Fever

Burning- freezing- light- darkness. Only a cool hand, soothing my flaming brow. A small, delicate hand. A woman's hand. I am at the mercy of a woman. All I can do is will my body to heal to end this torture.

Time passes in a hazy blur of voices and her cool hand, I cannot tell how long. My body is weary from the raging fever that had consumed it.

I breathe. It is the first that does not burn my lungs. The pain has lessened.

I am lying on my stomach, my back is bare. A layer of sweat coats my body. I can feel the grime caking my body. I can feel the bloody crust that has formed around my wound.

I open one eye, she is there sitting in a chair. I close my eye.

"You are awake!" Her voice is full of concern. I despise her. There is no reason she should care for me.

I struggle onto one elbow. "Let me help you." Her hand rests on my shoulder. I shrug out of her grasp and glare. "Here, drink this." She hands me a glass of water. Pain sears my back. "Be careful." I take it.
I drink. The smooth water eases the burning in my throat. She is watching me, I can feel it.

"Your" her eyes are glued to mine, "eyes." I stare, unblinking. She blushes. "they are beautiful." I blink lazily. "such an unusual color." She pauses. "I'll get you something to eat." She starts for the door. "You must be hungry." She is gone.

I swing my legs over the edge of the bed. More pain. I am naked. 'Interesting.' I wrap the sheet around my waist.

I stand. My knees buckle. I catch myself on the bed. 'Damn.'

Again I stand. My knees hold.

I take a step.

She enters. "Here is some soup." She sees me standing. "Oh! You aren't strong enough yet!" She places the tray on her chair and clucks at me like a hen to her chicks. "Sit. You need to rest."

"A shell." The confusion on her face is easy to read. "Did you find a shell where I was lying?"

"No," she shakes her head, "only you."
"My clothes?"

"Ruined." She is a nervous girl. I can tell from the way she wrings her hands. "We burned them."

I snort. "Well then, bring me some other clothes." She doesn't budge. "Now." My quite voice sends her scurrying for the door. "A bath too." I call after her, remembering my filth.

I sit and eat while she is absent. I cannot stand people watching me eat.

The soup is watery. I eat it anyway. I need to recover. I need to return to Nakago.

A chill runs up my spine. 'He will be angry.' I muse. ' I have failed him.'

'I promised him once that I would do everything in my power to further his cause.' I stare at the empty bowl, 'If only I had been faster, more secure in myself.'

The door opens, interrupting my thoughts. The girl is carrying a pile of fresh looking clothes and a bucket of steaming water. A man, no doubt her brother, follows carrying a tub and another bucket of water.

The man sets down the tub, while she places the clothes on the chair. The steaming water is poured into the tub. She takes the empty bowl as she leaves.

I am alone again. I wait, making sure neither have forgotten anything.

The door opens, she blushes. "Soap." She hands me a pungent bar.

I wait again. No one renters.
I tear the sheet from around my waist and sink into the warm embrace of the water. I feel the grime falling off me in flacks.

The throbbing pain eases.

I scrub my body. I scrub my hair. My long locks are no longer a tangled mass. I feel so much better. It is amazing how good it feels to be clean.

The water is filthy. I get out and dry off.

The clothes are too big. Figures, I am a small man. They are clean and dry and smell of the hot sun.

' How long has it been?' I sit on the bed. 'I'll have to ask her.' I yawn, my energy is spent. I lie down. 'I'll rest me eyes.'
Comforting darkness.