Ender's War

Chapter 21 - Goodbye

One Week Later

"Easy." Valentine cautioned Ender as he visibly grimaced when sitting up in his hospital bed for the first time. His movements were slow, pain shooting through his body with every shift, and when he finally managed to sit up he was out of breath.

Valentine helped where she could, and adjusted the pillows behind him to accommodate his new position. Ender was thankful for her help.

"Are you okay?" She watched him carefully as he settled.

Ender nodded.

"You don't have to be there today, you know. Colonel Graff understands if you can't make it. He told me himself."

Ender shook his head. "I have to."

His voice was barely there. What Valentine could hear was rough and scratchy. She could tell that it took a lot of effort for him to make his words audible.

"Maybe after you see yourself, you'll change your mind." She joked while picking up a mirror from a side table on the far side of the room.

She walked back towards her brother, sat down on the small chair beside his hospital bed, and held the small object in front of his face.

Ender wanted to look anywhere else rather than in the mirror, and he could sense that Valentine knew that. His sister was stubborn, however, and she wasn't about to let him succumb to his fears.

Slowly, but surely, Ender brought his eyes up to the mirror. His attention was focused on the frame. The slim black edges were dotted with small bumps, as if to somehow add a design without being too intricate to the piece. The edges of the glass were tucked securely underneath the frame, which Valentine held with ease. After drawing a short, yet controlled breath, Ender finally did what he was supposed to.

From what the doctor had said earlier, he was expecting to see a largely disfigured mess within the reflection of himself. The doctor's words rung out in his ears as he looked at himself for the first time in over a week. "You're broken, but you're not the worst I've seen." She'd said. "Your face took quite the beating, but there will be minimal scarring once you've healed."

She went on to debrief both Ender and Valentine of his various injuries. Peter had broken three of his ribs, gave him a mild concussion, broken his right arm, badly bruised his face from the punches, and had caused severe damage to the muscles in his neck when he was strangled. "There is a lot of bruising on your larynx. It'll be painful to speak, and breath for at least a couple of weeks. Both that and the broken ribs will effect your ability to take deep breaths and speak clearly. I recommend you speak as little as possible."

This explanation came after Ender struggled to form his words when asking about his condition. Valentine had been alarmed, but the doctor'd put both of their minds at ease.

Black and blue. Those are the words that registered in Ender's mind as he peered into the mirror. He wasn't shocked by what he saw. It was expected, and the doctor had already prepared him for much worse. His neck was a pattern of black and blue splotches outlining the shape of Peter's hand. Ender could see where each one of his fingers squeezed as he'd lifted Ender up against the wall.

His cheeks were swollen, especially his cheekbones that had sustained much damage from the pain Peter's knuckles had inflicted, and his bottom lip was almost completely scabbed over from being split in the assault. As Ender stared at his image, he couldn't help but lift his left hand to his throat. Despite the pain in his chest the movement caused, he continued to bring his hand closer.