Chapter Fifteen
Lindblum Plateau; Three Hours before Dawn
When Freya finally regained consciousness, the first thing she experienced was someone forcing a vile-tasting liquid into her mouth. Her mouth was then clamped shut and any air passages blocked. The hand was strong, and Freya knew she was being forced to swallow the vile liquid. At first she refused, but then the grip on her snout got tighter. She finally swallowed the liquid, only to find the burning feeling it left in her throat made her gag.
At last, the grip on Freya's snout was released when her gagging ceased, and Freya could breathe again. She slowly rose to a sitting position and looked around the darkness. She finally located the man in black watching her.
"I hope you enjoy your death," he said with amusement. "You deserve it."
Freya stared at him with confusion. The man in black chuckled, and the sound made Freya's blood turn to ice.
"Burning Acid. It delivers one of the most painful deaths you can get. I save it for my difficult victims," the man in black said. "Adios. Enjoy your last few hours. They will be better than hell, your resting place."
With a harsh chuckle, the man in black disappeared. With him gone, Freya became aware of her situation. She was in the middle of what appeared to be no where in the dark. There was a dull pain in her leg. The arrow in her lower neck was gone, and a bloody wound was in its place. Her entire body ached and throbbed, and her head felt heavy. Regardless, Freya tried to rise. She ended up falling to the ground again.
Great, Freya thought grimly. As if my situation wasn't bad enough.
Once again Freya tried to rise. She fell again, but with one more try she was standing. She wobbled on her feet, but soon she was steady. Freya then began to limp in a random direction. She stumbled horribly, but she didn't fall.
Freya had been mindlessly wandering for about ten minutes when she felt something unpleasant rise in her throat. Before she knew it, she was on her knees vomiting blood.
Crap, Freya thought.
Freya had completely forgotten about Burning Acid. Now she remembered what it did, but she couldn't remember the remedy. Once again Freya rose. She looked around, wishing she were seeing a little better. She thought she caught the shape of a huge building in the distance, and she began to stumble toward it.
Her progress was horribly slow. She could barely walk, and vomiting every ten minutes didn't help the situation. Soon, she couldn't even stand. Her body was shaking, and she was beginning to feel light-headed.
A few minutes passed before Freya heard footsteps. She ignored them. Soon, she saw chocobo feet before her. Someone dismounted the chocobo and landed beside it. That person then knelt beside Freya.
"You all right?" he asked.
Freya looked up and found herself staring into the green eyes of a boy who looked to be no older than seventeen. Freya shook her head weakly.
"You don't look it, either," the man commented. He placed his hand on Freya's shoulder. "Float onto the chocobo."
Suddenly Freya's entire body felt as light as a feather. It was a nice feeling, but soon Freya couldn't feel the ground below her either. Freya began to panic until she was head to head with the chocobo. That was when she gasped. She was floating! Slowly Freya floated onto the chocobo. The seventeen-year-old mounted the chocobo.
"You look sick," the man commented.
"Blame Burning Acid and a hell of a lot of other crap," Freya said before vomiting blood once more.
"Relax, you'll be all right," the man said, and Freya suddenly felt relaxed. "Duchess, take us to Lindblum, please!"
The chocobo let out a kweh before she turned around and headed toward the dark shape of a building in the distance.
"Is he going to be all right?" Zidane asked Garnet.
Garnet shrugged helplessly as she looked over at Fratley. They couldn't stop the bleeding at his stomach, and his head was also bleeding pretty badly. They couldn't get a doctor to come as soon as possible, and Tot had a patient already so they didn't wish to bother him. Beatrix had headed off to see if she could find someone, but so far no one had come, and Fratley's condition was looking pretty serious.
"So everyone else was already dead?" Steiner, who was standing in front of the doorway, asked.
Garnet nodded. "A man, a Black Mage, and a girl were all dead. I don't know who they were. I'm positive they weren't friendly, though."
Steiner nodded. "I see. So Freya was attacked?"
"Sneak-attacked. That is probably why we didn't make it in time," Zidane said sadly. "She's too quiet. Why didn't she scream a little bit sooner?"
"Pride, I suppose," Steiner said.
"Move."
