Taking Care

The water rushed around Sybil’s hands and into the man’s deep wound. Sybil felt the energy being sucked out of her as she harnesed her abilities and worked to heal the gash in his side. She opened her eyes and watched as the cut became clean and more surface level than it had been just minutes ago.

With a sigh of relief, Sybil fell slightly forward and caught herself on the edge of the mattress. She had never used her magic on such a large wound before, and her body protested and weakened as a result.

Knowing she was out of energy to completely heal him, she decided to clean him up instead. She dipped the towel in a bowl of water and brought it up to his face to wipe the blood and sweat away from where he had been injured on his head.

She looked closely at the strong features of his face, and she noticed how his face wasn’t twisted in pain anymore. For the first time since he had come crashing into the church, he looked peaceful and at ease.

After she had him completely clean, she knew she had to go back to the front of the church and clean the mess he had caused. The floors Sybil had just cleaned were covered in rain, mud, and the injured man’s blood. It took her hours to completely clean up, and her body ached as she walked back to her room.

When she saw that the man was still in a deep sleep, Sybil went to clean the blood off of her clothes and herself. She was exhausted by the time she was done, and she quickly fell asleep on the floor, right next to her bed that held the strange man.

Church bells woke her up early the next morning, and she immediately thought that she had dreamed the night before until she felt the cold, hard floor under her. Her body ached as she stood up, and she looked over to find the man still fast asleep.

His breathing was no longer ragged, and some color had come back to his face. Sybil walked over and removed the bandages to check on his side when the man shot up and grabbed Sybil’s arm.

She had never been the type of person to scream when she was afraid, she was more of the freezing type, and at that moment, she couldn’t have been more grateful. The last thing she wanted was for one of the sisters to rush into her room and find a man in her bed.

The panic in his ember eyes made her stomach fall, and she immediately used a calm voice to reassure him, “You’re safe. I’m just checking your wounds.”

The man blinked slowly as if coming out of a trance, and he loosened his grip on her arm as he looked down at his side. “Did you take my armour off?” he asked in a raspy voice.

Sybil felt herself flush in embarrassment, but she shyly nodded her head and said, “I needed to get to the cut to clean it, and it was in the way.”

“And my shirt.”

“And your shirt,” she echoed.

She gulped as she held his gaze that had traveled back to her. She had never seen a man without his shirt on before, and now that she wasn’t in panic mode, she actually noticed how muscular and handsome the strange man was. She wondered if all men looked like him under their clothes.

“How do you feel?” she asked when the tension became too much.

“Like I got trampled by a horse,” he said with a sad laugh.

“Did you?”

“No.”

Sybil felt awkward in his presence. She liked him better when he was asleep.

“I’m Sybil, by the way,” she told him.

“Sybil? Strange name for around here, no?” he asked with a questioning gaze. When she didn’t answer, he looked around the room and asked, “Where am I?”

“My room in the back of the church. And you need to stay here because I can’t have the sisters seeing you. I don’t think they would approve of me having a man in my bed, much less a man who burst in here covered in blood.”

“What’s a pretty girl like you doing living in a church? You’re not a nun, I can tell by how you’re dressed,” he asked as his eyes looked her up and down.

Sybil blushed and uncomfortably shifted on the edge of the bed. She had never been called pretty before, and she had never had a man look at her the way this one was. “I’m an orphan. The sisters took me in when I was a child.”

“Hmm,” the man hummed before his forehead slightly pinched. “Do you have any water, Sybil?”

She was happy to have an excuse to move away from him, and she quickly went to fill a glass with water and bring it back to him. He downed it in a few gulps before he rested his head back on the pillows. By the way he twisted his face, Sybil could tell that his pain had returned.

“I’m sorry you’re in pain, but I need to check your wounds,” she told him in a gentle voice.

The man didn’t open his eyes, but he nodded his head. His jaw was clenched tight, and Sybil felt her heart ache for him. She wished she could have used her magic to further heal him, but with him being awake, she couldn’t risk him seeing her use it. Not only that, but how would she explain it to him if all of a sudden he looked brand new?

She applied fresh bandages and told the man that she had to go to the morning church service, but that she would be back as quickly as she could. When church ended, she went back to her room and let out a sigh of relief when she found him exactly where she left him. Not that he had much of a choice since Sybil was certain he didn’t have the strength to walk, even after she had partially healed him.

The next week passed quickly since Sybil had her hands full with caring for the man’s injuries, finding ways to sneak the man food without the sisters suspecting, and still doing her daily chores around the church grounds.

One day while she was wiping down the pews, she overheard Sister Elizabeth tell the others, “They still haven’t found him. I just pray that our crown prince didn’t die in battle. Although, being taken captive by the enemy might be worse.”

Sybil had put two and two together and figured there was a battle going on close by the night the stranger showed up in armour, but now she was worried about who exactly she had in her room. When she went back to her room that night, she decided to ask him more about himself.

“You never told me your name,” she said while she cleaned the almost healed gash on his head that was hidden in his dark hair.

A playful smile pulled at the man’s lips as he answered, “Don’t you already know it?”

She pulled away to look at his face. “Do you attend church services? We have a lot of people, but you don’t look familiar to me, I’m sorry.”

The man let out a small chuckle before he said, “My name is Andrius.”

Sybil smiled and nodded before she returned to cleaning his wound.

“You must not get out much,” Andrius suddenly said. “Do you not ever leave this church or go out and explore Ignis? It’s a beautiful place, you know.”

“I have everything I need right here,” she replied as her brow furrowed. Sybil had never felt the need to leave the church, but now she was questioning if maybe she spent too much time inside with the sisters being her only company.

Over the next week, Andrius had regained some of his energy, so while the sisters slept, Sybil took him out of her room and helped him as he started to walk on his own again. Sybil came to enjoy his company and the conversations they would have while she took care of him.

She knew the day would soon come where he would be healthy enough to leave, and part of her was heavy-hearted knowing the only friend she ever made would go back on his way, and that she would be alone again.