minutes ago. Haven't seen Saber since last night, actually," Colt replies.
"I wonder if everything is okay. Did Amanda seem upset?" April asks.
"Didn't really get a look at her to be perfectly honest; she blew through here so fast. She didn't even stop to say hello. But I figured that maybe she was still embarrassed about last night," Robin replies.
April nods, "She was pretty shaken up. I thought I heard her and Saber talking earlier this morning in the kitchen, but I didn't stay around long enough to hear what was said."
"Maybe you should have," Colt says.
"I don't like eavesdropping on a private conversation, Colt," April says.
"I didn't mean that you had to listen to the entire thing. Just hang around long enough to see if they were just chatting or if one of them was angry or somethin'," Colt replies.
April plops down on the couch and sighs, "Maybe I should go and check his room. Perhaps he said something to upset her, so she left for awhile. He has been a bit moody lately."
"Are you talking about Saber?" Shinji says coming down the stairs.
"Yes. Have you seen him today?" April replies.
Shinji comes down and sits beside April, "Not since last night or rather earlier this morning," he replies. "He didn't seem to be in the mood to talk to anyone, so I left him alone. Last time I saw him, he was in the kitchen. That was around three this morning."
"What were you doing up at that hour?" Colt asks amused.
"I heard something downstairs and went to investigate. I entered the kitchen, saw him fixing something to drink, I asked him if he was okay, and he just gave a slight nod in acknowledgement; he never spoke, so after a few minutes I said goodnight and went back to bed."
"I heard him talking with Amanda about five, but I think she had just come down. I didn't stay around to listen, I thought they could use the privacy," April states.
"So no one has seen or heard from him since about five this morning, and you have only seen Amanda a short time ago. She left in a hurry and he wasn't with her?" Shinji states getting nods from the others, "I think something is up."
"It's probably been close to an hour or so since we saw Amanda now," Robin says.
Just then the door to the kitchen swings open and they all turn to look, "Have any of you seen Saber or Ms. Kelly?" Elaine asks, trying to mask the concern in her voice.
"We were just discussing that very thing, Ms. Elaine. Why?" April replies.
"Well, she was looking for him about an hour ago. She had gone into his room hoping to find him. I entered to put away a few things, I saw the concerned look on her face and we talked briefly. I said that I was surprised to see her because I thought that she was with him. Thomas said Saber had left earlier on Donatello, and he was still gone. He thought that Ms. Kelly had gone with him, as they usually go riding in the mornings. Ms. Kelly mentioned that she had said something that seemed to make Saber mad and he left. She was giving him time to calm down, but then she couldn't find him so she went off looking for him." Elaine replies.
Colt let's out a whistle, "She actually got him mad? That's funny."
"Not really Colt, he could get hurt going off on his own, especially when he's angry." April states. "Did she say what she said to him?" April asks.
Elaine shakes her head, "No, but I can imagine what was said. I heard her raise her voice to him this morning, but I didn't want to intrude, so I went about my chores. He was replying in a low voice when I got too far away to hear." she pauses before continuing, "I do know she used his birth name," she adds with a chuckle. "Not too many people dare to do that."
The others look at her a bit shocked. "So he's been gone since around five and it's nearly noon now. She's been gone for over an hour, and we've not heard from either one since?" Shinji says. "I don't like it. Has anyone tried calling his phone?"
The others look to each other and shake their heads. "I tried a short time ago, Mr. Hikari." Thomas says as he approaches the group and everyone looks up. "He's not answering. Neither is she. I tried her phone as well."
"I say we go look for them," April says standing up and looking to the others.
"I agree, Shinji says as he stands up, Colt and Robin following suit.
"We still have three more horses, so you can take them to go and search for them," Thomas offers.
Shinji nods, "Let's do that."
Colt turns to Robin, "Why don't you stay here with Thomas and Elaine, in case they come back. Call us if they do, and we'll call if we find them."
Robin nods, "I can do that," she replies and sits back down. "I know only having one person per horse would make it faster."
Colt nods, "Thank you," he kisses her lightly. "We'll call as soon as we know somethin'." She nods and he turns to April and Shinji, "Ready?" They nod and they leave to go searching for them.
They head off in a random direction and after about half an hour they stop. "Maybe we should have split up. The estate grounds are huge. We have no way of knowing if they are even in the same place," April says looking around at the expansive grounds around them.
