Knowledge is Deadly: Book 1: The Azuran Series

Chapter 10

     "Yes, its fine Aspen." Katelyn said, rolling her eyes. She was sitting on her bed and Aspen was standing at the edge of it, holding a pack of ice. Her pants leg was rolled up, revealing her injury.
     He leaned down and set the freezing cold ice pack on her ankle.
     She gasped. "That's freezing!"
     "It's ice. What did you expect?"
     "I don't know. Oh, it burns!" She said, wincing.
     He let it rest on her ankle. "Yeah, last time this was easier. You were asleep." He said looking up at her.
     "You did that?" She asked, looking up at him. 
     "Of course I did."
     Katelyn blushed as she remembered that Jackson had said that to her earlier. She shook it off and raised an eyebrow at him skeptically.
     "What?" He asked.
     "You went in my room at night while I was asleep." She said.
     "You were limping on it." He said simply.
     "So?"
     "So, I wanted to help."
     "There is such a thing as being too helpful."
     "Not to me." He said with a smile.
      Katelyn rolled her eyes. "That's sweet, but you know I don't like being dependent on someone else's help."
     "Yeah but if I don't help I will feel guilty and end up sulking." He said.
     "Well when someone helps me I feel helpless and then I sulk." She countered.
     "Looks like you will be sulking then." He said with a smile.
     "Sulking isn't fun. In fact, I'm already feeling down." She pouted. 
     He crossed his arms. "You poor thing." He said.
     She sighed and looked down at her ankle. "How long do I have to sit like this?"
     "Until it feels better. If Kilin expects you to walk it need to heal." He said.
     Katelyn laughed. "Sorry Aspen, but a wound like this will take a few weeks to heal completely. And I will not sit around with ice on my foot for more than one hour."
     "I don't expect you to. You wouldn't listen to me anyways." He grumbled.
     "I probably wouldn't." She agreed. "How long do you expect me to sit here?"
     "I expect at least two hours. Your only going to sit for half that however." He said.
     "One hour exactly it is." She said with a smirk.
     He huffed "I swear, if I told you to kick a ball you'd pick it up." He said rolling his eyes.
     "And then I'd throw it at you." She said with a nod.
     He glared at her. "And i'd dodge it." He said with a smirk.
     "And then I'd run for it while your back is turned."
     "And knowing you you would fall into a pit or something." He said.
     "And knowing you, you would jump in right after me." She said.
     "And I would have to help you out because you undoubtedly hurt yourself."
     Katelyn rolled her eyes. "I'd probably reject your help... by the way how is your arrow wound?" She asked, eyeing his arm. 
     He eyed his shoulder. "It's doing better." He said. "Still a little sore."
"A little sore? An arrow flew deep into your arm, and I pulled it out. I only bandaged it once. It has to be more than a little sore."
"Yeah.. it's more than a little sore." He admitted.
"Let me see. I need to redo the wrappings." She said, patting the edge of the bed beside her. He huffed and sat down beside her.
     Katelyn pulled the neckline of his shirt down so she could see the bandages. They were dirty and the center was covered in dried blood that had seeped through them. "Aspen.." she said shaking her head.
     "what?" He whined.
     "You should have told me it was this bad. I never noticed it bled this much."
     "I didn't want to bother you." He said.
     She sighed. "I'm going to fix it." She started to stand up to get her backpack.
     "Fine." He said and watched her before looking out the window.
     She tossed the ice aside and stood up, limping over to her bookbag on the floor. Her ankle was tight and felt numb. She picked up her bag and returned to the bed with a grunt. She sat in her original position and fished out bandages.
     He looked back at her and then pulled off his shirt and set it aside, clenching his teeth as he moved his shoulder in an odd way.
     Katelyn used scissors to cut off the wrap and set the old ones on the floor. The wound was a sickly pale color and pink around the edges. "It's infected." She said simply as she used a cloth to clean it.
