There's a distinct difference between passing a class and failing one. I have begun to notice this most profoundly recently...
But I still have some story written, and I'll be able to post every few days.
Hopefully.
Thanks to all you reviewers! You're the greatest!
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Daja cantered into the Temple grounds, her exhilaration banked like a forge fire, ready to come back with first sign of friend.
She looked about herself, reveling in the familiar sights and smells. There was the clock, dominating the center of the grounds, casting it's shadow over Crane's greenhouse. There were the kitchens, run by Gorse and his herd of harried apprentices. There was the forge, ready and waiting as if she had left but yesterday. And there, there was that well-traveled path: and down it but a little way, there was Discipline, the same as it had been forever in her memory. Her smile broadened.
She was back.
She hopped off her horse, giving it a pat and letting the Initiates at the gate take it to the small stables. She considered waiting for Frostpine, but she had been waiting a year for this moment. She looked down the road and smiled. He would come.
Daja walked down the path, a bounce in her step. Briar had said he would force-march Sandry, if necessary, back to Discipline. A letter from Niko to Moonstream had allowed the students currently in Discipline to take a break and go back to their homes for as long as necessary. Lark had appreciated the break, but it had been hard to keep her from asking questions. Even now, considering Tris' most recent letter, Daja smiled at the remembrance.
And then the cottage came into view, and her heart swelled. In her mind came the words to an ancient Trader prayer for those coming home.
"Let their fires be warm, and their ships safe, and may the smile of loved ones light their heart, and the waves of hope touch at their shores."
Her soft words died away in the rustling coolness of a gentle breeze, brushing her face and dancing away into a wish for tomorrow.
Daja's quiet remembrance was suddenly broken by a voice in her mind.
Daja?It was Briar.
Finally! I've been trying to talk to you all day-Her admonishment was cut short by Briar's urgent tone.
Daja, I don't have the time. Just come to the Water Temple.
Daja's brow furrowed. Briar? What happened?
She heard the fear in his voice as he answered.
It's Sandry. Hurry-
And the contact was cut off, and she was left in the silence, trying to remember what the last echo she had caught was. Then she was sprinting down the pathways, rushing to the Temple, trying to block out that last whisper, the one Briar had tried to keep from her.
…before it's too late…
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When she got to the hospital wing, Daja was panting hard, barely able to stand. The dedicates were all rushing about, and she grabbed one.
"Where is Sandry?" she gasped out.
The dedicate looked harried. "Lady Sandrilene is not able to entertain-"
Daja shifted the grip on her bronze-capped Trader staff. "Tell me where she is or I will make sure you never talk again!" she yelled, raising the staff to his face.
"Second floor, first door on your right." He pointed to a staircase. She nodded her thanks and dashed away, pounding up the steps to the door. Dedicates were rushing in and out, and she shoved her way through them, her heart pounding as she burst through the doorway.
The first thing she saw was Sandry, lying on the bed, her eyes shut and her face deathly pale.
Her heart stopped beating.
Then she saw the faint rise and fall of Sandry's chest, and Daja took a deep breath. Then she saw that Briar was next to the bed, sitting on an uncomfortable chair, his face unusually wan.
"Daja…" he said, trailing off.
She gave him a faint, dying smile and moved forward. Somehow everyone in the room knew not to disturb her, and she was let through. Dedicate Lark was sitting on the other side of the bed, looking worried and pale, her hands clasped around one of Sandry's lax ones. At the foot of the bed, Duke Vedris waited, looking half-dead.
Daja felt like her world had dropped out from beneath her.
"What happened?" she croaked.
"She took a fall from her horse." Lark replied quietly, not relinquishing the hand she held.
"Only because I was chuffleheaded enough to let her know I was there." Briar sounded achingly bitter.
"Don't blame yourself. It wasn't your fault." Lark said soothingly.
"She wouldn't have come out at all except for me," he replied, folding his arms stubbornly.