Steiner turned around at the odd feminine voice. He then moved out of the way. A demi-human entered. She had black hair that reached her shoulders and furry black cat ears. Her eyes were also of a cat, and they were dark blue. Most of her appeared to be human except for fur on the backs of her hands, and a furry black tail. Like a cat, she walked on her toes. Her outfit was simple - a leather shirt with leather pants, a black belt, and no shoes covering her furry large cat-like feet - and she had an egg-like pouch strapped around her body. Swiftly she walked over to Fratley.
"That eye will need to be removed. It can't do anything but become infected," the demi-human said immediately, surprising everyone. "I can stop the bleeding on his stomach, that'll be no problem. There is nothing terribly wrong with his head, I can't see a fracture, it'll just need to be bandaged."
"Wow," Zidane said. "How can you tell all that in less than a minute?"
"Experience," the demi-human said.
The demi-human flipped a hidden latch on the egg-like pouch and opened it. It was packed full of medical supplies. The demi-human took out a small flask full of purple liquid, a cloth, and a ton of bandages. She then took a knife from under her sleeve.
"Why is that in there?" Zidane asked.
"Why are your daggers with you?" the demi-human retorted. "Protection."
"Under your sleeve?" Beatrix asked, for she had entered right after the demi-human.
"Hidden protection," the demi-human said.
The demi-human opened the small flask. She then poured a little bit of the liquid onto the cloth. She put the flask aside, then placed the cloth and Fratley's stomach wound. She applied great pressure. Everyone in the room could only watch.
"You're a healer?" Zidane asked.
"What did you think?" the demi-human asked, looking up from her work. Not once did she stop applying pressure. "Yes, I'm a healer."
"What is your name?" Garnet asked.
"Kitski," the demi-human answered.
"Do you know why White Magic did not heal the wounds?" Garnet asked.
"It is possible that there is an anti-White spell on the wounds. If it was on the sword, the spell could've been transmitted," Kitski answered. "Here we are."
Kitski removed the cloth from the wound, and everyone stared with shock. The once-gruesome wound that had broken straight through the abdominal wall and had refused to stop bleeding, was now barely more than a cut. The abdominal wall had closed and all bleeding had come to a stop. The wound was now nothing more than a rather deep cut.
"Oh my gosh," Garnet muttered softly.
Kitski didn't say anything. She instead threw the bloody cloth aside and bandaged the wound. She then took the knife, some bandages, and a new cloth as she moved toward Fratley's head. She removed the arrow from Fratley's eye, and a sickening mixture of eye fluid and blood began to flow.
"This eye is completely useless," Kitski said. "It's been punctured with too much accuracy."
Quickly and efficiently, Kitski removed Fratley's punctured eye using the knife. Everyone only watched as Kitski wrapped the eye in a cloth and put it aside. She then wrapped bandages around the bleeding eye socket. The wrapped bandages resembled the eyepatch Beatrix had, and it was clear Beatrix noticed the resemblance. Kitski killed two birds with one stone by having the bandages cover the gash in Fratley's head.
"I'm not sure when he'll wake," Kitski said. "It may take a while with the injuries."
"How long?" Garnet asked.
"It could take from a few days to a month," Kitski said.
"He could die," Beatrix commented.
Kitski smiled grimly as she took something out of her pouch. "Not with this stuff. I can keep him alive. Trust me."
"What is that stuff?" Beatrix asked.
"I haven't given it a name yet," Kitski said. "But it keeps people alive when they cannot wake up from a sleep. It is mostly water with a little healing potion and other things. You put it directly in the blood stream, so I may have to make a new wound."
"Make a new wound?" Zidane asked.
"Do you really think he can drink it?" Kitski snapped. "He's unconscious, and I certainly can't put it in his head! The arm is the best, but I'll do it later. He doesn't need it right now."
"Interesting." Garnet said.
"Could you wake him up?" Cobalt, who had been sitting quietly near the window the whole time, asked. He was one of Vivi's sons and had blue eyes.
"No," Kitski said. "I've been trying to get a reviving potion, but it had not succeeded yet."
"Phoenix Downs won't work?" Cobalt asked.
"Unfortunately, no. Watch," Kitski said.
