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Post by The Jenn on Sept 22, 2007 14:46:44 GMT -5
"Perhaps a bit," Temmin said honestly, shifting so that his knees rested more comfortably on the cold stone floor. "But if a girl like you was brave enough to survive one of His Majesty's moods not once, but twice, then I don't think it will be too bad."
Word had already spread through the chain of gossip that seemed to fuel news in the palace of the uproar regarding the damaged bush and the Queen's anger-driven transformation. At least he hadn't seen need to pull out his axe yet. Neither the heron nor the doe mentioned that the ordeal was far from over, deliberately glossing over that fact for the time being. The child would have to deal with that later regardless. For now, they would all be focused on her health.
To that end, the doctor reached over to rifle through the small black bag he had brought with him and withdrew several bottles, cotton swabs, and a small needle. He would clean her wounds as best he could, seal them with surgical glue rather than bandaging because of her feathers, and give her something to numb the pain. All the while, he and Dymphna would be keeping up a light banter to distract the child from the discomfort and stinging that she was sure to feel from the antiseptic. It would take about half an hour to finish properly.
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Post by Jaguara Katial on Sept 22, 2007 14:59:11 GMT -5
She puffed happily at Temmin’s comment of her being brave to have faced the queen and having done it twice. She liked complements and obviously didn’t get enough of them where she was staying…she thought to Sebak…if the gossip had spread this fast in the palace how long would it take to reach beyond the city walls to his ears? What would he do to her once he found out that she had disobeyed him? The treatment of her wounds did sting a bit but slowly she forgot about the pain as the two kept her spirits up. She began to open up and just babbled about any thing and every thing. Soon before she realized it the task that had been set before Temmin had been completed…she was suddenly saddened because she knew that he would leave now and she would probably never see him again. She liked him he had made her smile and helped to forget all of the bad things that had happened to her up to this point. She started to think about what was going to happen now… “Are you leaving now Temmin?”[/color] She asked the heron as she looked at the floor.
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Post by The Jenn on Sept 22, 2007 15:15:00 GMT -5
The heron nodded as he stood, knees complaining from the cold and the hardness of the ground, as well as the prolonged kneeling position. The girl was endearing and he felt a pang of regret for her continued misfortune. Nearly forty and with no children of his own, he still had a soft spot for them, especially sweet little girls like her who reminded him of his nieces. One of them was an avian Range dweller as well, barely an adolescent, so the comparison hit close to home.
"I'm afraid so," he said apologetically as he repacked his supplies. "I would stay a little longer if I could, but some of my other patients need tending. Hopefully we'll meet again, though." With that, he bowed to them both and left the cell. The last she would see of him was his white coat swishing past the bars.
Dymphna's smile dimmed a bit as he left, the reality of the situation pressing in on her mind once again. She had duties to attend to, things which couldn't be put off, and she couldn't stay down here for much longer herself. With a small sigh, she looked at Majida and lightly ruffled the girl's neck feathers. "I'll need to be getting some work done too, sweetling. I've probably already stayed down here too long, but I couldn't leave until you were put to rights. I'll come around later with dinner, though, so no worries."
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Post by Jaguara Katial on Sept 22, 2007 17:15:51 GMT -5
She smiled as he left hopeful that she would meet Temmin again some day, sooner hopefully rather than later. Her smile was soon dashed as the doe as well announced her need to leave her side as well. She liked how she ruffled her feathers and wished that she could have stayed there all day with her, but she knew that she couldn’t…and that she wouldn’t. “Yeah…okay…”[/color] she looked down to the ground, hopped over to the chair and after she watched the doe leave the room she looked towards the wall and thought about dinnertime…how long was it until then. She knew that she had come into the palace after lunch time…but it had been since the night before that she had eaten anything and even then it hadn’t been enough to fill her up, but Sebak had no money and didn’t venture any were near the towns for that matter. What they ate was what they had managed to catch during the day and it was always very little that they found. She hoped that she didn’t appear sickly to Dymphna or Temmin…she know that most of her feathers hid her skinny body…but for how long would that stay the same?
As she was left in the silent room, she thought about the queen as well, what would he do to her as punishment? Would she be kept here for the rest of her days? Her mind also wandered towards what Dymphna had said about different suits other than hearts at the palace…if only she had been born of a different suit…could she stay here then? Even if she had then what about Sebak? What would happen to him? Would she have ever met him? She shook her head and sighed and just waited for the silence to end as she carefully preened her feathers cleaning them of what blood and gook might have still be in them from her earlier escapade.
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Post by The Jenn on Sept 23, 2007 3:27:54 GMT -5
Three and a half hours after she had left, Dymphna found herself walking back down to Majida's cell with a tray of food. Asking the girl what she preferred had slipped her mind, so she had put as many different things on the plate as would safely fit. Breads, cheeses, bits of meat, rosemary potatoes, vegetables, fruit, and a slice of pie all balanced precariously as the doe freed up one hand to unlock the barred door and let herself in.
Serafino had said he would deal with the child after his meal, which meant they probably had forty-five minutes or so until he came down. He still looked huffy, but at least he wasn't raging like he had been before. It could have been worse; the girl could have entered his private rose garden rather than the public area or actually done harm to his bander.
