Flower of the North [Kaz Brekker; Six of Crows]

chapter 15

AN: I'm gonna have no time to update later this week so I'm gonna upload this chapter now! Enjoy!

Days and nights had passed by agonizingly slow since the start of their journey and even Cecilia was beginning to feel a bit crazy and irritable. It was cold from the approaching icy peaks and snow banks. Storms came and went, splashing water onto the decks and making them slippery. Food was sparse and bland and the coffee they had brought was horrible. But Cecilia had done her best to keep up her sunshine facade even in times where she felt like crying in frustration.

People would come to her at all times of day to heal injuries caused by drunken foolishness and clumsy mishaps. If she had to heal one more tiny splinter or rope burn, she swore she was going to snap. And she didn't even want to get started on Jesper. He was in and out and up and down the entire schooner, yapping at everyone to kill his ever-growing boredom. At first, Cecilia was willing to entertain him, but now it was starting to get to her. And Cecilia was a hard person to truly anger or annoy.

Cecilia was sitting below deck and watching over Inej. It was daytime, so as promised, Cecilia took her shift while Nina got some much deserved rest in another room. Cecilia wasn't a professional with monitoring heartbeats or blood pressure by any means, but she had made slow progress with Nina's help during the hours they designated to train.

Valan was also getting rest on the top deck, tucking himself into an empty corner with his bow and arrows hugged protectively to his chest. He also came in and out of the room to watch over Inej, but he was respectfully quiet and stayed out of the way. He knew how tough it was for Cecilia and he also knew better than to irritate her when she was the designated healer and herbalist. Unless he wanted a particularly nasty mixture to somehow end up in his coffee and make him ill, he had to be on his best behavior.

Things were calm and Cecilia was breathing in almost a meditative way. In for 3 seconds, out for 5. Her sleepy golden eyes were trained on Inej's chest as it rose and fell steadily in her unconscious state. Cecilia could faintly feel the girl's steady heartbeat. She certainly wasn't a master, but she was improving quite quickly. She had always been a fast learner. Especially if she put her mind to it.

The door opened, and for the fifth time in that hour, Jesper strode in, his fingers tapping along his guns in their holsters.

"Hey! How's she doing?" Jesper asked in an overly upbeat tone.

Cecilia blinked rapidly a few times to try and wake herself up before turning to him with a small smile, "Still asleep. Just like she was when you asked 15 minutes ago. I told you that I would get you if anything changed."

"I know...How about we play some cards? Huh?" Jesper suggested.

Cecilia sighed, "Jesper, I really can't. Why don't you go ask one of the boys upstairs?"

"I did, but they're all boring and won't play with me anymore. And Wylan's busy doing stuff and won't let me bother him anymore. Matthias is always grumbling and angry and boring. And Kaz just keeps sending me off. I'm so bored. I've cleaned my guns 7 times today. 7!" Jesper rambled on.

Cecilia adored Jesper. She really did. But not when he was constantly coming in to bother her while she was focusing. It took her far more focus than Nina to monitor Inej's inner state. She had to have complete relaxation and silence in order to hear the girl's heartbeat and blood pressure. Not to mention how she had to try and keep Inej's temperature warm.

Cecilia gave Jesper the sweetest smile she could muster, "Would you mind watching Inej for a moment, dear? I just want to grab some coffee from the deck. It helps keep me awake, you know?"

Jesper nodded and sat down, "I got it! Don't worry."

"Alright, thank you. Please don't try to wake her up though. She needs as much rest as she can get."