"Where are you taking me?"
He looked down at her and the corner of his lips turned up in a smile. "To show you my home."
A few minutes later they walked out onto a large balcony and Ashima's mouth opened in a gasp. "Ki... I..." Ashima looked out over the balcony of the exterior hall Kietnan led her to, grabbing the banister. "I..."
She had spent almost 24 hours unconscious in her recovery room after surgery. From what the medical attendants described, she was guessing it was her spleen that had ruptured. Then another 24 hours in her bed simply resting and being asked countless questions. They had asked her many questions about her physiology during her stay and she had found their curiosity endearing. It reminded her of herself.
"Are you saying you have no words? That truly is remarkable."
She chuckled and glanced at him before looking back ahead of her. "I've been inside with no windows the entire time I've been here. I simply wanted some fresh air, it hadn't occurred to me..." She stared out at the view in front of her for another moment. "It is so beautiful. It's hard to believe this is the same planet." She turned and raised a brow at him. "This is the same planet, right?"
"Yes." He looked out at the lush green trees, the hills and valleys covered in green with spots of color in various patches. In the distance there were mountains and you could see a waterfall to the East. The Grand Hall itself was made of a deep olive green stone with a coating that glistened in the sun, covered in various spots with bright green vines. The large balcony they were on was lined with big potted trees and bushes. Hanging from the tree branches, there were dozens of crystals that cast colorful streaks of light along the floors and walls of the large balcony and attached walkways.
"It's amazing your plants are also green." She smiled, taking in a lungful of fresh air. "And the air is similar to ours. At least enough that I'm still alive, anyway." She shrugged. "Did I tell you that our sky is light blue instead of pink like yours?"
She looked over at Kietnan as he shook his head to see he was wearing pretty much the same thin, almost elbow sleeve top and long linen pants as he always wore at camp. He looked completely comfortable in the heat, just as he had in the cold. She was in a similar outfit as him, one that she had been provided in the medical hall. She was already sweating and could practically feel the small hairs that framed her face curling from the heat and humidity.
"Do you not feel hot or cold?"
"Hmm?" He turned to look at her.
"You can handle the extreme cold at camp, you dove into that freezing lake and swam in it like it didn't matter. And likewise you are here in this heat yet seem just as comfortable." She observed.
"Ah. Once we reach a certain part of maturity, we develop the ability to regulate our body temperature. We can handle any environment on this planet. It is actually one reason I thought you might be an adolescent when you arrived."
"An adolescent?" She laughed. "What were the other reasons?"
"Your size, obviously." He shrugged.
She playfully pushed the side of his arm as she gasped in mock offense. "I'll have you know, I'm fairly tall for a female on Earth." She smiled at him. "So exactly when and how did you determine I wasn't an adolescent?"
He shrugged. "The way you handled yourself in my dwelling. I could tell you were scared or nervous at times, but you were also strong and determined. You even stood up to me and bossed me around. Although we could not share words, I understood." He turned towards her, one arm remaining on the railing while the other lay casually at his side as he looked at her. His eyes glanced down at her body and then back up to her face before he continued, his voice low. "Over time it was easy to see the signs you were a mature female."
She opened her mouth slightly before quickly turning to look back out at the view. Did he just...?
"Come." He took her hand in his and led her back inside from the balcony. "How are you feeling? You need to rest. We can continue in the morning."
"Don't you have things you need to do? Work? Responsibilities. What do you do here, anyway?"
"My brothers are taking care of everything for a few days so I can attend to your needs."
"Oh." She frowned as she stopped walking and faced him. "Are you sure that's ok?"
"Don't worry about me, or my brothers. They can handle it." He smiled. "I'm the fourth in our line, anyway, remember?"
"Kietnan." She said sternly as she stood her ground in the hall, hands on her hips. "Don't try to coddle me. I know you have responsibilities and I know you're not one who would usually just shrug them off."
This time it was his mouth that parted in surprise as he stared at her. His lips closed and he eventually nodded his head. "You know me well." He smiled slightly. "I promise, it will be fine for the next several days. I never take time off so I'm due a time of leave, wouldn't you think? Besides, Kahal will tell me if I'm needed."