"How is she?" Daja interrupted.
Lark frowned. "We're not sure. The healers say she'll live for now, but they still haven't told us what's wrong."
At that moment, a blue robed Dedicate poked her head into the room. "Hello?" she asked.
Daja moved away from the door, allowing the Dedicate access to the room. She walked in, shutting the door behind her. The duke looked up hopefully as the Water Mage walked across the room to check Sandry's pulse. Then she turned around and addressed them.
"Well. I'm Dedicate Runa, temporary head of the Water Temple. You must be one of those four mages."
She glanced sharply at Daja, who didn't move. Runa squinted, then returned her gaze to the others.
"Listen. I'm not going to pad anything for you. Look at this." She pulled down a chart, on which there were several pictures of people's heads.
"Lady Sandrilene is a very lucky girl. Usually people who are thrown like she was end up with broken necks. Hers was just badly bruised."
Briar sighed with relief, glad that his initial, panicked diagnosis had been correct. Runa looked sharply and then went back to talking.
"Now, this is the back of a person's neck. Going through the center of it is a bone that controls movement for the whole lower body. Right here," and she pointed to a place on the chart a little beneath the nape of the neck, "this is where she was hit. The bone got a little fractured, but that will heal in a matter of weeks. Here, however, is the problem."
Everyone looked at where she was pointing. "This is a part of the skull that most people call the temple. It is one of the most unprotected parts of the head except the eyes and nose." She moved her finger away from there and pointed to a place on the side and top of the head. "That place has nerves that connect to right here. This is an important processing center for the brain. It stores the brain's ability to…well, to function like a human being. Without it, or when it is severly damaged, the person will be nothing more than an animal for the rest of his life." She stopped, moved over to the chart and muttered something. The pictures on the chart swirled and changed, stopping at another word.
"Here is the problem." Runa started speaking again. "Sandrilene has…well, it's extremely complicated. When you hit your knee, it turns blue. That's because you've broken capillaries inside the skin, but the skin itself didn't break. For Sandry, when she hit the ground she hit this spot on her head, and bruised it, except it can't exactly heal because she also broke the skull." The healer trailed off, staring at the chart as though mesmerized by it.
"So, what happens to her?" Daja asked, almost afraid.
Runa looked at her sadly. "She has internal bleeding in her brain. We've stopped it, for now, but the spell will wear off and takes a great deal of energy to uphold. Three of our best healers will be out for weeks because they had to cast it with such short notice." The words were accusatory, but Runa looked only weary.
"So, we can keep her alive? We can heal her?" Briar asked eagerly. Behind him, Duke Vedris looked up, staring at the mage.
Runa shook her head before he even finished. "Even if we had the power and the people to keep up the spell, blood will still seep past the barriers eventually, and that will render everything else useless."
Vedris spoke, his voice deep and quiet. "Will she live?"
Runa sighed deeply, a sad look in her eyes. "Maybe. If we can heal the break in her skull fast enough, probably. But working with the brain is a delicate thing. There's a good chance that if we try to heal her to quickly, the bone won't set properly and the whole thing will collapse. And no matter what happens, she will probably be damaged mentally for the rest of her life."
"When I picked her up, she couldn't talk. Is that something that happens?" Briar asked, his eyes wide.
Runa nodded. "It has. Other things to expect are memory losses, weakened hearing, blindness, a loss of feeling in the hands and feet-"
"Oh!" Lark cried out and put her hands over her mouth, shock and horror in her face. Daja could understand. Sandry's power lay in weaving, embroidery, sewing. If she couldn't feel her hands, she wouldn't be able to do any of those things, even with her power at full play. And with blindness, she would never be able to tell what she was doing, anyway.
Daja bit her lip and looked at Briar. His face was pale, and his eyes were fixed on Sandry's face.
Suddenly the door flew open, and Tris came through, her hair wild around her flustered face. She stopped short as she saw Briar, and Daja, and Lark. Her eyes darted to Sandry, and she let out a little cry.