Kitski took a soft fiery red feather out of her pouch. She placed it on Fratley's chest. Bright light surrounded the Burmecian as the red feather burst into flames, but nothing happened. Everyone was shocked except Kitski, who didn't look surprised.
"Well, that is that," Kitski said as she began to gather up her supplies.
"Could you stay here?" Garnet asked.
Kitski looked up at the young queen. "Certainly. I have no where else to go."
"Thank you," Garnet said.
"Pleasure. I'll be back tomorrow," Kitski said.
With a quick bow, the demi-human left.
Within 30 minutes, Freya and her rescuer had reached Lindblum. The massive castle loomed over them and it looked spooky in the night. The chocobo they rode upon, whose name was Duchess, trotted over to the main gate of Lindblum.
"Daniel! Can you please let us in? I've got a Burmecian who has been poisoned," the man called.
A Lindblum Guard appeared. He wore the traditional Lindblum outfit for a guard.
"Yeah, sure. Juliben is in the Castle," the guard said.
"Thank you," the man said. "Go, Duchess."
Duchess immediately headed inside and toward the nearest aircab station. Soon, she reached the desolate aircab station.
"Where to?" the aircab pilot asked as Duchess stepped carefully into the aircab.
"The Castle," The man said.
The aircab pilot nodded and shouted out the window, "CASTLE!"
Suddenly the aircab jolted. Steam escaped from the bottom of the aircab as its propellers began to spin. It slowly lifted off the ground and zoomed in the direction of the castle. Freya didn't notice, though Duchess chirped nervously.
"It's all right, Duchess," the man said.
"What is your name?" Freya asked, realizing she didn't know.
"Dominic," the man replied. "Yours?"
"Freya," Freya said, then suddenly felt an urge to vomit.
Thankfully, the aircab pilot didn't seem mad about Freya's vomiting. He only glanced briefly at her.
"Need Juliben?" he asked.
"Yes. Burning Acid is to blame," Dominic said.
"Yikes," the pilot commented. "Not good."
Suddenly the aircab shook as it landed at the Castle's aircab station. The propellers slowly stopped moving. The door opened, and immediately Duchess left the aircab and headed down the stairs effortlessly. She had clearly gone this way before. No guards stopped her as she entered the castle, passing the airship station as she headed off. As they passed the kitchen, though, Dominic shouted to someone inside.
"No midnight snacks, Eiko. Get out of there," he shouted.
Freya, recognizing the name of her friend, looked up and into the kitchen. Soon, Eiko was chasing after Duchess. Eiko was a young and cute girl with shoulder-length purple hair and a horn in the center of her forehead. All she was wearing at that moment was a white gown.
"Dominic! You shouldn't have a chocobo here anyway! And - Hey Freya!" Eiko smiled at Freya, then frowned. "You don't look so good! What happened?"
"I'll tell you later," Freya said.
Duchess and Eiko both ran to the Royal Chamber, where Juliben was talking with Cid. Cid looked up and was surprised to see a chocobo enter the area.
"Dominic?" he asked.
"I apologize for interrupting, but I need Juliben immediately," Dominic said.
"What is it?" Juliben, the healer speaking with Cid, asked. He was a thin, tall man with brown hair and hazel eyes.
"I have a Burmecian named Freya who has been poisoned with Burning Acid," Dominic said.
"Burning Acid?" Juliben repeated before Cid could speak. "No time to waste. Please get her to the guestroom."
Juliben rushed out of the room.
"Am I really in that much jeopardy?" Freya asked.
"You couldn't figure that out yourself?" Dominic asked, dismounting Duchess.
"You look awful," Cid said before anyone could reply. "What happened?"
"Beaten, then kidnapped, then attacked about three more times, then finally walloped to unconsciousness, then brought out here and poisoned," Freya muttered. "Not -" Freya stopped abruptly as she vomited.
"Fun?" Eiko guessed, sounding worried. "Father, is she going to be okay? She keeps shaking and puking and she looks pale and sick and -"
"Be quiet!" Dominic cried.
Suddenly Eiko fell silent. Her lips were still moving, but no sounds came out. Freya stared with shock.
"How did you do that?" Freya asked.
"He's the Commander," Cid said.
"Commander?" Freya asked.
