Chapter 2: Was it a dream?
In the depths of fevered sleep, Comfort lay peaceful; her pain was gone as though it had only been a nightmare, forgotten. She let her self relax into a deeper sleep, when suddenly pain shot through her from her right leg. She felt like someone was trying to break her leg like a twig.
"Ouch, stoppit, stoppit, Ow!" she screamed, her eyes snapping open as the pain increased.
Her eyes met Matthias's.
"Hold on, young one, don't struggle," he whispered in her ear. "It will be done soon."
As he said that the pain stopped stabbing and began to throb.
"Ow," said Comfort weakly. "What were you doing to me?"
Father Abbot came in to her view and smiled ruefully.
"Sorry, Comfort, but we had to set your leg. We'll have to do your shoulder as well, but that can wait. How in the world did you travel with a broken shoulder, leg, ribs and a sprained wrist?"
Comfort tried to sit up, but fell back, too tired to move. Sister May propped her up on two more pillows.
"You must be hungry," said May. "Here, drink this broth."
Comfort drank the life giving liquid. It tasted wonderful after eating grass and roots for months. It tasted even better since she hadn't eaten anything for a long time, giving all the food to the baby.
Matthias had a question for their guest. "Why are you here? Why did you leave your home?" "I'm here because there was nowhere else to go. I had to leave my village. Nobeast could survive there now. Rats poisoned all the water in the town. Only I knew this, and nobody believed me. They all died. Only the babe and I survived. Her mother died and I took her and fled. Her mother was my elder sister. I traveled for a season and a half. The vermin had touched every village we came to. I pushed onward, caring only that the child live to grow up in safety. I was given strength and hope by two mice that haunted all my dreams."
"What did they look like, my child?" asked Father Abbot.
"They were both tall, and dressed in glittery armor. One was a male; the other was a female. The first mouse carried a sword, with a beautiful red pommel stone, and he carried it in a black scabbard." Matthias held up the sword at his side. "Like this one?"
Comfort nodded her head. "Just like that. The other one had a scabbard, but no sword. She carried a long dagger. She had beautifully strange eyes. They looked like sea; swirling, sparkling blue and gray. They told me to keep going; there is a haven close by. Look for the stones colored like blood."
"The male must have been Martin the Warrior. I wonder who the other one was?" pondered Matthias. "Anyway, the blood colored stones must have meant Redwall. The stones are red, like blood."
"Yes, I agree. But we must let Comfort rest. Here my child; drink this. It will help with the pain," said Mordalfus.
Comfort drank deeply from the cup of steaming medicine, sighed and fell asleep.
"Father, you slipped her one of my sleeping draughts!" exclaimed Sister May in surprise. "Mm hm. The sooner those bones are in place, the sooner she can heal, and we can go to bed. I'm sure that Cornflower won't mind taking over watching the Infirmary for a while, since we've been up for two nights now. Matthias, would you please stay to hold her still, this is going to be tricky."
******************* The next day, Mattimeo sat with his friends Tess, Tim, and Sam. They were discussing the stranger who had been brought into Redwall three days ago. "Who do you think she is?" queried Tess, biting into a rosy apple. "I don't know. My dad said her name was Comfort though," said Mattimeo. "My parents didn't want to talk about her. Sounds like something horrible is following her," said Sam. "My mum said that she doesn't have much of a chance at surviving." "Our parents didn't want to talk about her either," said Tim. "But we heard some of the adults say something like she traveled for two seasons to reach here, guided by Martin the Warrior and some other beast, a female mouse." Tess took another bite of her apple and leaned back against the tree trunk. "I wonder how she is now." *************** Comfort wished she were dead.
Her bones were on fire; thousands of icy daggers stabbed her relentlessly. She was reliving her journey, but so fast that it all happened at once. Her parents not believing her, everyone sick, bodies everywhere, running, stumbling, falling, bleeding, panting, getting up, and running again. Somewhere, anxious voices came through her hellish torment.
