ETERNAL BLOOM
Written by Katie Garbutt

Redistribution of this story is just wrong. Don't do it; the author will be very upset. And she will cry.


Chapter 2- (Amaranthe POV)-Awakening:


I was beginning to feel the edge of loathing. It was a bitter, poisonous blade. And every hour, I sharpened it.
I sharpened it every single hour, thinking it had to ebb away into nothing some day. It really was too bad that loathing couldn't be personified. Loathing and I could become good friends.
Two days had passed, yet there had been little change in the patient's condition. I'd splinted his leg, put his shoulder in a sling, washed his upper body, and even fed him his broth. I had been tricked into it, I admit. Cosmas had hinted that he would give me an ingredient to the gender-change potion, and like a fool, I fell for his lies. I was stuck with the chore of caring for the man, and as the hours passed, I found myself wondering if it would be such a horrible act against Nature if I hurried his healing pace . . . or killed him. Either way.
Even now, as I stared down at him, I thought about these blasphemous acts. Would it really be so hard to up the dosages of potion, or smother him with a pillow?
Yes.
I sighed, and then placed the cloth in the almond oil. Each time I thought about going against Nature and possibly crippling the man for life, I punished myself by rubbing his skin with almond oil. The natural properties softened and soothed the skin, and also happened to give off a pleasant odor, so it made my conscious yield a little. The man didn't necessarily need the benefits from the oil, but what mattered to me is that it was a very easy way in which to punish myself.
As I gently rubbed the oil into the skin of his arm, I stared at the corner, where his jewel-encrusted sword no longer stood. I furrowed my brow. I'd hidden it away somewhere for good measure yesterday-to bribe him to leave, if worse came to worse-and now I couldn't remember for the life of me where I hid it. I sighed again. I usually wasn't so absent-minded, was I?
Well, maybe my mind was playing tricks on me. I had tried to dig past the barrier the other day. As it turned out, at ten feet, if I touched the barrier, I'd become highly sensitive to light and sound, and be plagued with the most excruciating of headaches. The magic in the barrier might have jumbled my memories slightly.
The flesh under my fingers twitched. I turned.
He had awoken.
His awakening hadn't been what I'd expected exactly, but it proved my suspicions that he was a hotheaded male. As soon the dullness of his blue eyes-they were quite striking-wore off, he let out a string of curse words so strong and fluent that my ears almost literally burned. I arched my eyebrows as some I hadn't even known about, and with a slight grimace, covered his mouth with my hand-a not so bright idea. He bit my fingers.

My eyes narrowed at the sharp pain, but I remained mute save for a soft, strange-sounding cry that had been uttered as a reflex. After a moment, his sharp teeth un-clamped and released my now bleeding fingers, which I instantly dipped in his fresh water bucket. I'd change it out later, if he was nice to me. My fingers throbbed grimly, making me grimace slightly; I would need a poultice.
"Where am I?" he demanded. "Who are you? And why am I here? And why the bloody hell do I feel like I've been beaten by ogres?"
I gazed down at him with contempt. I wouldn't be changing his water for a while yet. "You're in my father's work room. I'm his daughter, who has ever so kindly been taking care of you for the past two days. You should also realize by now that your ribs are broken and fractured, your shoulder is sprained, and your leg is broken. I have no idea whatsoever happened to you. Anything else you might want to know?"
His nostrils flared. "Where . . . is . . . my . . . sword?" he hissed.
Just then, Cosmas opened the door behind me, carrying newly acquired bandages, oils, herbs, seeds and the like. "Oh? He's awake at last?" he asked, unaware of what he'd just burst in on. In fact, he seemed pleased to see his guest awake.
"Old man! Do you know where this God-awful girl put my sword?"
He looked between us, looking positively gleeful. "Is this bad timing?"
"Yes!" I looked at the man dead on, not sure whether or not of his reaction to my response was jubilance or fear. I turned back to the cheese that rat had brought me. "I don't know where your sword is. It's somewhere within a five mile radius, though."