"Hey, aren't we supposed to be getting you someplace?" Dominic asked Freya. He walked over to her and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Go to the guestroom."
Suddenly Freya found herself in the guestroom on the floor. She crawled weakly over to a bed and used it to rise to her wobbly feet. She then sat on the bed and soon found herself vomiting.
"Calm down, calm down."
Freya looked up to find Juliben towering over her. He held bandages, a jar of herbs, and other supplies.
"First things first." Juliben put his supplies aside and popped open the jar. He took out a bunch of herbs. "You know what this is, right?"
Freya shook her head weakly.
"It's Retchi. It means "Gagging Flower". The stuff makes you gag but once you manage to swallow it it will counter-act the poison," Juliben explained, giving Freya the herbs.
Freya took the herbs and placed them in her mouth. They were wretched, but Freya forced herself to chew them and swallow them. At this point she began to gag. Soon she felt Juliben's hand on her snout, keeping her mouth closed. This kept her from gagging, and she at last swallowed the herbs.
"Well, the hardest part is over," Juliben said. "Now while that takes affect, your other wounds need attending to."
Within a few moments, all of Freya's wounds had been treated. Her body ached, and she felt stiff from the bandages. The bed was warm, though, and she was not vomiting as often. Laying her head against the pillow, Freya stared at the ceiling. She felt strangely light-headed, and her vision was blurry. Was it the Burning Acid? It had to be. Perhaps the herbs hadn't taken complete affect.
Freya sighed softly. She hoped Fratley was all right. Perhaps he too was in safe hands, and able to relax in a warm bed. With that hope dominant in her mind, Freya fell into a deep sleep.
---------- How'd she survive? The Burning Acid causes a slow death from vomiting blood. You don't vomit enough blood at once to die quickly. Sick? Yes. Created by me? Yes. I am a sick person? Sort of.
Also, Fratley survived by luck and a little more. Kitski's abilities will be explained later.
As for my quick updates: I type quickly. I'm afraid they won't be so quick from now on though, because I'm officially on a computer limit =( No fair!
This story is copyright to me. Some characters, locations, and Gaia in general are copyright to SquareEnix.
Lindblum Plateau; Three Hours before Dawn
When Freya finally regained consciousness, the first thing she experienced was someone forcing a vile-tasting liquid into her mouth. Her mouth was then clamped shut and any air passages blocked. The hand was strong, and Freya knew she was being forced to swallow the vile liquid. At first she refused, but then the grip on her snout got tighter. She finally swallowed the liquid, only to find the burning feeling it left in her throat made her gag.
At last, the grip on Freya's snout was released when her gagging ceased, and Freya could breathe again. She slowly rose to a sitting position and looked around the darkness. She finally located the man in black watching her.
"I hope you enjoy your death," he said with amusement. "You deserve it."
Freya stared at him with confusion. The man in black chuckled, and the sound made Freya's blood turn to ice.
"Burning Acid. It delivers one of the most painful deaths you can get. I save it for my difficult victims," the man in black said. "Adios. Enjoy your last few hours. They will be better than hell, your resting place."
With a harsh chuckle, the man in black disappeared. With him gone, Freya became aware of her situation. She was in the middle of what appeared to be no where in the dark. There was a dull pain in her leg. The arrow in her lower neck was gone, and a bloody wound was in its place. Her entire body ached and throbbed, and her head felt heavy. Regardless, Freya tried to rise. She ended up falling to the ground again.
Great, Freya thought grimly. As if my situation wasn't bad enough.
Once again Freya tried to rise. She fell again, but with one more try she was standing. She wobbled on her feet, but soon she was steady. Freya then began to limp in a random direction. She stumbled horribly, but she didn't fall.
Freya had been mindlessly wandering for about ten minutes when she felt something unpleasant rise in her throat. Before she knew it, she was on her knees vomiting blood.
Crap, Freya thought.
Freya had completely forgotten about Burning Acid. Now she remembered what it did, but she couldn't remember the remedy. Once again Freya rose. She looked around, wishing she were seeing a little better. She thought she caught the shape of a huge building in the distance, and she began to stumble toward it.
Her progress was horribly slow. She could barely walk, and vomiting every ten minutes didn't help the situation. Soon, she couldn't even stand. Her body was shaking, and she was beginning to feel light-headed.
