14 Cairo - A Four-part Feeling (1/2)

It was night again. A four-part feeling crept its way on top of me as my eyes finally began to open.

The first was a feeling of subtle pain. Specifically in my leg and upper abdominal area. The pain wasn't bad, nor did it hinder my ability to walk. It was annoying. Annoying like the buzzing sound in my ears when a bee is hovering around me. It was similar to a leg falling asleep — except instead of the numbness it was more of an irritating pull on my muscles. I was sure my kidney was stabbed clean through, and yet I felt nothing strange happening inside. Was my kidney not functioning anymore? I didn't know, and I didn't care.

The second feeling was the realization that hit me of what had happened. Everything from Rina to Leonidas to falling to… Now. This feeling was possibly worse than the pain in my leg. This feeling was not something I was used to. It was uncertainty, doubt, and acceptance. All things that were too distant for me to understand.

The third feeling was actually quite nice. It was the feeling that woke me in the first place, and the feeling that continued even after all my thoughts had processed. Mooks was alive, wearing a small brown bandage around his torso while simultaneously licking my face and wagging his tail. I didn't smile, although this was possibly the first time I actually wanted to.

The fourth feeling was one that wrapped all the others together into itself. It balanced out the pain with a mellow feeling of comfort. The comfort of Mooks, and the comfort of the mattress I was lying on.

Wait…. Mattress? I quickly sprung my body upright to examine my surroundings, but that 'nonexistent' pain in my kidney shot me right back into the pillow. ”Grrgh.” I grunted lowly, trying my best not to make any more noise before I figure out where in the world I was.

Since Mooks had a bandage, and he seemed happier than when he ate Rina's steak, I relaxed ever so slightly. ”Where are we?” I whispered in his ear, glancing around me.

It seemed as if we were both in some sort of wooden cabin. A cabin with no windows, bearskins on the walls and floor, and a very short ceiling. It wasn't tall, but if I stood up there wasn't a doubt in my mind I'd have to duck down a bit.

”Some weird old guy came and saved us!” Mooks stopped his licking, putting more focus into wagging his tail and jumping atop me.

”A weird old guy?” I sighed.

”I forgot his name…” Mooks whimpered, ”Wait, no I didn't! He never told me!”

I sighed again, ”Where is he now?”

”My my.” A crusty voice came from the doorway behind me. I couldn't turn around, so I waited for this 'weird old guy' to make his presence. To no surprise, this man wasn't old at all.

”What a wonderful looking group you two make.” The man said with an accent I couldn't recognize.

As he approached us, I managed to finally put a face to his voice. He looked as if he was about the age of a newly-born father. His hair was as red as the strawberries I used to eat on my mother's farm. He was short, precisely as short as the ceiling above us. His face looked as if it's been through more than just a war, and his eyes were as dark as a freshly ripe plum.

I slowly attempted to sit upright again, this time taking my precious time to do so. He watched me carefully, laughing to himself. ”My my, a warrior you are, I see. Wounded and thrown off a ship, yet you dare to stand back up.” His words sounded like a question, but the way he said it with his accent just made it sound as if he was mocking me. Either way, I ignored it.

I managed to sit upright, ”Why did you help us? We were as good as dead last night.”

”Last night?” The man laughed, ”You've been in bed, two days now if I reckon.”

Two days?! I've been in bed for two days? Is my body seriously that weak it can't handle a couple of stab wounds?

”When I found you two,” The man started, ”Your bodies had lost so much blood I barely thought you'd give a pulse.” He chuckled, ”Yes yes, very lucky to be alive.”

Blood loss. Of course.

”Mister!” Mooks yelped at him, ”Can you give me more fishies, please! I'm very hungry!”

”My my, you sure seem to be excited, young one… Ohp!” He pounced, ”That reminds me.” The man reached into his pocket and grabbed some sort of strange glass vial out of it. Inside was an odd-colored blue liquid I've never seen before in my life. He tossed it to me and motioned for me to drink it.

”Name's Alastor, former general of the King's first-class line of offense. Headmaster for the department of Gifted soldiers, and of course,” He bowed, ”Runaway criminal for noncharitable acts towards the King's Vault of Glass.”

Smiling, the man exited the room, waiting for me to somehow join him.

I looked over at Mooks, who seemed to be more confused than I was. Apparently Mooks didn't wake too early before me, so we were both in the same state of being baffled.

”Vault of Glass…” I said out loud, unscrewing the cap on the vial and hesitating to drink it. I hovered it around my nose for a bit — it smelled like poison and antiacids. I sighed, drinking it while holding my nose shut.

Surprisingly, nothing happened. Nothing that made my stomach turn, nothing that made me instantly puke, nothing that hurt me more than the pain I was already in. In fact, I felt pretty good.

I leaped out of bed and jumped in the air. I jumped again, and again, and again. What the hell did this man just make me drink?

”You feel it too right!” Mooks jumped alongside me. ”I drank that blue stuff and I'm floppin' and whippin' all over!”

Although my body felt good as new, I still had too many questions to place my caution aside. I was also naked except for a pair of small shorts, bandages around my arms, stomach, and leg, and a pair of socks that were torn to shreds. After looking around for a second or two, I noticed my cloak hanging on a hook by the door, so I grabbed it and made my way to the other room.

A small, yet comfy looking kitchen popped into view with Alastor behind one of the wooden countertops. He had a small chimney-like fire pit behind him — roaring in flames — and a cauldron of some sort inside it. The cauldron had boiling water with freshly chopped vegetables and pieces of raw fish steaming and humidifying the room like a cloudy fog. My god did it smell delicious.

I took a seat at a round table beside the fire, patiently waiting for something to happen. Maybe there was a slow-release poison in the vial taking its effect the longer we waited. Maybe this man was about to capture us and take us to the King himself for a reward. Maybe I needed to stop thinking and start talking.

”So, Alastor was it?” I asked politely. ”Having all those titles and being in a hut like this raises a few suspicions, does it not?”

Alastor walked over to the cauldron, stirring the ingredients with a large wooden spoon. ”My my, curious are we. Maybe a man such as myself wants to get away from all the hardships and Live a normal life between the mountains.”