₤₤₤

"Cat! Cat, are you alright?" asked a bell-like voice inside of her mind. Cylon was worried.

"Is Cat gonna be okay? It's all my fault. Cat, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to," meowed Cal frantically. Cat moaned and her eyes fluttered open. Prince James and Lord Nathan were gone, probably off getting water.

"Cat! You're finally awake. We've been so worried," Cylon purred happily. Cat nodded and moved her head to look at the cat.

'I'm o-," she cut off gasping. Her hand flew to her side and found it… bandaged. A long piece of fabric covered the wound. The arrow had gone in her right side right through her last rib. The fabric was already soaked in blood again. It was obviously a make-shift bandage.

Cylon gave her an answer. "The prince had to bandage it because we have no one with a healing Gift with us. Be glad he helped because that arrow looked dirty. Lord Nathan knew nothing about healing and looked as though he was going to throw up every time he saw blood so he went off to scout ahead."

Cat moaned again. "I'm supposed to be protecting the prince, not the other way around!" She spoke aloud because she had a feeling that her brain couldn't handle the complications of going to the conversing part of her mind to chat. She had to breathe slowly and deeply so she didn't cry out.

Cal shuffled forward guiltily. "I was the reason that man found us. I meowed when I saw you fighting. I thought you were going to get killed. I'm very sorry." Cat admired the kitten's bravery.

Cat smiled, "It's not your fault. I should have been keeping an eye on all of them."

"You don't have three eyes," Cylon reminded her sharply. Sometimes Cylon took the place of a mother in Cat's life.

"I wish I did," Cat muttered with a sigh.

"You wish you were a superhero!" Cylon hissed in frustration. "Cat, you need a break every once in a while."

"Do n-," Cat broke off at pain in her ribcage. "Maybe you're right, Cy, but I just… I need to live up to expectations, mine and Jack's."

A breaking twig alerted Cat to another presence. "So I was right. What exactly do your feline friends say?" The spy turned around; ignoring the pain it caused her. Prince James had walked into the camp.

"I can't tal-," she began and found she couldn't lie. She looked at the prince and saw him wearing her necklace.

Prince James followed her gaze. "Just for safekeeping," he explained. Then his face grew stern. "We need to change those bandages. Look, the blood's all the way through." He walked forward and Cat found herself struggling to stand.

"No! I mean, I can do it myself," Cat said quickly. She wasn't used to people helping her, especially not with chest wounds.

Sensing where her discomfort lay, the prince soothed her. "You need my help. I swear than I won't be anything less than gentlemanly. Your cats can be your guards." His voice was reasonable and persuasive.

As the necklace didn't stop lies the wearer said, Cat was still suspicious but was unable to do anything about it. "So why did you take my necklace again?" asked Cat, expertly changing the subject.

"To keep it safe and so you couldn't use it against me. Now don't try and change the subject again. Remember, Cat, I was taught by the best subject changer… your dad."

She managed to stand up shakily. The spy straightened and said, "See, I'm-," but the necklace wouldn't let her complete the lie.

"Not okay?" filled in Prince James with an inquisitive smile. "I can agree with that." Cat noticed that this prince acted different than the popular prince who ruled the school. "Now sit down and I'll get some fresh fabric and salve."

Cat obeyed, secretly glad; she had been worried her legs were going to give out on her. The pain was slowly rising the longer she stayed awake. The arrow seemed to have gone deep but not enough so that it pierced her lungs.

Cylon and Cal curled up beside her comfortingly. Cylon had a smug look on her cat face. "Looks like you're going to have to trust someone," she said in a sing-song voice.

Cat scowled at the blue cat and mind-spoke, 'Maybe I should become a cat… that way it would… be less embarrassing.' She continuously paused as pain would shoot through her body.

Cat leaned up against her tree and tried to control her painful breathing. On the prince's return, she asked slowly, "Where is Nathan?"

Prince James smiled, "I think he gets a bit woozy around blood. And if he can't see it, he can't treat it. Now stay still."

Cat watched uneasily as he advanced, a container of white salve in one hand, a roll of white fabric in the other. He crouched in front of her and began testing the pain. He used two fingers and put pressure near the wound. "Does this hurt?"

"N- yeah," she sighed, mentally cursing her lie-detecting necklace. He poked farther away and still she cringed. Once he discovered the wound was affecting her whole rib cage he sighed and told her to lift up her shirt.

Cat tried one last appeal. "Let me try on my own, I think I c-," she was again halted by the powerful necklace.

The prince suddenly got a calculating look on his face. "Is this because I'm a guy?" he asked, gazing curiously into her green eyes.

Cat didn't even try lying. She looked down and felt blood rushing to her tan cheeks. "I told you I wouldn't try anything!" cried Prince James in frustration.

The girl couldn't find the energy to retort, instead concentrating on not screaming from the pain that went so deep. Cylon rubbed her soft head on Cat's arm. "Just admit it. You need his help. Now be a good girl and do as the nice doctor said,' mind-spoke Cylon in motherly caring.

Cat shot her a glare, but knew she was right. "I'm ready, your highness," she said, careful not to let her pain show through her voice.

The prince nodded to Cylon, obviously guessing she had something to do with the change of mind. "Okay," he said then added as an afterthought, "Call me James."

Cat nodded stiffly, closing her eyes and biting her lip. "I'm going to lift up your shirt now…" he told her soothingly. She felt his warm hands slowly pull up her tunic and felt quite helpless.

James pulled her shirt all the way up past her breast band, which thankfully was still on. She would have been horribly embarrassed if it didn't hurt so much. As it was, the embarrassment was still enough to make her close her eyes tighter. The prince slowly untied the knot that held the bleeding bandage and began pulling it away from her ribcage.

Once the fabric was off everywhere but the actual wound, James paused, causing Cat to open her eyes. "This is going to hurt," he said in concern, "The bandage has stuck to the wound. I'm going to pull on the count of three. One, two… three," he said soothingly before tearing off the blood-stained bandage.

Not with all of her body guard and spy training could she find a way to halt the shriek that escaped from her lips. Cat gasped in deeply as though leveling her breath could make her rise above the pain. She clenched her teeth and closed her eyes again. James touched her hand comfortingly.

"This salve will cool the pain and keep away bacteria," said the make-shift doctor. His deep voice was soothing and calmed Cat a little. He scooped a glob from the small container with a small piece of cloth he had ripped from the fresh roll of fabric. As soon as the white paste covered the wound evenly, a cool and weird sensation spread through the inflicted area.

Picking up the linen, he told her to lean up. She sat up shakily, still woozy. He put the linen behind her back with both hands, going over her head. His closeness made her heart beat faster, though she blamed it on the medicine that was beginning to take hold.

He began to wrap up her entire ribcage, all to support the one deep cut. It was so tight that, though comforting, made it hard for Cat to breath deeply.

"Just relax. In a few moments the salve's natural healing power will put you to sleep," James said. He tied off the bandage, pulled her tunic down carefully over it and leaned her back against the tree. Her vision became blurry and she knew no more.

Did you like it? This chapter was very fun to write. Sorry it was so short, but I thought it was good. Doesn't it just give you a fuzzy feeling? Please review!