Nalsy woke up the following day in the evening. But even after nearly 24 hours of sleep, she felt exhausted. When the doctor came by to check her, he explained that the medication she was given would cause drowsiness. It wasn't long before she fell asleep again.
The next day Edmund met with Caspian and the Queen again. The previous night they were informed that Nalsy finally woke up, so the Queen was eager to go and see her first thing this morning.
Edmund's face was covered in the purple-black bruise with a layer of surgical tape on his nose which was still swollen.
Caspian and Queen Sol kept glancing at his nose, but neither dared to say anything.
Instead, they've made their way to the hospital. Queen Sol walked at the front with Caspian half a step behind her and Edmund dragging his heels two meters further.
Queen stopped by the doctor's office, where she asked about the extent of Nalsy's injuries. The doctor read out a relatively long list: laceration on the eyebrow and neck, concussion, sprained wrist and foot, and broken arm. Less significantly, she was heavily bruised, her face still had some swelling, and she had numerous superficial cuts across her body.
Sol showed a significant concern, but two men were unmoved as they were accustomed to much worse injuries through their military careers.
Once Sol confirmed that Nalsy was not in any danger, she went to see her in person.
Edmund followed Sol into the room. As soon as his eyes laid on Nalsy, he pursed his lips.
Usually, he didn't care for people, even those that somehow managed to scrape him. But Nalsy was different. The sight of Nalsy brought on very mixed emotions, from irritation to pity.
This intense feeling surprised Edmund, as he usually didn't have trouble controlling himself and presenting himself as stoic. He slowed down and stood in the corner, as far from Nalsy as possible.
Sol was at the forefront of the men, and she walked towards Nalsy, watching her cautiously. In her role, she learnt to be wary of new people before she could judge their character. Due to continuous conflict, since she was merely a teen, there weren't many people she trusted.
Nalsy was asleep, so Sol gently sat down at the end of the bed.
"Morning, dear," Sol said sweetly, gently stroking Nalsy's hand. Nalsy slowly opened her swollen eyes. "My name is Solina. I just came to see how you're doing today."
"I'm fine, thank you" Nalsy's voice was quiet and weak. Like Sol, Nalsy was also reserved towards new people.
Everything that happened recently fuelled her anxiety, and she wasn't sure who she was able to trust.
"What's your name?" Sol continued in a friendly tone. Nalsy recognised it to be fake straight away.
"I'm Nalsy."
"Nalsy, I know you had a difficult day just a day before yesterday. But I'd like to ask you a couple of questions to work out why these men have targeted you." Nalsy suddenly went paler, and her breath became shallower.
"My parents..." she started, but her voice disappeared off.
"I am very sorry," Sol said, looking down, unable to look into Nalsy's pained eyes. "I am very sorry that we didn't manage to get there in time to save them too."
Edmund shifted uncomfortably by the wall, yet Caspian stood perfectly still and unbothered.
"Thank you", Nalsy whispered, looking down at her hands as she started fidgeting. She tried to focus on her fingers to stop herself from having a more visible panic attack, but to her surprise, she found herself feeling numb.
Her fingers were bruised and scratched, and her nails were broken as she caught them on some of the branches. It made for an unpleasant sight, Nalsy thought.
"Have you ever heard of Colleens?" Sol asked.
"No, I haven't", Nalsy answered honestly.
"The men that were after you are working for the Colleen clan. We have been in conflict with them for nearly twenty years. It might be helpful to us to know why they were after you."
"I've never heard of them", Nalsy repeated. Sol noticed Nalsy shifting her focus away from the conversation, and she felt that Nalsy might be purposely shutting her out."Where am I?" She asked coldly, realising that she still didn't know the name of the town. She didn't recognise it when Edmund carried her, so it is unlikely to be near her hometown. She looked up sternly at Sol, expecting an answer.
"I can reassure you that you're safe here," Sol said carefully. "Nalsy, do you have any idea why your home was attacked?"
"No," Nalsy replied even more coldly and protruded her lips. She was unhappy with Sol avoiding her question, and it seemed suspicious to her.
"That's alright. We'll work it out soon." Sol let a slight sigh. "We're going to take care of you in the meantime. At least until we can work out why you have been attacked by Colleens and determine that it is safe for you to return" Nalsy nodded even though she wasn't convinced about what Sol had said. At this time, she didn't have anywhere else to go. "Rest in the meantime. You need to recover," Sol said, putting on a gentle smile. She patted Nalsy's hand and left with Edmund and Caspian in tow.
Once Nalsy was left alone, it wasn't long before she drifted off to sleep again.