Comfort and Care
POV: Alexandra
I reached over to Lady Kastilidan and closed her eyes as Derek pulled her out of the rubble. One of the medical people that were out there started to yell at Derek as he was moving her. I looked down from the top of the rubble pile we climbed out of, “There’s no need to be careful with her. She just passed away.” The med said, “That wasn’t for the two of you to determine! You could have killed her by moving her!” Derek shook his head at her, “I can determine that because I have seen death probably just as much as you have. We saw the light leave her eyes.” He climbed down with her and the med lifted her eyelids to find that her eyes were lifeless. He sighed, “I guess you are right but please don’t bring them down until one of us has determined officially that they are dead.” The med pulled over some soldiers that were on stand by and they came forward with some sheets. They gently placed her on top of the sheet and placed another on top of her. They started to sew the seams together and when they were done, they brought her over to an area they had reserved for the dead. The soldiers came back over with paperwork, “Your Grace, do you happen to know who the deceased is?” I nodded, “I don’t know her first name but she was Lady Kastilidan who was the daughter of the Count and Countess of Kastilidan.” The soldier wrote it down on the paperwork, “We can get the first name from Lady Maigny since they were friends. Thank you, Your Grace.” I nodded at them and turned back to Derek, “Let’s continue on.”
We spent the rest of the day clearing our grid. We had heard a few shouts around the manor throughout the day. We were not able to find any survivors yet. All in all the crew found Count Kastilidan and about four household staff members. We had cleared the majority of the household and the General told us that we would get to the basement the next day. We were hoping that the basement shielded anyone who was down there at the time. We still had not found the Countess or the housekeeper. While we were searching, Jess and some of the others had set up the sleep quarters. I would share a tent with Derek, Jess, and Alita. They had wanted to place Melody in the same tent as me but the General told them to separate us. He knew that she hated my guts and the feeling would have been mutual if I had been born with the capacity to hate. The thing I felt for anyone who hated me was pity and it was definitely there for Melody. I pitied her for her hateful heart, for having a terrible father, and for her capacity to hurt others. It made her so very ugly even though she was beautiful on the outside. I changed into some warm pajamas after we all gathered in the mess tent to eat. I was so exhausted from all of the physical work that I had passed out the very moment I crawled into my cot. Early the next morning, at sunrise, the General popped his head in the tent, “Wake up! Time to get to breakfast and get to work!” I grumbled and turned over in my cot away from him. Jess shook me, “I know you aren’t a morning person but you have to get up Xan. He won’t treat you any differently than any of the soldiers here and that means you will get an icy bucket of water splashed on you.”
I begrudgingly rose from my spot on the cot and pulled myself out of bed. The General popped his head back in, “Lady Alexandra, you will be meeting with Elder Edgar this morning. He will be issuing you your orders today. He’s at the mess tent when you are ready.” I pulled out a set of clothing I knew the General wouldn’t have an issue with me using for any tasks I may have done and changed after Derek vacated the tent. He didn’t have any issues changing in front of the three of us women. Alita was next out since she said she had to go help with breakfast and Jess was next since she had to go set up the medical services tent with the fresh supplies that had arrived last night from my father. I finished getting ready shortly after she left and I walked over to the mess tent. Elder Edgar was waiting outside of the tent for me. He smiled as I approached, “I must say that I was very impressed with your willingness to get dirty and help others out. I’m giving you a passing mark for your first day. We can discuss your next assignment over breakfast. Shall we?” He opened the flap of the mess tent and gestured for me to go in before him. I stepped into the mess hall where I had expected it to at least have one of the two other Queen candidates eating there. Edgar chuckled behind me, “Those two won’t win if they don’t show the initiative to at least get out of bed before sunrise.” I walked over to the line and served myself some eggs, bacon, and toast so that I could make myself a quick breakfast sandwich. I grabbed a small cup of orange juice and a cup of hot tea. I didn’t really drink coffee but I wanted something with caffeine so I opted for a strong black tea and a little bit of cream and sugar. I sat down with Edgar and quickly threw my sandwich together while he started to speak, “I don’t really want you to get your hands dirty in the rubble today. I feel like I don’t want you to come away injured. Certain people would be very upset with me if you did, I was told to ensure your safety.” He winked at me and continued, “In this spirit, I have a task for you that would be most useful for your desire to help out to the fullest and keep you from getting injured.” I swallowed the bite of sandwich I had been chewing through his speech, “What is that?”
