Kierstin Hardy was a little disappointed. She and Bradley had planned to elope, realizing that while they loved their lives, there was very little downtime to plan a big wedding. They were both only children, and neither had a lot of family to invite, so why bother having a big ceremony?
Vegas. They were planning on taking a week and going to Las Vegas, getting married and spending the rest of the time relaxing and...Well, just being newlyweds for a few days.
She wasn't angry though. Brad's dedication to his patients was part of why she loved him. There would be another time when they could break away… or maybe they could just go to city hall and get it done there.
She really wasn't any help anymore, as she only knew medical terminology in Latin. Anything else was out of her realm of understanding.
She was only a handful of humans left now. Margaret was a machine, pushing through the tired in an effort to help her friends. Beth had gone this long on catnaps, but was looking like she was about to drop.
Kierstin had gone to her own bed and gotten about four hours of sleep at Brad's insistence, and she was probably the most rested of any of them.
Kierstin got up from her seated position, bending backward to stretch the protesting muscles in her back and groaned.
She felt her pager buzz, and looked down at it out of habit.
"Bring Hudson, no one else. 911" the screen said.
Kierstin felt her heart skip. It was Brad, asking for Hudson, not Goliath? Had something happened?
Kierstin looked around the room, locating Hudson. Casually, she went over to him and bent down to whisper in his ear. "Hudson, would you mind helping me with something?"
"Now, lass?" He said, confusion on his features.
"Please," She said firmly, but quietly. "I don't know what happened, but I think it's something to do with Elisa, and for some reason Brad doesn't want me to tell Goliath."
His features went blank, probably thinking the same thing she did. If something had happened to Elisa, if something went wrong, Brad would want Goliath to have the support of his clan. Hudson being the elder, would be the best at advising and supporting their leader.
"Aye, lass," He said, tiredly. "Bronx," He called. "My bones need a bit of a stretch, and Bronx could do with a quick trip outside," as if that were his only reason for abandoning the search.
Goliath nodded absently, while the rest barely acknowledged his announcement.
Together with the human nurse, Hudson and Bronx left the room. One they turned a corner in the hallway, Hudson stopped and braced a hand against the wall. If something had happened to Elisa, everything would change. They would lose a genuine friend, and chances are they'd lose Goliath as well.
He had seen Goliath practically fade away a few years ago, when Elisa had disappeared for months. If she actually died…
He roughly shook his head, as if to banish the thought. He pushed away from the wall, and continued toward Elisa's room.
The doctor was waiting outside the room, arms crossed and head bowed. Kierstin knew something had happened, as she watched him practically vibrate with agitation.
"Brad," Kierstin called, quickening her pace. "What happened?"
He reached out and pulled her to him. "I'm not sure," He admitted, letting her go.
"Elisa?" Hudson asked quietly. "Is she…"
"Hudson," Doctor James said, interrupting him. "I need your help." He opened the door and motioned Hudson in.
With a growing dread, Hudson walked into the room. He found Elisa sitting on the bed, her back to him.
The relief almost knocked him to his knees. The lass was alive!
He was going to have to have a word with the Doctor. His old heart could only take so much.
"Elisa, lass," He said, rushing to her side. "What…"
The woman looked up, eyes wide in fright, and the violet hue stopped Hudson in his tracks.
"What are ye?" the woman asked in Gaelic. "Where am I?"
"She's speaking a language I don't understand," The doctor said from behind him. "Can you speak to her?"
Hudson raised his hands in a gesture of peace. "I am a friend, lass," He responded in Gaelic. "What is your name?"
"I am called Nell," she answered. She was still frightened, but she wasn't screaming the castle down. "I am a performer. A dancer. I had performed for a royal party just last evening…"
Slowly, Nell told Hudson her story, ending with the unfair arrest, stating again that she had been innocent and the brutal punishment the guards had doled out. The last thing she clearly remembered was a lot of yelling, and strong arms catching her as they cut the ropes that had been holding her up. She had gone unconscious before she could see who her rescuer had been.
Something was nagging at the corner of an old memory. "What castle had you performed for?" He asked.
"T'was a place I had never been before, but a name I shall never forget," She said, angrily. "It was called Castle Wyvern."
-{- -{- -{- -{- -{-
Elisa woke to the roars of the Gargoyles waking. So many of them waking in such tight quarters, the roars blended into one deafening wave of sound.
Elisa's head felt as if it was about to explode. She felt weak as a newborn, and uncomfortably hot.
The elder female that had nursed her the previous evening entered her room. One look at the human and she rushed forward.
"Och, lass," She cried out, placing a hand on the human's brow. "You've a fever. You're burning hot to the touch."
Turning, she started barking orders to those who waited outside.
Elisa couldn't speak. Her mouth was as dry as the desert, her throat felt raw, and she felt like she'd been laying in a pool of her own sweat. Maybe she had been. She'd felt fine when she'd first gotten up a while ago, but now…
The female came rushing back to Elisa's side, a small bucket of water with her. The female efficiently wet a thick woolen piece of material and laid it across Elisa's forehead.
"I have called for the human healers to come," the female said. "Do not worry," She said with a gentle smile, "The healer I called for in the one who has been training me in the healing arts. She is a gentle woman with vast experience. She will know what to do."
Elisa tried to remember what she knew of doctors of this time period… and it wasn't much. Visions of bloodletting and leaches filled her mind, and she shook her head. "No," she said in protest.
"Now, lass," the elder said. "You are ill, and need help."
"How is she?" came a deep and welcoming voice.
"The lass is ill, leader," The Female gargoyle said, softly. "I have sent for the human healer from the castle."
"Goliath?" Elisa asked, eyes wide.
Goliath paused, mid-step. "How do you know my name, lass? Have we met before?"
"Oh, right," Elisa closed her eyes tight. This wasn't her Goliath. This Goliath had no idea who she was.
"Now, lass," The female was saying. "I am still only learning the healing ways of humans. You need help."
"Alright," Elisa said. "Get your human healer." She closed her eyes and attempted to relax on her side so that she faced the 'door'.
"Now," Goliath said, moving to stand before the bed. "I have heard the accusations against you, but I would have your side of the story."
Thankfully, Elisa had paid attention to what Nell had done while Elisa herself had not been in control.
With a slight slur to her voice, Elisa described the time from when she'd arrived with her wagon to the performance. That could all be verified with witnesses, thankfully. The rest of it, she could only hope that he would listen and believe her. She told of the end of the dance, how tired she was, and how she left the castle to sleep under her wagon.
Then how she woke to the soldiers, them finding the stolen goblets in her wagon and the soldiers' final decision to make her an example by whipping.
Goliath scratched his chin, a habit that Her goliath still had a thousand years in the future when he was thinking something through. "It seems a bit harsh, with this kind of treatment, with very little proof that it was you who stole the goblets."
Elisa felt her eyes start to water.
Even here, in the past, whether he knew it or not, he was trying to protect while being fair. He had already been told of her "crime" she committed and the "evidence", yet he still came to get her side of the story and seek the truth before blindly passing judgement.
"Do you know who might have taken the cups?" He asked her.
"No," Elisa said on a sigh. "I do not."
Goliath nodded. "My sister has gone to fetch the healer. Together, they will work to reduce your fever and treat your illness. In the meantime, I shall begin asking questions of anyone who may have seen what had happened that night."
"Thank you," Elisa said, before quietly lapsed into a fever-induced sleep.