19 my glorious moment

It could have been a perfect ending. It could have been a glorious moment of my life, a moment which could have given me my respect and fame back. If only, that Carl had not kicked me.

He kicked me straight on the ribs area making me fall on the mud as I lost my balance. I can feel the sound of my ribs breaking. My whole body was breaking apart.

"Abigail, are you okay?'' I heard the sound of Nickolas as he was coming running towards me.

I heard many laughing and Carl standing there smirking.

He walked closer to me and squatted in front of me. His gaze was still mocking as his face was filled with pride, as if he had proved the world that he was the best!

"You lost, young girl." he said as he looked straight into my eyes. He had thought that he would see me broken but there was a smirk on my face matching his, which made him confused and stunned.

"I won, young man. Right father?'' I asked, breaking my gaze away from Carl and looking at my father.

My words wiped the laughter from many faces as they looked confused at me and then at my father who was looking intently at me.

"We will think about it later, Abi. Come let me take you to the infirmary." said Nickolas, as he took me in his arms. His hands holding me gently as if he was afraid that a bit more pressure would break me further.

"Wait, Nickolas."

"Abigail"

"Don't you want to see me winning, Nickolas?" I asked, but I was having trouble speaking further.

That crude had used all his force in that kick, my ribs were paining like hell! Just you wait, I would take its revenge too!

"How did she win, commandant?" asked Carl looking at my father confused.

My father smiled, though his eyes were filled with worry too, as a just man he stood there without taking a step towards me.

"Your condition was, she should defend all your attacks and if she failed to do so, she would lose, right Noah?

Though confused, he nodded.

"You attacked her four times and each time she defended it. While in the last turn she tried to attack you and in your defense you kicked her and she failed in her attack miserably. But the point is it was her attack that failed but she completed her part of deal by defending all the attacks of yours''

Everyone who was confused pondered as if they were repeating the whole incident in front of their eyes like a movie reel and then murmured.

In the end they looked at me and nodded, a few of them clapped and others joined too, but Carl, who should have congratulated me if not apologised just stood there and kept glaring at me.

I was trying hard to ignore all his misbehaving yet he was crossing the limit. What had been wrong with this guy! Why was he behaving like this? I get it that he did not remember me but he still knew me as a daughter of his commander or fellow knights, yet he was behaving so rudely.

"Don't tell me.. You are backing out, Sir Noah" I asked, gaining his attention back on me.

"I never back out from my words, young girl. A deal is a deal" he said as he walked away.

"Nickolas, take her to be infirmary." commanded my father and he nodded as he lifted me. I held his shirt tightly as I felt embarrassed that I could not even bear a kick.

I have truly turned into a young girl again!!

I saw the crowd disappearing slowly as they gave me a look of appreciation. I closed my eyes as the kick was passed through my eyes again. He did use all his strength in it, but why?

"Is it paining a lot?" asked Nickolas as his hold on my body tightened.

"I am fine" my voice became rugged making him further worried.

"Tell me Abigail, why are you so hellbent in making him your trainer? Do you not trust your brother?" his voice was full of anger and disappointment but i had no reply,

Why I wanted Carl to be around was because of my past, I had an affinity for him as he was the one one left to me when everyone else died.

"I trust you bother." was all i said before closing my eyes.

***********

"Girl, if you were trying to die, then i must say you have done a good job. You have intercostal muscle strain, it can leave a permanent damage too"

"Abigail, I told you, I have warned you! But you did not listen!" said Nickolas and I sighed at their exaggerating behaviour.

"You are exaggerating over-the-counter anti-inflammatories like ibuprofen (Advil) or naproxen (Aleve), or simple pain relievers like acetaminophen (Tylenol) would be enough and i will be fine in two days" i said shaking my head and then i realised what i did!

"What are you talking about? What is Advil and Naproxen? Never heard the name before?" asked the physician and even Nickolas looked at me with confused eyes.

"Oh, nothing, just my blabbering mouth. I have heard about it from Sophia. Hehehehe" me and my doctor mouth! When would I let this habit go!

"Cold therapy can help ease your pain and reduce inflammation of the muscle. Apply a cold pack to the injured area for 20 minutes at a time, several times a day for the first two days. You can use an ice bag, a gel cold pack, a bag filled with ice and wrapped in a towel, or even a bag of frozen veggies."

"After the first 48 hours, you may want to start using heat on the injured ribs. Heat can help loosen and relax the muscles so you can do your physical therapy. You can apply heat for 20 minutes at a time with a heating pad or a warm damp towel."

"Breathing with an intercostal muscle strain is painful. But taking only shallow breaths instead of full, deep breaths can lead to infection and pneumonia. Deep breathing exercises can also be a form of meditation to reduce stress.

Try to do a few minutes of breathing exercises every hour. For example:

Hold a pillow against your injured muscles.

Breathe in slowly and as deeply as you can.

Hold the breath for a few seconds.

Breathe out slowly.

Repeat 10 times. And you will be fine in a week."