"Is she alive? She's so still."
"I agree. She's been asleep too long as well."
"I know Cornflower. It's just not natural."
"Don't worry, she's alive. She's breathing and she has a pulse."
A blood-chilling scream cut through the Infirmary.
" What have you done?!" screeched Comfort. " Get away! Stoppit! Stop!"
She shrieked again and began to writhe, trying to sit up and get away from those who in her fevered mind were her tormentors.
"Comfort, don't move! It'll only make it worse!" pleaded Cornflower.
"Get away from me!" screamed Comfort. She tried to scrabble away from Cornflower, who was not Cornflower; through the mists of a raging fever, all she saw was the rats that had ruined her life.
"Comfort, it's me; Cornflower! What's wrong?!"
"Your not Cornflower! You're one of those rats! Cornflower wouldn't let you hurt me!"
"Comfort, we didn't hurt you!"
"Stop! Let me go!"
"Comfort, wake up! You're having a nightmare! Stop, you'll hurt yourself!"
Comfort woke up in a burning, stabbing, ripping agony. Just like in her dream. Oh no: I'm still asleep, she thought until a gentle shake made her open her eyes. Comfort's eyes met a relieved Cornflower. So, this wasn't a dream.
"Where.what happened?" Comfort whispered weakly, breath coming in short painful gasps.
"You were having a nightmare. No, please don't move; you'll only hurt yourself," said Cornflower, bathing Comfort's face with cool, scented water.
"What happened before that?"
Father Abbot walked into her view.
"We gave you some sleeping herbs and set your bones. Then we cleaned your cuts and bandaged them."
"Why can't I breathe?"
'We bound your chest so your ribs could heal faster. But you should breathe easier when your fever goes down."
"When will I be able to walk and see the rest of Redwall?"
Cornflower and the Abbot exchanged a quick glace.
"When your fever goes down and your injuries heal. But some young Abbey beasts your age will be coming to see you soon," said Cornflower soothingly. Comfort looked from Mordalfus to Cornflower through the bandages that covered one of her eyes and her face.
"You don't think I'll live, do you?"
"No, no, we don't believe that at all, dear," said Cornflower quickly, and unconvincingly.
"Please don't lie to me. If you don't think I'll live, say so. I don't want to think I'll be better in a season or two only to find out that you knew all along that I wouldn't."
"I think I'll go see if Tess is around," said Cornflower rising to leave. "I'll be right back."
"No need."
Tess walked into the Infirmary.
"I heard you were going to look for me as I was passing."
"Thank you, Tess. This is Comfort. Comfort, this is Tess," said Cornflower, obviously relieved. "Tess, I'm going to the Nursery to check on the baby. Oh, Comfort, what's her name?"
"Her name is Gwendolyn Anemone Cainwen," came back Comfort's replied without a hint of doubt.
"That's a very long name for such a tiny baby," observed Tess. " Why so big?"
"I named her Gwendolyn because it means fair, or white phantom. She was born when so many were dying, and she is very pretty. Anemone means 'wind flower' and the first place we rested after we left was a field of anemone flowers. She loved them. And Cainwen was one of my great ancestors; it also means blessed. She really is blessed because she's all that kept me going. So I put them all together. "
"Ah. Well, I'll just go see if Gwendolyn is alright," said Cornflower, walking out of the room.
"I have to go and see what is for lunch. I hope it's not pasties again," said Father Abbot.
Tess turned to Comfort.
"Hello, Comfort. How are you doing?" said Tess in a quiet soothing voice.
"Please don't talk to me like that. It's all right for adults, but it gets really annoying. Don't talk to me like I'm a mass of bandage, blood, and pain. Imagine we're up in a tree of something," said Comfort, pleading and laughing at the same time.
"That's fine with me. I just didn't know if you liked being talked to like that," said Tess as freely as went she talked to Mattimeo in the ancient apple tree."
"I'm sorry, but what's your name again? I can't seem to remember anything. Damned fever."
