So I might be confined to bed, but I can still do stuff.
Right?
That's what I try to convince myself when I try to make the walk from the door to the outskirts of the town. I didn't get off maybe twenty steps when I tripped over and had to admit my defeat.
I couldn't even soak in peace since the little menace dropped by insisting of me to drink some sort of magical potion that she brewed up. Which clearly had no lasting effects because it tasted like soot and I still felt like shit, but I just smiled and thanked her.
Later when I told Nyla this, she grinned. "She got it in her mind she one day will study magic and be a great healer. Last week it was farming, and she swore she will make that vegetable garden grow with tomatoes," she said, pointing out the window to a sorry excuse of a patch of land with a couple of weeds growing from it.
I wanted to do something.
It's like my lungs couldn't settle right. I couldn't sleep, I couldn't rest, and I couldn't walk or do anything. Maybe it's because what I really wanted was to get out there and go find Helena.
Despite her being capable, she was ill-experienced in the outside world and struggled with people. I didn't want her to be alone for this experience, especially when the world would turn out to be not what she expected.
And I just wanted her because I felt so alone.
I couldn't believe that I got myself into this situation. A couple of days ago, I was a jester in the Royal Court, and now I was a fugitive killer who kidnapped a princess.
Haphazardly changed my bandages again. I couldn't settle on the couch, so I sat on the porch staring at absolutely nothing. Every couple of minutes I would spot Maron scowling at me.
But clearly she was warned off doing that because she constantly looked away. I smirked at that, then exhaled a long breath that hurt like hell.
Now that I was aware of my injuries, they were constantly there. It was like until I actually saw them, it was in the back of my mind that something sort of hurt in my stomach. I just assumed it was anxiety, like a normal human.
The worst of it was that I couldn't actually pinpoint when I broke my ribs because so much shit happened in the last few days.
Ratched on my bandages, then tried to stand up and held my head because I got a dizzy spell every time that happened, and embarrassingly so, I passed out the very first time that happened. Maron had to carry me off like a newborn.
I crouched down looking at the weeds. I remember being with Helena in the garden all these years ago. Growing vegetables was her favorite thing, so I knew a lot about that. It was doable. The patch of land was not dry but very soft, still damp from the rain. All I have to do is pluck out the weeds, find some seeds, and plant them.
So every day, despite myself, I plucked weeds from that garden.
I didn't know why I wanted so much to see this garden grow. Maybe I knew that I would be leaving and I wanted to give them something before I left, or maybe it's because I just knew that Helena would be so sad seeing this garden wither.
Maybe I just wanted to do something good.
This was my routine every day. I would try to make the walk to town and then fail miserably, probably pass out. I would angrily stomp to the garden, checking if any weeds are coming out. None have grown, but I am weirdly positive on that front.
I also spend my days with my nephew Leni. I've met the older one, Selena. Practically almost a woman, with sticky bones and a thin frame. Dark bush hiding her eyebrows and the line of her eyes, strangely enough, Selena also did not inherit her mother's dark eyes. But striking blue ones who seemed to be so similar to the glare that adorns me every day from Maron.
Probably suspicious of me and not liking me hanging around here. The one day I decided to spend in our company was the day she went to the market. I started behind her trying to catch her. Not an easy job, I was still limping, and she did not slow down.
"Hey there!" I called.
She was carrying a saddle for the horse. Despite her boney facade, she was strong enough to handle the heavy livery material. She didn't even glance my way when she huffed, "What do you want?"
"I want to come with you." I quickly bounced on my heel to face her; she was with an unreadable expression on her face. She opened her mouth to decline me, but then she looked into the window. Nyla was smiling at the two of us, clearly thinking that we are getting along. She huffed a long breath and nodded.
Finally going somewhere.