Bridging the Gap

Chapter 3

"Oh dear, what happened?" The nurse asked, leading all of them to the beds.

"There was an incident by the lake," Cinderella told her, helping Dizzy onto one of the beds.

"I fell in," Dizzy told the nurse, looking down in guilt; her voice still raspy from the coughing fit she had when Kitty pulled her out. "I got too close to the edge and my foot slipped in the mud."

Cinderella looked over at the nurse, who had remained silent. This was odd for the older woman, who usually was peppering the children with questions if Chad's complaints were anything to go off of. "Is everything alright?"

"Your highness, I'm not sure I can treat her," the nurse said, uncertainty evident on her face. Mal and Evie stared at her in shock, Mal holding on to Evie's arm as the blue haired girl seemed ready to launch herself toward the nurse in Dizzy's defense. Some of the others, however, did not have the self control Mal possessed.

"Why?!" Kitty exclaimed, having heard the nurse's statement.

"Kitty," Cinderella warned, preventing another outburst. Turning back to the nurse, Cinderella sighed and tried to keep her expression neutral. "Why would you be unable to treat her?"

"Because I don't have authorization to do so," the nurse explained. "I need either permission from Fairy Godmother or the child's parents."

"We were sent here by Queen Belle," Cinderella said, leveling a small glare at the older woman. "Not to mention, this girl is ten years old. Are you really going to deny her treatment based on something like that? What if she'd been seriously injured?"

"I'm sorry your highness," the nurse said, looking genuinely contrite. "It's school policy."

Cinderella sighed and then straightened up. Turning to Kitty, she said "Watch Dizzy for a second?"

Not giving her daughter a moment to respond, Cinderella strode out of the hospital wing like a woman on a mission. Mal stared at her back in shock, not expecting that reaction from one of the nicest princesses known in the kingdom.

"Well then," the nurse said with a sigh and turned to the others. "So, you all dove in to save the young girl?"

"The young girl is right there," Doug pointed out, a slight edge to his voice. "You could ask her."

"Doug," Evie shook her head.

"Evie, this—"

"Yes, we dove in after Dizzy," Mal told the nurse, speaking over Evie and Doug. She knew the nurse wasn't likely to talk to Dizzy since she wasn't sure if she had permission to treat her. The same thing had happened to Evie after a sewing mishap about two weeks in. It was one of the few times Mal had seen Ben angry as he'd been in the hospital wing with an injury from Tourney. "Evie and myself don't know how to swim so Ben and Doug dove in after us. Kitty dove in after Dizzy."

The nurse nodded as she proceeded to look over Mal, Evie, Ben, Doug and Kitty. Mal winced against the light that was shined into her eyes but was thankful for the new towel. It seemed to be even fluffier than the towel they gave her down at the lake. Normally, Mal wouldn't have noticed but compared to the towels they had on the isle, it was heavenly. "Well it doesn't look like there was any harm done."

"What about Dizzy?" Ben asked, accepting the new towel that the nurse passed to him.

"I can't talk about that, your highness," the nurse told him. "Unfortunately, as I told Queen Cinderella, without the girl's parents or Fairy Godmother's authorization, there's nothing I can do."

"What about my authorization?" Queen Belle's voice came from the doorway. Mal turned around to see the queen storming toward the nurse, Cinderella following her; trailing a bit despite the fact that the blonde was taller than the brunette. Seeing the fury in Belle's eyes, Mal made a mental note to never upset Ben's mom.