Chapter 160: Chapter 160

160 Unexpected

Skye looked to the doctor with confusion and asked; “I don’t understand what ye mean doc. I move me wrist just fine most of the time. It hurts on occasion, but that’s generally when I overuse it.”

The doctor exhaled in exasperation; “Nurse Nora, please go get Doctor Gohan.. Tell him it’s level two damage, and make sure to take her chart and X-rays with you so he can look them over Before he gets in the room.”

The younger nurse nodded, grabbed the papers and a clipboard, then took off to find the other doctor. The older nurse they’d spoken with earlier was named Helen. She introduced herself before asking if anyone was thirsty. Shasta asked for cream, but only got a hard stare in return. All the nurses knew better now; after a couple of harsh examples.

It wasn’t long before an older, shorter doctor that looked familiar entered the room with Nurse Nora trailing behind him. Skye noticed that he was shorter than her, and had a little bit of a gut on him. The top of his head was bald, and the hair that grew around the sides of his head were salt and pepper colored. His eye and facial structure indicated that at least his ancestors were from Sai, if not himself.

As he began to speak, a thick, familiar accent coated his words; “Hello Skye; how are you feeling, today? Feeling better now, I hope? Ah, hello King Lawrence, Vice Commander. Pleasure to see you again.”

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to ask you two, to step outside please? There are questions I need to ask my patient that might be uncomfortable for you to hear..”

Both looked to Skye to see if it was what she wanted. When she nodded in the positive, Shasta fast-walked out the door without a glance back. Lawrence watched her go, shrugged at Skye, then followed after her. Closing the door behind himself as he went. The two nurses futzed and situated things before departing as well, leaving Dr. Gohan and Skye alone to discuss the extent of her injuries.

Flashing a friendly grin, the doctor took a seat next to Skye’s bed, then began: “First off, do you remember me? My name is Dr. Tien Gohan, and I’m a friend of Genie’s. I treated you a few times here when you were a child.”

The princess smiled at the odd, but kind old doctor and replied; “Of course I remember you! It’s a pleasure to see you again. I hope all it well.”

.....

When the doctor extended his left hand to shake Skye’s, she didn’t think. The minuscule amount of pressure he’d put on her hand had felt like he was crushing it. She knew he’d barely squeezed as they shook, but it was still enough to make her wince.

Noticing his patients pain, Dr. Gohan used a sincere tone as he spoke; “Oh, I’m so sorry dear. I just read your papers too. Forgive me; it’s simply a habit when meeting a new person.”

Skye smiled through the pain; “Don’t fret over a wee tinge, it was far worse earlier. Honestly, more than anything: Ima starving.”

Dr. Gohan flashed a smile, then went over to the door. He cracked it, spoke a few quick words, then closed the door and went back to his seat. Before Skye could ask; “I asked the nurses to fetch you a warrior’s amount of food, if that helps?”

Smiling ear to ear, Skye thanked the doctor multiple times. He smiled back sincerely, then sighed with hesitation. He didn’t want to tell the princess what he’d gleaned from her charts and X-rays. The news would make anyone depressed, but first he Had to know a few things about when she’d gotten her bones crushed.

“Forgive me if this is a painful subject for you, but how exactly did you receive your injuries?”

“Oh, that’s a long and rough story.. But I can tell ye a shortened version. Also, umm.. How does extreme heat affect bone?”

The doctor quirked an eyebrow at Skye skeptically; “How hot? What kind?”

“Ahhh.. Melt the flesh from your bones hot.. Feel me marrow boilin’ within me bones hot.. Ye know: Extreme hot.. From a hot spring..”

Dr. Gohan looked at Skye with disbelief, which immediately changed to shock as the pieces fell into place. Her bones had been crushed and grounded into shards and dust on the inside. She’d used random pieces from different places and melded them together. To make them take the shapes of actual bones. On the outside, they simply looked discolored and oddly shaped. But on the inside, it was akin to glass containers filled with sand and rocks. The outside was nothing more than a fragile shell holding it all together.

Skye’s bone fragments had most likely been grinding against each other since she’d received the injuries. The added harm of exposing them to extreme steam and pressure had exacerbated the situation. The bone shards were extremely brittle, and shattered easily as they ground against each other. Making every size of fragment from dust, to pebble.

Based on decades of experience, Dr. Gohan concluded that no amount of magic could heal her bones. They would need to be replaced, or most likely worse; they might have to amputate her arm up to her elbow. The tiny fragments could puncture her veins, and travel to her heart or lungs. They could also very easily cause blood clots to form if lodged in a vein.

After the good doctor had explained the entirety of the situation to Skye, she looked like a child that had their candy stolen. She concentrated on her hand as she thought about what to do. The princess felt that if she could only learn a wee bit more about bone structures, she could fix her hand herself. Getting one, or possibly both arms cut off; was Not an option.

