Guardian of the Dream
Part 4 - The Night of the Flower
Chapter 5 - Awakening
Tanda woke up when something ice-cold touched his face. He tried to open his eyes, but his eyelids felt too heavy. Everything felt too heavy.
"His left ankle is broken."
"That must be Jin's doing. The shoulder joint I dislocated is back in place, but the area around it is swollen. I'm also pretty sure his left eardrum is ruptured."
Tanda recognized Balsa's voice, but he couldn’t quite make out everything she was saying. She sounded echoey and far away. He knew she was speaking to someone, but he didn’t recognize the other voice at all.
"The biggest problem seems to be exhaustion. That’s why he’s not waking up."
"Yes. He probably hasn't eaten anything for a while, either. I still don’t understand how he could’ve possibly gotten here so fast with an ankle broken."
Torogai cleared her throat. Tanda knew that she was there and tried to sit up, but remained still.
“The Flower’s Defender can’t feel exhaustion or pain, but Tanda can, and it’s caught up to him. We went on horseback, which was the long way, and we rested. He cut toward us in a straight line, running all the way. No wonder he’s so damn tired.”
Tanda groaned, still feeling heavy all over. He didn’t want to move. He felt like someone had poured lead into all his limbs.
A dry, rough hand cupped his cheek. "Tanda! Are you awake? Tanda, can you hear me?" Balsa asked.
He wanted to reply, but speech was beyond him. Everything was beyond him.
“Well, at least he’s making noises now,” Torogai said. “And Balsa, calm down. You’re not helping him. He’s all right. Well, not all right yet, but he’ll live.” Torogai sounded tired, herself.
"Don't you have something for the pain?” Balsa asked. “The medicine you gave me earlier worked. Can't we give him some of that?"
Tanda heard a rustling noise like oiled paper being unfolded. "Sure, let's give him some medicine. Lift his head."
Tanda felt himself being lifted by many hands, slowly and carefully. Even though he wasn’t moving himself, the strange new shift in his weight made him feel incredibly dizzy.
The cold, wet cloth on Tanda’s forehead fell off as he was moved. Tanda managed to open his eyes briefly. The world spun all around him. All he could make out for certain was the swirl of worried faced hovering above him.
It was still in the middle of the night. A fire burned nearby, making Tanda feel hot. Cool liquid soothed his throat as he swallowed.
"Tanda, drink this. It’s water. Do you understand me? We’ll give you medicine now, so try to swallow it. Make sure you don't choke."
The acrid, bitter taste of the medicine stung Tanda’s tongue. He recognized the taste: the medicine had raigol root in it. The root was used as a soporific.
Tanda was asleep before he could think about anything else.
The next time Tanda awakened, it was to to sunlight on the on the other side of his eyelids. He felt warm all over--not feverish, but like he was laying in the summer sun. He listened to the sounds around him for a little while before opening his eyes. People were moving around him--quietly; they probably didn’t want to wake him--and a fire crackled nearby. He smelled roasting fish and realized that he was hungry.
"Is your shoulder all right?" Chagum asked.
“It’s fine. The bandage that Shuga wrapped it in is too tight, so it’s hard to move,” Balsa said.
"I'm sorry the bandage is so tight, but the blood loss was quite severe and the wound is deep. Better safe than sorry." Tanda wasn’t sure he knew that voice. It was less familiar than Chagum’s and Balsa’s, but context told him that it was Shuga speaking. He thought he’d heard Shuga talking the last time he’d woken up, too.
Balsa chuckled quietly. "I'm not complaining. Thanks for patching me up."
"Indeed, especially as the man who would usually have the honors is over there." Torogai snorted a laugh.
Tanda felt a shadow pass over his face. A dry, warm hand settled on his forehead--probably Balsa’s.
Tanda opened his eyes. Balsa was there, and he could see her face and the world around him clearly this time. She appeared unchanged from the last time he’d seen her six months ago. She was smiling faintly as his eyes focused on her.
"Hi,” Balsa said in her low and even voice.
Tanda smiled back at her.
"When did you come back to New Yogo?" Tanda asked. His voice wasn’t as strong as it usually was, and he needed a few attempts to get the question out.