He smiled and gestured to the corner of my mouth, I wiped away a bit of egg with my napkin. He spoke with a gentle voice, “I would like you to tend the medical tent. You will assist the med team as a nurse of sorts. I know you don’t have water magic but you can dress wounds and provide comfort and care to the injured. Lady Kellen will be by your side today. The General needs Derek to help to clear the rubble today. We found quite a few survivors in the outlier buildings in the village. You can check in on them today too.” I nodded, “I don’t mind helping where I am needed, sir. Just point me to the places I should go and I will help with whatever you need me to.” He patted my shoulder, “You know what I like most about you, Your Grace?” I shrugged, “What’s that, sir?” He smiled at me gently, “That you are very authentic. Most ladies would fake their concern if it made her look good. I know this is the way Lady Maigny is, I witnessed it yesterday when she was handing water to the victims of this horrible event. I told her evaluator about this and I am hoping he factors that into his evaluation from yesterday. You never can tell though, he could be one of the Elders on her side though, there are a few. The Queen did her best to assign us properly but sometimes she doesn’t know the dynamics of the council.” I looked at him startled, “Her Majesty made the assignments?” He chuckled, “She did. If it had been up to anyone else, I very much doubt you and I would be having this conversation right now. It looks like you are done eating, shall we get going?” I took the last sip of tea that was left in my cup, loaded the empty cups onto the tray that I had brought over from the mess line and threw the cups in the trash, and placed the plate and utensils in the soapy water provided at the wash station.
I followed Edgar out of the tent over to another large white tent and we stepped inside. It smelled strongly like blood and medicine in this tent. Jess was already inside unpacking bandages from a crate that had my House crest on it. He smiled at the sight, “She too would have made an excellent Queen but Grand Pretre said it was not her destiny so we made sure she was sent on her path. You should go help her or you can make rounds comforting the sick. It is up to you what you do from here on. I will observe from afar while helping out myself.” I nodded at him, “Thank you, sir. I think I will start with the comforting.” I walked up to a bed that had a young girl laying on it. She was a brunette with beautiful blue eyes. If she had not had a bunch of scratches marring her face, she would have been one of the most beautiful young ladies I had ever seen. She was wearing a cast and had a firm grip on a ripped-up teddy bear. I gave her a gentle smile, “Hello. My name is Alexandra. What is your name?” She gripped the bear tighter and spoke softly, “My name is Lucy.” I sat down in the chair next to her bed, “Lucy is a nice name. Does your bear have a name?” She smiled, “Oh his name is Mr. Berriesworth. He’s my protector when things are bad. He saved me from dying.” I smiled at her, “Oh yeah? I bet he’s the best protector ever. Did you want something? I can get almost anything you want.” She thought for a little while, “They already gave us breakfast but I’m still thirsty. Could you get me a glass of water?” I nodded at her, “Sure, give me just a few moments. Okay?” I looked around and spotted a table that had a pitcher of water and a bunch of glasses. I approached it and asked the med close by, “Are these okay to take to the patients?” The med nodded, “Of course, Your Grace. Take as much as needed.” I poured a glass for Lucy and walked back to her. I helped her sit up and held the glass as she drank since one of her arms was in a sling as well. She laid back down and immediately asked, “Can I ask you to do another favor?” I nodded, “Sure, I will do my best to fulfill your request.” She held up the ripped-up teddy bear, “Do you know how to sew?” I took the bear into my hands and noticed an eye was hanging by a thread, the ear was halfway ripped off and the arm and leg on one side were barely attached, “I can fix it if that is what you are asking but it will take a little time. I can come do surgery on him later.” She smiled up at me, “Could you wait until I’m asleep again so I won’t miss him terribly?” I smiled and nodded at her, “Of course. I will work on him while you sleep.”
Jess approached us as I had finished promising Lucy that I would fix up her toy, “Alexandra, could you please assist me? I heard they found a couple of survivors at the main manor. They are requesting all hands on deck.” I nodded, “I will come to check on you later. Okay?” Lucy nodded, “Thanks for keeping me company, Alexandra.” I walked off with Jess and we waited for the incoming patients at the opening of the medical tent. They brought in a mangled, bloody woman on a stretcher. The med who had accompanied the woman looked around the room, “Your Grace, I think your magic will help most. We need cauterization for this one and you have the best fire magic here. Follow me to the surgery section.” I nodded, “Okay, whatever you need.” The woman reached out to me and said in a hoarse voice, “Your Grace, I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” I grabbed her hand as we walked through the flap that separated the resting area of the medical tent from the surgery part, “Please save your strength, ma’am. You need not say anything more.” Lined on one side of the small room was a rack of bottles filled with liquid. The med walked over and picked up a bottle and brought it over and filled a dropper with the liquid, “Ma’am you must take this so you can feel no pain while we work on you.” She swallowed the liquid from the dropper and as she was falling asleep, she spoke again, “I have wronged you, Your Grace. I am sorry.” I was confused as to why this woman would think that she had wronged me but all I did was comfort her as she fell asleep, “It’s okay, ma’am. Just sleep now as I try to help you.” When she finally fell asleep the med smiled at me, “You’re awfully nice to someone who tried her hardest to make sure you wouldn’t be Queen.” I looked up at him, “What do you mean?” He shrugged, “Everyone knows the Count and Countess of Kastilidan tried to have you kicked out of the competition with their request. You comforted that very woman, it just shows you she was very wrong to want that. You’d make an excellent Queen.” I looked down at the mangled face of the Countess and I felt nothing but pity for a woman who lost her entire family in a single day.