A few minutes passed before Freya heard footsteps. She ignored them. Soon, she saw chocobo feet before her. Someone dismounted the chocobo and landed beside it. That person then knelt beside Freya.
"You all right?" he asked.
Freya looked up and found herself staring into the green eyes of a boy who looked to be no older than seventeen. Freya shook her head weakly.
"You don't look it, either," the man commented. He placed his hand on Freya's shoulder. "Float onto the chocobo."
Suddenly Freya's entire body felt as light as a feather. It was a nice feeling, but soon Freya couldn't feel the ground below her either. Freya began to panic until she was head to head with the chocobo. That was when she gasped. She was floating! Slowly Freya floated onto the chocobo. The seventeen-year-old mounted the chocobo.
"You look sick," the man commented.
"Blame Burning Acid and a hell of a lot of other crap," Freya said before vomiting blood once more.
"Relax, you'll be all right," the man said, and Freya suddenly felt relaxed. "Duchess, take us to Lindblum, please!"
The chocobo let out a kweh before she turned around and headed toward the dark shape of a building in the distance.
"Is he going to be all right?" Zidane asked Garnet.
Garnet shrugged helplessly as she looked over at Fratley. They couldn't stop the bleeding at his stomach, and his head was also bleeding pretty badly. They couldn't get a doctor to come as soon as possible, and Tot had a patient already so they didn't wish to bother him. Beatrix had headed off to see if she could find someone, but so far no one had come, and Fratley's condition was looking pretty serious.
"So everyone else was already dead?" Steiner, who was standing in front of the doorway, asked.
Garnet nodded. "A man, a Black Mage, and a girl were all dead. I don't know who they were. I'm positive they weren't friendly, though."
Steiner nodded. "I see. So Freya was attacked?"
"Sneak-attacked. That is probably why we didn't make it in time," Zidane said sadly. "She's too quiet. Why didn't she scream a little bit sooner?"
"Pride, I suppose," Steiner said.
"Move."
Steiner turned around at the odd feminine voice. He then moved out of the way. A demi-human entered. She had black hair that reached her shoulders and furry black cat ears. Her eyes were also of a cat, and they were dark blue. Most of her appeared to be human except for fur on the backs of her hands, and a furry black tail. Like a cat, she walked on her toes. Her outfit was simple - a leather shirt with leather pants, a black belt, and no shoes covering her furry large cat-like feet - and she had an egg-like pouch strapped around her body. Swiftly she walked over to Fratley.
"That eye will need to be removed. It can't do anything but become infected," the demi-human said immediately, surprising everyone. "I can stop the bleeding on his stomach, that'll be no problem. There is nothing terribly wrong with his head, I can't see a fracture, it'll just need to be bandaged."
"Wow," Zidane said. "How can you tell all that in less than a minute?"
"Experience," the demi-human said.
The demi-human flipped a hidden latch on the egg-like pouch and opened it. It was packed full of medical supplies. The demi-human took out a small flask full of purple liquid, a cloth, and a ton of bandages. She then took a knife from under her sleeve.
"Why is that in there?" Zidane asked.
"Why are your daggers with you?" the demi-human retorted. "Protection."
"Under your sleeve?" Beatrix asked, for she had entered right after the demi-human.
"Hidden protection," the demi-human said.
The demi-human opened the small flask. She then poured a little bit of the liquid onto the cloth. She put the flask aside, then placed the cloth and Fratley's stomach wound. She applied great pressure. Everyone in the room could only watch.
"You're a healer?" Zidane asked.
"What did you think?" the demi-human asked, looking up from her work. Not once did she stop applying pressure. "Yes, I'm a healer."
"What is your name?" Garnet asked.
"Kitski," the demi-human answered.
"Do you know why White Magic did not heal the wounds?" Garnet asked.
"It is possible that there is an anti-White spell on the wounds. If it was on the sword, the spell could've been transmitted," Kitski answered. "Here we are."
Kitski removed the cloth from the wound, and everyone stared with shock. The once-gruesome wound that had broken straight through the abdominal wall and had refused to stop bleeding, was now barely more than a cut. The abdominal wall had closed and all bleeding had come to a stop. The wound was now nothing more than a rather deep cut.
