Short Story: Kiara, Episode 4

The next morning, Kiara woke to with the sound of the breakfast tray being placed on her table.

She still felt groggy, and very thirsty. Matron was standing by the bed with a large glass of water. “Drink this”, she said. Kiara sat up and drank it greedily. She could not seem to quench her thirst.

“You will be fine after you have had breakfast”, Matron said. She felt Kiara’s forehead and smiled with satisfaction. “You may stay in your room today to be safe,- but I think you will be up and about by tomorrow”, she said. Kiara slipped out of the bed and went to the breakfast table in her nightie. “Ah!”, said Matron, I see that you have been picking flowers when you vanished on us yesterday. You really must let us know when you leave the house in future. We were a little worried by your late return. You Guardians would not be very pleased with us if you got lost,- now, would they?” Kiara remembered the tower, “I am sorry, she said, It was thoughtless of me! I promise not to go out alone again”. “ Very well then”, said Matron, We shall say no more about it!”

The door closed, but there was no lock turned, much to her relief. As she left, Kiara stared at the daisy in her hand.

Kiara was much hungrier than she had imagined. She finished the bowl of porridge and followed it with toast and honey. She also drank all the tea,- even replenishing her cup from the pretty floral patterned teapot. Without dressing, she went to the window, dragging the chair, and sat peering into the woods.

She remembered the daisy and went to the table to retrieve it. She knew it was important. As she twirled it by its tiny stem, her dream returned to her. It had to be a faery dream. Only the faeries left gifts that did not fade with the light. That she had forgotten the dream, worried her. “ I never told Moira about the guardian “, she thought. A strange idea came into her head. She peered at the woods and pictured Moira as clearly as she could. Slowly she closed her eyes and Moira was there before her again, but very faintly. “ The Guardian is not dead”, Moira seemed to say, “Only the tree! When you are well again and remember, you must help me to protect the Fledgeling tree. We need to hide it from the eyes of the goblin”. There was a knock on the door and Moira faded away.

Annabelle came bubbling through the door. “Mama said that I could spend the day with you and keep you company!”. Kiara stuffed the daisy into the pocket of her dressing gown as she turned to greet her friend.

They spent the day in playing and in her listening to Annabelle’s cheerful chatter. Annabelle stayed to have dinner and supper with her. The day seemed to fly by. Soon, Matron arrived with her medicine and the day ended in a long dreamless sleep.

The next day when Kiara awoke, she felt too weak to get out of bed. Matron was called and said that she needed to rest. She gave her more of the strange tasting drink and Kiara drifted away again. She lost track of time. Afterwards, she could remember being fed broth, and Annabelle sitting beside her bed and giving her water to sip. Sometimes she woke up for a while and Annabelle would read to her, but she soon fell back into a deep sleep again. There were strange dreams.

Moira was in some of them and took her to the woods. She showed Kiara a large tree. “This is the new guardian tree”, she said.”we must place a circle of black stones around her so the Goblin cannot find her”. She showed Kiara a bag, which was tucked under the hollow of a gnarled Blackthorn. “These stones will protect the Guardian,- but you must place them in the ground around her as soon as possible”.

One morning, Matron came with James to fetch her. He picked her up as if she was a doll, and they Took her to a room she had never seen before. There were no windows, and strange lights that glowed but had no flame. They laid her on a couch and placed a blanket over her. They then sat down as if they were waiting for someone. She could feel them staring at her, even when she closed her eyes. She felt a touch on her shoulder and she realised that doctor Boglin had come into the room. He peered into her eyes,- holding them open one at a time. He took her wrist and she felt a pulsing where his thumb pressed against her skin. “ Kiara”, he said softly,” We are going to help you get your voice back. It may hurt a little bit, but do not be frightened. It will be all over very quickly. Matron appeared and placed a cloth against her face. It made it hard to breathe. She tried to pull it away, but she had no strength. She passed out.

When she came to, she was sitting in a large chair with arms and a head-rest. She could not move. Her head and limbs were firmly clamped into place by metal restraints. There were wires leading away from them to a large box with levers on a table just at the edge of her vision. Doctor Boglin stood at the table. In front of her was a large ornate mirror. It stood on wooden legs which were covered in strange carvings. There were creatures she knew existed, and many others she had never seen before and lots of markings and symbols. “What do you see, Kiara?”,- Dr Boglin asked. Kiara struggled to answer, wondering if the drinks had somehow cured her.. “What do you see in the mirror?”, he asked . “ She tried to speak but could only make noises.