In the depths of fevered sleep, Comfort lay peaceful; her pain was gone as though it had only been a nightmare, forgotten. She let her self relax into a deeper sleep, when suddenly pain shot through her from her right leg. She felt like someone was trying to break her leg like a twig.
"Ouch, stoppit, stoppit, Ow!" she screamed, her eyes snapping open as the pain increased.
Her eyes met Matthias's.
"Hold on, young one, don't struggle," he whispered in her ear. "It will be done soon."
As he said that the pain stopped stabbing and began to throb.
"Ow," said Comfort weakly. "What were you doing to me?"
Father Abbot came in to her view and smiled ruefully.
"Sorry, Comfort, but we had to set your leg. We'll have to do your shoulder as well, but that can wait. How in the world did you travel with a broken shoulder, leg, ribs and a sprained wrist?"
Comfort tried to sit up, but fell back, too tired to move. Sister May propped her up on two more pillows.
"You must be hungry," said May. "Here, drink this broth."
Comfort drank the life giving liquid. It tasted wonderful after eating grass and roots for months. It tasted even better since she hadn't eaten anything for a long time, giving all the food to the baby.
Matthias had a question for their guest. "Why are you here? Why did you leave your home?" "I'm here because there was nowhere else to go. I had to leave my village. Nobeast could survive there now. Rats poisoned all the water in the town. Only I knew this, and nobody believed me. They all died. Only the babe and I survived. Her mother died and I took her and fled. Her mother was my elder sister. I traveled for a season and a half. The vermin had touched every village we came to. I pushed onward, caring only that the child live to grow up in safety. I was given strength and hope by two mice that haunted all my dreams."
"What did they look like, my child?" asked Father Abbot.
"They were both tall, and dressed in glittery armor. One was a male; the other was a female. The first mouse carried a sword, with a beautiful red pommel stone, and he carried it in a black scabbard." Matthias held up the sword at his side. "Like this one?"
Comfort nodded her head. "Just like that. The other one had a scabbard, but no sword. She carried a long dagger. She had beautifully strange eyes. They looked like sea; swirling, sparkling blue and gray. They told me to keep going; there is a haven close by. Look for the stones colored like blood."
"The male must have been Martin the Warrior. I wonder who the other one was?" pondered Matthias. "Anyway, the blood colored stones must have meant Redwall. The stones are red, like blood."
"Yes, I agree. But we must let Comfort rest. Here my child; drink this. It will help with the pain," said Mordalfus.
Comfort drank deeply from the cup of steaming medicine, sighed and fell asleep.
"Father, you slipped her one of my sleeping draughts!" exclaimed Sister May in surprise. "Mm hm. The sooner those bones are in place, the sooner she can heal, and we can go to bed. I'm sure that Cornflower won't mind taking over watching the Infirmary for a while, since we've been up for two nights now. Matthias, would you please stay to hold her still, this is going to be tricky."
******************* The next day, Mattimeo sat with his friends Tess, Tim, and Sam. They were discussing the stranger who had been brought into Redwall three days ago. "Who do you think she is?" queried Tess, biting into a rosy apple. "I don't know. My dad said her name was Comfort though," said Mattimeo. "My parents didn't want to talk about her. Sounds like something horrible is following her," said Sam. "My mum said that she doesn't have much of a chance at surviving." "Our parents didn't want to talk about her either," said Tim. "But we heard some of the adults say something like she traveled for two seasons to reach here, guided by Martin the Warrior and some other beast, a female mouse." Tess took another bite of her apple and leaned back against the tree trunk. "I wonder how she is now." *************** Comfort wished she were dead.
Her bones were on fire; thousands of icy daggers stabbed her relentlessly. She was reliving her journey, but so fast that it all happened at once. Her parents not believing her, everyone sick, bodies everywhere, running, stumbling, falling, bleeding, panting, getting up, and running again. Somewhere, anxious voices came through her hellish torment.
