The Maiden and The Four Waters -
Chapter two
She woke in a hospital bed. Her eyes struggled with the light as she felt the heat beaming in through the windows.
“My lady! Your awake!” screamed a man’s voice.
She lifted her hand slightly from the bed to silence him.
“The fisherman saw you laying by the opposite end of the river. We all got worried when we saw you pulled into the depth. We feared that whatever took the others had taken you too.”
She attempted to push herself up to a sitting position.
“Here, let me help.” He rushed to her side, assisting her to sit up “We prayed that we didn’t have to mourn for you like we mourned for your father.”
She looked at him “Exel, I’m fine. My leg got tangled in some seaweed. I struggled to break free as my breath heaved.”
Exel nodded as he believed her lie “Well seaweed couldn’t have killed all those men. We can’t tell their families that.”
She placed her hand over Exel’s hands as she looked up at his face “tell the families I’m still looking. We mustn’t let them worry.”
Exel quickly wrapped himself over her upper body; she was never to use to Exel’s hugs, but she was glad to be above water. “You were gone for two days. We thought.”
“Two days?”
Exel nodded as he pulled himself off her.
She studied his face, looking for an ounce of a lie but she could only see truth. She remembered being trekked down under the water, she remembered struggling to breath, she remembered struggling to use her senses, but she couldn’t remember anything else.
“Ma’am.” Spoke Crowe; a nurse, as she walked into the room noticing the woman in the bed awake.
She closed her eyes for a moment before reopening her eyes “You were due for mourning?”
Exel nodded “We were waiting for the sun to go down on the fifth day before we could start the funeral.”
She tried to find comfort in Exel’s words.
“But now your awake, we can celebrate.” Exel beamed as he bounced on the balls of his feet.
She rose her hand again to silence Exel “I need to go back to the water.”
“Ma’am, we can’t allow that” Crowe spoke.
“How am I supposed to celebrate knowing we’ll have to ration our food in coming days” She admitted.
Crowe and Exel looked at each other as they shared concern.
“Ma’am” Crowe turned her attention to the woman in bed “You were lucky to survive this. We could not imagine what would happen if five days passed on you.”
She breathed as she took in Crowe’s words “Celebrations are on hold until we can be confident that we don’t have to ration” She paused “Is the hospital stacked?”
“For now, Ma’am. We can hold out until the end of the month.”
“It’ll be gone quicker than that if we don’t protect the village” She began.
“Ma’am.” Crowe warned.
She climbed out of bed; Exel adverted his eyes upwards. Crowe didn’t react as the woman stood in full nudity in front of the two people in her hospital room.
“My lady” Exel breathed.
She looked down seeing her body bare of clothes, she looked at the nurse as she climbed into bed pulling the sheet over her body.
“They were soaked. Even after two days, they are heavy with the river’s water” Crowe explained.
“Can I please get some clothes. I don’t exactly plan to walk the streets in nothing but my skin.” She explained.
Exel adverted his eyes to the woman in the bed “Are you serious about the river?”
She nodded “I can’t let this town perish. I will not end us like the others have tried.”
Exel and Crowe tried to find hope in her words.
Crowe took that as her cue “Exel, Let’s leave Walla to rest.”
Exel nodded slightly “I’ll return, my lady.”
Walla nodded slightly at the two in front of her.
Crowe closed the wooden door behind her, leaving Walla alone in the room.
Walla positioned herself to lay down on the bed. She allowed herself to close her eyes.
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