It was a long three days of watching Sil's fever go up and down. He moved a little in his sleep, but he was unconscious the whole time. There were times that he went to the bathroom that couldn't be helped.

The girl hoped Sil would wake up soon so he could start to take care of himself again. But that arm would still take some time to heal. She had even changed the dressing a couple of times and the wounds were scary. No stitches but deep wounds in the flesh. She slept on a cot close by the bed.

Finally, after a couple more days, the fever finally broke. Sil finally started to wake up. He moaned as he woke up. He put a hand to his head. It was his good one. He tried moving the hurt one and it was really stiff and painful. He yelped in pain, alerting the girl. She stood up from her chair.

"Lord Chamberlain?" She said gently.

"Hmm?" Sil looked up at the mention of his title. He made out it was the human. "What… what you want, Human?"

"Watching over you, my lord." She replied. "You were badly hurt by a Rakkida a few days ago."

Sil suddenly remembered. He could feel some throbbing pain in one of his arms. He tried moving it. "Hmm! Hurts! Stiff!"

"You have been asleep for five days now, so it's understandable why it's stiff." The girl said.

"You say you take care of Chamberlain? Because of you being out in forest why this happen in first place!" Sil groaned grumpily.

"Fine, be that way. But I kept your fever down and changed the bandages on your wounds. But I would say, thank you for saving my life, Lord Chamberlain." She stated.

After she said that, it made Sil stiffen for a moment. His expression softened. "You… really care for Chamberlain?" He asked her.

"Yes, I did." She replied.

Sil managed to push himself up to a sitting position. Then the blanket fell off of him. He saw he was still in the lab and not his own room.

"Lord Scientist, he's awake!" The girl called out. It didn't take long for Tek to come in and see him.

"Finally awake I see." Tek mocked him. "Took you long enough."

"Has it really been five days, Scientist?" Sil asked.

"Yes. You've been in here and she's been taking care of you." Tek explained.

Sil glanced at the girl, shocked. He didn't think she would ever care about him, not that he was trying to get her attention anyway by now. But that meant that the Emperor had been without an advisor all this time.

"Must get to Emperor. Tasks to do." Sil said as he struggled to get off the bed.

"Calm down, Lord Chamberlain. You could hurt that arm again if you're not careful." The girl scolded him.

"I be careful."

"The Emperor has had the Ritual Master temporarily taking care of things while you were out of it, Chamberlain." Tek explained.

Sil didn't like the sound of that.

"Here, your robes were all washed up and given back to you. They were torn up a good deal and there was blood all over them. The Ornamentalist fixed them up for you." The girl explained.

"Good." Sil replied. He managed to push himself to his feet. He then looked at the girl. "I thank you for taking care of me while sick, but better now."

"Good." She replied. He was still the same. "Wait. You need another bandage change on your arm."

Sil stopped moving. He wanted to get back to his job, but it would have to wait longer. He watched as the girl slowly undid the bandages on his right arm and it revealed some still healing nasty bites and scratches.

"These going to leave bad scars." Sil complained.

"You're the one who went out there." Tek scoffed.

"Hey! At least someone came after me when that was my mistake." The girl snapped.

Sil's eyes lit up. It sounded like the girl had stood up for him. No one ever stood up for him. But yes, the girl would be punished for her mistake later. For now, he let her finish changing his dressing. She was extremely gentle.

Tek was glad that Sil was now well enough to leave his lab. He was getting dressed now but left the sleeve off his wounded area. He wouldn't be able to use it for a few more days. But he could still use his hand and other arm.

The girl was glad to leave the lab too, regardless of her punishment later. Whatever it would be.

The two walked in silence for several moments. "You must be hungry after not eating for five days?" She broke the silence.

Sil turned to her. At the mention of it, he felt his stomach growl with hunger. "Yes, indeed feel hungry. But for mistake, human will be punished for leaving castle. And Chamberlain grateful for helping heal. Punishment may not be as bad."

The girl got nervous at the mention of a punishment, but she would take it. She had to show she was willing to accept consequences for her foolishness.

The two made it to the throne room. Sil whined in pain and held his arm.

"Welcome, Chamberlain and Human." The Emperor greeted.

"Back from Scientist's lab from injuries." Sil stated.

The other Skeksis could see bandages wrapped around Sil's right arm. His usual sleeve was not on it.

"How are the wounds?" The Scroll Keeper asked.

"Getting better." The girl replied.

"When we first saw them, they were nasty!" The Gourmand exclaimed.

'What did you expect?!' The girl thought to herself. 'They were fresh injuries. They're going to be nasty.'

"Now that you are better, Chamberlain, we have a matter to discuss with the human here." The General declared.

"The matter of her punishment that put you in danger in the first place." The Emperor decreed.

"Lord Emperor," she bowed on one knee, "I am truly sorry for my mistake of leaving the castle. I thought I was trusted enough to explore outside of here. I wasn't trying to escape or anything. I promise. I was just trying to find some new flowers."

"Be that as it may, you are still going to be punished, Human." SkekSo decreed.

"I accept the consequences." She said nervously.

The punishment was given and later that day, the girl got a whipping from the General in his area of the castle. She had some wounds on her back and shoulders from it. She couldn't stop crying when it was over. Her back was bloody, and she retreated to her quarters. The General had been wanting to be hard on her for a long time.

The Gelfling guards saw she was upset and knew that's what happened to guards and servants who didn't do as they were told. Harsh discipline.

The girl could feel the stinging of her wounds. But she was mad that she didn't want to be touched either. She snapped at the Podlings trying to treat her wounds. "Just go away!" She snapped at them. The wounds were bleeding still.

The Podlings tried to soothe her. "You need to let them treat the wounds." A guard said.