With that, she finally relaxed and let him lead her down the hall and back to her room. "Come." He walked her to the bed and sat her on the edge then bent to remove the devices. He placed them on the floor after pushing the button to turn them off, then reached again for her left foot, resting her ankle across his thigh as he began to undo her bandages. As he did he spoke. "I will have you moved to more appropriate accommodations as soon as you're physically able."
"I can do that." She protested and tried to remove her feet from his grasp.
He ignored her as he finished his work. He looked up at her and huffed through his nose in frustration. "You promised you would tell me when you needed to rest your feet. Is your side bleeding as well?" He reached to lift her shirt but she stopped him.
"I can check it."
"Shima."
"I'll do it." She said firmly.
He stood and returned the poles to the closet before turning back to her. "We need to replenish some of the supplies for your feet. I'll stop by and get a medical attendant to bring those and I'll go get you some food." He got up and went to the door but turned to add. "Don't get up on your feet while I'm gone."
"Kietnan." She stopped him as he was about to open the door. "My feet didn't start hurting until we were on our way back. I wouldn't break a promise to you."
"You should have told me, I could have carried you the rest of the way." He grumbled.
"And let everyone see?! It wasn't far, there was no need."
"Call for one of the guards if you need something in my absence." He said roughly as he closed the door behind him.
Ashima sighed, hating that she made him upset with her. She pulled up her shirt and began to remove the bandage. It was indeed bleeding but not too terribly. She returned the bandage and laid back onto the pillow, getting comfortable.
She must have fallen asleep because the next thing she knew, Kietnan was waking her. "Shima." He gently pushed her hair away from her face. "Eat and then you can go back to sleep."
Ashima sat up and Kietnan helped scoot her further up against the pillows, putting another behind her. He grabbed the tray of food and water he had sat on the bedside table and placed it gently onto her lap. "You eat, I'll replace the cream and bandages on your feet."
"Thank you."
"Mmm hmm" he mumbled his reply as he worked.
As she took a bite of carrot from the bowl of stew she watched him work diligently on her feet, his brows pressing together and his lips pressed into a line as he focused on his task. She forced herself to remain still as he applied cream along the painful cuts.
She looked down and moved the spoon-like eating utensil around the bowl, only to stop abruptly to gasp.
"Did I hurt you?!" Kietnan's fingers froze in place.
"Are these...?" Ashima held up an off-white chunk of vegetable on her spoon. "Is this a potato?"
"It is the same as you described, so I had the cook put those in with the other ingredients I instructed. I hope you enjoy the taste as much as you do at your home. But please only eat a small bite and then give it time to see if you react, yes?"
Ashima felt her eyes begin to water as she looked at him. She stared for several moments, not able to remove her gaze from his. Eventually her sight was too blurry and she sniffled, looking for her napkin. She dabbed at her eyes to remove the tears threatening to spill but instead more began rolling down her cheeks. She drew in a tight breath, attempting to hold back her crying.
"Shima." Kietnan's voice was a whisper as he came to sit beside her left side on the bed. "I'm sorry... I... did I do something wrong?" He reached up and wiped a tear off of her cheek.
"You've not done anything wrong, Ki." She responded, closing her eyes as she fought to keep her voice even.
"Why do you cry?" She opened her eyes and looked back up at him as his hairless brows furrowed in confusion. She reached up to the hand he was wiping her tears away with and placed her hand on top of his as she leaned her face against his palm, closing her eyes and breathing deeply.
After a long moment she released his hand and leaned further back against the pillow, slightly away from him. "I just need some rest." She said as she looked up at the ceiling.
"Finish eating, I'll be done with your bandages quickly." He said as he continued staring at her, questioningly.
She gave him a slight smile but didn't look at his face. "Thank you."
She ate in silence as he applied bandages and put fresh socks onto her feet that came just above the ankle.
"Are you feeling ok?" He asked and she nodded. "How is your side?"
She frowned but continued looking anywhere but at him. "You were right, it needs a new bandage." She admitted but then quickly added. "But it's not too bad."
Seeing that she was finished with the meal, he returned the tray to the bedside table and sat beside her on the bed. "Was the vegetable as you hoped?"
