Shelby woke up in her warm bed at the castle. The room was brightly lit, even though the curtains were pulled over the windows, making her guess that it was late morning. How did I get here? Shelby asked herself. Last thing I remember...That was the thing. Shelby didn't remember anything. She remembered going horse-back riding, and having a good time talking to Mason, and then Gavin saying Abigail was missing...It all came back to Shelby in a rush, and was heavy on her shoulders. Abigail. Shelby tossed of her comforter, and stood quickly. She barely even noticed that she was wearing a black dress and grey cloak she didn't remember owning. Without even putting shoes on, Shelby was out the door in an instant.
Unsure of where to go, Shelby walked down several flights of stairs to reach the dining hall, knowing someone was bound to be there eventually. When she pushed open the heavy doors, she found Cassandra and Horace discussing something serious with a man across the table. They all three looked up as Shelby barged in.
"Shelby," Horace said as he stood, obviously reassured.
"Come sit," the queen invited, sounding reassured as well. "Please." So Shelby walked up to the table cautiously and sat in the seat facing the door at the other end of the table. When no one said anything for several moments, Shelby spoke up.
"Where's Abigail?" she asked slowly. Horace and the other man exchanged looks. The stranger spoke first.
"She is still unconscious," he said wisely.
"Still?" Shelby asked, her throat suddenly dry.
"Yes," the man continued. "I'm afraid she has suffered some pretty serious head damage, and there is some liquid in her lungs. Along with yourself, she has been unconscious for at least a full day."
"A whole day?" Shelby echoed. The man nodded solemnly.
"At this point, we're very worried about her health, as I was just explaining," the man said, facing the queen and Horace again. Even though she knew it was against any sort of protocol that existed, Shelby drew her feet up onto her chair and rested her head on her knees.
"Shelby," Cassandra began gently, "I hope you know that we do not blame you in the least. Your attempt to save her almost cost you your own life, and if you hadn't tried, our daughter would be at the bottom of that lake." Shelby swallowed hard, trying to keep her tears from spilling over.
"She'll be okay, right?" she asked, her voice muffled. Silence. The stranger, who Shelby had finally labeled as a healer spoke again after a pause.
"We hope she will make a full recovery, but at this time it's hard to tell." Even thought they remained calm for the moment, Horace and Cassandra were grief-stricken, and holding back their tears with some difficulty. Shelby, on the other hand, wasn't even trying. Tears streamed freely down her flushed cheeks, and she didn't bother to wipe them away. She felt as though she had let Abigail and her family down. The one task given to her, one simple task, she felt she had failed them of. Shelby knew the princess was very fond of her, but what she didn't know, was that Shelby was very grateful to have such a friend. Abigail had been the only semi-long lasting friend she'd ever had, (which was a little depressing, hence she had only known the girl a little over two months), but even the thought of Abigail not making it was too much for the still young girl. A servant came in the room holding a mug of coffee, and placed it in front of Shelby. On any other occasion, the young girl was very fond of the drink, but that day held too much emotion for even coffee to brighten her mood. The four people sat in the room in silence for several minutes. The sweet-smelling aroma of coffee was eventually over-bearing for Shelby, and she reluctantly took a few sips. As she had expected, the drink was excellent, and it warmed her to her toes. She hadn't really noticed, but her head was pounding, and she was shivering slightly. Every few minutes, Shelby would cough violently, or sneeze, making her head rattle.
"Seems as if you have contracted a fever, young one," the doctor said thoughtfully. "I thought your forehead seemed a little warm this morning." Shelby sighed. Just what she needed. To be sick as well. She already felt bad emotionally, feeling physically weak did nothing to mend her spirits. The time passed very quickly as Shelby just sat in her chair. Eventually, the doctor decided to go check on Abigail, and the queen and Horace remained in their seats, warily watching Shelby with a considerable amount of concern. Shelby only barely took note of what Cassandra said when she spoke to her.
"Your parents heard of the past day's events, and they left Redmont immediately to come check on you. We are expecting them any moment." Good, Shelby thought to herself, They get to see what a weakling I am. Her spirits sank, and her shoulders drooped, feeling like the queen's last statement was the final insult. Several more minutes passed in eery silence until finally, the dining hall's large wooden doors were pushed open, and Shelby's parents filed into the room.
"Shelby," Alyss whispered, and collected her daughter in her arms, hugging her close to her chest. She stroked her daughter's loose blond curls. Shelby remained in her seat, but leaned heavily on her mother's shoulder, tears returning to her eyes. After several moments, Alyss released Shelby and held her at a distance, studying her eyes.
"Are you all right?" she asked softly. Shelby nodded absently several times. Will stood over Shelby and looked at her. Shelby's tears were starting to sting her eyes, and she could have sworn that her father's eyes were misty as well. He smiled weakly at her, and then wrapped his arms around her. Shelby clutched at his strong arms, and rested on him. Will cradled his daughter for a few minutes, and then finally released her. Horace and Cassandra stood up to greet the Treatys, once they had been reassured Shelby was okay. Cassandra embraced Alyss briefly, and Horace and Will shook hands. After a minute's pause, Cassandra said slowly,
"We owe your daughter a lot. She saved Abigail's life." Shelby tried to mumble that they didn't know if she'd make it, but it only came out as a half-hearted croak. She swallowed.