"What's happened?"
Gently, because she didn't trust her real voice, Daja told her over their link. Tris' face got paler and paler until she looked like a ghost, her eyes standing out.
Niko stepped in behind Tris, and he too looked around, his eyes wide and worried. He touched Tris' arm, and she looked up at him, tears in her eyes. He frowned deeply as the contact allowed him to hear all of what Daja said. He blinked hard, then, as though he was fighting back tears of his own, and then took Runa aside, speaking with her in low tones.
Tris? Are you alright? Daja knew that was a silly thing to ask, but she felt she had to say something.
No, Tris replied matter-of-factly, I think I might be sick. How could this happen?
Daja caught Tris' eye, and moved from her place to put an arm around her. Both of them were in tears. Lark stood and walked over to them, her own eyes wet and pained. Briar just sat, thinking hard, unable to comprehend that this had happened on his happiest day. His head lowered into his hands, and he simply breathed.
After a little while, Runa and Niko left, still talking. Lark stayed awhile longer, but she was pale and tired, and eventually Daja sent her off to bed. Vedris had left immediately after Niko had arrived, and he had been looking as though thunderclouds were forming on his heart. The three that were left gathered around the bed, thinking and waiting.
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Hours came and went, and night fell in earnest. Every few hours a healer came in and did something to Sandry, but no one suggested that they leave.
Briar rubbed his cheeks and blinked trying to pretend that the tears sneaking down his cheeks were from dry eyes. On the other side of the bed, Daja sat next to Tris, her head leaning on the red-head's shoulder, both of them asleep. Briar had twice felt their touch in his head, but he didn't think he could talk yet, and he ignored them.
And then he felt another touch, faint and weak, and his eyes opened.
Briar…you're here!
His head snapped up and he saw Sandry lying on the bed, her eyes open and looking at him. He moved forward quickly to grab her hand. Sandry smiled weakly. When I saw you earlier, I thought I was dreaming. I was so cold…
Briar felt his eyes prick, but he ignored them, focusing on Sandry. Of course I'm here! And you've right scared everyone else here as well!
Sandry smiled. I'm sorry. I was being silly. But I felt you in my mind and I just wanted to get to you.
Briar blushed. Aw, not the sappy stuff.
Sandry grinned at him, then shifted her gaze to the others. Daja's here! Tris! Wake up!
Sandry's smile grew wide and she tried to speak. Her mouth moved for a moment, and Briar recalled with frightening clarity the time that Rosethorn had had her stroke. The same inability to speak had happened afterwards. Sandry tried a little longer, then turned to him frowning.
Why can't I talk?
Briar shrugged his shoulders, keeping his smile pasted to his face. It's only that you hit your head a little harder than we thought. The doc says it'll be fine.
Sandry smiled softly at him, and her voice was gentle in his mind. Briar, it's okay. You can tell me what happened. I'll find out soon, anyway.
Briar swallowed and his grin slipped away from him. Maybe we can wait a little longer…just because.
Sandry frowned at him, then transferred her gaze to the sleeping Daja and Tris.
When did they get here?
Briar thought about waking them up, then decided against it. Daja got here this evening. Tris arrived maybe five hours ago.
Five hours? How long have I been asleep?
Way to long for your beauty rest, princess, Briar joked, and Sandry smiled at him again. At that moment, Daja woke up, and she nearly screamed in her excitement, which woke Tris, who did scream, which caused the nurse to come rushing in and cause more havoc, and Briar's heart gave a sharp twitch, as though it was telling him something he really needed to know.
Not now! He thought.
Not now what? Sandry asked, and then the nurse was there and he was forced to drop her hand, which allowed him to turn away and hide his blush as Tris and Daja greeted their friend with tears and smiles, filled with laughter as the first shining moment of a dark day came forth.
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You know, I really love Briar. Don't you?