As I remove my bandages she lathers sup some kind of mixture of ointment and begins to rub her hands together menacingly...
"Lay on your back, on the floor."
"Eh, the floor? Can't I just stand up or sit up on the bed?"
"No. you will cause the ointment to run down your body, and also stain the bedding. Lay on the floor."
"Ugh fine..." I do as she asks and lay on the floorboards which are cold a bit.
She takes her hands and starts rubbing my rib areas with the warmed-up ointment mixture. sort of tickles and hard for me not to laugh.
"Pffft" *Huff* *huff* I struggle not to start laughing.
She stops applying the ointment and takes one of her hands and pinches one of my ribs hurt.
"Ow! Hey!"
"Stop moving you're causing me to waste the mixture."
"Alright, alright"
-2 minutes later-
I she start wrapping me up with new bandages less crudely and finishes my treatment. I get myself up and start feeling myself. I don't know why I felt myself out but did because of bandages. I am sure others do this, right?
"Thank you for helping me Arla, "I bow to her.
"Question, what happened to your horn?
Oh yeah, I forgot I lost a horn. I don't look in the mirror often so I don't notice it nor do I feel my horns often except when they hit something.
"I uh, lost it in a fight with someone. But it will grow back hahaha"
"Actually in your case it won't grow back until 15 years," she says which shocks me.
"What?!" I mean I don't have an attachment to my horns but they sort of have been growing with me ever since I was young.
"I guess...I will have to wait 15 years for it to grow back. Should I just break off my other horn haha. You just to be even." I jokingly laugh about it.
"That can be arranged" she starts cracking her knuckles.
Eh, I think she doesn't get what a joke is. Better clarify it to her.
"I am joking please don't hurt me"
"Very well sir," she responds.
*Sighs* I am going to get some sleep. I need my rest. Thank you again for helping my injuries heal faster. Oh, wait I just thought of something."
"Yes?"
"Can you use healing magic to speed up the process? I thought I remembered most elves can use magic and healing is a common form of magic."
"I can't I am sorry, please forgive me."
"Oh, no worries! I just wondered if you could speed up the process but if you can't it is fine. Not everyone wants to do something here and there."
Her eyes widen and she blushes a bit noticing pink circles around her cheeks. Did I fluster her by saying that?
"Thank you sir for caring about me. Have a good rest." she walks out the door and closes it.
"Welp time to relax"
-Hours later night time-
I went to sleep for about 4 hours. I guess the stress of going to court was the reason for that. I also spent some time reading some random assortment of books for another few hours I don't know for how long though. I should find that Watchman book again. Seemed like it was a good book to read.
As I get myself up and look out the window it is dark with the moon not out this time. Only the illumination of the stars this time. I don't think the moon follows the normal pattern it would normally in the world before I came here. I never studied so who knows. I take my shirt off ready for bed but my stomach growls at me as I remove my shirt.
I leave my room to get something to eat before I head to bed and wander downstairs to the kitchen sneaking past the sleeping maid Arla who is in the living room sleeping on the couch. Wish we had a proper bed for her but not currently.
I get myself a snack of apples since they are juicy and frankly I am addicted to them. Why else. I take about 2 of them and walk off slowly on my way back to my room. but as I make it to the steps I hear knocking at the front door. I turn my head and still see Arla asleep. It would be rude of me to forcibly wake her up to do it for me.
I hurry up and move my apples to my room and pacily run down the stairs quietly without creaking in the floor to the front door. I look out the front door's little window and I see a girl in a cloak but I can see her face. She is a short maybe 5'3 girl with maybe what seems to be black hair. I can't make out her eye however in this darkness.
"Hello," she says quietly
I gesture for a moment and get a candle near the counter of the island in the kitchen and bring it back to the door and ignite the candle. I bring it up the small window with the heat in my face but now I can make out her features more. She has freckles and brown eyes.
I crack open the window a bit and respond to her with a simple greeting I could muster.
"H-hey...Who are you?"
"I'm just a pilgrim. But I have a question for you. Can I please stay in your household? I need a place to stay overnight."
Well, I can't say for sure but I think it would be foolish to let this strange girl with permission to be in our house. but I am a nice person so I need to help them out. I could direct them into town for them and they can get a hotel or whatever to sleep in for the night only a 20 minute walk. If she runs she can half that time.
I crack open the door wider so I can speak quieter but with the door open I can speak more direct with her.
"I can't let you in sorry, I would if I could but this would be an unsafe way sorry. But there is a town nearby that you can get a tavern to sleep in overnight."
"But I have been traveling for hours...I don't think I can last another 20 minutes in all honesty and I just want to sleep." she starts to look sad with tears appearing in her eyes. how young is she? She looks like she is 14 years old now that I think about it.
Ugh, I can't let her in the house but I can't force her to endure more. I hope she isn't guilt-tripping me but I might have a solution. We have a shack that used to hold horses and it is well insulated from what I heard. Maybe she can sleep there.
"Just a moment," I say while closing the door and running upstairs silently. Get some blankets from the closet and a few pillows and walk back downstairs awkwardly holding them all up. I nearly fall down the stairs doing so but these beddings would likely cushion me if I fell.
Move back to the door where the girl is still standing and open the door fully. I show her the bedding and she looks at me confused. tilting her head she looks puzzled.
"Come with me I have an idea." I say
I move towards the shack around the house and kick open the door. There is a pile of hay and I throw down everything but the blankets and throw the blankets over the hay as a form of cushion. I then lay the pillows on over the blanket and the secondary blanket will go over that.
"Okay here you can sleep near the house and not need to move another 20 minutes over into town. Deal?"
"I uh...Fine I think this will work sir."
"Please just call me Coda. Anyways hope you sleep well." I begin to walk off only to be stopped by a tug on my tail. I turn around and see her using both hands stopping me by the tail. Does everybody need to do that to me?
"Wait can...Can you sleep with me..."
"Uuuhh that seems very not like a good idea. No offense but I have morals and I can't sleep ith someone I don't know or even might not be my-"
"N-no! I meant with me as in in the same place with me...I have been alone for a while I could use someone with me. I would feel more comfortable that that way."
I for some reason am having this feeling of caring for her giving her what she wants. Is this some kind of magic or manipulation? I feel tempted to do exactly as she asks me.
"Fine But more than 5 feet between us when we sleep. Okay"
"Yes. I will do that goodnight." she sits in the haystack bed I made and turns over to her left and sleeps. I sort of still feel uncomfortable in this position with a stranger but I am a kind person so it conflicts with me. No turning back now.
I Lay on my back on a pile of hay with a blanket and start dozing off. hearing the noises of wildlife around me and crickets is...soothing a bit.
-Hours later-
I start waking up the noise of chewing and an ache on my neck. Feels like something is biting into me. I wake up and pull myself up to see her eating something outside with the door open. Looks like apples. But what about my neck? I place my hand on my neck and it is some kind of lizard! I pull it off my and it tears a few my scales off and skin in the process. Leaving a noticeable bite mark it feels like. I hope this heals. Maybe Arla can get something for it inside.