21
Ruva woke up in a sterile room, a painful headache to greet her. Ruva had no idea how long she'd been asleep for, but she guessed it was late afternoon. Ruva sat up slowly, realising that she was in the Med Ward. Fletcher was nowhere to be seen, but Ruva could hear people celebrating all over the academy. Ruva was wondering what they could be so excited about when Fletcher walked in. He was eating a sandwich, and Ruva realised that he had been at the food court. Fletcher smiled when he saw that Ruva was awake, and Ruva gave a weak smile back.
'It's good to see you awake, Ruva. How are you feeling?"
Ruva tried to speak, but all that came out was a croak that launched her into a coughing fit.
Fletcher brought over a glass of water and a vial of pain relief, both of which Ruva gratefully accepted. Her headache became better, but her voice didn't return. Ruva remembered the events of the previous night, and she realised why her voice wasn't returning.
"You've been asleep for quite a while, Ruva. It's been six days since you woke up,"
Ruva's eyes widened. She had been asleep for six whole days! Even worse, Ruva realised, I missed out on all my exams.
Fletcher didn't notice her surprise. "You've suffered from an extreme over-extension of your gift, effectively going well beyond the safe extend of your ability. Normally I would be able to medicate you within a day, and have you back to normal in three, but there were some complications. The main one, I don't know which gift you have overused."
Ruva stiffened, staring at Fletcher. Fletcher saw her shocked expression, and he explained himself. "I've read your file, which explains what your gifts are and how you can use them. Not to mention, I was there when you first came to the academy, no more than nine years old."
Ruva relaxed, but Fletcher wasn't finished yet. "Ruva, I need to know which gift you overused, so I can give you the right medication. I want you to nod your head if it was your animal speaking gift, and shake if it was your ribbon-seeing gift."
Ruva hesitated, but she nodded her head, then shook it. Fletcher frowned, but Ruva did both gestures again.
"You overused both of your gifts?" asked Fletcher.
Ruva nodded, causing Fletcher to sigh.
"That makes things more difficult, I'm afraid," Ruva cocked her head, and Fletcher elaborated. "I have the medication that I would use to speed the repair of your animal speaking gift, and one for your ribbon-seeing one. But if taken together, they become a harmful substance known as oxytophamine, an acidic liquid that would do you much more harm than good. I can give you the medication for one of your gifts, but you will have to let the other restore itself naturally," Fletcher paused. "Which gift do you want the medication for?"
Ruva shook her head, signalling that she wanted her ribbon-seeing gift back. Fletcher gave her a deep midnight-blue vial, which tasted like dillyberries. Ruva downed the vial in one go, and the remainder of her headache disappeared instantly.
"The vial you've just drunk will have a few small side effects. Firstly, you might find it hard to control your gift, or find yourself activating it unintentionally. And secondly, you will feel weak for the next six hours, possibly so weak that you can't get up. That's while I'll have to keep you here for another night, Ruva."
Ruva sighed. Her seventh night in a row in the med ward.
"Are you feeling hungry right now?"
Ruva nodded her head slightly, and Fletcher handed her a rehydration toffee.
Seeing her questioning look, he explained himself. "Normally I'd order something for you to eat in here, but I wouldn't advise eating a large amount of food with your medication. The rehydration toffee will take the edge off your hunger and thirst until it is safe to eat food."
Ruva gratefully took the toffee, noticing that her arm felt a bit heavier than normal. In fact, everything felt heavier than normal. She realised that the midnight-blue vial was starting to take effect, so she laid down, sucking on her toffee. Fletcher went to the other side of the med ward where he organised his medical supplies. Ruva soon fell asleep, a sweet taste in her mouth.
…
Ruva woke up to lots of noise.
She could tell that it was still night, and she could hear Fletcher running around. She opened her eyes to the glaring white ceiling. With extreme difficulty, she turned her head to the left. Her body was screaming with effort, and Ruva belatedly realised how weak she was. Ruva closed her eyes for a minute, regaining her strength. Finally she prised them open, only to see the chaotic scene around her become many times worse.
Before there was only Fletcher and Ruva in the Med Ward. Fletcher was scrambling to gather supplies, including an extremely strong painkiller only used for life threatening injuries. Then the headmaster ran into the ward yelling, "She's coming!"
Who? Thought Ruva, Who is coming?
Her internal question was answered a few seconds later. Firstly, Marselle came through the door, his clothes covered in blood. Secondly, Caspar Lennox and Finn came, carrying Alex on a stretcher, covered in blood. Hunter laid Alex face-down on the bed, and Ruva realised why Marselle was covered in blood.
