When I opened my eyes, I was in an unfamiliar place full of beeping machines. The room was bright- too bright. White, luminescent walls surrounded me, looking strange in the normally dank, concrete buildings of Tueri. The smell of disinfectant filled the air, burning my nose with its strength.

I glanced down at the pasty cast covering my left wrist. An IV was stuck in my other arm, hooked to a bag of fluid on a stand beside the bed. It took me a few minutes in my groggy state, but I finally realized that I must be in the infirmary.

I was surprised to see Micah fast asleep in a chair next to my hospital bed, his legs propped up on my bedside table. I could tell by the dark rings under his eyes and the stubble on his face that it had been a few days since he had left my side. I wondered how long I had been unconscious.

I spotted a pitcher of ice water on my bedside table, and I realized that I was beyond thirsty. I reached out to grab the pitcher, but as I did, my heart-rate monitor slipped off of my finger, causing an alarm to sound through the speaker above my bed.

I had never seen people move so quickly, as two nurses came running in from the hallway, another patient stood up as though about to come save me, and Micah bolted out of the chair. All the while, I sat red-faced and humiliated, holding the pitcher of water.

Realizing that this was a false alarm, the other patient climbed back into bed, pulling the blanket up to her chin, while the nurses went back into the hallway, muttering irritably amongst themselves.

"Sorry," I croaked, my voice cracking from lack of use.

Micah grabbed the pitcher from my hands and poured water in a glass for me. I took the cup gratefully and guzzled it, the cool liquid feeling pleasant on my parched throat.

"How long have I been here?" I asked.

"About three days. We were starting to get worried."

I glanced down at the scrapes and bruises covering my body, the most obvious of which was her cast.

"You broke your wrist when you passed out," Micah explained.

"Of course I did," I muttered irritably, rolling my eyes. "I can't even faint without making a fool of myself. Just another reason for the protectors to doubt my abilities, I guess."

"You can't be serious?" Micah said, a look of bewilderment plastered on his face. "Alexis, what you did was the most amazing thing I have ever seen!"

I furrowed my brows, trying to remember. I could barely recall the battle, but I remembered the feelings of pure rage consuming me, and the feeling of magic flowing through my body. The rest was a blur.

"Really?" I asked, skeptical.

"Yes," he said, looking fervently in my eyes. "Was it foolish for you to use so much of your energy that you risked your life? Of course. But the amount of power you demonstrated will stop anyone in Tueri from ever doubting you again. Even the Malin ran away with their tail tucked when they saw what you could do," he said with a chuckle. "You single-handedly took out half of their soldiers and saved dozens of protector lives, including the young girl."

"Chasity is okay?" I asked. Micah nodded and I let out a sigh of relief. It had been a close call- too close. If another child had lost their life because of me, I wasn't sure I would have been able to handle it.

"Everyone is okay now, thanks to you. And as much as I hate to say this, thanks to Dennis. He worked hard to patch you up in the field. I'm not sure you would have made if it weren't for him."

To hear Micah commend Dennis for a job well done surprised me. It was just a few weeks ago when Micah was punching him in the face. Now it seemed that Micah and Dennis were finally able to find common ground on one thing- my safety.

"I need to find him, to thank him," I said, pulling the white linens off of my bare legs. If not for Dennis, I could very well be dead.

"Absolutely not," Micah said, pushing gently on my shoulders as I attempted to stand up. "Alexis, you just woke up from a medically induced coma because you were so close to death. Now is not the time. You can thank Dennis once you've healed."

"I feel fine. Really," I said.

In reality my arm was aching, my body was lethargic, and my head felt as though it might explode. But I refused to tell Micah this, because if I did, I knew he would never allow me up from this bed.

"Micah," I pleaded. His eyes softened, but he shook his head.

"The nurses said you need to sleep. I'm not budging on this," he said firmly.

I laid back, too weak to fight against Micah's unwavering hands. I tried, and failed, to hide the pout that crossed my face.

Micah gave me a sad smile. "Look on the bright side. At least you'll get out of training for a little bit."

To my contempt, I was mandated to remain in the infirmary for another two days. I wanted nothing more than to stretch my stiff legs and get fresh air, but Micah and the nurses wouldn't hear of it. They insisted that my body had been through a great trauma and that I needed to recuperate, so I was forced to remain in my hospital bed at all times.

Since Tueri didn't believe in electricity, I had nothing to preoccupy myself and make the days go by faster. After only a few hours, I was beginning to go stir crazy. I even resorted to begging Micah to bring my textbooks from our bunk, desperate for some sort of distraction. But he refused, convinced this would just cause me unnecessary stress.

Whenever they were available, Micah and Fletcher would come to the infirmity to visit. I enjoyed their company, and it helped pass some of the time.

It bothered me to think of how distant and detached I had been with them lately, but my near death experience seemed to affect all of us more than we admitted. We made an effort to let bygones be bygones. During the time that I was confined to my hospital prison, we became closer than ever before.

Even Sage dropped in at one point to tell me that I had "done alright", before leaving just minutes later, feeling awkward with the unfamiliar pleasantries.

I hadn't seen Dennis since before the battle began, something that I found odd. Wouldn't he normally be in the infirmary, considering he was the town doctor?

With nothing to preoccupy my mind, paranoia quickly swept in. Was he avoiding me for some reason? I began biting the fingernails of my one good hand, feeling anxious that I may have done something to offend him. I really liked Dennis, and the last thing I wanted was to push him away like I had done with so many people in my life. The idea began to weigh on me until it was at the forefront of my mind during the duration of my hospital stay.

