Learning and Understanding
With a slight groan, Cordelia forced her eyes open. Once more, she was back in the healing pod of the castle. It seemed she was waking up a lot in these things. She really needed to stop making it a habit. She poked the pod door and it opened, giving her the ability to step out. She must have overcalculated her energy levels, because the moment she took a step out, she kissed the floor. Her body was drained of energy, even after being in the pod for who knows how long. A pair of hands wrapped around her arm and lifted her to her feet. She looked at the person who she now had an arm draped around for support. The first thing her eyes caught on was that same fiery red mop that she had rescued from the caves. The girl helped Cordelia into a sitting position with her back against the pod. They sat in silence; Cordelia barely able to move any parts of her body. She tried to get up once more but crashed back into the pod she was leaning against.
"Why…," She groaned in frustration.
"You used all your energy," The girl interrupted.
"No! Really?!" Cordelia said sarcastically.
"Yes," She said rather bluntly.
Cordelia heaved a sigh when the girl did not understand her sarcasm.
"The healing pod should have helped with my energy levels," Cordelia had thought she said in her head.
"You released high powers of quintessence from your body," The girl lectured, "You did not take it from an outside source, nor did you have something to balance the power in your body. This will ultimately drain your energy levels drastically, if you do not know how to use it properly. You are lucky you even lived through that. Every Celestial knows that we only use the quintessence that we keep stored in our bodies for emergent purposes, because the consequences could be severe. As luck would have it, thanks to Princess Allura, the quintessence she used to heal the Balmera had fueled through your body. If it did not, you would have surely died from over stimulating your power."
Cordelia simply stared at the girl, hoping she was joking, but her dead panned expression said enough to show how serious of a matter this was.
"Right," Cordelia broke the silence, "So how do I, ya know, reenergize my body?"
"Fuel and rest," She answered, "After that, you need to train your body further. Your body is weak which is why using your powers leaves you so drained so quickly. It is also another reason why you pass out consistently. It is your body's reaction to overstimulation, and you must take measures to keep that from happening."
This girl was a spitting image of her guardian, Riva, or Junior Officer Hampton as she is known on earth. Riva would consistently lecture her and tell her off on how she needed to get her act together. She would remind her that everything they did was to protect her and that she should learn to be grateful. Yeah, Riva was no motherly figure in any way shape or form. She was born and bred to be a warrior. Her entire upbringing was apparently harsh and difficult, according to Brosnan, or Captain Brown as he is known on earth. He was more of the caring guardian who tried to listen to Cordelia's feelings and complaints, however, even he had moments where he too became agitated with the state they were in. Cordelia cringed at the thought of Riva tossing her into a chair and handing her an icy cold meal of reasons why she should not have left earth. Usually, Brosnan could calm and reason with Riva, but she had a feeling that this time he would be 100% on Riva's side.
"Right," Cordelia came back to reality, "I'm kind of hungry. Is there a possibility to get any food?"
The girl shook her head.
"Bed first," She said rather strictly, "Your body needs rest so that you have the ability to at least keep yourself upright in a sitting position."
Cordelia groaned in annoyance. She hated feeling helpless and weak. While her consciousness felt fully alert, her physical body held no more strength. All that Garrison training and according to this new girl, her body was still considered weaker than a child Celestial.
"You said my body is drained from quintessence," Cordelia said, "Couldn't I just gather quintessence power from the crystal in the main control room?"
"Sure," She answered, "If you want your body to combust."
Cordelia became uncomfortable silent before saying rather loudly, "Right, so bed!"
The girl helped hoist her to her feet before spinning Cordelia so that she was giving her a piggyback ride. Cordelia had to admit, the girl was stronger than she looked, then again, Cordelia did not really have much muscle or fat on her body to weigh her down. Cordelia directed her down the halls towards her room. The castle was oddly quiet, and she began to wonder where the paladins were currently.
"Your friends were called down to see some Galra in some pod," The girl answered Cordelia's silent question, "Someone by the name of Sinduck."
Cordelia almost snorted a laugh. That's what she was gonna start calling Sendak, Sinduck. A minute or so later, they made it to her bedroom. The girl placed Cordelia gently on the bed and she was beginning to feel like a little baby. This adventure was really starting to become a pain in the butt to Cordelia. She did not have a lion to pilot, she knew nothing about castle maintenance, she could not help Allura power the castle, and now apparently her own powers were useless because her body was not physically strong enough. She was really beginning to wonder why she was even here. There was still one thing she could do to help and that was being the housekeeper of the castle.
"I am going to go get you some food," The girl said.
She left before Cordelia could get a word in edgewise. This was going to be a very long day. She was not tired enough to fall asleep and her stomach was rumbling, so all she could do was stare at the ceiling of her room. While Cordelia sat with her thoughts, she realized that the girl she rescued had no name in her mind. They had been so caught up in the chaos and the adrenaline was pumping through their veins that they did not have time to exchange names in the heat of it all. Cordelia's official first order of business was to get intel on this girl, oh and get her name of course. She may be bed ridden, but that did not keep her from asking questions and retrieving answers. Also, this girl owed Cordelia her life, so if she decides to keep her mouth shut, at least Cordelia had some leverage to hang over the girl to spill some information. The girl came back with a bowl of that green goo stuff. Cordelia's face paled at the sight of it when she set it in front of her face.