Shinji nods, "Yes, maybe we should split up. We each have phones and com-links, so if one of us finds one or both of them we can let each other know."
"Okay. Let's go," Colt says as he heads in a random direction. Shinji and April each head off into different directions as well.
Nearly an hour later, Shinji hits his com-link, "Hey guys, find anything yet?"
"Nope, I'm about to cut back towards the house, in case they passed behind me," Colt replies.
"April?" Shinji asks.
"I've not seen anything yet, but it looks like there's some sort of building up ahead, don't know why anyone would be way out here though," she replies.
"I've not seen anything, so I'm heading towards your location, Shinji replies.
"Okay Shinji. I'll be heading back after I scope out this-" she suddenly gets quiet.
"April?" Shinji says.
"Donatello is here, and so is another horse. There are noises inside. Should I go in?" April says quietly.
"No, I'll be to your location in about a minute, wait for me," Shinji replies.
"Okay. I'll get as close as I can without being noticed." She replies.
"Colt, are you still going to the house?" Shinji asks.
"No way! I'm heading towards you and April. If you get there and think you need to go on in, go ahead. I'll be right behind you," Colt replies.
Shinji arrives and April waves him over near the well. "It sounds like a physical fight in there. Do you think it's Saber and Amanda?" April whispers.
Shinji shakes his head, "We know that odds are that Saber is in there, but the other horse could be anyone. But I don't think Saber would hit a woman, no matter how pissed he is."
They move to the door and pull their guns, "Ready?" April asks, getting a nod from Shinji. "1-2-3" They open the door and enter blasters first. Once their eyes adjust they stand there in shock. They see Saber and Amanda sparring with sticks. Just then Colt bursts through the other door, causing both Saber and Amanda to stop and turn towards him, sticks ready in a fighting stance.
"What the bloody Hell?" Saber asks in Colt's direction.
"Saber? Amanda?" April asks dumbfounded as she lowers her weapon. Shinji quickly holsters his weapon and they slowly approach them.
Saber jerks towards April's voice, still in a defensive position. "What is going on?" he asks annoyed, as he lowers the stick and goes to sit down. Amanda comes up and sits beside him, laying the stick on the ground beside her. Both look exhausted and are drenched in sweat.
"What's going on?" April asks shocked. "We were worried sick about both of you; you've been missing for hours!"
"We have?" Saber asks innocently. "I suppose I lost track of time."
"So did I, I was caught up in what we were doing," Amanda says.
"You know, I thought you were here to teach him, not the other way around," Shinji states with annoyance in his voice.
"Sometimes you learn more by teaching someone rather than by them teaching you," Amanda states as she grabs the pail of water and takes a drink before passing it to Saber. "He is learning that he is capable of being normal, despite the loss of vision."
Saber takes it and after drinking some, sets it down between them and sighs, "I'm sorry that we worried you. I came out here to clear my head. She came out later, looking for me and found me here. We talked for awhile, then we started practicing fencing with sticks."
"We tried calling both of your phones, neither one of you answered," April states.
"I left my phone in my room. I left in a bit of a hurry this morning," Saber replies.
"Yes, so we gathered from Elaine," Shinji says trying to not sound angry. "What about your phone?" He asks looking pointedly at Amanda.
"Um, I guess I never heard it ring," she replies sheepishly and starts digging through her pockets. "Orrrrr I don't have it." she mumbles barely audible. Saber stifles a smile.
"I can't believe you two" April says not bothering to disguise the annoyance in her voice, "Taking off in anger and not bothering to take your phones or your com."
"Last I checked this property belonged to me," Saber practically growls, as he attempts to keep a civil tone. "And I never seemed to need a phone before this. Are you implying that I am unable to take care of myself on my own estate?"
April stares at him in shock. "Um, no, that's not what I meant," she stammers in an attempt to backtrack on what she's said.
"Oh really, then what exactly did you mean?" his resentment apparent in his tone.
"I'm just worried about you, that you..." April trails off.
"Might get hurt because I'm blind?" Saber suggests bitterly, and April blushes heavily at the dead on guess but remains silent. "So that's how it is? Even my friends doubt my abilities, is it just her, or is it all of you?" Colt and Shinji look away from Saber in spite of knowing he can't see them. "I find it very unusual that people that I have known for a number of years and consider my friends and teammates seem to think of me as an invalid, and yet Miss Amanda, a woman I've only known for a couple of months seems to have complete faith in me." He gets up and walks toward where he left Donatello, using the stick as a cane and guide to look for objects, finding his way blocked by the others. "Move," he says in a cold tone that bodes no argument; they quickly scamper out of the way unsure of what else to do.