"It's my job," Shelby said weakly. Cassandra nodded solemnly.
"Indeed, but you have done it well. And we are grateful," she added. Shelby sat back in her chair. Her mother was still stroking her hair gently, and the young teenager started to sway tiredly.
"Perhaps we should let Shelby get some rest," Horace said. "Sleep is a good remedy for a list of things." The other three adults nodded.
"Shelby, if you need anything, don't be afraid to ask," Cassandra said, and then turned to her parents. "We'll be talking in the courtroom." After a few moments hesitating, they decided Shelby wasn't going to answer, so they filed out of the room. After they were gone, Shelby just stared at her now cold coffee. She wondered if the doctor had found any improvement in Abigail. She didn't want to think of the alternative. Without warning, the large wooden doors opened abruptly again. This time, Shelby looked up warily. Mason and Gavin stood in the doorway.
"Shelby," Gavin said, clearly relieved. "How are you?" Shelby shrugged, since she didn't trust herself to say anything. Gavin walked over to her and hugged her shoulders, making an attempt to make her feel better. Shelby squeezed his hand, and smiled up at him.
"Have you got to check on Abigail?" she asked him. Gavin shook his head ruefully.
"I wish," he said, the strain obvious in his voice. Shelby just then noticed that Mason was still standing in the doorway.
"Good morning, Mason," Shelby said steadily.
"What was that?" he immediately asked icily. Gavin and Shelby exchanged looks.
"What do you-" Shelby started to ask.
"At the lake!" Mason interrupted."Why didn't you wait for us to get there? Now Abigail's unstable!" Shelby had an easy-going nature, and she rarely got upset, but something about his tone that hinted that Abigail's illness was somehow her fault rubbed her the wrong way. She stood from her chair.
"Waited for you to get there?" she repeated in exasperation. "She would have been dead by the time you two reached the lake!"
"Guys..." Gavin tried to intervene.
"It's my job to watch over her!" Shelby continued anyway.
"Well you didn't do a very good job," Mason said. Even though his voice was low, his tone stung like a whip. Shelby ground her teeth, restraining herself from saying anything else. Just then, the doctor appeared behind Mason.
"I beg your pardon," he said, "but Abigail is awake." He looked at Shelby. "And she's asking for you."
With such an excuse, Shelby hurried out of the room to go searching for the princess, wiping away her tears that had made a reappearance. She found Abigail in her quarters, which was only logical of course. When Shelby stood in the door-way, silently asking for admittance, Abigail smiled tiredly at her, and motioned for her friend to come in. Shelby slowly approached the princess resting in her bed, and kneeled on the floor next to her.
"How are you feeling?" Shelby asked gently, absently running her hands through the princess's hair.
"Awesome," Abigail replied weakly, and let a racking cough escape. Shelby smiled a little.
"You'll be alright," Shelby reassured her. After a moment's pause, she continued. "What did you call me for?" Abigail studied her warily for a few seconds, her blue eyes scrutinizing the older girl's features.
"I wanted to thank you, of course." Shelby let out a sigh.
"Abigail, you asked me to come live with you and your family in the castle just so I could look after you.; I think the thank goes unsaid." Abigail continued to look at her steadily.
"I know," the princess said. "But I wanted to tell you anyway." Shelby looked at Abigail. The girl she knew never really seemed to be serious about anything, and any moment, Shelby expected her to start laughing, and joke around about the unfortunate events that had recently taken place. But she never did.
"So, I'm sure you're wondering how I know all this. I was unconscious after all." It hadn't really dawned on Shelby, but now that Abigail mentioned it, she was curious. She nodded , motioning her to carry on. "The doctor told me everything," Abigail explained. Shelby nodded absently, then looked back at the younger girl.
"Who pulled me out of the water?" she asked, although she was sure she knew already.
"Mason," Abigail replied, confirming Shelby's suspicions. She instantly looked at the ground. Abigail frowned. "What's the matter?" Shelby continued to look at the ground.
"He sort of snapped at me earlier...and I snapped back." Abigail turned her head to one side as well as she could from laying down.
"How strange," she mused. "I've never seen him mad."
"Well, he certainly was today," Shelby said. "I think it's because I didn't do my job well enough." Abigail put a hand on Shelby's.
"You did your job just fine. Maybe he was angry because he wasn't there fast enough. Maybe he was looking for someone to vent to." Shelby sighed.
"Maybe you're right." Abigail narrowed her eyes at Shelby.
"You know," she said. "I think that's his cloak." Shelby looked at the cloak she was wearing, knowing that it wasn't hers.
"I knew it wasn't mine," she mumbled. "Maybe I should bring it back to him." Abigail nodded.
"Go ahead," she said. "I'll be alright." Shelby stood from her place on the ground.
"Take care," she said. "I'll be back soon."