SWNOVELS Chapter 31: Recovering
A bright light hovers a few inches from my face.
“Please keep focused on the light, Aria-chan,” says the doctor as he holds his penlight.
I follow the tip of the light, tracking as he moves it around. It’s been a couple days since I woke up and the storm finally passed, allowing the doctor to safely travel up to the house. I still had some pain from when I slammed headfirst into the branch, but also sustained a few injuries from bouncing around the fairy road.
The doctor puts the penlight away. “Very good,” he says. “It appears that your recovery is moving along rather nicely. I prescribe plenty of rest for at least the next couple of days. I will also prescribe the same to the rest of your party.” He then checks my vitals one more time. “It goes without saying that I am grateful that none of you suffered any severe injuries. A child such as you should never have to face combat.”
I nod softly. I won’t disagree with him there. Unfortunately, I will have to fight again at some point in the future.
Needless to say, my head was pounding harder than it did from getting smacked by the tree. Marron did comment on how hard my head is. I grinned to her.
I look over to see Yukari standing in the doorway, watching and smiling to me. She’s been staying here with us since we arrived; wanting to both make sure I’m doing alright but also to keep me safe. I giggle to myself, remembering the plan both of my aunts put into place for this very occasion.
Asha came by yesterday to both check up on me and see how everyone is doing. She unfortunately had to leave when the shirohebi called the house saying that an enclave of yuki-onna descended from the mountains and were starting to cause havoc on the region. She gave me a tight hug and flew out towards the regional borders.
Aside, from that little caveat, the only other pain I was suffering from is that of my sinuses wreaking havoc on not only me, but also Marron and Orga, whom he checked over already. It really had floored us the morning after I woke up. It kinda happens when you suddenly arrive in a cold climate from a relatively warmer one.
“I also order no extraneous exercise for at least a week,” he continues. “If you do have to go outside, I want you to at least ride on Fenris-dono’s back if you feel too weak.”
“Yes, doctor,” I tell him.
“Good.” He then smiles to me, “It goes without saying how happy I am to see you again, Aria-chan.”
I giggle, nodding, “Thank you, sir.”
He nods, handing me a packet of sinus meds. “Now if you need anything, just give me a call.”
“Yes, sir.”
He smiles and then gets up and leaves my room, with Yukari thanking him.
My aunt walks over to me. “Hungry dear?”
I giggle, “Always am.”
She grins, chuckling, “You are very much like Sil’vari.”
I giggle as I get up, heading downstairs with her.
We all settled into a routine, with each of us finding something to do. Marron and I even devised a chore list, with me often taking the cooking role. This prompted Marron and Yukari to both tell me that I shouldn’t have to constantly be the one doing it. They in turn took turns with breakfast and lunch.
Other than that, we spend most of the time resting in the house. It feels amazing to finally once more being in my house. It also makes the last few months seem a forever ago. Since I left here in the spring, I sometimes dreamt of this place, being how much I love it here.
Yukari had made several little additions to the house, with her having the laundry room expanded somewhat. She admitted to having to remove the tatami mats and replaced them with hardwood flooring, as they were starting to rot from all of the storms over the summer. I didn’t mind the change at first, but found myself longing for my futon, only to simply climb back into bed.
Soon after the storm had ended, we started receiving visits from the villagers, with several bringing us fresh-made food, a real first in a long while. The moment they entered the house, I was immediately greeted by tight hugs and lots of them. I giggled as they told me how happy they were to see me again, and of how worried they’ve been about me.
I thanked them and introduced them to Marron and my knights. Marron and I had to act as translators at first, seeing how neither knights know how to speak Japanese. But over time it became second nature until a couple of the villagers arrived who also spoke English.
Over the past couple of days I haven’t seen or even heard from Kenji. I sometimes sat on the deck with doors shut and gaze out onto the ocean below, wondering if he and his dad and uncle were out fishing. The weather hasn’t been too bad, which either means they are indeed out on the ocean, or perhaps dealing with something else.
What I do know is that I want to see him. I didn’t really think about him much, given how I was running for my life and constantly had to worry about being discovered, along a few other issues. But now that I don’t have to anymore, I really do want to see him. My feelings for him only grew the more I thought about him, remembering the last time I saw his face was a few weeks before everything went to hell.