Amanda gets up without saying a word and follows Saber and sees him mounting Donatello, "Where you going?" she asks with concern as the door to the bard slams behind her.
"I don't know," he replies flatly, straining to keep from snapping at her.
"Care for some company?" she asks hesitantly.
Saber sighs, "Sure, are you up to riding the horse you came here on?"
Amanda goes to nod then shakes her head, remembering that he wouldn't see her nodding, "Of course" she replies as she mounts her horse and they ride off.
Back in the building Colt is the first one to speak, "We are in deep trouble, aren't we?"
April and Shinji look to each other in shock, "I'm not sure what to do now," April states quietly. "We certainly did not help matters."
About an hour later Colt, Shinji and April arrive back at the manor and are immediately confronted by Elaine. "Well, did you find Master Saber and Ms. Kelly?"
April hangs her head as Shinji answers for all of them, "I'm afraid we might have made things worse."
"Well, you'd better come tell me everything," Elaine replies, leading the trio inside. They dismount and head inside, the groom takes their horses. They tell Elaine what happened over tea. "Saber will calm down, he and Amanda will be back, although knowing Saber it make take a day or two," she says reassuringly after hearing their story.
"He doesn't have any supplies," April says. "How could he possibly live for two days outside the house?"
"He once disappeared for an entire week, and claimed he never left the estate grounds, but nobody ever saw him until the day he walked into the house. He was well fed, and relatively clean. He never said exactly where he hid, or what he ate, but if he was able to do that then, I'm sure that even given his current limitations he'd be more than able to take care of himself and Ms. Kelly for several days."
"So what are we supposed to do?" Shinji asks.
"We wait. He'll come back when he's ready. I'm sure that she'll either be with him, or he'll have made her mad enough that she leaves outright," Elaine says simply.
Meanwhile, Saber and Amanda are sitting in front of a fire burning in a fireplace. "So nobody is aware of this part of the basement, huh?" Amanda asks staring towards the fire.
Saber smiles and shakes his head, "No. Apparently it was somehow walled off from the rest of the basement, and the only way in is the entrance that you were able to find," he replies. "Although if memory serves me, there may be a secret entrance into the house over towards the far corner; however I'm not sure it would be safe passage after all this time of disuse."
"I can't believe how such minute details stick out in our minds, you were able to direct me to the hidden door by descriptions alone," she says, a hint of admiration in her voice.
"It was almost like I could see it in my head when I was describing it to you," he says quietly.
Nearly a week later, they are finishing up dinner when Amanda stands up without a word.
"Are you alright?" he asks concerned.
"Just tired and I have a bit of a headache. Thought I'd move about a bit," she says as she goes over and grabs another log and tossing it on the fire.
"Why don't you lie down? I'll be up for awhile yet. Perhaps tomorrow we can venture back to the house?" he replies.
"You sure you don't mind?" she asks.
"It's fine Amanda," Saber replies quietly. "I'm sorry that I've drug you into this. I should have taken you back days ago."
She chuckles, "I volunteered to come, didn't I?"
"True, but I don't figure you imagined that I would stay gone this long," he replies matter-of-factly.
"I've actually enjoyed the peace here. I could use a slightly more comfortable bed though," she adds ruefully.
"Well, I promise tomorrow we'll go back." he says.
"Okay," she replies weakly before going to lay down on a makeshift cot, covering herself and closing her eyes, drifting to sleep shortly afterwards.
Saber stays up for awhile afterwards, making sure to add more wood to the fire before retiring to a cot he set up closer to the entrance to the room they are in. A few hours later, he's restless; so he gets back up and sits by the fire. Noting that it was cooler in the room, he adds more wood. He starts a pot of water on the fire to make tea, taking care to not make a lot of noise. Going through the motions, he suddenly realizes that he can see dim light and gasps. He shakes his head to clear it, thinking that he's just overly tired, and continues to wait while the water is heating. Carefully, he focuses on the fire and realizes that he really can see a dim light and the outline of the pot on the fire as he goes to remove it from the fire. He nearly drops the pot in shock, managing just to spill some of the contents and knocking over the cups he had set out. He rights them quickly, hoping not to have made enough noise to rouse Amanda. He doesn't dare turn in her direction, afraid that he'll discover that he's just dreaming. He carefully pours some water in the cups and allows the tea to steep for a few minutes. He sips his tea in silence as he contemplates what to think of the new development and debating whether to say anything.