"Is she alive? She's so still."
"I agree. She's been asleep too long as well."
"I know Cornflower. It's just not natural."
"Don't worry, she's alive. She's breathing and she has a pulse."
A blood-chilling scream cut through the Infirmary.
" What have you done?!" screeched Comfort. " Get away! Stoppit! Stop!"
She shrieked again and began to writhe, trying to sit up and get away from those who in her fevered mind were her tormentors.
"Comfort, don't move! It'll only make it worse!" pleaded Cornflower.
"Get away from me!" screamed Comfort. She tried to scrabble away from Cornflower, who was not Cornflower; through the mists of a raging fever, all she saw was the rats that had ruined her life.
"Comfort, it's me; Cornflower! What's wrong?!"
"Your not Cornflower! You're one of those rats! Cornflower wouldn't let you hurt me!"
"Comfort, we didn't hurt you!"
"Stop! Let me go!"
"Comfort, wake up! You're having a nightmare! Stop, you'll hurt yourself!"
Comfort woke up in a burning, stabbing, ripping agony. Just like in her dream. Oh no: I'm still asleep, she thought until a gentle shake made her open her eyes. Comfort's eyes met a relieved Cornflower. So, this wasn't a dream.
"Where.what happened?" Comfort whispered weakly, breath coming in short painful gasps.
"You were having a nightmare. No, please don't move; you'll only hurt yourself," said Cornflower, bathing Comfort's face with cool, scented water.
"What happened before that?"
Father Abbot walked into her view.
"We gave you some sleeping herbs and set your bones. Then we cleaned your cuts and bandaged them."
"Why can't I breathe?"
'We bound your chest so your ribs could heal faster. But you should breathe easier when your fever goes down."
"When will I be able to walk and see the rest of Redwall?"
Cornflower and the Abbot exchanged a quick glace.
"When your fever goes down and your injuries heal. But some young Abbey beasts your age will be coming to see you soon," said Cornflower soothingly. Comfort looked from Mordalfus to Cornflower through the bandages that covered one of her eyes and her face.
"You don't think I'll live, do you?"
"No, no, we don't believe that at all, dear," said Cornflower quickly, and unconvincingly.
"Please don't lie to me. If you don't think I'll live, say so. I don't want to think I'll be better in a season or two only to find out that you knew all along that I wouldn't."
"I think I'll go see if Tess is around," said Cornflower rising to leave. "I'll be right back."
"No need."
Tess walked into the Infirmary.
"I heard you were going to look for me as I was passing."
"Thank you, Tess. This is Comfort. Comfort, this is Tess," said Cornflower, obviously relieved. "Tess, I'm going to the Nursery to check on the baby. Oh, Comfort, what's her name?"
"Her name is Gwendolyn Anemone Cainwen," came back Comfort's replied without a hint of doubt.
"That's a very long name for such a tiny baby," observed Tess. " Why so big?"
"I named her Gwendolyn because it means fair, or white phantom. She was born when so many were dying, and she is very pretty. Anemone means 'wind flower' and the first place we rested after we left was a field of anemone flowers. She loved them. And Cainwen was one of my great ancestors; it also means blessed. She really is blessed because she's all that kept me going. So I put them all together. "
"Ah. Well, I'll just go see if Gwendolyn is alright," said Cornflower, walking out of the room.
"I have to go and see what is for lunch. I hope it's not pasties again," said Father Abbot.
Tess turned to Comfort.
"Hello, Comfort. How are you doing?" said Tess in a quiet soothing voice.
"Please don't talk to me like that. It's all right for adults, but it gets really annoying. Don't talk to me like I'm a mass of bandage, blood, and pain. Imagine we're up in a tree of something," said Comfort, pleading and laughing at the same time.
"That's fine with me. I just didn't know if you liked being talked to like that," said Tess as freely as went she talked to Mattimeo in the ancient apple tree."
"I'm sorry, but what's your name again? I can't seem to remember anything. Damned fever."