While the day time was often pleasant, my nights weren’t exactly the best, but again not the worst. My nightmares decided to make a slight return. Despite not being quite as bad as they used to be, they happened frequently enough to where is began to make Marron concerned over me.
She often would come into my room at night and crawl into bed with me, holding me tightly as she rocked me. I may be a teenager, but to her, right now I’m a little child. I was still asleep when she did this mind you, I wake up a couple times to find her holding me.
The morning of the third day, I decided to climb into the living room and watch some TV. Yukari, despite being here to help watch over me, still had to maintain a healthy line of communication with Tokyo. I could hear her talking over the phone and going over numerous emails that was sent to her. I don’t mind, in fact her just being here is more than enough to see my aunt once more.
Over to my right I watch as Fenris slept peacefully on the other side of the table. His typical spot was often behind me, acting as living pillow whenever I grew tired. He still went hunting during the night, exclaiming how the deer had grown numerous during his absence.
I giggled, knowing he simply enjoyed being out of the house at times. Bad weather has never once affected him or even bothered him in the slightest. I still remember last year when he shielded Jenn and me from the cold wind when she came to visit me.
I let out a heavy sigh. I miss my friends and my coven. Even after I had woken up and knowing that I am safe, I still have yet to contact anyone. I also have zero idea if anyone was able to make it out of the Estate before it fell. I feel so isolated from everything, not really knowing what’s going on back home.
For the moment, I guess there’s really not much I can do about it until I can figure out a way to get a signal out to everyone that we’re alright.
I heard the turning of a page. I peer back to see Marron sitting behind me, reading a book that Yukari had lent to her. I had only been in my aunt’s room a few times, but knew she had a plethora of books stashed away in it. Some were as recent as a few years ago, while others were much, much older.
A smile rises on my face, seeing her here with me. Despite for us having only reunited for a couple of weeks, it felt so much longer ago.
In a way it was like three years ago when I used to drive up to her house for the weekend. There are times when I miss those simpler days, when my world was significantly smaller, really only consisting of her.
When she left, I felt like I had lost something irreplaceable, a place apart from everything and a person I could fall back onto. She was an escape and an opportunity to explore my new life. Little did I know that a couple short months later I once again would find such a place with my then-to-be future mother.
And yet Marron again would reenter my life and from there, with all barriers down, no secrets, we once more became like sisters.
Marron looks up at me, giving me a soft smile. I smile to her in return, thankful for each day she’s with me and for coming into my life from the very beginning.
Shadows soon cross outside the sliding doors. I smile, knowing that it’s my knights once again settling into the habit of going on patrol. Their route typically took them around the house and somewhat into forest surrounding us. At first their walks only lasted a few minutes but slowly grew over the past few days.
I heard the front door slide open, with the couple then entering into the kitchen behind me. I look back at them.
“Another good walk guys?” I ask.
The couple bows to me. “Indeed, Your Highness,” says Orga. “The surrounding lands are quite lovely.”
“I agree, Your Highness,” adds Kateryna. “It reminds me of my childhood in the forests of France.”
I smile to them, “Glad to hear that.” I then turned towards the sliding doors. “You know…if you follow the path just outside from here, you can head down to the beach. I know the weather isn’t the prettiest, being cloudy and cold, but at least you can walk along the shore and enjoy the ocean.”
Kateryna looks to me and then to her husband. “I have never once seen the ocean, not even while as a girl.”
Orga smiles to her. “Nor have I. Until now, the largest body of water I ever visited would be the Black Sea when I traveled with His Lordship to the Outpost on the rare occasion.”
I lean onto the table, “Well…why not try it sometime?”
He bows his head to me. “I believe we shall, Your Highness. It’ll be good to truly let our guard down for the first time in a while.”
His wife nods and smiles, “I agree.” She then peers over to Marron, who looks up at the couple.
“Hungry?” she asks.
The elf shakes her head, “No, my Lady. I believe Orga and I will retire to our room for a couple of hours. Our walk through the snow has taken its toll on us.”
She nods, “Alright then. I did leave a few things from lunch in the fridge if you ever change your mind.
The elf bows, “Thank you my Lady.” Kateryna and Orga then turn head up towards the second floor.