"Tea?" Amanda says groggily as she wakes up a little while later.
"Your sense of smell is better than mine if you managed to smell this over there," Saber comments.
"Maybe," Amanda admits as she gets up and stretches before coming over and joining him for tea. "Thank you," she says quietly after taking a sip from her cup.
"When we're done here let's clean up and then head on back to the house, unless I'm mistaken we should arrive early enough in the morning that the others might not even realize we're back."
"Going to keep them guessing until the end huh?" Amanda asks with a hint of amusement in her voice.
"That's the general idea," Saber says with a grin as he finishes his tea and then starts cleaning up. Shortly afterwards they head back to the main part of the house and find Elaine preparing breakfast.
"Saber, Ms. Kelly," Elaine says relieved, giving them a smile, "I knew you'd both come back." She hugs them both, "Hungry?"
"I'm fine, Elaine" Saber says, "I think I'd like to take a shower and sleep in my bed for awhile."
"Me too," Amanda says quietly.
Elaine looks between them for a moment before nodding, "Go on and get some rest. Let me know if you need anything."
"Oh, Elaine, please don't tell the others that we've returned just yet," Saber requests with a smirk.
Elaine smiles, "I don't know what you're talking about; I've not seen or heard anyone this morning. No one has come through here."
Saber nods satisfied and he and Amanda head quietly up the stairs. They arrive at his room, "I had fun these last few days," Amanda says sounding more tired than she intends.
"So did I," Saber admits. They stand at the door a moment neither of them knowing what to say. "I, um, will meet up with you later I suppose."
"Aye, of course," Amanda replies quietly before turning and heading to her room. She goes in and grabs some fresh clothes and takes a shower before going and lying down and falling into a deep sleep.
Saber enters his room, closing the door behind him and heads for the shower. After washing off he changes and plops down on the bed, his eyes closed. He doesn't move for several minutes, thinking back over the past several weeks. He remembers the glimpses from the early morning and opening his eyes, he tries to focus on the ceiling. For awhile, he just sees a fuzzy light, but after several minutes, he begins to see the individual ceiling tiles and some of the decorative etchings in them. He blinks a few times, but the shapes are still there. Involuntarily, he gasps and slowly stands up and walks over to the dresser, where the pictures are. Picking up the frame holding the photo of his parents, he realizes that he can see, not clearly, but they are recognizable. After several minutes of looking over the various photos, he returns to his bed tired, but unable to sleep; afraid that if he falls asleep, he'll lose what vision has returned.
Shinji and April come down the stairs and enter the kitchen. Elaine is setting out breakfast for them. "Good morning." she greets them as they sit down.
"Any word yet?" April asks hopefully.
Elaine looks away and shakes her head, "No ma'am. Not a word."
"It's been a week!" Shinji says exasperated.
"Yeah, and I've been out riding every day the last four days. Not a sign of them," Colt says entering the kitchen, Robin not far behind him. They join the couple at the table.
"Maybe they went to her place?" Shinji muses. The others look at him surprised. "Well, she's local; who's to say they didn't go there?"
"I suppose that's a possibility," April admits. "Does anyone know where she lives?" They all shake their heads in reply. April sighs, "I suppose I should call my father. He should have her information on file, since Cavalry Command is paying for her services."
"I say give them another day or so," Elaine interjects. The others look as if to protest and she holds up her hands to silence them, "Think about it, the horses are here, and have been here since the morning after they left, so they are most likely on the estate hiding out. They will be back soon most likely. Give them one more day, and then if they have not yet returned, you have my blessing to call Commander Eagle."
Shinji nods, "It would be best to keep him out of this, if at all possible. I'm sure he has plenty of other things to be worrying over. He doesn't need this added to it." Slowly, the others nod their heads in agreement, and they eat, no one really saying much else.
After breakfast, they head out back and sit in the courtyard, chatting when Colt stands up, "I'm going to go back out and look for them again. Does anyone else wish to come along?"
"Sure." April says. Shinji nods and Robin stands up.
"Let's all go this time. Robin can ride the horse that Amanda had," Colt says and they head to the stables. After prepping the horses, they all ride off together to look for Saber and Amanda.
