The Dragon's Gift

Chapter 23

I awake in agonizing pain. Immediately, I could tell that my back took the worst of it. Wait a minute, I'm in a bed, not the bottom of a mountain. Where am I? I look around, a familiar face sitting in a chair by my side.
"Kai?" I croak.
"You're awake?! I thought you'd never wake up!" he shouts.
"What?" I ask, "How long has it been?"
"Three days. We noticed you weren't with us when we started to leave Tenna, so I made them look for you. We almost gave up when I found your sword near the edge of the mountain. I found a path down the mountainside and we had you hauled back to the city. I've been here ever since," he explained.
"Three days?! I've missed three days of training! I've got to catch back up!" I exclaim. As soon as I try to sit up, a crippling pain ripples its way down my back, forcing me back down.
"Aaagh," I moan. I can hardly move.
"Whoa, stay put, the doctor said you have to stay put for at least another month, so you're not going anywhere," Kai says.
"No! I can't! I have to train!" I shout, desperation plain in my voice.
"Sorry, but doctor's orders," he says calmly.
"I don't care, I have to train," I say as I try to get up again. A soft cry escaped my mouth as the pain worsened, forcing me into a fight with my own muscles. I physically could not get up.
"Stop! You're going to stretch the bandage around your back," Kai says, hoping I would listen.
"Bandage?" I ask.
"Yes, you broke your back, you're lucky to be alive," he says.
"No no no no no no, that can't be, I must train. I have to, or else I can't participate in a battle," I say.
"Battle? You think I'm gonna let you fight again?" he says, care clear in his voice.
"I'm sorry Kai. You may be my best friend, but you can't stop me from fighting this war," I say.
"Fine, but you better stay close," he says.
"Are you always this protective?" I ask.
"Only around my friends and family," he responds.
A knock on the door.
"Who is it?" I call.
"Oh, only your favorite person," replies a malicious voice.
Kai immediately stands up and kicks the chair away, sending it skidding backwards. He walks out and slams the door. I strain to hear what was going on, but I only hear hushed voices and shuffling feet. A moment later, Kai returns.
"What was that all about?" I demand.
"Nothing. Go to sleep. You've got a lot of resting to do," Kai says.
The dreaded moment. The waiting. I have to lay here, for a month. By then, I'll be so far behind that the little whelp Alex might be able to beat me. I shudder at the thought. The days slip by in a slow, boring blur. I slept most of the time, waking only for a bowl of hot soup. Each day, I had tried to get up, only to be greeted by the crippling pain again and again, the pain lessening each day. Will I ever be able to move? Today, the last of the thirty days I was told to wait, I tried to get up. Expecting the agonizing pain, I was surprised to find that the pain wasn't forcing me back down or sending a spasm through my muscles. It didn't feel good, but it was bearable. I stumbled out of the room, only to find the doctor hurrying in.
"What are you doing up? You're not supposed to walk without a brace, get over here!" he says.
"Alright alright. Stop yelling," I say, slightly agitated.
"Do you want to keep walking or do you want to spend another month in a medical building?" he asks.
"Walking," I respond.
"Then get over here and let me put that brace on," he says. A few moments afterward, a tight band of cloth is wrapped around my lower ribs with a few pieces of metal to keep my back straight. This is awful, just another thing to hold me back I think to myself.

"Thanks," I say, mustering as much gratitude as possible.

"It's my job, now try not to strain yourself. You don't want to mess anything else up," he says. Now, I have to wait an entire week before I should be able to swing anything, and even then I'm told that overexertion could send me into a fit of cramps. After a few days of restless sleep, I half run half walk to find Kai, determined to train and stay as fit as possible. I find him just leaving from the council room.

"Did I miss a meeting?" I ask.

"Yea, nothing major. We just discussed where to move soldiers or where to attack. It wasn't productive though," he says, boredom plain on his face.