When I was finally released from the infirmary, I rushed through the front doors, eager for sweet freedom. I squinted my eyes, unaccustomed to the bright sunlight, as I walked blindly into the square.

Through the glare, I could see protectors all around stopping to gawk at me, their mouths open in amazement. At first I ducked my head, as they pointed and whispered, feeling insecure as my face blushed profusely. But after a minute, I realized that they were no longer staring at me for the same reasons as when I first arrived in Tueri. Now, they stared because they had seen my magic firsthand, and they were astonished.

This idea eased the apprehension in my stomach. With a deep breath, I marched into the square with my head held high.

The moment I left the hospital, I was searching for Dennis. I was determined to find him and thank him for saving my life.

I wandered around the square for an hour, hoping for the off chance that I would stumble across him, but I wasn't that lucky. At dinner I skimmed the cafeteria, but Dennis didn't show. That entire day, he was nowhere to be found.

I decided to try one last time that evening by going to our usual meeting spot in the meditation gardens. Micah offered to walk with me, afraid that I may be too injured to be alone, but I brushed him. I didn't miss the hurt expression that crossed his face when I told him I would rather he not come. But he composed himself quickly enough, and instead went to the gym, leaving me alone as requested.

When I walked through the gates of the meditation gardens, I was elated to see Dennis sitting on a bench under my favorite cherry blossom tree. The sight of him filled me with joy, made me feel like I had found the missing piece of the puzzle that made me whole. 

When he spotted me, a brilliant smile crossed his face. I smiled back, a weight lifted as I gazed into his handsome face.

"I figured you would come eventually," he said, striding toward me.

"I'm glad that I found you," I said. "Micah told me what you did, how you saved my life. I wanted to thank you."

"Don't thank me, Lexi. I'm just glad you're okay," he said, giving me a kiss on the cheek.

A deep sense of ecstasy and peace filled me as sat beside him. I had finally been able to access my magic, it seemed as though Dennis and Micah were beginning to accept one another, and I felt like I was finally finding myself. I couldn't help but smile as I realized that for the first time in a long time, I was truly happy.

Without speaking, Dennis and I joined hands, and began strolling through the abandoned gardens. It was strange to see them so deserted. Usually there were a few stragglers coming and going throughout the hour, but today there was no one else there besides me and Dennis. But I didn't mind the solitude. After several days stuck in the hospital, I was thankful for this time alone with Dennis.

As we turned a corner, I stumbled and almost fell over a rock. I chastised myself; only a few hours after being released from the hospital, and I was already getting hurt. Micah would lock me up and throw away the key at this point.

I glanced down at the offensive object, mortified to see that it wasn't a rock at all, but someone's foot. A middle-aged woman laid face down in a bed of turquoise roses, her eyes lost in some faraway place. Her skin was ashen, and she was clutching her ribs, where a large laceration had been pumping scarlet blood from her body.

I glanced at Dennis in alarm, but he didn't seem phased.

Well of course not. He's a doctor. He's probably seen hundreds of dead bodies, I thought to myself, trying to justify his peculiar reaction.

Out of my peripherals, I noticed several men and women sauntering out from behind the trees and bushes of the meditation garden, surrounding us. Some of them carried daunting weapons, while others held menacing firebombs in their palms. I knew immediately that these were Malin soldiers.

"Dennis," I mumbled, backing toward the exit with my fingers still interlocked with his.

I tugged on his hand, urging him to flee, but he didn't budge. I was new to using magic, but I knew that my body was still too weak from the last battle to put up a fight with this many soldiers, if I could even summon my powers to begin with. We had to run or we wouldn't stand a chance.

I pulled at his hand once again in a desperate attempt for us to escape, to get back to the square where we could find reinforcements. But once again, Dennis wouldn't budge. I looked questioningly into his brown eyes and saw humor dancing in them. That's when I realized that the Malin soldiers were not surrounding Dennis in an attempt to trap him, but so that he was at the head of their battalion.

"Dennis... what's happening?" I murmured, afraid of what the answer might be.

"What's happening is that you are a naïve little girl, Alexis Galloway," Dennis said, pulling his hand from mine in disgust. "Did you really think that this was some fairytale romance? That you would meet some stranger, fall madly in love in a matter of weeks, and live happily ever after?" he asked, laughing maniacally. "Use your head! I never loved you. This was a ploy from the beginning."

My heart drops into my stomach; he didn't love me? It really was too good to be true.

I glanced around through tearful eyes. Malin soldiers were everywhere, their eyes trained on Dennis as though waiting for his command. That was when it clicked- Dennis worked for King Casimir. He had been a member of the Malin all along, committing an act of espionage by hiding undercover in Tueri. He had fooled us all; even the careful protectors had been oblivious.

The moment this realization dawned on me, Dennis gave a small nod. I didn't have time to cry for helps before a Malin soldier grabbed my arms and tied them behind my back, while another covered my mouth to muffle the terrified screams that were trying to escape. My feet were lifted off of the ground as the Malin began carrying me away from the meditation gardens. I writhed and wriggled in an attempt to get free, but it was all in vain.

Dennis walked haughtily over to me, laughter plastered on his face as he watched me struggle. His elation was the last thing I saw before he hit me in the back of the head, and I faded into unconsciousness. 

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© Dawn Norwell