Saber rolls over and looks out the window, squinting at the light. "I suppose it's nearly noon now," he mumbles to himself. Slowly he stands up and stretches and looks around the room, he notices that things are still fuzzy, but he's grateful he can see. He goes to the door and quietly opens it. Looking in both directions, he doesn't see or hear anyone close by, so he makes his way to Amanda's door and starts to knock but stops. He stands there for several minutes, silently praying that no one finds him there, then after much debating with himself, he quietly knocks on the door. After a minute, he hears no reply, so he reaches for the door handle and hesitantly tries it. The door opens and he slips in, closing it behind him. It takes a minute before his eyes adjust to the dimmer light in the room; he sees the shadow of a figure lying in the bed, covers pulled up. He starts to leave when she stirs, realizing that someone is in her room.
She rolls over, facing the door and tenses for a moment, "Saber?" she says barely a whisper.
He nods, "Aye. I'm sorry. I'll let you rest. I apologize for waking you," he says quietly, turning back towards the door and reaching for the handle.
She notices his uneasiness, "Are you alright?" she asks concerned.
"I... don't know," he replies, still staying close to the door.
She goes to sit up, and quickly lays back down, "Ugh."
"Are you alright?" he asks, concern in his voice.
"I'm not feeling very well. But I'm sure it's nothing," she replies weakly.
"How do you not feel well?" he asks venturing a little closer to her, grateful for the darkness of the room.
"My head is pounding and I'm freezing. I think I may have a fever," she says barely audible.
He slowly walks over to the bed, "May I feel your head for fever?" he says hesitantly.
"Yeah," she replies quietly.
He touches her head gently, noticing she's drenched from sweat and burning hot to the touch. "I need to get Elaine," he says trying not to sound worried.
She mumbles an incomprehensible reply.
He turns and quickly leaves her room, stepping into the hall. He closes her door and glances in the direction of the stairs, squinting at the light. Begrudgingly, he goes to his room and grabs the sunglasses he had worn when he first arrived back home. He then takes a back entrance to the kitchen. Upon entering, he doesn't see Elaine, so he goes to their quarters and knocks on the door.
The door opens and Elaine looks at him with a look of surprise. "Saber?" she asks seeing the serious look on his face. "What's wrong?"
"Amanda is burning up with fever. I think you should see about her, I think she needs a doctor," he says urgently.
"Take me to her," she says and they go back the way he came and go to her room, not bothering to knock.
"Ms. Kelly?" Elaine says with concern upon entering the room. Amanda stirs slightly in the bed, shivering and the covers pulled up tightly around her. Elaine comes over and touches her head, "You're right, she is burning up, she says to Saber, who nods. "Go and ask Thomas to call the doctor. He's in our quarters."
Saber nods and heads back downstairs. He enters the servant's quarters, "Thomas?"
Thomas comes around the corner from the other room, "Ah, good to see you back, sir."
"Thomas, please call for the doctor. Amanda is sick and has a high fever. Elaine is with her." Saber says trying to remain calm.
"Yes sir, I'll go now," he says heading off in search of the number.
"I'll be in Amanda's room, seeing if I can be of use to Elaine," Saber replies as he turns and heads back upstairs. He quickly returns and Elaine looks up, noting his look of concern.
"She's sleeping right now," Elaine says quietly.
Saber nods and sits in a chair not far from the bed. "What can I do to help?" he asks.
Elaine places a fresh washcloth on Amanda's head and turns to study Saber better. "Why do you have your sunglasses on?" she asks quietly.
Saber sits quietly for several minutes, thinking of how to formulate his reply, "Well, this morning, I was able to see bits of light. It was giving me a headache, so I went and got these to wear. It seems to help."
"So light is all you can see?" she asks curious.
Saber shakes his head, "At times, I can make out shapes, like now. It's dark enough that I can make out your outline and her figure on the bed." Elaine gasps in shock. "Not much more than that. I can't focus hard enough to see normally, it hurts my head," he replies quietly. "I first noticed it this morning when I was making tea over a fire. I thought I was dreaming."
"Does she know?" Elaine asks nodding towards Amanda.
Saber shakes his head, "No. I wasn't sure if it's temporary or permanent, so I was waiting to tell her. One of the reasons I came to see her was I was going to talk to her about it," he replies quietly.
Elaine nods, "Perhaps the doctor should look at you as well. You said that you have a headache too, right?"
Saber nods, "It started about the time I could see light this morning."
