It was while I was running to my tree that I had my first major accident in England.
Everything was soaked. It had been raining for what seemed like a week straight. I'd been hiding outside anyway. Getting wet was nothing compared to the torture of Mr Collins' classes.
I'd been sneezing all morning, and I knew that I was probably coming down with something, but I pushed my discomfort away.
I sprinted through the wet forest, my feet slipping and sliding on the muddy ground. The rain had eased slightly, only drizzling, instead of pouring like it was before.
I reach my tree, the leaves shining a wet emerald green. The bark is slick with rain. I clamber up the first few branches, my hands having to strain to keep a grip on the wet bark.
My nose starts to tickle, and I feel like I'm about to sneeze, but I ignore the feeling, reaching for the next branch.
"Achoo!"
I sneeze violently, and my hand slips from the branch. I topple backwards, my feet sliding off the branch I was standing on.
I land on the ground with a crash. Barbs of pain shoot up my arm, and I sob. Tears stream down my cheeks, mixing with the rain as it slips down my cheeks.
Terra Australis had been lying on the ground for hours. Her sobs had quieted into muted sniffles, and her entire body was thoroughly soaked. She didn't dare to move, for fear that she would hurt her arm even further.
It was her left arm that was injured, with her elbow bent backwards. She'd somehow managed to land with her arm bent under her, taking the shock of the impact straight through her elbow.
The bone in her forearm had been unable to take the force, and had snapped clean in half.
She'd originally landed on her back, but she'd rolled over sometime during the day, so she was now lying on her front, with her neck bent to the side.
Her neck was stiff, and her entire body was wracked with cold, but she could not move.
She had long since stopped wondering if England or France would come. If it had been America or Canada who'd fallen, she knew that they would've been there in an instant.
But, since it was just her, she knew that neither of them would come.
"Terra!"
West Indies had been the first out of the class, sprinting out of the room like the hounds of hell were after him. He didn't mind the rain at all, in fact, he loved it because it reminded him of his homeland.
India and Newfoundland had been less enthusiastic about sprinting into the rain, and had gotten oilskin coats before they'd followed him.
He ran to Terra's side, and threw himself for his knees beside her, "Terra? What happened?"
His hands fluttered nervously over her body, unsure whether he could touch her without making her injury worse.
Terra looked up at him, "I fell out of my tree." She answered, through sniffs.
West Indies nodded, "Where does it hurt?"
"My arm mostly." She used her uninjured arm to gesture at her very obviously broken arm.
West Indies breathed a sigh of relief. He was glad that it was only her arm that was hurt, "I'm going to pick you up now, okay?"
Terra nodded, and wrapped her uninjured arm around his neck.
He wormed his arms under her knees and upper back, and then heaved her upwards. She let out a soft whimper as her arm was jostled, but made no other sounds of complaint.
"You're being such a brave girl." Whispered West Indies as he stood up. Terra buried her head in his shoulder.
He walked as fast as he dared towards the house. He didn't want to drop Terra, but he also didn't want to have her in pain for any longer that she already had been.
He ran into Newfoundland and India as he walked to the house. They were extremely astonished to see him carrying Terra, as not even Newfoundland - who was the best at coaxing Terra out - could get her out of her tree so fast.
"What happened?" Asked Newfoundland, who was rather annoyed that West Indies had managed to get Terra out of her tree faster than she could.
"She fell out of her tree, and hurt her arm." Replied West Indies.
India, who had the most experience in first aid, quickly looked over Terra, "She's definitely broken it."
"How long was she out there?" Asked Newfoundland, completely over her annoyance at West Indies.
"I don't know." He answered, "She was like this when I found her."
Terra looked up from his shoulder and said, "It was just after I'd left. I was climbin', and I sneezed and lost my grip."
Her siblings froze. She had been out there all day? India turned and sprinted back towards the house.
"What are you doing!" Yelled West Indies, "She needs help!"
"I know!" He replied, "I'm going to get a doctor!"
West Indies saw the sense in what he was doing, and said, "Good idea!"
