Midori made her way to her bedchambers and as soon as her head hit the pillow, she was pulled into a dreamless, coma-like sleep.
The next morning, she awoke with seemingly a sore stomach and decided it was just from the stress of the other night.
"Gods he is insufferable! Jarvis seems just too desperate!" she groaned, as she scrubbed her face and turned back to the bed to make it. She froze as she saw the cream sheets stained with red. Cursing, she tore the sheets off the bed and checked for wounds on her body, but found none. "This is a prank, it has to be!" she whispered fiercely, feeling hot tears in her eyes, much to her surprise.
A knock suddenly sounded at the door, Midori wheeled around, kicking the bloodied sheets under the bed for now. She bit her lip and decided to let whomever it was, in.
Owen stood at the door but he frowned when he saw Midori's tight smile. "What's wrong?" he demanded.
Midori bit her lip again and slipped on her mask, "I-I need a healer, preferably a female one."
"Why? Are you sick?"
Midori shook her head.
"Hurt?"
Again, Midori shook her head.
"Well I'm not a healer myself but I'll take you to Alanna" Owen took her arm and led her down the hall towards the infirmary.
Once there, she saw Baird and many healers scattering around doing various tasks. Owen tapped the shoulder of the closest healer, an elderly woman in a light blue robe, who ushered Midori into another room and shut the door. "Now, squire, your knight-master informed me of some sort of…dilemma."
Midori nodded, "I'm bleeding in a secret place…" she replied, her voice barely above a whisper.
The woman nodded her head in understanding, "I believe, squire, the Great Mother has blessed you with the beginnings of womanhood, you are going through what every woman goes through sometime in their life, the monthly cycle. Once every month, you will bleed and it should last about three to five days. But I must warn you, not to lie with a man now, in less you want to get pregnant."
"No, I won't until I'm ready." Midori said.
"Good girl. Now while you are having your cycle, you should wear cloth pads and always have an extra pair of undergarments and breeches in case the blood soaks through, understood?"
"Yes."
"I'll give you a bag of the cloth pads, so you won't have to keep coming back. And an anti-pregnancy charm, wait here."
The woman hurried off and a few minutes later came back with a small sack and a chain that held a charm that glowed with a dull gold light. "You'll also notice your breasts will begin developing."
"Believe me, I've noticed and have breastbands." Midori muttered dryly, glad to have her problems solved. "And so have some of the men."
The woman laughed softly, "Don't worry, squire, men do that. Why, in my day, I wasn't much of a head-turner, but I was kind enough to win a heart. Sam, Black God bless his soul, was a good man, and I hope you find your soul mate out there somewhere. Your father met a good lady and was crushed when she died; I know how close your mother and your father were. Shame she had to die."
"You know him?" Midori looked up.
"Your father? Of course dear, I've assisted him here in the infirmary, and he always knows how to make a lonely elder laugh. Now, enough of my ranting, your knight-master's waiting."
With the sack in hand, Midori watched as her knight-master stood near a large window, staring out at the glaring afternoon sun. "Owen?"
He turned and smiled, "It's a beautiful day, one that Margarry would enjoy."
"Sorry to intrude, sir, but who is Magarry?" Midori asked, innocently.
"Margarry of Cavall, my betrothed." Owen replied, feeling quite proud of himself.
"The Stump's daughter?" She had learned of the nickname from Merric when she asked about her father's knighthood.
Owen laughed, "Yes, the Stump's daughter. And a jolly one at that, she loves horses and dogs as much as I do. Shame she couldn't be here to meet you."
"We could go see her then, at the spring equinox!" Midori cried.
"You overgrown child you, that's the silliest idea I've ever heard from you, yet!" Owen laughed, walking from the infirmary.
"It could work, though. I'm serious." She rolled her eyes and swatted at his arm playfully, shaking her head.
Owen ruffled her hair, "You know Lord Wyldon will not approve."
"You don't know unless you try!" insisted his stubborn squire.
"Get your practice sword and meet me in the second court, lets practice dueling and hopefully you'll blow off some of that steam."
She agreed and remembered to quickly change into a cloth pad and fresh breeches, grabbing her practice sword and bow as she hurried out the door, locking it as she left.
A/N: Any more ideas people? Because I'm stuck for the next chapter!
Any suggestions or ideas would be greatly appreciated!
- Notebook and Star