The Unwanted Sister (7)

Writers: Heather, AL
Date Posted: 8th September 2013
Series: The Unwanted Sister

Characters: Coran, Relea, Jaken
Description: A sick Relea turns up at Coran's quarters, at the risk of her already tattered reputation.
Location: Green Valley Hold
Date: month 2, day 20 of Turn 7
Notes: @ Green Valley

Relea

She'd been up half the night, heaving into the toilet. She spent most
of that time actually in the bathroom so she didn't have to go back
and forth so much. Between the vomiting and, later once her stomach
was empty, dry heaving, Relea had managed to get about two hours of
sleep, but not all at once.

The morning found her exhausted, her stomach still in turmoil. She
actually took a bucket with her for fear that she might throw up and
didn't want to do it on the floor. Of course, she didn't think there
was anything_left_ but it was better to be safe than sorry.

She found herself looking for a specific healer and knocked upon his
door. She swayed a little on her feet, dizzy from the effort of the
previous night and from the lack of sleep.

Coran hadn't been awake long, he had just had enough time to wash his
face in the basin, pull on some clean clothes, and comb his fingers
through his hair. That was the normal, morning routine for the senior
journeyman before he headed off to the infirmary to see the first
patients of the day. The knock at his door was unexpected, the healer
didn't maintain many visitors.

Swinging open the wooden portal, Coran was surprised to find Relea on
the other side, and more than that, he was surprised by the alarming
pallor of her face, and the bags beneath her eyes. The healer took one
look at the bucket in the woman's hand and completely understood. The
healer in Coran took in all of the symptoms as he motioned for her to
come into his quarters.

"When did it start?" He asked, skipping the greeting as he ushered her
to a chair.

"Last night." Came the sign. It was simple enough though Coran had
learned a lot in the short time he'd been working with her. She'd
come to respect him.

Coran understood the sign with barely a second thought. Reading
Relea's signs had nearly become second nature, which pleased the
healer since he wanted to be able to communicate to all of his
patients, and especially Relea. The woman was beautiful, whether she
knew it or not, and the idea that her brother was ready to pawn her
off to the highest bidder made Coran want to punch the man. He was
glad that Reven had introduced him to Relea.

"Did you eat anything unusual yesterday?" Coran asked with his hands.

Relea shook her head. She'd had all her meals with the others and
hadn't eaten anything different. The motion made her even dizzier
even though she sat and swayed a little. "So tired." She signed,
then bent over as another wave of nausea took hold and she began to
heave into the bowl. There was nothing left so nothing was gained by
her body's attempts to purge.

Coran's look was sympathetic as he gently rubbed circles onto Relea's
back, his other hand sweeping her hair back from her face. Fortunately
for Coran, his craft left him with a strong stomach, and he never even
flinched as Relea gagged and heaved while throwing up. Her body was
dehydrated and spent. "Come on, you can climb into my bed. I will have
one of my apprentices fetch some crackers, and then I will need to
grab a few things from the infirmary." He told her, while taking her
elbow to help guide her.

The infirmary. That's probably where she_should_ have gone, but her
first thought had been to find Coran. It was so early he wouldn't have
been there yet anyway. Besides, his quarters were a lot shorter walk
than the infirmary.

She allowed him to walk her back. The thought that she was about to
take the bed of a man who wasn't her husband briefly crossed her mind,
but not for long. She was far too miserable to dwell on what sort of
rumours might come from that at the present moment.

Coran was glad that Relea didn't argue on the matter as he set her
puke bucket by the side of his bed, pulled back the worn quilt that he
had used for Turns, and then tucked her in. Knowing what a fine woman
that Relea was, and the etiquette that she followed, he made sure to
sign to her, "Don't worry about taking my bed. I spend more nights
working in the infirmary than I do in here. No one will say a thing."
He promised before straightening.

"I will be right back."

Relea couldn't help but smile a little. His signing was still a
little stiff and he'd gotten a couple of words wrong, but she got the
gist of what he had tried to tell her. She started to turn over in
hopes of getting some rest, but her body had other plans. Instead,
she continued to heave into the bucket, even though there was nothing
left to come out.

~*~

"She's in your room?" The apprentice asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"It is not what you think," Coran dismissed the look in the young
lad's eye before it could begin, "she was too sick for me to take her
back to her room. I'm giving her my bed and I will stay here in the
infirmary if necessary. So far I am thinking she's just got an upset
stomach that should run its course in a day or so."

Jaken looked at the older healer, surprised that someone as smart as
Coran could have missed the obvious, "She's a woman so... Couldn't she
be pregnant?"

"Why would you think that?" Coran asked.

The boy shrugged, "There's lots of rumors going around about the
holder Reven and that woman."

Coran's lips turned down into a frown as he turned to regard Jaken,
"She is_not_ that kind of woman. Watch saying that in
front of anyone else. You know how rumors spread."

The apprentice looked chagrined, "O-Of course, sir. I'll go get those
crackers you asked for."

Watching the boy go, Coran shook his head as he packed away a few
powders into his bag that might help with some of Relea's nausea and
ease the violent nature of her vomiting.

~*~

"I am back." Coran said as he entered his rooms. Then it hit him that
she couldn't hear him. **Stupid.** He scolded himself as he took the
crackers that Jaken had retrieved, along with the satchel of medicine
he had brought. Stepping into his bedroom, he peered cautiously at the
bed to see if Relea was resting.

She was trying. For a moment, it looked as if she might have a chance
to do just that. Then, her body lurched and her arms tightened around
the bucket. That bucket had become her best friend over the last few
hours. She needed it. It wasn't going anywhere.

Coran winced at the sound of Relea's puking. Her ribs had to be sore.
Moving into the room, he flashed her a knowing smile, as he sat his
satchel down and then produced the crackers. He sat them on the table
beside of his bed, freeing up his hands so he could sign, "Try just
sucking on the cracker first. Let it get as soft as possible. Then
swallow. Go slow. I'll get you some water."

Relea had a feeling her body wasn't going to like even that, but maybe
Coran knew something she didn't. She did as she was told, and for a
moment it seemed like her body was going to accept it. Til it didn't.
What little she'd had of the cracker came right back up again. Poor
bucket.

Coran opened up his satchel and withdrew one of the vials that he had
brought. Pouring a fresh cup of water, Coran dumped the powders in,'which
were a combination of crushed herbs and tea leaves. Bringing the
concoction over to the bed, he held the glass out for her, "Sip this
slowly."

She did as instructed - in fact, she sipped_very_ slowly. One sip, then
she waited. Then she took another. She got down about four sips before
she had to turn her face away and heave into the bucket again. There was
a running theme, it seemed. Insert food or drink, purge. It was getting
hold.

Moving to the basin, Coran poured cool water over the rag sitting on the
side and wrung it out. Folding the cloth he brought it over, while his
free hand drug the straight back chair from the corner. Sitting down
beside of Relea, Coran took the cool cloth and began gently wiping her
face and forehead, "Looks like it is going to have to run its course."

Relea didn't respond. Her eyes were closed against the world because it
was just too much when her body was just that miserable. The cool cloth
felt good and that at least helped her relax. After a few minutes, she
relaxed enough to fall into slumber, though her arms still embraced the
bucket.

Coran studied Relea's features while he slept. It amazed him at how the
little woman managed to bring out the protective side in him. Coran
wondered about the rumors that were floating around the Hall. Coran had to
admit that Reven did seem to take a lot of interest in the woman. It had
been many Turns since he had seen his brother so he couldn't pretend to
know Reven's character but he couldn't imagine her having an affair with a
married man. There was no way she could be pregnant... Could there?

Last updated on the March 26th 2014

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