36 Aftermath

Chapter 36: Aftermath

Fortem Academy Infirmary

"We gave her all the treatment she needed. I'm sure one of you can explain why this girl who just came in yesterday with a bruised leg, is now here again with a bite mark from a demon beast." Veesha gave the Ethereals a look. "Boys, you can look now."

The three boys turned around with a sigh. The door opened in the middle of the scene, it was Zathur and Jettam.

Anzai gave the two Ethereal girls a look. "Did you bring her things in the Ethereal dorm?"

Jett walked to where Eliana was laying, he stood beside Larsanel.

Zathur slipped both his hands inside his pocket. "We brought her clothes." Zathur answered Anzai. 

The first ranker nodded. "And Lord Rimbrad?" This time he looked over to Bastion.

"He's on the site with the other faculties and guards." Bastion replied, his eyes looking over Eliana.

Veesha who was listening crossed her arms at the Seven sighing deeply. "Anzai, I expect you have a say in this?" 

Anzai looked rather unfazed.

"The Ethereals are not involved in this terrible incident, if anyone it was the girl who found Eliana to be in danger. She reported it to us. We arrived almost too late as this girl was already bitten by that lower class beast." He said.

Veesha nodded in understanding. "I see, I'm glad the two of you-" She pointed at Anzai and Kylon." Immediately brought her here. If it was a little later she would have not survived." She gave Eliana an agitated look.

"Can I stay here with her?" Larsanel volunteered.

Veesha shook her head. "I'm afraid you cannot, I'm sure the Academy Guards are wide awake to survey the area at this hour. The Seven of you should leave and rest for the remaining hour."

"Will she be okay here?" Kylon asks.

The display of concerned expressions on the Ethereal Seven's faces made Veesha smile smugly.

"Is this concern I see? My my, rest assured she is safe here. I expect for Rimbrad to pay his visit a few minutes from now. You should all leave, the school can handle this, students." She turned her back on them to walk back to her desk.

The Ethereals sighed. They knew they were not needed and it was no use pushing what they want, not when Eliana is barely conscious or even alive. So they left and went back to their building.

Time passed and Eliana felt her head throb and her body immobilized. She slowly opened her eyes, the white ceiling greeting her line of vision. She closed them again when she felt like everything was a little too bright for her. She wiggled her fingers and felt relieved when they moved according to her command.

She attempted to sit up and was successful, slightly grunting from the struggle of her stiff body. She moaned a little from the sharp pain on her shoulders when she moved. That's when she realized her whole shoulder was patched up with bandages.

"Oh, you're finally awake."

Eliana looked over to her side and waited till her vision cleared. It was Sera who was smiling widely at her conscious state.

She cleared her throat when she felt it was dry and rough. Sera handed her a glass of water which she gladly accepted. She drank it like a person in the desert.

"How are you feeling?"

She handed the empty glass back to Sera. Sera placed it on her side table and waited patiently for Eliana to sit comfortably against the headboard to answer.

"Dizzy." Eliana's voice was small and raspy. She closed her eyes feeling nauseous.

"That's good, it means the antidote worked well on you." Sera said. She stood up and walked to the other side to continue her work. "It's been two days since you lost consciousness."

Eliana's eyes opened widely from Sera's words. "Two days!?" She sat up from the shock, immediately the adrenaline was replaced by a rush of headache. She rubbed her forehead. "Urgh."

"Be careful, we don't want you passing out again." Veesha who just came to the infirmary said. "The Ethereals said they will pay you a visit later this afternoon. Brace yourself, the room will be stuffy." She walked to Eliana's bedside.

"What happened in two days?" Eliana managed to ask leaning back to the bed's headboard.

Veesha checked on her vitals. "You were passed out, obviously. The incident is currently under investigation along with your first investigation."

Eliana's eyebrows furrowed.

Veesha sighed. "I heard about the first occurrence. Apparently you were sucked out of oxygen earlier on the same day in the afternoon. Am I incorrect?"

It didn't take a few seconds for Eliana to understand what the healer meant. "Yes, it happened on the same day. Is there any news about it while I was here?"

Veesha finished her routine check up. She crossed her arms at the girl. "No, it's still under investigation. The Academy has been waiting for you to regain your strength. I'll give you one more day to rest before you're allowed to join the investigation."

Eliana nodded.

She spent the rest of the day laying quietly in the infirmary. Even took a quick nap but was woken up by loud noises. She cracked her eyes open and the first thing she saw was Larsanel.

"Oh." Larsanel heard her, she worriedly came to Eliana's side.

"Hey, you look terrible, how are you feeling?"

Eliana sighed sitting up leaning on the headboard. "I feel better." She scanned her eyes and saw the other Ethereals, even Emery with her I-could-care-less expression.

Anzai who just entered locked eyes with her. "You're finally awake." He says.

Eliana broke the eye contact to look over Veesha who was minding her own business behind the desk. "Can I leave?"

Veesha stared at her for a seconds, pondering on her request. Nevertheless she sighed and grabbed the bottle containing an opaque water beside her on the desk. "You may, but don't forget to drink this tonight after dinner." She passed the bottle to Eliana.

"I will, thank you Lady Veesha." She carefully shifted her body to the side of the bed. Larsanel gave her a new pair of shoes and helped her stand up.

"Lord Wistal came this morning after the incident. We'll send a letter to him about your current condition." Zathur informed.

The other Ethereals were quietly observing Eliana's movements. It was clearly obvious the girl was still unstable and was struggling to stand on her own feet.

"Take it slow Eliana, we don't want you passing out again." Veesha repeated the line from earlier.

Eliana kept quiet as she focused to move on her own, silently thankful for Larsanel's assistance. Anzai who was watching intently decided to inform Eliana the news.

"You'll be staying with us."