     "Really?" He said and grunted.
     "Yes. I'm sorry, I should have remembered.." she set the cloth down and pressed around the wound. He clenched his teeth, not looking at it.
     She bandaged his shoulder tightly and put her things away in her bag. "Have you been feeling ill?" She asked nervously.
     "Well I feel-" the sound of the door creaking open cut him off. Jackson looked at them both with confused wide eyes.
     "I had to change his bandages." Katelyn explained quickly. "What were you saying Aspen?"
     "I have been." He said simply.
     Jackson slowly walked into the room, closing the door behind him.
     Katelyn looked at him. "Tell me you have an experienced town doctor."
     "Ah yes." Jackson said looking at Aspen's shoulder. "Why?"
     "His wound is infected, but not from lack of cleanliness or anything. I think it's some type of weak poison." She turned to Aspen. "If I hadn't taken the arrow out as soon as I did you'd probably be experiencing worse symptoms."
     "Great." Aspen said with a sigh.
     'Guess I can't do my job..'
     "With the right medicine and care, it shouldn't take too long to recover." Katelyn reassured, responding to his thoughts.
     "I guess so."
     The door creaked open.
     "Did I hear that Aspen got infected?" Blake asked his face appearing through the crack.
     "Eavesdropping, are we?" Katelyn asked, looking at him.
     "I was just passing your door." He said quietly. He took a step into the room and looked at Aspen.
     "Don't you say anything." Aspen threatened.
     "Fine... fine..." Blake said with a smirk.
     Katelyn blushed. "Why don't you take Aspen to find the doctor?" She suggested.
     Blake glanced from her to Jackson and then agreed to take him. Aspen stood up and put his shirt back on.
      "Don't let him sew up the wound. It's not that serious, but ask for some antibiotics and detoxinators to help it heal without further infection and eliminate the poison that may have leaked into your bloodstream." She said to Aspen.
     Aspen nodded but looked confused.
     Blake looked at Aspen and then to Katelyn. "Right.. you know we only speak English right?" He asked raising his eyebrows.
     "That is intelligent English. You wouldn't understand." She teased.
     "No that's called 'I'm in medical school.'" He said and started to leave with Aspen, who turned to her before leaving. "Keep that ice on your foot, Katelyn." He said and closed the door.
     She sighed and mumbled something but stretched her legs out straight and put the ice on her ankle obediently.
     Jackson watched the door for a moment before going to sit beside her on the bed. "How long are you stuck here for?" He asked.
     She looked at him. "An entire hour. Why?"
     "Just asking." He said plainly.
     "Aspen wanted to make me sit here for two, but we... compromised." She said with a smirk.
      He looked over at her. "Compromised as in your stubborn?"
     "Correct." She said with a nod.
     "I thought so."
    "That's me. But if you think I'm stubborn.. do you know Kilin?" 
     He just laughed.
     'Speaking of Kilin...' She thought. "So, do you know how to fight?" She asked.
     "Ah yes." He said, confused by the question.
     "What do you fight with?" She inquired.
     "I prefer to use a short sword." He calmly stated.
     "Oh, ok.. you've never used a dagger or anything?"
     He raised an eyebrow. "No.. they are to short for me. I'm not fast enough."
     Katelyn pursed her lips. That didn't make sense. "Oh. You've never owned one either?" He paused and thought.
     "Not that I remember. Why all the weird questions?" He asked.
     "My dad wanted me to learn to fight... and I'm just curious of what most people use for weapons." She said steadily.
     "Oh. Only a few people I know actually can use daggers well." He said.
    "Swords are the dominant weapon then?"
    He nodded. "Yes they are." He took in a sharp breath.
     'Kile.' He thought.
     "Wait Katelyn, I think I did have daggers once." He said thinking back.
     "Oh?"
     "Yeah..." he said quietly.
     '..wonder if he still has them.'
     "Do you still have them?" She asked, careful not to aknowledge his thoughts.
