Chương 133: While She Doesn’t Wake

Sunday night passed slowly. Elowen was placed on the bed with care. The arm immobilized. The torso protected. The breathing still shallow, but stable enough not to make anyone panic every second. Kuroe took the first shift, sitting in a chair near the bed, elbows on her knees, watching her chest rise and fall. — If anything changes, call — Sylvara had said before leaving. — I know — Kuroe answered. — I said it anyway. The door closed. The room went quiet. Kuroe didn't truly sleep.

She adjusted the bandage when it seemed to loosen. She changed the damp cloth on the forehead when it got too warm. Every now and then she spoke low, without expecting an answer. — You overdid it. Silence. — I would have overdone it too. Still. Elowen's chest rose. Fell. Continued.

On Monday morning, the rest of the group had to follow the academy routine. Uniform. Corridor. The common noise of students complaining about sleep and about a surprise test that might not even come. For the group, the contrast was irritating. — Weird — Rina murmured, adjusting her bag. — It feels like the world didn't notice anything. — The world almost never notices — Harley answered. — Unless it explodes. — She still hasn't woken up — Marina said. — I know. — I know too.

I'm saying it because if I don't say it, I keep thinking more. Astrid appeared from the other side of the corridor, already with her materials under her arm. — Kuroe stayed until now. I'll take over at the break. — Me after her — Lirien completed. — And me at the end of the afternoon — Sylvara said. — I want to see if the wounds hold. Joker walked a little behind, hands in his pockets. — No one skips a shift — he said. — If you need to switch, switch. But don't disappear. — Who would disappear? — Rina asked.

— No one. I'm reminding you anyway.

The first morning class was History. The 1st Year A classroom filled little by little. The board still carried notes from the previous week about the Border Wars and the formation of the first pacts between kingdoms. Professor Selene entered punctually, as always — brown hair tied in a low bun, attentive golden eyes, wearing the academy's formal mantle in a discreet way. Her presence was calm, but hard to ignore. — Sit.

Today we continue from the Fall of Vareth and the political consequences on the central continent. The students opened their books. The group did too. Only the gaze of several of them went, every now and then, to the empty chair near the window. Elowen's chair. Selene began the explanation with the usual rhythm: a magic map opening in the air, timelines, names of treaties, strategic mistakes of kings dead for centuries. She liked to ask questions in the middle of her speech, without warning.

— Who can tell me why the Vareth pact lasted less than a generation? This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. A student in the front answered. Then another. Selene corrected, completed, continued. Until her golden gaze passed over the empty chair. — Elowen isn't here today. Her name sounded louder than it should in the group's perception. — Does anyone know the reason for the absence? For a second, no one spoke.

Harley was the first to answer, natural enough not to seem invented on the spot. — Fever. Since last night. The infirmary asked for rest. Selene raised an eyebrow. — Fever? — High enough not to let her walk through the corridors — Rina completed. — We took the notice. — I confirm — Marina said. — She could barely stay on her feet. The teacher observed the group for a moment. She didn't seem fully convinced… but she also didn't seem interested in turning that into an interrogation in the middle of class.

— Understood. When she returns, she copies the material with you. Elowen is normally among the best in the class. Her absence shows. — We feel it too — Astrid murmured, low enough for only the group to hear. Selene returned to the map. — So, continuing. After the Fall of Vareth, three kingdoms tried to occupy the power vacuum. Two failed from arrogance. One failed from hunger. Can someone explain the practical difference between the two mistakes? The class continued.

The group paid enough attention not to draw more friction. Even so, the empty chair continued there, in the corner of everyone's vision, like a quiet reminder that Sunday still hadn't truly ended. At the end of class, while the students left, Selene still spoke without looking directly at them: — If the fever is only fever, good. If it's something else, solve it before it turns into rumor. Harley smiled sideways. — Yes, professor. In the corridor, as soon as they were far enough away, Rina let out a breath.

— Fever? — Did you have a better idea at the time? — Harley asked. — I did. It just wasn't convincing. — Then fever works. — It works — Joker agreed. — While she doesn't wake up, we keep the same story. No embellishment. — No embellishment — Kuroe repeated, who had appeared at the end of class to take over the shift. — And without letting anyone from the group talk too much. — I almost never talk too much — Astrid said. Several gazes turned to her. — … Almost.

The break arrived. Astrid entered the room without knocking hard. Kuroe was exactly where she had stayed, still attentive. — Your turn to rest — Astrid said. — I'm fine. — You look like someone who didn't blink the whole night. Out. Kuroe looked at Elowen one more time before standing up. — If the breathing changes… — I'll call. Go. As soon as Kuroe left, Astrid pulled the chair, turned it backward and sat with her arms crossed over the backrest, observing the girl on the bed. — You know it's irritating, right?

