"So about your ankle," the nurse continued, "the wound was minor and easy to fix considering we caught it right away. But, it is still fresh, so it will take time to heal."
I groaned at the sound of that.
"How long?" I asked.
"A few weeks at the most," the nurse replied, gently pulling up the covers at the end of the bed to expose my feet.
I drew in a breath at that, "I take it I won't be able to walk?"
"Well no," the nurse laughed a little like that was the dumbest question she'd ever heard, "unless you're a fairy or something."
My heart flipped at the word "fairy". I'm an enchantress, does that count? Yeah, I'd need my hoverboard to fly, and that might hurt my ankle a little, but why not? It's better than walking. Maybe I can also experiment with some other forms of flight like...summoning storm clouds under my feet? I've never tried that before, but it'd be worth a go.
"You ok?" the nurse snapped me out of my thoughts. She looked at me under her glasses, her chocolatey eyes skirting mine.
"Yeah," I replied, nodding, "I'm fine."
It still hurt to nod, but not as bad now. The nurse didn't look like she believed me. I swallowed.
My wounded foot was bare, and it was wrapped in thin white gaws. I couldn't feel it. I couldn't move it. The gaws felt soft and tickly for the most part, but near where I was shot, it felt hard and dry. I sat up a little, my hand still on the ice pack. I saw the gaws were dyed a rotted crimson…my blood.
"If you stitched it," I said, "how did I bleed so much?"
"You didn't," the nurse replied, unhooking the metal piece which held them together. She started unraveling them. "But you sure lost a lot before and while we stitched you. We had to clean your ankle afterwards."
"But it was just a gunshot," I replied, my heartbeat speeding up as I felt the gaws loosen up around my ankle, "You're acting like a lion bit me."
"Do you know how serious gunshots are?" the nurse questioned, a little more strictly, "Especially to enchantresses?"
My blood ran cold and a wave of terror swept through my body. I swear to God my heart stopped.
I drew in a shaky breath, "How did you know?"
"I could see it in you," the nurse replied, removing the gaws completely and setting them aside in a snowy white clump. The air felt cold on my ankle, and where the gaws were, my skin had paled and checkered imprints were sculpted on my skin.
"How?" I demanded, my voice angry.
"Well first of all," the nurse answered, looking up at me, "those eyes of yours give you away."
I blinked. That's right...the irises of an enchantress are always an unnatural color. If they aren't...the color is hella bold. My eyes are a deep poison green. Just a solid color, no access blues or anything in a normal human iris. They're just flat green. My other friends' eyes are like that, too.
"How do you know enchantresses exist, is what I'm asking," I questioned.
"I think any average person would know they exist," she answered, "not to mention the reports Eric gave me on how you acted had me wondering."
I cursed when she mentioned Eric. I sighed, and leaned forward on my elbows and pinched the bridge of my nose. I shut my eyes and tried to regain my thoughts as I felt my migraine creeping back into my skull.
"Does he know?" I asked.
"He does not," the nurse replied.
"Well don't freaking tell anyone."
"I wasn't planning on it."
"If another soul here finds out, I swear to God-"
"Your secret is safe with me."
"How should I know?!" I lashed out. My head throbbed but I didn't care. "How should I know you haven't shouted out my dignity to the entire goddamn compound?!"
"Calm down," the nurse replied sternly, "I don't want to have to put you out again. And no, I have no reason to and I have nothing against you or your friends. I would never do such a thing."
I growled and took hard, steady breaths to calm myself.
"Just if you're wondering," the nurse coaxed, but I didn't dare to make eye contact, "Your friends are fine. Four led them safely to the exit and they are away from the compound. But I would get back to them if I were you. They're probably worried sick."