     "No." He said simply.
     "What did you do with them?" She asked, shifting her body to face him.
     "I didn't get them for me. They were for a freind." He said calmly.
     "Oh. Ok." She said, thinking.
     'Could Kile be the friend?' She thought.
     'He probably lost them in a river or something.' Jackson thought and shook his head.
     "I doubt it... That is, any gift from you I'd be sure to take care of, if it was me." She said quickly.
     He laughed. "He lost his last pair." He said. "Had to make a new one for him. Blacksmith thought I was crazy when I said I wanted some." He said with a smile.
     She smiled back. "That was a nice thing to do."
     "Yeah well he-" he cut himself off. "He is a good friend."
     "It went well with me and Kilin by the way. In case you were wondering." She said, looking down.
     "Oh really?" He said. "That's good."
     "Yeah... When you told me about the daggers, you thought of Kile.. who is that?" She asked, looking up at him. 
     He hesitated. "That's who I gave them to." He said.
     Katelyn pressed her lips together and nodded.
     'It is the same Kile..' She thought, but said nothing more.
     'Does she know?' He thought and looked away from her.
     She swallowed and bit her lip but kept her mouth closed. "Now, what do we do for an hour?" She asked to get off topic.
     He was looking out the window.
     'Carl.' He thought and his breathing quickened.
     Katelyn leaned her head forward to look over his shoulder. "Who's Carl?"
     He stood up quickly. "I have to go." He said quickly.
     She moved the ice pack and stood up too. "I'll go with you." She offered.
     "No!" He snapped. "No.." he said softer now.
     She was taken aback. "Why? You seem nervous. Maybe I can help."
     "You can't help. It's fine Katelyn, just stay here. Put that ice back on you leg." He said starting towards the door.
     "But- at least tell me where you're going!"
     "I'll be fine. I will be back later." He said opening the door.
     She sat on the edge of the bed, dejected.  
     "I'm going to follow him. No, that's stupid. But I want to know...' She smiled realizing she did was Blake does, and made her decision. She'd ice her foot later.
     She limped out of the room after him, but couldn't find him. She went into town, looking around. She was walking down one of the main roads when she saw him walking towards the old fort.
     She frowned. 'Why would he go there?' She wondered. Yet, she followed him towards it, staying close to the walls of buildings.
     He came to a side door, opened it, and walked into the old building.
     Katelyn jogged to that door and looked around before entering after him. Her curiosity was taking over now. Why couldn't he tell her where she was going?
     He walked down one hallway before turning down another one.
     She carefully followed him. She somewhat regretted it because the narrow hallways were like a confusing labyrinth. If she got lost, she wouldn't be able to find her way out.
     Soon she head another pair of footsteps from down the hall. Jackson froze.
     'She followed me..' he thought.
     Katelyn froze and looked around. There was nowhere for her to hide from him unless she slipped into one of the many rooms, but that was too risky. Anything could be in them.
     Jackson turned to her, panic in his eyes. He walked down the hall towards her.
     She looked at him guiltily and looked around the hallway. No one else was in them, at least not yet. She had a bad feeling about this place.
     "What are you doing?" He whispered harshly. He grabbed her arm and started down the hall with her.
     There where still footsteps down the hall.
     "I followed you... Where are we going?" She asked, scared from the amount of panic he was in.
     He clenched his teeth and opened a door into a small room. He lead her into it quickly.
     "Stay here, be silent, and don't come out unless it's me." He said looking into her eyes.
     "Why? What's going on?" She asked with wide eyes.
     "Just trust me ok?" He said quietly.
     "I do." She said firmly. Her heart was beating fast. Something was wrong. He let go of her.
     "I will come back. Don't leave." He said and started out the room.
     Katelyn sadly watched him go. She knew she had made the wrong decision coming here. She pressed herself up against the wall beside the door and sunk down on it. She closed her eyes since was too dark to see anything anyways and she waited.