"Oh! I'm sorry. Yes, it was delicious. A little different but very similar. Thank you so much."
He reached for her shirt, then paused, looking up at her. "May I?"
She nodded and he proceeded to lift her shirt just enough to see the cut from her procedure. She marveled at how small the incision was. With the miracle cream he was reapplying, it would likely not even be an open wound by the morning.
"There. Finished." He replaced her shirt and began to stand, stopping to adjust her pillows and bring the thin blanket up over her.
He turned to leave but as he reached for the door she stopped him. "Wait." He turned and looked at her.
"I..." she looked around the room, her heart racing, before looking in his direction once more. "Is Teluq out there? Or Dran?"
He opened the door enough to poke his head out, before returning his attention to her. "Teluq has gone home for the evening, her replacement is here. Dran will likely be here tomorrow." He closed the door fully and walked to the foot of her bed. "Do you need something?"
"I..." she began but cut herself off. "I'll be fine." She lied to both him and herself.
"Shima." He said gently but firmly. "What is it?"
She glanced around the room again, pulling the blanket up to her neck, before finally sighing and looking up at his face.
"... you're scared."
"I... I haven't been alone since..." she said as she looked down at the blanket on her lap. "When you reached for the door... I felt..." she sighed, closing her eyes and drawing in a deep breath when she realized she was trembling.
She opened her eyes when she felt the bed dip beside her, her eyes looking at her hands as a large lavender one engulfed them. "I'll stay. Rest." He comforted her by rubbing his thumb along her wrist.
"Just until I fall asleep, then. I'm sure you-"
"Shima." She looked up at him as he cut her off. "Do not worry about me." She watched as he lay beside her on the bed, on top of the blanket, propping his elbow on the pillow and resting his head on his hand. "Rest now. I will not let any harm come to you."
She breathed out a sigh of relief as she watched him. "I'm sorry. I don't want to cause so much trouble." She whispered in embarrassment.
"Do not apologize, please." He reached up with his free hand and put stray hair behind her ears. "I will stay with you. I will do anything I can to take your fear from you. I hate that it is there in the first place, that I wasn't there for you."
"Stop, Ki. You had something important to finish. You had already explained to me that it is required. If you'd left, you and your family would have been shamed and what would you have done then?" She shook her head. "No, you should have stayed. No one is to blame for this but the one who did the action."
He stared at her for a long moment before reaching to her and pulling her body against his, placing his left arm around her back and resting her head on his shoulder as he rubbed her cheek with his right hand.
She instinctively placed her hand on his chest below her chin, forcing her breathing to remain calm as she hoped he couldn't tell how hard her heart was pounding. She decided not to fight it this once and closed her eyes as she let the comforting warmth he provided seep into her.
"This is the safest I've felt since I left your tent at camp." She whispered. "Like this... right now."
She felt his muscles tense, his chest rising as he drew in a deep breath and exhaled it slowly.
"Tomorrow I want to see more of your home. Will you show it to me?"
"We will assess your injuries first." She huffed at him but smiled, not surprised.
Several quiet moments later she spoke up again. "Ki?"
"Hmm?" He responded and her body slightly shivered in response as she felt the rumble in his chest.
"I know I got annoyed at you and complained, but really I do appreciate you taking care of me." When he said nothing she continued. "I like that you want to make sure I'm ok and taken care of. I can't tell you what it means to me..." she sniffled as she fought the tears forming in her eyes. "What you mean to me. You mean so... so much to me." She removed her hand from his chest to wipe a rogue tear off of her cheek.
After a long moment of silence she began to feel embarrassed. She wanted to roll over and curl into a ball while hiding her face in a pillow. But then he shifted. He turned onto his left side and brought her closer to his body, caressing her head with his right hand as his left arm squeezed her back, holding her close to him. His lips pressed a gentle kiss on the top of her head before he rested his head above hers on the pillow. She responded by burying her face into his neck and wrapping her left arm under his and holding snuggly to his shoulder, then released a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.
They simply lay there enjoying each other's presence for several moments until Ashima's muscles relaxed and she felt her mind finally drifting off to sleep.