When Macha awoke, her mouth was dry, and she had a headache. She brought her fingers up to her head, but before she touched her temples, Freyr placed a gla.s.s of water in her hand. She felt groggy and blinked her eyes a few times to focus them."Drink this. The antidote has a tendency to dehydrate people. Do you feel all right?" he asked in a gentle voice. She had been asleep for two days after he administered the medicine to her.
After chugging the cool water down in big gulps, Macha gasped for air. "My head is killing me," she admitted. Then she looked at her arm and moved it around a bit, testing to see if everything healed properly.
"How long was I unconscious?" she asked. To her, it seemed as if she fell asleep for only a few hours.
The concern that Freyr had eased at seeing her move about. She appeared to be fine, and he gave a warm smile, "Thirty-eight days," he replied.
Macha"s eyes grew wide. "Oh no. I need to send a message to Tyr." She missed five weeks of letters, which would look terrible. She did not want him thinking she forgot about him. She hopped out of bed, ready to go home, but she was too weak to stand so she stumbled.
Freyr quickly caught her arm and steadied her. "I"ll get what you need. I already sent him one when I got back to let him know what was going on. Wait here and relax. You"re still recovering."
****
When Tyr got back to camp he immediately sorted through his mail and messages. The last thing he received from Macha had been a box of chocolates and a letter wishing he and Luna a happy birthday. Nothing in the message had any significance to him and he could not care less if Freyr wanted to take her out to eat at the White Rabbit.
There were no new messages from Macha and his hands began to shake. He clearly remembered how his ring blinked instead of giving a steady light.
A message from Freyr caught his eye, so he decided to play it. As his cousin"s voice vibrated through the crystal, Tyr held his breath. Freyr explained that Macha had been poisoned, and that he had gotten her the antidote. Before the message ended, his cousin promised to send word whenever she woke up.
This news left him feeling helpless because he was too far away to help her. Now he worried whether or not the antidote had been effective. Tyr reasoned that the news was sent three days ago, so she should have woken up by now. He put his face in his hands, unsure of what he should do.
The barracks that the Obsidian Dragons occupied became quiet. Everyone heard the message that their Captain received from the King. They were hesitant whether they should console him or feign ignorance.
Krystof was the first to make a move. It was getting late, so he parted the curtain that sectioned off Tyr"s area. "Hey, wanna get some real food? I"m sick a ration," he said in a jovial tone. After all the years of knowing Tyr, he knew that his friend preferred to keep his personal life secret.
After shoving Macha"s messages and letters into a box below his cot, he stood up. "Fine. Let"s go. I"ll write back to Macha after dinner. The mail usually comes later in the evening, anyway." He hoped that tonight"s mail delivery would bring word of her condition.
Throughout supper, the guild tried to keep things light-hearted. They talked about some of their past triumphs and tournaments. Although they kept conversations pleasant, Tyr was in no mood to converse. Not wanting to put up airs, he stood up and left.
After leaving the mess hall, he walked around the base camp wanting to be alone. It was difficult to have privacy, so he had to roam for quite a while. At the edge of camp, he found a large tree and leaned against the trunk. He was mentally and physically tired and just wanted to go home to Macha.
Glancing down at his ring, he thought about activating it. If she was better then he would know immediately. His hand shook, and he failed to gather the courage to activate it. If the red light did not glow, then he would find out that she had died. That was something he could not deal with right now.
A cry of anguish came from the other side of the trunk, followed by someone punching the tree. Tyr walked around and saw Tai Shan with tears rolling down his cheeks. He was the new guild leader for the Carnelian k.u.mas, but Tyr barely knew the man. Tyr was about to leave when the man called out to him.
"Captain Tyr, err... Lord Valois, I beg your pardon. I didn"t see you there," he apologized. Tai Shan steadied his voice and quickly wiped away the tears from his cheeks.
This was an awkward situation for Tyr that he preferred to avoid. "It"s fine. Please continue whatever you were doing. I"ll be on my way," he replied stiffly.
Before he could leave, Tai Shan continued, "You see, I just found out my daughter is dangerously sick. She means the world to me and I fear she could die." Right now he did not want to be alone but could not show his weakness in front of his guild. Since he was the Captain, it was important that he try to exude confidence.
This confession left Tyr speechless. He was not acquainted with Lord Swat and certainly did not know how to console some stranger. Clearing his throat, he replied, "I hope your daughter gets better. I"m sorry, I really must go. I"m expecting some mail." With those words, he turned on his heels and walked away as quickly as he could.
When he got back to the barracks, he sorted through the box of letters that had been left for his guild. In it he found a crystal addressed to him from Macha.
He immediately infused energy into it and moved to lay on his cot.
Macha"s voice came through, but she sounded weak. "Tyr, I"m sorry I haven"t written or sent a message for weeks. I was sick and didn"t realize how much time pa.s.sed. How are you? I hope you"re doing well. The birthday dinner at the White Rabbit was delicious. I can"t wait till you get back so we can go again..."
Her message continued on, not talking about anything important. She usually sent him long messages that were packed with trivial information about her day. Despite the lack of important information, hearing her voice repeatedly filled him with warmth. It reminded him why he even fought this war in the first place.
Like always, Tyr replayed the message three times before writing back. The initial time was just to listen to Macha"s voice and make sure everything was all right. On the second play through, he liked to close his eyes and imagine they sat together at the dinner table while she chatted to him. The third time, he always dissected everything she said and listened closely to how she delivered the information. This was the only way he could tell if she felt displeased, tired, or sick.
After writing a reply, he dropped off his letter. As he strolled back to the barracks, he lifted his hand and activated his ring. A faint red line hovered towards Ma.r.s.eille"s direction. Tyr made a slight grin, happy that Macha was safe.