"I don't want them treated! Leave me alone!" She sobbed angrily.

The girl eventually cried herself to sleep. Blood had soaked down to her bed. She didn't care at this point. It was just a mistake, but at the same time had nearly cost one of the Skeksis their life. She deserved to be punished. But the Skeksis were strict in their 'forgiveness.'

…..

The Chamberlain was glad to get some nourishment in his belly again after not having eaten for five days. He was ravenous. But in his mind, despite the girl's mistake, he was also figuring seeing her after her punishment.

It took for him to not see her for about three days that he knew he needed to see her. But likely Podlings and Gelflings were taking care of her. They usually did good treatments from punishments.

The Scientist did another check on Sil's arm, and it was looking good as it was continuing to heal. He wrapped it up again, then Sil went about his own business. He was back in action at working but had to limit how he carried things at the moment. His left arm had to carry it all, and his right hand could help hold scrolls or books in place. Just not a large amount of them. His two smaller arms helped too if needed as of yet.

When the Chamberlain got some free time that fourth day, he still hadn't seen the girl around the castle. For saving his life, that he was grateful for, and treating his arm, he grabbed a food piece from the kitchen that he knew she liked to eat. He headed to her quarters to see how she was.

In her room, the girl hadn't left her room except the bathroom for these four days. The Podlings had kept on trying to treat her wounds, which had changed to scabs now but were still tender. She had had her shirt on, so they weren't visible. She just laid on her side, staring at the wall or sleeping. She wanted nothing to do with anybody. At least none of the Skeksis had called for her services. Her body and emotions were still so in pain she couldn't even move hardly.

Soon, she felt a hand on her arm. "I said go away!" She jerked her hand out of the guest's grasp. But this time, it had felt different. She opened her eyes.

"Now how's that to talk to Chamberlain?" Sil questioned her. He had been quiet when he entered. He saw that she might have been asleep.

"My Lord. Sorry, I didn't know it was you." She replied in shock. "Just the Podlings and guards have been pestering me."

"Not see you around castle." Sil said gently.

"I've been too sore to move."

"From punishment?" Sil knew. She nodded in reply. "Will recover."

"Yeah, but it's taking its sweet time."

"All wounds take time to heal. Arm is still healing." Sil showed her his arm. The bandages were fresh on it.

"So, what brings you here?" she asked.

"Not seeing you since before punishment and heard about it. Come to see how friend is doing. And brought something for you." He declared.

"What?"

Sil held out his injured hand and opened it, revealing a favorite fruit of hers. Gelflings and Podlings liked them too. She was surprised he was being this 'nice' to her. He never had been before.

She looked up at his face. His eyes were soft but still had the usual look in them. Just how he naturally looked with a smile. "Hmmm." He whimpered. "You want?"

The girl hadn't eaten much either in the past few days, declaring her anger at everything. She just didn't want anything. But from the smell of the fruit, it made her stomach give a loud growl. She blushed a bit.

"Hungry, yes?"

"Yes. Thanks." She replied and took the fruit from him. She then managed to slowly push herself up. She had to eat sitting up. She gladly ate the fruit but truly hoped the Skeksis standing close to her wasn't going to trick her or hurt her with this food.

Sil then decided to sit down next to her, making her pull her legs away so he wouldn't sit on them. "Sorry if General was too rough with Human. But just Emperor wants Human to know that not to do mistake again unless truly has permission." Sil stated.

"I… understand…" she replied. But she couldn't help it that tears still started coming as she felt the pain from her wounds again. She finished her food, and she wiped them away.

"You can come with Chamberlain around castle. Show special place." Sil offered. "Hmmmm."

Up until now, his voice had been a little annoying, but as it was being focused on her, his whimper had changed a bit in tone. It was… kind of… cute.

"I… would like to… but I'm not ready yet. I need more time to heal. These wounds are really sore yet." She explained.

"Can Chamberlain see?"

"It might be better not to."

"You see my wounds. Chamberlain's turn now." Sil deepened his voice for a moment.

She knew she had to give in. She pulled her shirt up on her back but kept her front covered. Sil saw the wounds and could see why they were sore. It looked like they hadn't been treated at all.

"Have wounds been treated, Human?" He asked. "Not look like treated wounds after this long."

"I kind of ordered the servants to leave me alone. I wanted to be left alone. I didn't need their pity." She explained.

"Not about pity. Was to make sure wounds not get infected. Need treatment now." Sil scolded. "Podlings!" He raised his voice.

A few scuddled in the room. They stood looking at the Skeksis and human girl together on the bed. "Podlings, go get medicine for Human." Sil ordered roughly at them. They gave their reply and went off to get it.

When they came back, the female Podlings got on the bed with her. Sil stayed there watching to make sure she got the treatment. The girl winced and hissed in pain as the medicine and coverings were put on her back to help the wounds heal. Tears came down her face. The Podling women were trying to be gentle, but the pain couldn't be helped. But then maybe the wounds didn't hurt as much now due to it having been longer out to the air.

"Best not to refuse treatment with punishment wounds again." Sil stated.

"Let's just say I'm one… who toughens things out." She sobbed from the pain.

"Better to just not in future, Human." Sil recommended. "So, in few days, you come with Chamberlain to special spot."

"Is it here in the castle?" she asked.

"Yes, special spot." Sil smiled. "For now, must go then. Just come see how human doing." He then left her room.

The girl was amazed that the Chamberlain had come to see her at all when none of the others had. She was wondering where his special place was that he wanted to show her. Despite how he had treated her in the past, he was paying more attention to her in a gentler way.

The girl was being punished and Skeksis can be rather violent in their punishments, especially of their servants.