Daughters of Mara - Book 1: Revelations

Chapter 12

The first thing Saph became aware of was a weight pressing her down. She struggled against it for a moment, so weak, but quickly gave up. Her whole body was shaking and shivering. This was even worse than getting the chi sickness for the first time. Only once in her life had she felt so awful—when she was ten years old and came down with a terrible flu. It had kept her bedridden for a whole week.

"Shh, you're fine," a soothing voice said above her.

"N-Nani...?" But when Saph finally cracked her eyes open, the face of an unfamiliar woman filled her vision: Warm, brown eyes. Gray hair. A blue arrow.

"Here, drink this."

A hand slid beneath her head and lifted it up, then another put a ceramic cup to her lips. She didn't want to drink whatever was in it. Who was this strange person? Where was Koko??

As if that thought had summoned her, Koko appeared behind the woman's shoulder. "Drink it, Saph. It'll help."

With that reassurance, she gave in and let the thick, warm liquid flow into her mouth. It was revolting—somehow both bitter and sickeningly sweet—and she had to choke it down.

"What– What's...wrong with me?"

"We're not sure," the woman said. "But you're going to be okay, don't worry. You've already improved a lot."

Saph finally had the presence of mind to look around. The weight she felt was several layers of woolen blankets. Underneath her was a lumpy mattress, which was on a bed frame that sat in the corner of a small room. The walls were simple, crude wooden logs.

That was all she saw because whatever was in that drink made her eyelids droop, and she slipped away into sleep once again.

~~~~~

"...will work. Seems too risky to even test it."

"Yes, I agree. But we may not have a choice."

The soft voices pulled Saph out of sleep and she opened her eyes to find Koko and that older woman sitting at a small table on the other side of the room. She felt better than before—though drenched in sweat—and was able to push herself up to a sitting position.

"Welcome back," the woman said with a smile, looking over at her. "How are you feeling?"

Though Saph already knew what was going to happen, she tried to bend anyway. Unsuccessfully. "It's– It's just temporary, right?" she asked instead of answering. This felt...different than the other times. "My bending being gone?"

"Yes, don't worry. It'll come back when you leave."

Saph took another look at her. She appeared to be in her fifties, with straight gray hair that fell to her shoulders and sinuous blue lines on her arms. An air nomad master.

"This is the person who's been studying the chi sickness," Koko said. "Her name is Jinora."

Saph recognized the name from Gran's stories—a talented bender and spiritual master. Another hero come to life. But this woman wasn't intimidating at all; she had such a kind face.

"Are you feeling up to taking a walk with me?" Jinora asked as she got to her feet.

It had become such a habit for Saph to defer to Koko that she automatically looked to her for permission, and received a short nod in response to her unspoken question.

Jinora smirked and glanced at Koko. "You've trained her well."

Saph was sure that—for just a fraction of a second—the corner of Koko's mouth twitched in amusement. Or was it just her imagination? "Let's see if I can get out of bed, first..." She still felt quite weak, but a quick test with her feet on the floor proved her legs to be steady. More or less.