Chapter 6
"Pain"
I did not want to wake up.
This might sound ridiculous, but I felt safe and secured—and warm. Let us not forget warm. I knew the minute I woke up, I would have to leave those feelings behind and I did not want to do so.
However, the sun disagreed with me. Its light kept shining against my face, making it impossible to sleep. It seemed to be screaming at me to get up.
I groaned in response. Sooner or later, I knew, I had to wake. I, however, wanted it to be later. Groaning again, I opened my eyes.
I was shocked to find Gunther so close to me.
He lay in front of me, on his side (and I was lying on my side, as well), our bodies touching. Our faces were no more than a few inches from each others. He had his hand protectively on my side.
I could feel heat rise to my cheeks, and thought awkwardly, 'This would explain why I felt so warm.'
I felt anger rise. He was not to take advantage of me like this! I would not allow it. I brought up my left arm to push him away. I had plans to slap him and yell.
But those plans changed when I could no longer move my arm.
I brought it high, but it fell to the ground. I felt so weak. I could not move my arm, for I had no energy. I was beginning to panic.
"Gunther—" I was trying to scream his name, to wake him from his slumber. But my voice would not allow it, and it came out as a whisper. I tried again, and only got it to a mumble. I kept trying, repeating his name over and over, attempting to wake him up and increase my sound.
I heard him groan. I tried to speak up, but my voice again went down to a whisper. I wanted to push him, nudge him. My arms would not move. I closed my eyes and kept repeating his name until everything went black.
***
I had no idea how much time had passed—or if any time passed at all—when I awoke again. But this time, I felt even more pain than I had before.
Not only were my arms weak and sore, but also my legs. If I wanted to move, I knew I could not. Worse of all, my head was hurting.
Not like a small headache, but like someone had taken a dagger and was repeatedly stabbing the back of my skull. I groaned.
Someone shushed be gently. A hand began to trace my cheek. I felt a slice of fear, and tried to move. It only caused me more pain.
"Shh. Do not worry; it is me, Gunther."
I slowly began to open my eyes. I felt so sick that I did not even know where I was or what was going on. But my head lay on Gunther's lap and I was on my side.
"What…happen…ed?" I said, slowly.
"Jane!" I could not see his face, but his voice sounded almost happy to hear from me. "Jane, I was afraid you had…"
He trailed off. I could feel my eyebrows scrunch together in confusion.
"Are you thirsty?"
I wanted to nod, but that would cause my head agony. I wanted to answer him vocally, but my voice came out as a whisper.
He seemed to understand anyways, and said, "I am going to put my hand under your head to lift you up to drink. You need to tell me if I hurt you, though."
'He is babying me!' I knew he was. He was treating me like a child who could not yet fend for himself. I was no child. I was a squire, and as much of a squire as he was. I could feel my pride and anger rising. I wanted to tell him off, to walk right off and do everything myself. I could get a drink of water, for goodness sakes!
But those feelings were lost when Gunther held his hand underneath my fiery, red hair. His other hand held the cup to my lips. He held me still, and waited patiently as I drank every drop. When I finished, he slowly laid my head down. He pulled out his canteen and poured more water in the cup.
When I had finished drinking the second glass, and my head was again comfortably on Gunther's lap, I asked, "What happened? Why…why does my head hurt so much? Why am I so weak?"
"You fell," Gunther explained, "When the horse reared, you lost your balanced. I soon fell after you, and the horse galloped away. I found you out cold and your head bleeding. When you fell, your head hit a rock. I was able to stop the bleeding.
"And you are weak because you have not eaten in a whole day, and you are bruised from the fall. You are still coping."
I felt so foolish. How can I, a knight apprentice, fall off a horse? And the only reason the rest of me was weak was because I had not had food. A real knight would be strong enough to cope, and here, I could not even move!
I groaned. "How could I be so foolish?" Gunther stayed quiet as I lectured myself. "I run off when I had duties, and stayed in the forest for hours on end, sleeping! I was lost…and then, I cannot even stay on a horse! I cannot even stand, and now the both of us are…lost."
I wanted to slap myself.
"I see another flaw, too," Gunther said.
I wanted to slap him.
"You are feeling sorry for yourself."
I looked up at his face. He was right. I felt foolish again, and sighed. "I am sorry, Gunther. 'Tis all my fault."
"No," He said, "It is not." He sighed, "We will spend the rest of the day and the night here. In the morning, we will head off."
"Head off where?" I asked.
"Back to the castle, of course. Your condition is serious."
Disclaimer: I do not own Jane, sadly, or any of the other characters. I only own the plot. ):
Author's Notes: Feel free to hate me for such a long wait! I'm actually ahead of this, writing wise, so I can post my chapters. My problem? I write on my computer, which does not have internet, and our family desktop does not have word. So I have to use my dad's laptop...so it takes some time. ):
But I must admit, I have been a little lazy. _ _ I hope you forgive me!
Please review and tell me if I made any grammar mistakes. XP (Of course!)