Awaking to a dim orange light Mītut Qātē calmly rubs her eyes before standing up. She awoke to find herself in a large woolen bed and warm coverings and pillows surrounding her. Believing she had awoken in a dream she tried to return back to sleep, to wake back up near the cart in the desolate forest. Yet no matter how hard she tried to sleep or toss around inside that warmed bed to awake back in that place she wasn’t able to. Amidst the tossing and turning she heard once again a familiar booming voice. “Child, are you alright? You’re thrashing about in your bed.” hearing this voice Mītut Qātē kept herself underneath the blanket in fear of this unknown man.
“I get it, sorry for being too direct, it’s a bad habit of mine.” she once heard the man say, before feeling him sit down on the same bed as her. “My name is Liale. I’m a monk, I also help take care of the orphans that the sisterhood finds. You were out for a few days, we didn’t think you were going to wake up. Thankfully it seems our prayers have been heard. Are you feeling better now child?” Mītut Qātē did not move, she didn’t know if she was able to trust this man who claimed all of these things, yet she wasn’t dismayed by his claims. In the end she decided not to say anything in response to him and kept underneath the blanket where she hid. “I understand,” Liale said with a heavy sigh “I’ll bring you some food for you to eat, health starts with eating properly.” before getting off the bedding and heading out of the room. Mītut Qātē carefully popped her head out of the warm blanket and observed the room. She didn’t see the man anywhere, only the orange light piercing through the darkened shadows casted by the various pieces of furniture in the room. Feeling utterly scared and confused at this strange situation she wrangled herself out of the blanket; falling onto the hard floor.
She scrambled to her feet and stood up disoriented by her surroundings. She had only known the straw and mud dwelling of her home but around her was a room made out of wood and stone, a sight she had only heard through whispers of the words. She took a step forward and immediately felt the crushing pains of trying to walk on her own two feet, whether or not they were injured she could not tell; it was only a pain that she was certain of. Reeling from it she fell hard onto the wooden floor onto her rear and back. Mītut Qātē screamed out in pain but stopped as the strain on her throat proved to overwhelm all other pains she had incurred at that moment; superseded by that old wound she was inflicted upon by many years ago. Nursing her leg whilst lying on the floor she waited until the pain had subsided before trying to lift herself back onto the bed again.
Before she was even able to begin moving herself back onto the bed she heard a very familiar voice from far away; somewhere else inside this place. “Child?! Are you okay?!” before hearing the steps of frantic running grow louder and louder. She did not want to be seen in such a state and so she hastened herself up toward the bed; despite all the pain she had to endure with throwing away caution for haste. Struggling against the load of herself she pulled and pulled against the bed to bring herself back on top of it yet she could not; her strength severely weakened by the past days of troubles. At this point She was tired and in pain, her body and her mind giving out after that test of her own ability to survive. Having only a bit more energy left in her body she adjusted herself back to leaning comfortably against the bed; giving up on the prospect of getting back onto the warm bed and instead was content with the cold wooden floor.
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Entering the room Liale turned to look at Mītut Qātē on the ground with a paternalistic worry. “Did you fall?” he asked her to which she nodded slowly. “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have left you behind, I know this is still a strange situation for you to be in.” Liale spoke as he walked closer to her, which Mītut Qātē didn’t react that strongly; not having the energy left to turn away from this stranger. “May I help you get off the floor? It’s been awhile since I cleaned” Liale said to Mītut Qātē, awaiting her response. Eventually she mustered a small nod to him, and he picked her up off the floor and placed her back slowly onto the bed. Liale sat on another bed just adjacent to the one Mītut Qātē was laying in. “You are in no condition to be moving, you need to rest.” Liale said to her which provoked no response. Waiting for a few moments Liale perked up with a slight smile on his face. “This must have belonged to you, it fell off when you collapsed. Did you make this?” Laim said whilst reaching behind him. Mītut Qātē didn’t know what he was talking about and turned her head to face him. As soon as she did she saw what was holding. Being held in Liale’s hands was her flower wreath; battered and with a few flowers missing, but it was undoubtedly the same wreath.
Having completely forgotten it, she reached towards her head but did not feel it; she knew then for sure that it was not a trick. She reached out her arm pitifully towards Liale and opened her hand. Liale didn’t speak a word but instead got up and carefully placed the wreath on Mītut Qātē’s head, adjusting it to fit comfortably. There was a small moment of quiet after Liale finished adjusting, Mītut Qātē looking up at the man who saved the one thing that mattered to her, and in that state tears began to fall from her eyes. She wallowed in her tears as she turned to look away from Liale, embarrassed to have a stranger like him to touch something so close to her; she felt as if it were inappropriate but she was still thankful to him for doing such a thing for a “plague child”. When her cries died to soft sniffles she turned towards Liale who sat on the opposite bed patiently waiting for her emotions to calm down, greeting her face with a sympathetic look on his. “Thank you” she said in exhausted breath as she tried to snub out the last of her worries and sadness. She felt, in a long while, at peace. Liale smiled at hearing her express gratitude and replied back with a short but genuine “You are welcome.”
Getting up from the bed, Liale took a step forward and shuffled slightly over the bed Mītut Qātē was laying in and cupped her cheek with his hand but somberly smiled as he spoke “You are still in no condition to be up, you must rest and eat, I shall get your food now, but promise me you shall rest until then?” to which Mītut Qātē nodded in agreement, now in a more clearer state of mind. Liale smiled, and softly ruffled her hair in a playful manner before turning and leaving the room. Once again alone she thought of what had happened, her thoughts drifted from idle thought to idle thought, lost in the endless stream of ideas which struck her when her emotions dissipated. Some of them she felt comforted by, others she felt worried or even scared about, but she kept on thinning these thoughts as she began to fall asleep; earning a well deserved rest finally. Her last conscious thought before falling fully asleep was that of Liale’s face, his smile, and how kind it was; she thought they looked like Adelfi’s.