"Oh my gosh," Garnet muttered softly.
Kitski didn't say anything. She instead threw the bloody cloth aside and bandaged the wound. She then took the knife, some bandages, and a new cloth as she moved toward Fratley's head. She removed the arrow from Fratley's eye, and a sickening mixture of eye fluid and blood began to flow.
"This eye is completely useless," Kitski said. "It's been punctured with too much accuracy."
Quickly and efficiently, Kitski removed Fratley's punctured eye using the knife. Everyone only watched as Kitski wrapped the eye in a cloth and put it aside. She then wrapped bandages around the bleeding eye socket. The wrapped bandages resembled the eyepatch Beatrix had, and it was clear Beatrix noticed the resemblance. Kitski killed two birds with one stone by having the bandages cover the gash in Fratley's head.
"I'm not sure when he'll wake," Kitski said. "It may take a while with the injuries."
"How long?" Garnet asked.
"It could take from a few days to a month," Kitski said.
"He could die," Beatrix commented.
Kitski smiled grimly as she took something out of her pouch. "Not with this stuff. I can keep him alive. Trust me."
"What is that stuff?" Beatrix asked.
"I haven't given it a name yet," Kitski said. "But it keeps people alive when they cannot wake up from a sleep. It is mostly water with a little healing potion and other things. You put it directly in the blood stream, so I may have to make a new wound."
"Make a new wound?" Zidane asked.
"Do you really think he can drink it?" Kitski snapped. "He's unconscious, and I certainly can't put it in his head! The arm is the best, but I'll do it later. He doesn't need it right now."
"Interesting." Garnet said.
"Could you wake him up?" Cobalt, who had been sitting quietly near the window the whole time, asked. He was one of Vivi's sons and had blue eyes.
"No," Kitski said. "I've been trying to get a reviving potion, but it had not succeeded yet."
"Phoenix Downs won't work?" Cobalt asked.
"Unfortunately, no. Watch," Kitski said.
Kitski took a soft fiery red feather out of her pouch. She placed it on Fratley's chest. Bright light surrounded the Burmecian as the red feather burst into flames, but nothing happened. Everyone was shocked except Kitski, who didn't look surprised.
"Well, that is that," Kitski said as she began to gather up her supplies.
"Could you stay here?" Garnet asked.
Kitski looked up at the young queen. "Certainly. I have no where else to go."
"Thank you," Garnet said.
"Pleasure. I'll be back tomorrow," Kitski said.
With a quick bow, the demi-human left.
Within 30 minutes, Freya and her rescuer had reached Lindblum. The massive castle loomed over them and it looked spooky in the night. The chocobo they rode upon, whose name was Duchess, trotted over to the main gate of Lindblum.
"Daniel! Can you please let us in? I've got a Burmecian who has been poisoned," the man called.
A Lindblum Guard appeared. He wore the traditional Lindblum outfit for a guard.
"Yeah, sure. Juliben is in the Castle," the guard said.
"Thank you," the man said. "Go, Duchess."
Duchess immediately headed inside and toward the nearest aircab station. Soon, she reached the desolate aircab station.
"Where to?" the aircab pilot asked as Duchess stepped carefully into the aircab.
"The Castle," The man said.
The aircab pilot nodded and shouted out the window, "CASTLE!"
Suddenly the aircab jolted. Steam escaped from the bottom of the aircab as its propellers began to spin. It slowly lifted off the ground and zoomed in the direction of the castle. Freya didn't notice, though Duchess chirped nervously.
"It's all right, Duchess," the man said.
"What is your name?" Freya asked, realizing she didn't know.
"Dominic," the man replied. "Yours?"
"Freya," Freya said, then suddenly felt an urge to vomit.
Thankfully, the aircab pilot didn't seem mad about Freya's vomiting. He only glanced briefly at her.
"Need Juliben?" he asked.
"Yes. Burning Acid is to blame," Dominic said.
"Yikes," the pilot commented. "Not good."