India was already inside the house, and unable to hear them.
Newfoundland and West Indies continued to the house, taking her in through the servants' door, and up the stairs to the room Terra and Newfoundland shared.
West Indies set her on the bed, and then ran to get something for Terra to eat. Newfoundland looked Terra up and down, then grabbed a pocketknife from her desk.
Terra's eyes went wide, "What are you goin' to do with that?"
Usually, Newfoundland would've made a joke about cutting her arm off, but the moment was too tense for humour. "I'm going to cut your clothes off. They're soaked, and you need to get out of them before you catch a chill."
Terra sneezed, making her entire body move, and jostling her arm. More tears came to her eyes at the pain, and she whimpered again.
Newfoundland winced, "Or make the chill you already have worse." She smoothed the hair off of Terra's face, and pressed a kiss to her forehead.
She peeled off her shoes and stockings - Terra's feet were nearly blue from cold - and then started to cut off her dress and shift.
Terra held very still as Newfoundland cut her clothes off. She only let out a little groan as Newfoundland lifted her up so she could pull the soaked clothes from under her.
"I brought you some tea." Said West Indies, as he returned from the kitchens, carrying a steaming mug of tea.
"Put it on the nightstand," instructed Newfoundland, "And get me one of your nightshirts."
"Why?"
"Because none of mine will work!" She scolded, "We'll need to get her into something that won't jostle her arm."
West Indies nodded, and ran to get her what she'd asked for.
Once he had returned with one of his nightshirts, Newfoundland helped Terra into it, pulling it up over her feet, so that she wouldn't have to move her arm. They left her injured arm hanging out of the neck hole, so that when the doctor came, he would be able to access it easily.
Then, they pulled her up, piling pillows behind her back to help her sit up, and helped her drink the tea.
"I can do it myself, you know!" Complained Terra, her annoyance overriding the pain, "It's only one of my arms that's hurt!"
They ignored her.
"I'm here!" Yelled India, bursting through the door.
Following him, was not the village doctor, but an old woman, wearing a white apron and a starched bonnet.
West Indies drew India aside, "I thought you were getting the doctor!"
"He refused to listen to me." Said India. He didn't need to elaborate as to why. They all knew that no English country doctor would listen to a black man, even if he was sent by a white man.
"I think you'll find that I am far more experienced than that quack!" Said the woman, who had been listening to their conversation.
West Indies blushed, "I'm sorry marm."
"That's okay." She replied, turning to Terra. "You must be the girl this young gentleman was telling me about. You took quite a tumble out of a tree didn't you?"
Terra nodded meekly, "Yes marm."
"Now, let me see that arm." She pulled the blanket off of Terra, and inspected her arm, "Yes, you have done a number on this haven't you."
She turned to Newfoundland, "I'll need a straight stick, and a lot of bandages."
Newfoundland nodded and ran to get the required items. Once she'd returned, the woman measured the stick against Terra's forearm, and then broke it so that it was the required length. Terra winced at the sound.
She then turned to India and West Indies and told them to hold Terra down while she set her arm. They did so, West Indies holding down her shoulders, and India holding down her legs.
"I'm going to set it on three... one... two..."
She wrenched the bone into place and quickly splinted and wrapped it up. Terra screamed as moved the bone, and continued to shriek as she jostled the arm, but once she was done, her arm no longer hurt so badly.
"What happened to three?" She asked.
"Three?" the woman said, a cheeky grin on her face.
"Now, keep that arm dry, and don't do anything too strenuous for a couple of months." Instructed the woman.
She turned to leaves but India pulled her aside, "How much do you want?"
The woman shook her head, "I can't accept payment from children! I'll talk to your father about payment."
"Mr Arthur won't pay you." Muttered India, "He doesn't care whether she broke her arm or not."
The woman looked distressed at his words, but didn't push the subject. She suggested an alternate subject for payment.
"Your father has a large estate, with many wild herbs. Would it be possible for me to gather some from your garden in lieu of payment?"
India nodded, "I'll take you now." He led her out of the room and to the gardens.