He pushed a lever and Kiara felt pain for the first time in her long existence. It flowed through her and made every part of her vibrate with agony. The Image in the mirror changed. Kiara saw a beautiful creature with iridescent wings pinned to the chair by a web made of blue light.

“What do you see?”, asked Dr Boglin again. “ A little girl in a chair”, Kiara said. Can I go back to my room? It hurts!”, she cried.

He did something to the box and the pain came back twice as strong.

She felt her fragile bones creak as her body twitched and tried to move against the restraints. She screamed. “What do you see?” , he asked again. She sobbed without answering.

Again he pushed the lever and Kiara thought she was going to explode. She moaned and sobbed as pulse after pulse of pain swept through her.

Suddenly she was beyond pain. She knew that she could somehow slip out of the restraints holding her, but some instinct stopped her from doing so.

“What do you see, Kiara”, this time his voice had a sharp edge. “ I see a little girl in a chair”, she sobbed, Please don’t hurt me any more!”. He looked puzzled for a moment. “Very well, but we will have a long talk soon”. Suddenly she realised that she had spoken out loud, and she began to cry again.

He turned to Matron, “See that she rests for a few more days”, he said. He turned around and left the room. Matron held a small bottle under her nose and she blacked out.

 

Matron kept Kiara sedated for several days following the events in the treatment room. She was unsure how to treat the girl, and thought it best for everyone concerned to keep her quiet and under control, at least until she knew for certain who she was dealing with. She told Annabelle that Kiara was too ill for visitors and fed and looked after her on her own. She would wake her and feed her, take her to the water closet and put her back to sleep. Despite her care, the girl was getting weaker and each day, larger doses of Laudinum were needed to keep her asleep. Soon she would have to allow her to awaken, and deal with the situation, somehow.

Matron had almost forgotten her name,- she had been called by that title for so long now.

As she sat watching the child, she allowed her mind to wander back to when she had first met the creature that they called Doctor Boglin. He had hardly looked human then,- a wizened green creature not much larger that a child. She was matron in a large hospital in London at the time.

Middle-aged, tired and discouraged, she had returned to her quarters one night and fallen asleep on her chair. She awoke to see the strange creature standing in front of her. He put his clawed hand over her face to stifle her scream, and in the same movement forced something into her mouth.

She struggled in vain. She gagged as the slug like object slid down her throat and he released her as she fell to the floor retching and heaving. By the time she had caught her breath, he had gone.

Realising that no one would believe her story,, she decided it was probably best to lock her door and go to bed.

Next morning when she went to the mirror, she almost screamed again. Deep green eyes that sparkled with life peered back at her. Her hair had regained the lustre it had once had as a teen. It glistened like oiled ebony, framing a fresh complexion and a face that had lost twenty-five years overnight. She willed herself to be calm. She could not allow anyone to see her like this. She dressed carefully and put her hat on. She quickly wrote a note to the senior ward sister and put it in the pocket of her gown. Then she put a mask over her face and went to the kitchens.

She grabbed the first kitchen girl she saw and sent her off with the note. Then she found cook. “Mrs Pearson!”. The cook looked up in shock to see the matron with the mask on. “Just a precaution”, Matron said to her. “ I will be staying in isolation in my room for a few days, until I am sure that I have not caught the flux. You are to tell no one! I want my meals to be left outside my room until I give further orders! Is that understood?” Cook nodded in compliance and Matron left her with orders to have a breakfast tray brought to her room immediately. Matron spent the day pondering the situation and awaiting the return of the creature. That he would return,- she had no doubt whatsoever. He wanted something, and his introduction had left her wondering what further advantages might be forthcoming.

That night, he appeared just as suddenly as he had the previous night. She looked up from where she was sitting and there he was. She spoke first, “Who are you and what do you want?” He smiled, showing rows of razor sharp teeth. Matron subdued a shudder. “What do you want?”, she asked again. He walked to the table and emptied a bag of gold coins onto it. She stared in amazement as the coins poured over the table and onto the floor. “I want you to buy a large house with lots of land and no neighbours. Also, I want a job in the mortuary. Obviously, I can not go through normal channels…”, he left the obvious reason unspoken. “ I want a key to the mortuary and access to it, undisturbed, every night until I come to see you again.” He handed her a whistle. “Blow this if you need more gold”. She went to a drawer and removed the spare key to the mortuary and handed it to him without a word. There was a blur of movement and he was gone.