Chapter Eighteen

I had spent days in the infirmary.

My last memory was of the two men carrying me back to the village and Simon meeting me for a few moments while I was in the hospital building. I didn't even get a chance to talk to him but I slipped the leather pouch into his pocket before the doctors forced him to leave.

I woke in the infirmary after being unconscious for days. My back had healed and my legs were getting close to being able to remove the bandages. The chief had put me under a twenty-four-hour watch after I had attempted to escape the infirmary every day. Unfortunately, they caught me every time and threatened to tie my wrists to the bed if I didn't stop. But that never stopped me in the past; I waited until the doctor had his back turned while he was finishing his paperwork. Sitting up I slowly moved the blanket off and swung my legs over the side. Pushing myself off the bed I tightened my white medical gown behind my back to cover up my butt.

"And where do you think you're going?" The doctor said.

"Um; I was just retying my gown and stretching out my legs," I said.

"Now, why am I not believing a single word in that sentence?" He spoke.

"I don't know but it sounds like you might have some trust issues," I said while sitting back down on the bed.

"While you are up, I would like to take one last look at your stitches," He said while walking over to me.

My leg was wrapped in a special bandage made from dried animal hide woven with fresh herbs. He unraveled the bandage on my leg and examined the stitches. I was told that they had to flush out the wound and restitch each open wound individually before wrapping it in the bandage. For some of the gashes on my arm, they had to take out some foreign objects before stitching. He took a close look at each stitch before rewrapping it with a fresh bandage and moving over to my arm as I threw the blanket over my legs.

"I was wondering about the plant you used to slow the bleeding," He said.

"It's a shrub/small tree called Witch-hazel and you can find it surrounding some of the buildings outside," I said.

He looked at me with a blank face as I continued speaking "The shrub with the stringy yellow flowers, only use the bark and leaves on open wounds."

He nodded his head as a nurse walked in the door holding a bouquet of pink lilies and purple orchids with white details. A little white card with black writing was tangled within a bow tied with a thick blue ribbon. She gently placed the flowers in a vase on the nightstand before leaving without saying a word or even looking in my direction. The doctor had gone back to his paperwork for about five minutes until the nurse came back in with a small pile of clothes.

"Well, Kristy it has been fun but you are now clear to leave but keep in mind that your wounds are still fresh, so no overdoing it. Which means no running, jogging, hunting, hiking, just take it easy for a few weeks," He said while handing my discharge papers to me.

"Miss, your clothes were... Well, destroyed to put it lightly; The tailor-made these for you since you didn't have any other clothes with you, she asked me to tell you that if you don't like them then you can trade them for something more your style," The nurse said.

"I didn't have time to pack clothes while I was running for my life," I said in my head "Thank you, this was very kind," I said while gently taking the clothes from her.

The doctor and the nurse left the room shutting the door behind them, I threw the blanket onto the floor and quickly jumped out of the bed. Ripping off my hospital robes, I threw on the clothes that I was given. There was a pair of shorts that rested just above the mid-thigh, a long black flowy shirt with a cut down the right side and a thin leather belt around the waist, a small top that covered my chest with a high neckline that tightened to the skin just under the breasts with a thick leather band. I have never worn something that showed so much skin before or that that didn't have a corset. The king always said that women who show their bodies in any way didn't desire ahead. But I am very much liking the freedom and the ability to breathe when touching my toes. I waited a moment to take a closer look at the shoes that they have provided. They looked like sandals with a small heel and three straps to secure them to the feet. I sat down while putting them on and tying them tightly around my ankles. Fully dressed I walked over to the door with my discharge papers in my hand. I practically ran out of the building and went straight to Simon's hut. Sparing no time walking up to his door and knocking loudly, he took his sweet time getting to the door and peeked out at me before opening it all the way.

"Kristy, come, come in," He said.

"We need to talk about the thing," I said, walking in.

"Yes, I saw that thing you snuck into my pocket and I know exactly what it is," He said.

"Great, why are you pausing? What is it? and why was it being protected by the most terrifying, blood-thirsty beast the world has ever seen?" I asked.

"Wow slow down, let me start at the beginning. The metal inside of this pouch is a rare and very powerful substance known only to the highest members of the Emerald kingdom that was until the kingdom fell. You see, alone the metal is weak and brittle but when melted down and mixed with a gemstone such as an emerald it becomes one of the strongest materials known to man. The Emerald kingdom would mix the metal with the natural growing emeralds from the caves in the mountains near the kingdom and use it in their shields and blades... The best part about the metal is that it keeps the color of the gemstone but makes it sparkle like it is a metal. Only I haven't seen the metal in its original form for since the kingdom fell," He said.

"So, the metal is formed naturally in the mountains with the gemstones?" I asked.

"Yes and no, the metal is naturally formed in a different section of the mountain, in under caves at the bottom. Now about the beast... I know of the beast; it is an ancient species that had long been believed to coexist with the metal but was believed to have gone extinct. My grandparents told me when I was a boy that the beasts were the protectors of an unstoppable weapon and that people from all around the world would come to face the beast and claim the weapon for themselves. Only no one would ever return from these encounters. It was said to have the body of the largest beer, the teeth of the deadliest shark, and the face and tail of the most intelligent wolf. Killing one of the beasts was said to be one of the greatest accomplishments known to man at the time," He said.

"What did they call the beast?" I asked.

"There are many names for the beast devil, demon, the shadow killer, protector. But my family had always called it the ghost because it is only seen once and those who see it usually never survive long enough to tell the tale," He said.

"I'm sorry but when I fought with the beast... your wife's swords, I... I lost one and the other is damaged beyond repair," I said, looking down at my toes.

I didn't even realize that we had sat down or that I had a cup of tea sitting on the table in front of me. I reached out with both hands, wrapping my fingers around the cup made from clay and covered in a clear gloss. The heat from the cup warmed my fingers as he reached out his hand placing it over mine.

"Child, I know all about the swords and it is more than alright that they are gone... Their last job was saving your life and they did that without fail, however, you are going to need some new blades and sheath. I think I know the perfect metal to forge them out of, now tell me what happened on your mission," He said.

"We tracked little Keven and his father down; found them both. Keven was sitting in a cave with his father who had a heaping gap missing from his side. His body was already cold when we got there. I knew what caused the injuries and we chose to leave the cave and find a place to hold up for the night. After that everything is fuzzy... I can't remember much after Jupiter and I separated," I said.

"Well, I am sorry that all of that happened but everything has a purpose, and look where it got you and where it will take you," He said.

"For some reason, I don't feel like the same person that I was when I left that day... I need to speak with the chief," I said.

I stood up and walked over to the door, Simon had stood up like he wanted to stop me but just watched me as I left. Before closing the door, I turned around and looked over at him.

"Just between you and me, where is that thing now?" I asked.

"Hidden somewhere safe until it's needed," He said.

I closed the door and slowly climbed over to the chief's office. My leg was still sore, I refused to let that slow me down right now. I nearly died and the chief owns me answers to my questions. Answers that she promised to tell me and I am not leaving here without them especially now that everything is changing again.