CHAPTER 5: Sick Day

I didn't realize how much time had passed like this, sitting on the side of the dirty road. I was lost in my thoughts, flopped on my rear end in the dirt, until I heard the clip-clop of a horse, and the smooth noise of the wheels of a cart coming down the way. The sound surprises me, and I'm ready to jump into the woods to hide – but whoever it is, they've already seen me. I wrap my tattered clothing around me as well as I can, and face the coming horse drawn wagon with my face set in hard lines.

"Ho there!" cries an old man, as he comes within speaking distance. "You okay there, traveler?"

The hard lines in my face disappear as I recognize Mr. Bluegrass, the innkeeper. I can't help myself, and I start blubbering.

"Oh, Mister Bluegrass, I'm so sorry!" I say through sobs. "When I saw the shooting star, I just wanted to see it – I never knew I'd get so turned around! And I thought I'd be able to find my way back, but I didn't know which way was north! And then I knew which way was north, and I knew the woods were west, but I- "

"Woah, Woah, Woah! Slow down there!" He interrupts. His horse obeys, and the cart comes to a halt. "Now Just start from the beginning." That's when I realize that he was talking to me, and not the horse. "Are you alright, young lady? I see blood. Are you hurt?" The blood might be mine, or a goblin's or a wolf's. Or all three. But I don't say that. I just look down dumb and mute – Mr. Bluegrass sees the wound on my arm, though. "You climb on up here and let me see that." I reach him the arm, but he pulls it up towards him with more strength than I thought the gray-haired man would have. Then he turns the cart a little bit before looking over at me again. "Now reach it here." He clucks his tongue as he looks it over – but it's already much better than it was before, and I suddenly realize that the dull pain has disappeared almost completely. "Well, looks like it could have been worse." He looks me in the eyes with a note of warning. "It could have been much worse, as a matter of fact – though you look a little worse for the wear. Here." As he hands me a waterskin, I realize we're headed the opposite direction from where we started.

I try to hide my nervousness when I ask, "Have we turned around? Where are you taking m – err… Where are you headed?"

"Why, back to town!" he says. "You're one of the sisters there at the temple to Lathander, aren't you?"

"Well yes. Mister Bluegrass, I've seen you at the Temple before. My name is Bree Runesinger."

"Oh?" He asks brightly, "Well I don't mean to be rude. Lots of faces round there. It's lovely to have you, Ms. Runesinger. But just how did you come to be on the side of the road? I was surprised to see you there. Those torn clothes, dear – I was worried mightily when I saw you. Figured I'd find much worse than a dog bite. Course, we haven't really had bandit 'round here for twenty years or so."

Why would bandits want to ruin my clothes? "Well you see, Mister Bluegrass, sir, I did run into trouble. The dog – or whatever it was – and well… It's a long story." He's nodding wisely, but silent. After a moment I continue on. "Did you come out here to find me?"

"Well, no, I did not, as a matter of fact. I was just on my way a day's ride to Tubb's Vineyard – that's where I pick up my wines and ales, you see. I didn't realize that there was anybody out here."

"But, then…" I stammer, unsure what to think. "The sisters of the convent… they weren't worried? They didn't send out a search party?"

"Oh gosh no!", chuckles the old man. "I'm sure they may be worried, I mean. It's true that there are jackals a little further into the woods, and goblins further than that, but not anywhere near the road." I'm sure if you'd been gone for a few days or weeks, they'd have sent me back up to Tubb's Vineyard to fetch old Dorn. He'd have down and caught up with you, gotten you back to town."

I shivered a little. "You mean 'The Jackal?" I ask incredulously, using the name the locals used for the tracker. I still wasn't sure why due east didn't get me back to town, but I'm glad I found the road. If I'd had to wait days or weeks just for Dorn, the tracker from Tubb's Vineyard, to find me, I'm not sure how much there would be left for him to find. And I'm not sure being found by him at that point would be better. Dorn was a bounty hunter of some sort, and he kept the company of a giant brown mastiff named 'Oak'. Oak would listen to no one but Dorn, and Dorn didn't seem to care for anyone but Oak.

"Well, people may call him that, you know. He's not amongst the most friendly of the king's men, but he is an officer of the law. One that knows how to catch up to folk, that's for sure." I'm silent in my thoughts, so after a moment Mister Bluegrass speaks up to make conversation.