"Is it possible that you caught something from Amanda? I'm sure you've been in close quarters," Elaine says looking to see his reaction.
Saber shakes his head and releases an, "Nothing improper has happened, Elaine, if that is what you are trying to find out," he says a bit more harshly than he intends.
Elaine places a hand on his arm, "I didn't mean it like that, Saber. I am curious, but I noticed you went to your own rooms, so I figured nothing too improper had ...happened," she replies quietly. "I'm sorry," she adds.
"It's alright. I know that you are looking out for me, and that you mean well," he replies, the anger subsiding. "Do the others know we're back?"
"No. They have gone off to try and find you both," She says with a smile as Thomas enters the room, followed by another man.
"Master Saber, this is Dr. Ferguson. He came as soon as I called," Thomas says, before he quietly leaves the room.
Saber nods to him. "Thank you for coming so quickly, Doctor. This is Amanda Kelly," he states, nodding towards her sleeping figure on the bed. "Her symptoms started late last night, I think. But she is much worse than even a few hours ago."
Dr. Ferguson takes out a medical bag and everyone moves back from the bed, so he can examine her, several minutes pass in silence as they wait for some sort of reaction. "Well, her fever is rather high. It's running dangerously close to forty one degrees." He takes a small pouch and places some of the contents in Amanda's mouth. "This should help with the fever. I'll come back later with some injections to give her if needed. I'll also bring some antibiotics." he turns to Saber, "Captain Rider, can you tell me what her earliest symptoms were, and about how long ago they started?"
Saber thinks about the last couple of days, trying to think of when she started acting differently. "Well, I suppose it was just after we ate dinner last night. She got up and seemed...off. I asked her if she was alright, and she said she was just really tired and had a bad headache. She went and laid down, and this morning, she seemed okay. She mentioned that her head was still hurting, but she came in here and laid down again. But she wasn't very talkative, so I suppose that's why I thought something was off."
The doctor nods, listening. "Have you had any of the same symptoms?" he asks.
Saber shakes his head, "I've had a bit of a headache, but nothing unusual."
The doctor comes over to him and feels his head, "No sign of fever and your color is good, so perhaps you won't fall ill, as she has."
"Any idea what's wrong?" Elaine asks.
"It could be any number of things. I'm going to put her on a broad spectrum antibiotic. If we can get her fever down, I think she'll be fine. She may not feel up to anything for several days, so I would limit other's contact with her, just to be safe," he replies.
"What about us? We have already been around her," Saber asks quietly.
"I would limit it to perhaps you that are here in the room; the fewer people who come in contact with her, the less likely to pass this illness around," the doctor replies. Both Saber and Elaine nod in understanding.
"I can bring food up for both of you, if you don't mind sitting with her, Saber. I'll come and help her change and bathe, when she feels up to it," Elaine says.
Saber nods, "Thank you, doctor. Should we call if her condition worsens?"
He nods, "Yes, I'll be back later this afternoon to check on her and bring some more medicine. Give her some more of this powder, about half of what's left in approximately two hours. I should be back before she needs a third dose, and we can assess whether the treatment is helping." He stands up and nods to both of them, "I'll see you later," he turns and heads downstairs.
Saber sighs, placing his head in his hands. Elaine comes over to him, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder, "She'll get better, Saber," she says with a smile. "I know you care about her." she adds quietly.
He looks up at her, almost confused by her statement, "How could I care so much for someone I've known only a short time?"
Elaine chuckles, "She's seen you at your worst Saber, and yet she's still chosen to stay. It's not often that a person meets someone that truly understands them. I think deep down, you know that. In time, you'll know what you feel, and you'll face it head on, like you do everything else. For now, focus that energy on helping her as she has helped you." She removes her hand from his shoulder, "I'll go and fix lunch for the others, and then I'll bring the two of you up something, alright?" She hands him a washcloth, go and moisten this in her washroom, then swap it out for the one on her head. Do that every fifteen to twenty minutes," she says.
He nods, "Thank you, Elaine."
"I'll be back in about an hour. May I let the others know you are both back, but not to be disturbed?" she asks, stopping at the door to await his reply.
He thinks for a minute and nods, "I suppose you should tell them what is going on. I'm not ready to talk to them yet." he pauses then adds as an afterthought, "Please don't mention my change in vision to anyone just yet, I'd like to wait until I know how this plays out."
"Of course, Saber. You have my word," she replies and leaves the room, closing the door behind her.