"Not long ago. A lot has happened these past six months. A lot of… so many things happened while I was on the road. I wished you were with me more times than I can count.”
A hard finger, calloused from her expertise with the spear, pushed Tanda’s sweaty hair off his forehead. "When you're better, I'll tell you all about it."
Tanda nodded and closed his eyes. He was asleep again before he could take two breaths.
***
Tanda was sleeping. Balsa stood up and went over to sit by the fire. Yugno pulled out some rada from the embers and shook them off with practiced movements.
"They're done. Let's eat."
Torogai held out her hand first. Rada was made from rice flour kneaded with water and salt and then stretched out and grilled. It was especially good when wrapped around fish or dried meat.
Everyone wrapped their rada around their filing of choice, then dug in. Chagum noticed that the Hunters were only eating dried meat and called out to them.
"Zen, Yun, eat some fish with us. I said it was fine to fish here, so there's nothing to worry about. The servants of the Mountain Palace eat fish from the lake all the time."
Yun and Zen exchanged a brief glance, then accepted some grilled fish.
"That was quite a night, wasn't it?" Shuga muttered. He turned to look at Yugno, who was stuffing his cheeks with rada.
There was a quiet spell while everyone ate. Zen broke the silence. “The Flower and the palace in the lake were certainly surprising. But the biggest surprise for me was Yugno’s singing. You must be Li Tou Ruen, the one loved by the Li, to possess such a voice."
Yun turned to face his comrade. "What's this Li thing? I’ve never heard of it."
Zen wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "When I was still a kid, I used to travel with my aunt. She hired a Yakoo guide to lead us through a mountain pass. My aunt liked songs and sung all the time. When we got to a lake in the mountains, though, the guide asked her to stop. He said that the Li live on the shores of mountain lakes, and that if a good singer sings nearby, the Li will put them under a spell.
"That Yakoo guide was a great storyteller. He told us that when a good singer sings by a lake, the Li fall in love with them and cast a spell that makes their singing so amazing that they can move people's hearts and souls. I thought it was an interesting story, but of course I didn't take it seriously. Not until today."
Zen looked at Yugno. "When I heard you sing, it was like being struck by lightning. ‘Ah, this is it,' I thought. This could only be the song of Li Tou Ruen, the one loved by the Li, exactly like in that old man's stories."
Yugno shrugged, then smiled, but he didn’t confirm Zen’s story. He didn’t deny it, either.
Once they finished eating and packing up, Chagum addressed Zen. "Zen, could you carry Tanda back to his house? Balsa's shoulder is hurt and I don't think Yugno can carry Tanda all the way back. I'm also worried about Jin."
Zen looked briefly at Yun, then nodded. "Of course, Your Majesty."
Chagum grimaced. He hadn’t missed the silent communication that had passed between the Hunters.
"Leave this to me, Your Highness,” Zen said. “I will return to the capital with Shuga." Zen paused, then faced Balsa. "I didn't expect to meet you here again, but I'm glad I did."
Balsa smiled, resting her hand gently on Chagum's shoulder. "Yeah. I've got a feeling that there might be more of these unexpected meetings in the future. Our fates seem to be connected, after all."
Chagum inhaled sharply, pressed his lips together and turned his face away.
There was an uncomfortable silence. Chagum looked up at Shuga, then down. He was muttering to himself, but it was impossible to make out what he was saying.
Chagum shifted to look at Balsa, then said, "Shuga told me something interesting while we were on our way here. He told me that worlds come together and move apart, like ocean currents. I wonder if the fates shared between two people are like that."
The Mountain Palace, wrapped in mist and quiet, was reflected placidly in the lake. It was early summer, and many trees sported new green leaves. The upside-down palace on the surface of the lake vanished in the mist, making the Mountain Palace look normal again. Normal, and familiar, and reassuring.
"When Tanda wakes up, thank him for me," Chagum said. His voice was steady, but he couldn't quite bring himself to look at Balsa.
Balsa nodded.
The wind disturbed the reeds along the shore. There was a fluttering of wings, and then a bird flew across the surface of the lake and disappeared into the mist.
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