Alex had been stabbed.
She could see the silver handle jutting out of her back, and Ruva shuddered to think of how the blade got there. Something about the pommel made Ruva hesitate, something felt familiar about the blade. But she couldn't reach the memory, no matter how hard she tried.
Then, the princess of Medora stormed in, everything about her emanating authority. Her glare was the worst Ruva had ever seen, and she yelled for everyone to get out of Fletcher's way. Ruva felt scared at the power in her voice, and if she had the strength she would've run in the opposite direction. The others reluctantly moved back, and she marvelled Delucia's power.
Fletcher hooked Alex up to a heart rate monitor, and Ruva realised that Alex's heartbeat was far from safe.
Fletcher went into Surgeon Mode, giving a spiel of medical babble that Ruva only understood because of the shifts she spent with Sela in the palace infirmary.
"… Minimal damage to the spine, severe lacerations below the collarbone… Deep puncture requiring Type Eight and Two Regenevators. Scans showing the blade has missed major arteries but punctured the lung from behind…"
Fletcher went quiet, and Ruva realised with horror that he was about to pull the blade out. He gripped the pommel, and pulled out the dagger with a sickening squelch. Delucia whimpered, her hellfire glare nowhere to be found. The beeps in the background became faster and faster, and Ruva's eyes widened as the wound closed all on its own. Fletcher gasped and stood back, and Jordan swore in the background.
To Fletcher's credit, he got over his shock in only a few seconds.
He grabbed his MedTek and took more X-rays of Alex, his medical babble too quiet for Ruva to hear. Eventually he injected a needle next to the scar, as close as it could get without touching the glowing mark. The liquid he used was a very hot pink, which Ruva knew was one of the strongest Regenevators available. Fletcher injected more liquids, and Ruva recognised a tissue regenerator, a strong sedative, a respiratory one and more pain relief.
Finally, he stepped back.
"I've done all I can. The only thing we can do is wait."
Bear, Delucia and Jordan silently stepped forward. Delucia's lip started to wobble, tears trickling down her face. Bear and Jordan reached for her hands, and they stood together.
"She's a tough one, our Alex," said Jordan.
"She'll be back up on her feet and driving us all crazy in no time, you'll see," said Bear.
Ruva's heart melted at their show of unity, and, unintentionally, her ribbons flickered into view. Ruva started crying as she saw white ribbons being forged before her eyes. Ribbons of love, connecting them. Tears slid down Ruva's face at the beauty of the moment, and she watched the ribbons become thicker, pulsing with life. They became brighter and brighter, so close to the silver which meant unbreakable.
Ruva's gift flickered in and out, but when the ribbons became constant again Ruva was dismayed to find that she could only see Alex's ribbons. Ruva stared at Alex's ribbons, and she saw a colour that she had never seen before. Alex had… gold ribbons.
There were two of them, both with a glittery aura that outdid all the other ribbons. Paying more attention, Ruva realised that one of the gold ribbons was severed. The end wasn't tinted by black, which meant the ribbon wasn't separated by death, but the end seemed… frayed. It wasn't a clean cut like Ruva saw with other severed ribbons, it seemed like it was ripped by sheer force.
The second gold ribbon was whole, and Ruva realised it was connected to the blade that Fletcher pulled out of her back. Looking closer at the blade, waves of familiarity washed over Ruva.
Ae'nara.
The blade was called Ae'nara, and Ruva had seen it before.
It was the blade that Aven Dalmarta wielded.
And the blade that killed her parents.
Understanding washed over Ruva. Aven had been at Akarnae tonight, and he had gone after Alex. Alex got stabbed by Aven, but the teachers found her before Aven could finish the job. Alex had been so lucky to survive, Ruva just hoped her luck didn't run out.
But Ruva knew Alex would survive, she could see it in her ribbons. Her heart rate had grown increasingly steady, and her ribbons pulsed with renewed vitality. The most vibrant ribbon of all was her gift ribbon, the lime green strand dominating all the others. It reminded Ruva of when her gift first awoke, how it took the forefront of all her ribbons.
Fletcher was saying something, but Ruva couldn't concentrate on his voice. The ribbons were too distracting, and Ruva shoved them away with all her might. Her ribbons disappeared, but she was hit by a wave of tiredness. With that and her unnatural weakness, Ruva knew she had only a minute left of consciousness. She listened hard for Fletcher, and heard his last sentence.
"… And Alex will make a full recovery…"
Delucia burst into tears, and she saw both Bear and Jordan take shuddering breaths. Then it hit Ruva, Alex will survive.
That was all it took to put a smile on her face as she slept.
