Chapter 2

A book in her hand, Seloria sat by her sister’s bedside after Phiol had driven her away from work. He knew her concentration had been lacking recently. The Aitelorn estate’s infirmary was huge – an estimation of more than twenty beds lined each side of the area with at least five private rooms in addition. Being amongst the few headquarters on the side of light with dark times lying ahead, such facilities were an essential part of the estate and there were five infirmaries within the grouds, each as big as the very one Seloria and her unconscious sister now resided in.

The female placed her book lithely onto the bed stand. Her mind in its present state, she could not get any further reading done. Rising to a stand and leaning over the bed, Seloria gently brushed several stray strands of Kairi’s long hair from her face. The girl had been in deep sleep for more than a week now. Of course, Yula had believed the rest best for the cocoa-haired teen – though she needed to wake soon so ‘potions could be shoved down her throat’, the healer’s exact words.

From what Seloria had managed to gather after filtering much of Yula’s medical jargon, was that Kairi had fashioned a shield of sorts around her being from the moment she regained consciousness after the initial kidnapping. It appeared that the girl did not let it down until she had been found. That alone should’ve drained her magic reserves dry, and yet, the day they had found her, Kairi was still capable of spell casting. It was to Seloria’s knowledge though of how Kairi had no experience with fighting solo; and yet she had held her own against those thugs until she joined in. The scythe wielder recollected, her younger sister had instinctively matched her battle style – something she had excelled at since she was old enough to learn how to fight…

Seloria frowned. There was something about her younger sister that was different from before and she was not sure if Kairi herself knew what it was. The thought forged a sense of wonder within her but she decided now was hardly the time for an expression of her doubts. Just as she moved to open the windows nearest to Kairi’s bed for some fresh air, the younger began to stir. I should’ve known, Seloria thought in amusement. She had not performed this latest action as nimbly as she had with her earlier placing down the book.

Abandoning the windows, she returned to the girl’s side – who had shot up to a stiff sitting position on the bed as if awoken from a fierce nightmare. “Hey there,” soothed Seloria with a small smile. “How’re you feeling?”

Seloria knew Kairi had woken with a spell on her lips, but decided to restraint any comments about it. The younger girl had a wild, almost frantic look in her orange-coloured eyes, but they vanished the instant her eyes found Seloria. “Kairi?”

“Se…Seloria?” Kairi asked uncertainly, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth as her fingers fiddled with the sheets. Apprehensively, she reached out to touch the length of her sister’s hair. The older did not make to stop her. Yula had mentioned this such possible reaction of Kairi’s as a way of confirming the reality of her situation – the sense of touch was a way of convincing herself that she was indeed safe, that Seloria was in fact real and right there before her, that the proceedings of last week were not a mere dream…

Ending a long-pause-of-a moment, Kairi let out a strangled cry and threw herself at her older sister, sobbing silently. Seloria in turn held the younger in a tight but gentle sisterly embrace, whispering words of comfort. Kairi was the type to let all her frustrations, insecurities, anger and whatnots build up to the point where she could contain them no longer and just…burst. She knew Kairi’s limits had been tested by the horrible kidnapping.

And in a world where war was on the brink of erupting, Seloria was not sure if she could deal with losing Kairi a second time.

~*~

Apparently, Yula had not been joking when she said she was going to shove potions down Kairi’s throat. Potions of all sorts littered the tray the Aitelorn matriarch held in her grasp, and more were inbound, held by Stein. Seloria watched with a bemused eye as Kairi, who had long recovered from her breakdown, blanched at the sight of all the potion vials.

“Hello Kairi. I’m Yula, and you are in my abode,” the woman announced in a tone of mock malign, then setting the tray of potions down on a nearby table. “And since you are here, I fully expect you to obey my every order.” Kairi, responding automatically in surprise, nodded cautiously.

“Don’t worry, she does this all the time,” Seloria whispered audibly to her sister, mock-saluting the healer when a glare was directed her way. Stein rolled his eyes in exasperation, wondering why Seloria had to act the way she always did as he placed his own tray of potions down next Yula’s on the table. Nodding briskly to his mother, the male strode out of the room as if about to meet his maker. His composure caused Seloria to raise an eyebrow; she supposed the Master was still punishing his two younger sons.

As the door to the infirmary shut unhurriedly behind the purple haired youth, Kairi eyed the trays. “I don’t have to take all of that, do I?” she asked meekly. Yula’s grin-of-a-reply was nefarious.

“Ah, but you do,” the healer proffered – the sisters suspected she was holding back a cackle. “You, little missy, are undernourished. Not to mention bearing more than a few fractured bones, some dangerously low magic levels, and pure physical exhaustion. If you don’t take all of these potions, dream not of taking a step out of this bed for a month.”

Those words succeeded in making Kairi whine. “No, I don’t wanna stay bed-ridden! I wanna go train!” she wailed, dragging out the ‘no’ and ‘train’. Yula and Seloria exchanged amused looks – that was the exact reaction Seloria had five years ago when Yula told her the same thing.

“If you want to get off that bed and train, listen to Mistress Aitelorn,” Seloria informed, ruffling her sister’s hair. Kairi whined again in response and immediately began pushing the elder’s hand away, though Seloria noted the question visible in Kairi’s eyes. Yula smiled at the affectionate interaction, oddly reminded of that between her sons, Phiol and Stein.

“Alright Kairi, I expect you to drink these potions,” here, Yula placed four different coloured vials in front of her, “at every three hour interval. Finish them all and you’re free to run about out of the infirmary.”

Kairi had the beginnings of a grin tugging at the corners of her semi-cracked lips, that is, before it morphed into a pout when Yula continued. “But, I have to discourage you from heavy training and-or sparring for a week.” At that, the young Thyride groaned, flopping back down on the bed with a soft ‘thud’. Seloria shook her head at the younger, unsure if she was amused or bemused by her behaviour.