"I hope you're hungry," she said as she entered, looking ruefully down at the tray which she quickly placed on the small table.
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Post by Jaguara Katial on Sept 23, 2007 3:47:15 GMT -5
Majida turned her head quickly from where she was sitting still in the chair. Her feathers looked cleaner than before but still had the dishevel appearance from her self-inflicted fight with the rose bush. A worried look quickly disappeared as she realized who had come to see her. The plate of food that was placed in front of her was more that she could have hoped for “…Is…all…of this for me?”[/color] She looked up into the does face with amazement. She couldn’t remember when the last time she had been given this much food not to mention how good it looked and smelled. She quickly started to eat and how hungry and starved she was beginning to show as things disappeared quicker than would have been normal for one who had decent meals to eat every day.
When she was finished her stomach ached happily and she smile but it quickly faded when she thought about how long she might be in this place and what would become of her. “Dymphna…do you know what is going to happen to me?”[/color] she looked up into the doe’s eyes hoping for a hint of what was to come.
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Post by The Jenn on Sept 23, 2007 4:02:44 GMT -5
Dymphna watched the girl eat, pleased that she had an appetite after her injuries but also worried at the voracity of it. Didn't the child get regular meals at home? Was she truly so hungry that she had to wolf down the food as if it would be snatched away if she didn't eat quickly enough? She'd only been at the palace for a few hours, so her appetite shouldn't have been that fierce even if she had missed her lunch.
It was yet another thing to feel quietly guilty for with respects to her choices. Were the other children as hungry as her? Did their caretakers let them wander with little regard for their safety, let them go without regular meals or a kind word? She dearly hoped not.
"It all depends on His Majesty's whim, I'm afraid," she said apologetically to the girl's question, stacking a few plates and tidying up the tray for easier carrying. "He is...notoriously fickle in his punishments. I'll see if I can talk to him, though, see what I can do about lessening his decision."
Doing such a thing was a great risk. If his mood didn't allow for it, the attempt with infuriate him, and even if it did, you could only do such things very rarely and get away with them. Her position as his trusted aide allowed her more leeway than most, but she still hesitated to use that influence unless it was direly needed.
She picked up the tray and smiled sadly at Majida. "And again, I'm afraid that I have to go. I'll try to be down here when he comes, but I may not be able to. Good luck, my dear." She bent down and kissed the top of the girl's head, then quickly turned and left the cell.
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Post by Jaguara Katial on Sept 23, 2007 13:22:09 GMT -5
She sighed as Dymphna answered her question. It was as she thought, no one knew what would become of her. She hung her head and was startled when the doe kissed her head… a kiss? She kissed me…She watched the doe leave with amazement in her eyes as she reached up and touched the spot that still tingled from the soft touch. She liked Dymphna a lot and even more so now because of the doe’s caring manner did she wish she could stay here.
The silence again enveloped her as she waited once more for some one to come, but this time she had a feeling that the next person to visit her wouldn’t be as kind as Dymphna or Temmin had been. Therefore, she huddled on the bed with her beak under her wing as she silently sniffed as horrible images danced in her head in regards of what she would have to face for punishment for upsetting the queen.
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Post by The Jenn on Sept 27, 2007 11:22:22 GMT -5
Footsteps once again sounded in the hallway, but these were much more clipped and quick than Dymphna's normal strides, or even Temmin's. Serafino rounded the corner in little time and looked through the bars at the girl in the cell, her form huddled into a little ball of blue feathers. He grimaced in annoyance and unlocked the door, stepping in and closing it behind him.
The doe had asked him for some measure of lenience on the girl's behalf, in part due to her age and in part due to her injuries. Such requests from people he valued always left him feeling annoyed and off-balance even in the best of moods. Dymphna rarely called on any favours, so it left him feeling almost guilty if he didn't at least consider the request, a feeling he absolutely hated. His uncle had overheard the story at dinner and given him a mildly disapproving Look, which made things even more frustrating.
He'd mulled over the child's fate on the way down to the dungeons. His aide had put her in a nicer cell, called the doctor, and even brought the pathetic thing dinner. Maybe she knew its parents...
"Child," he said flatly, tone containing a warning edge. "You've damaged my garden, unsettled my bander, and wasted precious minutes of my time. Before I continue, do you have anything to say for yourself?"
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Post by Jaguara Katial on Sept 27, 2007 11:34:54 GMT -5
Majida jumped suddenly when she heard the door open and looked into the face of the man she had upset. He was tall and formidable and he scared her. She gulped a few times and tried to speak but the words weren’t willing to come right away. Finally, she managed to say some thing in regards to her actions. “I…I…I’m sorry!” tears started to form in her eyes and the words just started to gush out of her. “I didn’t mean to destroy your flowers or upset any one…I…I just wanted to come back here…it’s just so beautiful…and…and…” she really didn’t know what else to say. Her first impression of him when here before him in the basket with all of the other youngsters had vanished and now he appeared to be like a cold-hearted monster, but then again he had every right to be upset with her. She hung her head and said calmly, “I will accept the punishment you have decided is best, your majesty.” She sat there awaiting his response, she didn’t know what else to say nor did she feel that there was more that she could say in light of everything that had happened.
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