"I can tell what you're thinking, young lady, but I'm sure that you'll be in no trouble at all for being out and about. Why, at your age, Priestess Tyrna herself used to sneak out once every month or so. Now mind me, Mrs. Bluegrass and myself have been married since we were just exactly old enough to be. But If that Tyrna starts a speech about you running off to meet some boy, you just ask her who SHE used to meet by moonlight! Well, of course, that was before she settled down at about your age. Maybe you're just a late bloomer. Why, a cousin of Mrs. Bluegrass- "

Maybe his rambling didn't help, but I was so tired a fell asleep on that bumpy, empty wine cart on the way back into town. "Now you go on, dear", came Mister Bluegrass' voice, low and soothing. "And you keep that blanket. Cover on up until you can find a change of clothes." I blinked my eyes open slowly. Town! I could hear chickens nearby and looked around me to get my bearings. Mr. Bluegrass had parked behind the dormitory house of the sister's – my home. I was finally home.

"Oh, thank you muster Bluegrass!" I said. "I don't know what I would have done without you."

"No thanks necessary," he said. "Now you go on, get someone to look at that arms, and get some food and rest." Without saying anything else, he started turning the cart around to head away. Only when I started waving did I realize what he'd said about the blanket – he must have covered me up while I was sleeping, because it was wrapped around my shoulders. He returned my wave and made his way off. I crept through, the blanket trailing through to the floor. I was headed to my room to change these clothes and clean up – when a matron of the house happened to step out into a hall in front of me, not ten feet away. "Why Bree Runesinger, what in the WORLD has gotten into you. It's one thing to miss your morning prayers, but after sleeping all day, to wander about covered in the blanket?! You go right this instant to- " She suddenly paused, stepping within just a few feet of me. "Why Bree, you look terrible!"

"I feel terrible", I said. I was hungry, but I wanted to clean up and treat my arm before anything. "I know I have chores, but please, Matron, I desperately need to clean up and see the nurse." The Matron took a few steps back, speaking in a placating voice.

"Now, Bree, if you're sick, I can't have any of that around me." I wasn't quite sure what she was saying. She went on in a tone closer to her normal nagging, "When you're ill, you know that you are to make certain that you tell me first! I have far too many duties to be run down with some sort of plague!" by this time, she was swiftly walking in the opposite direction from when she'd seen me. She was speaking in a higher tone, and more loudly as she very nearly jogged to get away from my assumed illness. "Now you're going to have to catch up on chores at some point when you're feeling better, but for heaven's sake, get better first! Go to the nurse if you must, but don't let anyone else see you until you're well!" Without further incident, I made it to my room – one that I shared with several others. No one was around, and I stowed Mr. Bluegrass' blanket in my inventory to take a look down at my clothes. There might be more work to mending them than to replacing them, and as the matron hadn't seen them, I was in no mood for anyone to. I peeled them off and put them with the refuse to be burned. Looking at the cloth, I was reminded of the night before. It was horrifying, true, but exciting somehow, as well. I had a bittersweet feeling when I thought about it, and I didn't need any reminders of my confusing feelings. It was noon by the time I'd cleaned up enough to be presentable. I cleanly bandaged my arm – which, thanks to the healing potion, was only as bad as a serious scrape! I have my arm hidden it in the long sleeve of a fresh shirt, and I'm just closing my eyes when someone knocks and enters at the same time, bringing food.

"Matron's orders", a voice said. It was a young servant of the temple, like me. "I'm to tell you not to come down for dinner, either. I'm to bring it up for you." Dressed in the common clothes of an Acolyte, she is setting a steaming bowl of soup on a small table nearby. The young girl's eyebrow raises as she looks my way, perhaps smelling the fragrance of my bath. I might have gone a bit far in cleaning up – I'm sure I seem pampered in clean robes and smelling of potpourri. The acolyte speaks up. "The Matron says you're really sick?" Her voice is skeptical, but from the small table only a few feet away, she looks into my tired, bloodshot eyes, and shrugs. Feel better" she says, and leaves. And that's it. After everything that happened last night, no one has screamed, or cried, or even really asked me questions! I can't help but feel like everything has been a dream, laying back in bed and rifting off to sleep.

I slowly open my eyes to the sound of the door closing, and it's just after six. Another bowl of soup is there, more broth than beef. It's fine. It tastes fine. It's just so… normal. I didn't exactly enjoy fighting a jackal to death in the woods without enough sleep or food. Finally, being here and getting to bathe after being scared and alone in the wilderness was the greatest that I've felt in a long time. So why am I staring at this bowl of soup and feeling like something is missing?

I've spent my entire life with 'normal', and it never bothered me until now. But now, for some reason, it does.