No answer. — You're quiet the whole time, then decide to kill a matriarch alone and shut off for an undetermined time. What kind of rhythm is that? The silence continued. Astrid let out a breath and laughed through her nose. — Fine. I'll talk for both of us. Outside, light steps stopped near the door. Lysithea opened just enough to look inside. — How is she? — The same — Astrid answered. — Still out. Still breathing. — Did they ask in class? — They asked. We said fever. Lysithea closed her eyes for a second.

— At least you chose a simple excuse. — Harley chose. — Makes sense. Lysithea entered a few steps, stopped near the bed and observed Elowen's face in silence. — You don't need to do everything alone. — We want to do it — Astrid said. — It's different. — I know. Even so… if you need anything, call. — We will. Lysithea lingered one more second, then left with the same care with which she had entered.

At the end of the afternoon, before Sylvara checked the wounds again, Marina and Rina decided that Elowen couldn't continue like that. — She still smells like tunnel and dried blood — Marina said, already filling a bucket with warm water. — That's not care. That's abandonment in disguise. — She's unconscious — Rina answered. — She's not going to complain. — I'll complain for her. Close the door. They closed it.

They carefully removed the external bandages and the already dirty clothes, leaving Elowen's body supported on her side first, then on her back, always with one hand supporting the head and the immobilized arm so as not to force anything. The water in the bucket released a light steam. Marina wet the towel, wrung it well, and started with the face — forehead, temples, chin — with short and practical movements. Then she went down to the neck.

The towel passed over the shoulders with pressure firm enough to remove the dried sweat and the blood residue, without dragging the still sensitive wounds. Marina wet, wrung, passed again. Rina held her body when it needed to be turned, changing the water in the bucket when it got too cloudy. — Shoulder first — Marina murmured. — Slowly. The towel went down the chest, going around the internal bandages that Sylvara still wanted to preserve.

It passed over the ribs with even more care, cleaning the skin around the already closed cuts. Then the abdomen. Then the side of the hip. Each part was cleaned, dried with a second clean towel, and only then they continued. They turned Elowen carefully. The same sequence on the back: shoulders, spine, waist. The legs. The thighs. The shins. The feet. Nothing was done in a hurry, and nothing was treated as a spectacle.

Only the work of people who knew that leaving an unconscious person dirty from a fight was worse than the embarrassment of taking care of her body. When they finished, they dried everything again. Rina took clean clothes — a shirt wide enough not to press the arm, light pants, soft fabric. They dressed Elowen with the same attention as before: first the bottom, then the top, passing the sleeve with extreme care over the immobilized side. They adjusted the fabric over the chest and shoulder.

They redid the external bandages over the clean clothes. Lastly, Marina combed her silver hair. It was tangled near the nape and a little stuck to the temples from the old sweat. She separated strand by strand with her fingers first, then passed the comb calmly, until the hair fell properly over the shoulders and the pillow again. — Done — Marina said low. — Now she looks like a cared-for person. Not an abandoned survivor. Rina adjusted the blanket up to chest height.

— If she wakes up and complains, it's your fault. — If she wakes up, I'll accept the complaint. Sylvara entered shortly after, stopped at the door and observed the clean room, the changed clothes, the arranged hair. — You bathed her. — We did — Marina confirmed. — With bucket and towel. The way possible. — Good. I was going to demand that today. The green glow appeared again in Sylvara's hands, only enough to reinforce what had already closed. — It's holding — she murmured. — Her body is working. — And the head?

— Lirien asked, appearing behind. — Still far. — Then we continue.

At night, the group gathered for a few minutes in the corridor before deciding who would stay. — I'll stay now — Kuroe said. — You stayed the whole night yesterday — Harley countered. — And I can stay again. — No. Split it. I'll take the first hours. You come in after. Kuroe opened her mouth to argue. Closed it. Then simply nodded. — All right. Joker, who had stayed quiet most of the time, finally spoke: — She'll come back. — I know — Harley answered. — I know too — Kuroe said.

— Even so, someone needs to be here when that happens. — And until then — Marina completed — the story stays the same. — Fever — almost everyone confirmed at the same time. Harley laughed low. — At least we're consistent. No one disagreed. In the room, Elowen remained motionless — clean, arranged, covered up to the chest. The mark under the clothes sometimes seemed to pulse weakly. The Veil didn't appear. The lance neither. Only the body recovering, slowly, far too far from the surface.

Harley, on the late-night shift, stayed looking at the girl for a long time before speaking low: — When you wake up, we're going to have a very long conversation. Silence. — And you're going to listen. Even if you don't want to. Elowen's chest rose. Fell. It still wasn't the time. But the entire group was already organized around her, waiting for the moment when it would be. End of Chapter 133