Chapter rewritten 19th June 2004.
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Chapter Thirty Six
Onward! To South Window City!
(Location: Path to South Window)
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"Okay, I think we're far enough away from the Highland soldiers, let's see her shoulder."
Andrew had lain Elaine down on the ground as gently and respectfully as possible. Malcolm knelt down to take a look at the arrow wound.
"Shouldn't we pull it out?" Andrew asked.
Malcolm shook his head, "No...after all, when somebody gets stabbed you don't pull the knife out right away for fear of infection, or excessive bleeding."
Elaine, if possible, turned even more pale than usual.
"It's not in too deep, luckily that Bowman was a sucky shot." Malcolm finally said. "I can dress the wound up, but we should get a doctor to see to it when we get to South Window."
"Sucky shot huh? Well he was aiming for Andrew's head at the time..." Elaine said, as nicely as possible with an arrow sticking out of your shoulder.
"This may sting a bit, but not half as much as the antiseptic..." Malcolm said, apologetically.
As carefully as possible, Malcolm removed the arrow from Elaine's shoulder. She winced in pain, but looked a lot happier now that it was out. Malcolm reached into his backpack and pulled out a bottle and a cloth.
"Brace yourself..." He said, applying some of the liquid to the cloth, and dabbing it around the wound.
Elaine gritted her teeth, she wasn't going to admit it HURT LIKE HELL. Soon enough, Malcolm had bandaged the wound up. Malcolm stood up and rubbed his hands together to symbolize a job well done.
"So can you walk the rest of the way, or do you want lover-boy over there to keep carrying you?" Malcolm said, a little too seriously.
Elaine said nothing, but stood up and brushed the dust out of her clothes with her okay arm. Her wounded shoulder arm hung a little limply, but she didn't acknowledge it. "I'll walk." She said, huffily to Malcolm.
Malcolm looked confused, "What? Did I say something wrong?" He looked around to Andrew.
Andrew simply sighed, "It's complicated...all too complicated..."
He picked up his sword and walked on to catch up with Elaine, leaving Malcolm extra confused...
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Kahri walked solemnly behind Riou and the others. Something was bugging him ever since they got out of Kuskus...and then it suddenly dawned on him. He ran up to Riou.
"Hey, where's Jowy gone?" Kahri asked.
He immediately figured out that wasn't the smartest thing he could've asked. Riou looked crestfallen, and Nanami looked really sad.
"He's not...dead...is he?" Kahri added.
From the expressions on their faces Kahri realised he had his second strike, one more and he's out...
"Jowy...well...he..." Riou couldn't bring himself to say it.
"He murdered Lady Anabelle...he betrayed us for Highland."
Collective gasps were heard, as everyone turned back to face Andrew. He looked deadly serious. Elaine walked up beside him.
"Well...I had my suspicions, but it turns out he stole my knife..." She held it up, "and used it to assassinate her. He discarded it outside Muse..."
Kahri fell down to his knees, "But...that's...he couldn't have...you're lying!"
He looked up at Riou's face, and that was all Kahri needed to see to tell that it was true. And I was worried about disappointing HIM...
Kahri managed to get back up. "Well, um...oh..." He felt himself blush, and quickly turned away, not wishing to add any more fuel to the already raging inferno.
Warren scratched his head, "So it is true then...about Lady Anabelle...I thought it was just a rumour started by Highland to stir up trouble."
"Still...I can't imagine what could've made Highland warp Jowy's thinking like they did." Eilie said, looking around at everyone.
Nanami sighed, looking down at Pilika. Her face hadn't cracked a smile since they escaped Muse. It was obvious that she missed Jowy...and there was nothing anyone could do about it.
"Let me put it this way, when somebody threatens to torture you or kill you, you change your mind pretty quickly about things." Elaine said, sounding way too harsh.
Riou looked round at her, "I'm not sure that's the reason..."
He walked off before Elaine could respond.
"We'd better get to South Window soon...I don't feel safe being out here in the open like this...Highlanders could be anywhere." She said, eventually.
"We're almost there, another ten minutes walk." Andrew added.
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"Wow! This city is beautiful!"
Nanami stopped marvelling at South Window after turning to face everyone else. The team looked exhausted...
"Never mind...we'll sightsee later..." She finished, lamely.
"Hey, look who it is." Andrew said, pointing.
"Oh fabulous, it's Mr. Loudmouth..." Elaine despaired.
"What? It's only Viktor." Kahri said.
Viktor walked over. "Glad you guys finally made it...picking up people along the way...I trust you got here okay?"
Elaine snorted. "Yeah, if you count getting ambushed okay."
Viktor looked confused. "Well I heard there was a skirmish with the Highlanders in Kuskus...that was you guys? And where's Jowy at?"
Elaine fumed, "Skirmish? Do you even realise what happened there? You stupid son of a..."
"And that's enough of that..." Andrew held her back, "We'll tell you everything that happened...but first we need a doctor to see Elaine's wound...and a nice bed...we're exhausted."
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Elaine awoke a few hours later. The doctor had been and gone, turns out there wasn't much else he could do for the wound that hadn't already been done. She walked down the stairs and saw some of the guys down there. Rina was drinking tea with Flik...Oh...I wonder if he knows about Avara...? Kahri walked past her, barely acknowledging her. He was obviously hungry again.
And Malcolm was standing outside. She walked over to him.
"I guess I should thank you for this." She pointed at her wound, "Where'd you learn how to dress wounds like that?"
Malcolm sighed, "Back home...it's been a while though..."
Elaine sat down on the bench. "What are you doing out here anyway?"
"Watch duty. Nothing's happening, but you just know something's up. It's that kind of day."
Elaine looked around, ""Where's everybody else? There's only a few people in the inn.""
Malcolm thought about it for a second. "Well, Riou and Nanami went off with Viktor and Eilie, and some South Window representative...Freed something...to check out some disturbances in the remains of North Window City...Kahri's hungry...enough said there..."
"Oh, Elaine, before I forget," Kahri popped his head out of the door, "Andrew said he was going to some cave near here. Perfect chance for the two of you to get some alone time."
Elaine raised her eyebrows. "A cave?"
"Yeah, he said he wanted to go somewhere quiet, so he could think about stuff." Kahri said, "Stuff that probably involves you."
"He probably went to the Cave of the Wind," Malcolm offered, "It's the only cave near here."
"Where is it?" Elaine asked.
Kahri thought about it, "Hmm...well, he headed west...so I guess it's that way. Hey, where are you going?"
But Elaine had already ran off. Leaving Kahri looking utterly confused. Malcolm simply shrugged, "At least you pointed her in the right direction."
"You're...welcome?" Kahri sighed as he went back into the inn, "Why's everyone in such a rush today? Did someone announce the apocalypse or something?"
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