Suddenly the aircab shook as it landed at the Castle's aircab station. The propellers slowly stopped moving. The door opened, and immediately Duchess left the aircab and headed down the stairs effortlessly. She had clearly gone this way before. No guards stopped her as she entered the castle, passing the airship station as she headed off. As they passed the kitchen, though, Dominic shouted to someone inside.
"No midnight snacks, Eiko. Get out of there," he shouted.
Freya, recognizing the name of her friend, looked up and into the kitchen. Soon, Eiko was chasing after Duchess. Eiko was a young and cute girl with shoulder-length purple hair and a horn in the center of her forehead. All she was wearing at that moment was a white gown.
"Dominic! You shouldn't have a chocobo here anyway! And - Hey Freya!" Eiko smiled at Freya, then frowned. "You don't look so good! What happened?"
"I'll tell you later," Freya said.
Duchess and Eiko both ran to the Royal Chamber, where Juliben was talking with Cid. Cid looked up and was surprised to see a chocobo enter the area.
"Dominic?" he asked.
"I apologize for interrupting, but I need Juliben immediately," Dominic said.
"What is it?" Juliben, the healer speaking with Cid, asked. He was a thin, tall man with brown hair and hazel eyes.
"I have a Burmecian named Freya who has been poisoned with Burning Acid," Dominic said.
"Burning Acid?" Juliben repeated before Cid could speak. "No time to waste. Please get her to the guestroom."
Juliben rushed out of the room.
"Am I really in that much jeopardy?" Freya asked.
"You couldn't figure that out yourself?" Dominic asked, dismounting Duchess.
"You look awful," Cid said before anyone could reply. "What happened?"
"Beaten, then kidnapped, then attacked about three more times, then finally walloped to unconsciousness, then brought out here and poisoned," Freya muttered. "Not -" Freya stopped abruptly as she vomited.
"Fun?" Eiko guessed, sounding worried. "Father, is she going to be okay? She keeps shaking and puking and she looks pale and sick and -"
"Be quiet!" Dominic cried.
Suddenly Eiko fell silent. Her lips were still moving, but no sounds came out. Freya stared with shock.
"How did you do that?" Freya asked.
"He's the Commander," Cid said.
"Commander?" Freya asked.
"Hey, aren't we supposed to be getting you someplace?" Dominic asked Freya. He walked over to her and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Go to the guestroom."
Suddenly Freya found herself in the guestroom on the floor. She crawled weakly over to a bed and used it to rise to her wobbly feet. She then sat on the bed and soon found herself vomiting.
"Calm down, calm down."
Freya looked up to find Juliben towering over her. He held bandages, a jar of herbs, and other supplies.
"First things first." Juliben put his supplies aside and popped open the jar. He took out a bunch of herbs. "You know what this is, right?"
Freya shook her head weakly.
"It's Retchi. It means "Gagging Flower". The stuff makes you gag but once you manage to swallow it it will counter-act the poison," Juliben explained, giving Freya the herbs.
Freya took the herbs and placed them in her mouth. They were wretched, but Freya forced herself to chew them and swallow them. At this point she began to gag. Soon she felt Juliben's hand on her snout, keeping her mouth closed. This kept her from gagging, and she at last swallowed the herbs.
"Well, the hardest part is over," Juliben said. "Now while that takes affect, your other wounds need attending to."
Within a few moments, all of Freya's wounds had been treated. Her body ached, and she felt stiff from the bandages. The bed was warm, though, and she was not vomiting as often. Laying her head against the pillow, Freya stared at the ceiling. She felt strangely light-headed, and her vision was blurry. Was it the Burning Acid? It had to be. Perhaps the herbs hadn't taken complete affect.
Freya sighed softly. She hoped Fratley was all right. Perhaps he too was in safe hands, and able to relax in a warm bed. With that hope dominant in her mind, Freya fell into a deep sleep.
---------- How'd she survive? The Burning Acid causes a slow death from vomiting blood. You don't vomit enough blood at once to die quickly. Sick? Yes. Created by me? Yes. I am a sick person? Sort of.
Also, Fratley survived by luck and a little more. Kitski's abilities will be explained later.
As for my quick updates: I type quickly. I'm afraid they won't be so quick from now on though, because I'm officially on a computer limit =( No fair!
This story is copyright to me. Some characters, locations, and Gaia in general are copyright to SquareEnix.