“Tell me, doctor: what do you know about how calcium affects osteoblasts?”

****

Shasta had practically run out the door after Skye gave the ok for them to leave. She’d been surprised that the princess didn’t blame her or hate her for beating on her like she had. Shasta knew she was taking out her aggression on Skye unfairly, but the image of her and Lawrence linked and smiling together had been slowly driving her mad.

At first, Shasta tried to play it off as fury for Skye’s betrayal of Tidas’ love. But if she was being truly honest with herself, that was only a small part of it. The bulk of her anger was due to it being Lawrence..

Shasta had liked Lawrence since the first time she saw him. It had been his first visit after he’d married Princess Anastasia. It was like lightning had struck her when she saw him speaking with Tidas. He was delivering a message to his brother that their father had trusted only him to do. The information pertained to their uncle, so Magnus had relied on trusted family only.

From that day on, whenever Lawrence visited Alcon, Shasta made it a point to be within the palace to see him. She knew he would never look at her the way she looked at him.. She was Fae; a ‘beast man’, to most humans. Both races disapproved of a mingled relationship. They didn’t out-right forbid it except for the Meccano and Ital kingdoms. It was looked down upon, and any humans caught in a relationship with a non-human were segregated from society.

Lawrence was the King of Ruscovic. He could never be in any relationship with a non-human other than friendship. Shasta didn’t know what would be done to him, or how his kingdom treated beast men. Based off of Alcon and the Fae Nation; she wouldn’t risk bringing harm to him, or his children. Not over her own selfish desires..

“Earth to Shasta! Hey! Are you alright?!” Lawrence’s voice brought her back to reality.

Shasta literally jolted in place as she snapped back in; “Huh? What? I’m good! I just, ahh.. I-I need to go get Skye’s horse and things from the arena. Will you stay until I come back?”

Lawrence flashed a cheeky smile; “Why? Are you worried about her? That’s a nice-”

“NO, I’m worried about your brother! I don’t want him catching wind of this until I talk to the princess about..” Shasta trailed off, not wanting to sound scandalous.

“What exactly do you think she would tell him? Look, I think you’re safe.. Based on how Skye reacted to Tien in there, I doubt she’ll say anything bad to him about you. She knows how important you two are to each other; Skye wouldn’t ruin that out of vindictiveness. She’s not that kind of person,” Lawrence finished quietly as the two nurses exited the room, and stood off to the side to chat.

Shasta crossed her arms as she replied to the foreign king; “And how could you know that?”

Lawrence smiled; “Because she loves Tidas too much.. Don’t you get it? Did you not hear the doctor from before? She’s been in excruciating pain since before she even got here. She obviously hasn’t told anyone about it; especially Tidas. You know how badly he’d worry over her.. Do you honestly think that you two would’ve been training today if Tidas actually Knew how bad her damage was?”

Shasta nodded in agreement with Lawrence on his point. Tidas was boarderline obsessed with Skye; no way he would’ve let her even leave the palace with dirt for bones, and vice versa. Truth be told; Shasta was jealous of their relationship. To love and be loved was a nearly foreign concept to her. If not for a particular little girl, Shasta would’ve never known what love was.. Or what real pain was either...

“Ok, ok; I get your point. Anyways, will you stay? It shouldn’t take too long. Her horse looked pretty fast, and he’s huge! I’m sure people will clear the way once they see that beast coming,” Shasta fidgeted with her hands as she asked.

Lawrence found Shasta to be adorable and quite beautiful as he smiled and nodded. Ruscovic wasn’t as stringent as the other kingdoms when it came to relationships. One of his top advisers, and two of his generals had ‘beast men’ lovers. They couldn’t marry due to their inability to create heirs, but that was the only reason.

Lawrence was in the process of trying to change it. He believed that as long as there was a Chosen heir, they should be able to marry. His time with Anastasia had changed him for the better. Like Skye with Tidas; Ana opened up Lawrence’s eyes to how everyday people lived. She’d make him help her out with charity work twice a month. She told him that it kept her opinions humble and perspectives open, to spend time among her people.

Ana believed that love was the key to everything, as cheesy as it sounded. She was a caring, generous person whom adored her people. Lawrence missed her very much, but felt oddly at peace around Shasta. She was fun to talk to, and a very interesting person. Strong as hell; which made her seem a bit scary at times. As the foreign king stared at her, he realized that he wasn’t actually afraid of her in anyway.

Right as Shasta went to leave, Lawrence called out to her. Turning to face him, she was surprised to see a bit of nervousness about him. It was completely out of character, making Shasta nervous as well.

When she asked what he needed, Lawrence sputtered; “I was wondering what you were doing for dinner this evening?”