As a way of avoiding the food, she looked at the girl and asked, "I never quite caught your name."
"Well you never asked," She stated bluntly.
An awkward silence later and she finally answered, "Meribon, but you may call me Meri if that is too hard."
"That's a pretty name," Cordelia said, before a spoonful of goo was shoved down her throat.
"My name is…" She tried to say through a mouthful of food.
"Cordelia," The girl interrupted before thrusting more into Cordelia's mouth, "Your friends told me."
The girl, or Meri, was good at reading people, aliens, creatures, whatever everyone in the castle was. She must have seen Cordelia's distaste for the food and figured that wasn't going to slide and resorted to forcing it into her mouth.
"That mustache Altean told me that this green stuff was packed with nutrition," She said, once again shoving another spoonful into Cordelia's mouth before she could swallow, "This will raise your energy levels faster."
Cordelia swallowed the disgusting goop before asking, "How long will I be in bed until I can walk?"
She shrugged, "Probably only for about an hour or two."
Cordelia looked surprised.
"Really?!" She asked, scanning Meri's face for any hint of a joke.
She simply nodded then looked Cordelia in the eyes.
"You really aren't that educated about our species, are you?" She asked.
Cordelia blushed slightly. To be truthful, she just never paid any attention to the private lessons she received from Riva and Brosnan. Her anger from leaving still dwelled in the pit of her stomach. She had put all her time and effort into training and fighting. She was beginning to realize bit by bit how important it was to know about her culture, body, and powers.
"Mind catching me up a bit?" Cordelia muttered, "While I have no choice but to listen."
Meri, once more, pushed the spoon back into her mouth before speaking, "We are not like other species. We recover faster and our bodies can endure more pain than others. However, we also have more power than others, especially nobles. A noble is the top tier and holds more power than anyone of our species. However, due to this, if they do not have a handle on these, said powers, they will do one of the following four things: Lose consciousness, overstimulate their body to the point of internal damage, destroy anything in their vicinity..."
She paused and Cordelia had to ask, "And the fourth?"
Meri simply looked at her with a straight face before answering bluntly, "Terminate their entire existence."
Suddenly Cordelia was delighted by the fact that all she had been doing was passing out with every giant surge of her power. She wasn't in the mood to destroy a planet or the ship, or even herself for that matter. Another spoonful and this time Cordelia just took it without hesitation, knowing she would never win in a fight against Meri, even if she was able to move her body.
"With the correct training, however," Meri continued, "Nobles can be a force to be reckon with just on their own. Depending on the power that you wield, you can manipulate your element to do greater thing than many might think possible."
She set the bowl down after the last scoop of goo was, this time gently, placed into Cordelia's mouth.
"You were lucky this time," Meri stated, "You might think you just simply lost consciousness, but you did further internal damage to your body during that blast. Even if you had an external source and used its power instead of the quintessence in your body, you most likely would have exploded. It was a good thing that Altean's were as advanced as they were, because the healing pods saved your life. Another trick like that and the chances of you annihilating your existence is a nine on a scale of ten."
Cordelia sat there for a moment to process everything Meri has told her. It all sounded like common sense when she replayed it in her head, but then again, it was something she sort of lacked most of her life.
"So, what can I do so that does not happen?" Cordelia asked.
"Strengthen your body then train your powers," Meri answered, "You are also releasing too much of the powers you have. Even with a strong body, this will leave you jet lagged and could be fatal in a life or death situation. Another reason why you need proper training."
Cordelia was silent for a moment. She needed to weigh her options. It was true that if she left the group and went to train with a professional then she would not be a burden to the paladins. However, if she did leave, the worry that she would surely be hunted down in a matter of minutes is what terrified her. This castle, while the paladins and probably Allura did not know, was that it held a protective shielding around it that blocked the very things that were hunting her. She was not simply talking about the particle barrier but something more advanced and closer to magic than science. She had felt it the moment she woke up in Arus.
"I can't leave," Cordelia said.
"Then you are simply asking for a death wish," Meri said.
"I'll be asking for a bigger death wish if I did leave," Cordelia said.
She lifted herself into a sitting position, her strength coming back quickly, just as Meri had explained.
"Call me selfish or stupid," Cordelia said through gritted teeth, "But I will not leave this castle. Wherever this castle goes, I am safe; we are safe."
"I think you are making a mistake," Meri said.
"So be it," Cordelia said, finding feeling in her legs and slowing lifting herself out of bed.
"Very well," She said, standing up beside Cordelia, "In the meantime, allow me to train you."
"You're a trainer?" Cordelia questioned.
Meri nodded, "I simply know the basics. I am more of a caretaker nanny than one that teaches them, but I have cotaught quite a few lessons to know enough. It seems to me that you will be starting at the basics. So, if we can get those out of the way, when the time is right and you get to train with someone more suited for the role, then it would help."
Cordelia gave a small half smile towards the girl.
"Thank you," She said, "I would appreciate that."
Cordelia does not thank many often, nor does she show much kindness towards others. However, when she did it gives more meaning and understanding to the one she hands it to.