Stranger Spirits

Charlotte and Alfy [Chapter Five Part Two]

I opened my eyes to find myself back in the chamber room. My cheek was pressed against the elaborately decorated carpet. Ears still ringing I could barely concentrate on my surroundings. Every time my blood pulsed it gave me a throbbing pain in my head causing me to gasp and wish for it all to end. Through the agony, I did notice that there was significantly less smoke in the room. The room looked a little less ominous though

Suddenly I heard the booming echoes of footsteps coming my way causing me to groan in agony. I slowly turned to face up to see a cloaked figure looking down at me. Their face was covered and the only distinguishing feature was the reflection of two large shiny eyes.

"V-Vhaun-n." The pounding in my head would not subside as their gloved hand came closer towards my face. Once the hand touched my shoulders my eyes rolled back in pain and my vision went black.

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"Hello?" I groggily cracked open my eyes to see that I was tucked in bed. "Hello, can you hear me?" I slowly turned my head to see a young woman about my age sitting on a seat beside me. She had light brown hair and eyes the color of the sky on a sunny day. Sitting on her lap was a bowl and a spoon.

"Who are you?" I croaked. I tried to move but my arms could barely move. Now that I think about it. My headache was gone but my entire body felt numb.

"My name is Charlotte."

"I-um-where am I, Charlotte?"

The door opened. Before I could finish turning in the direction of the door I heard Atticus' voice. "Vaughn, you're awake!" Atticus knelt beside the bed and squeezed my arm gingerly. My arms were still numb but I did feel a slight bit of pressure.

"Yeah, I am." I gazed into Atticus's concerned gray eyes. "What's going on? Last I remember-"

"We were ambushed by bandits. One of them threw a rock into the bushes to distract us while the rest swooped in from behind. They knocked you out with a wooden plank and took your pack. I was able to ward them off and pull you away but I fear that there's no way we'll be able to retrieve your parcel." He shook me lightly as he babbled. "But thank the Gods you're alright!"

"Yes, thank the Gods." I took a moment to just breathe. "Where are we now?"

Charlotte spoke up from behind Atticus. "You are currently in the village of Crestfall, within the Thopes Woodlands. Atticus brought you here where Dr. Alfred and I have been taking care of you for the past day and a half."

"Since they stole your pack they also took all of our coins. So I've been working around town doing odd jobs to make ends meet."

I sighed. "I'm so sorry Atticus."

"What why?" He shook his head. "You have nothing to apologize for."

I furrowed my bows and flexed my fingers a little. "If I had defended myself we wouldn't be in this predicament. We could be continuing towards Ilcryst."

"Your safety is more important Vaughn. You're the one who needs to get there, not I."

"Thank you."

"Atticus, I thought you were at the smithy!" A man a good two decades older than us came in. Although he was balding he still had plenty of salt and pepper hair on his head and calm blue eyes. You could tell he had a cheerful disposition because you can see he had crow's feet from laughing. The man scanned the room to lock eyes on me. "Oh!" He moved closer to me choosing to stand on the other side of the bed.

It took me a moment to turn my head fully towards him but I did. "Who are you?"

"Pardon me, where are my manners!" The man gasped in a jolly manner. "My name is Remus Alfred! I am the primary doctor of our village and with the help of Charlotte, we were able to get you to open your eyes again. You certainly took a large blow to your head!" He turned towards Atticus and Charlotte. "If you don't mind. I would like a word with Vaughn alone."

"Of course!" Charlotte bolted up almost spilling her soup over. "Here you go Dr. Alfred! He just woke up so I hadn't gotten a chance for him to have some food."

"Thank you, dear." Dr. Alfred took the bowl and wooden spoon.

"Vaughn, I have to head back to the local blacksmith's but I'll come back later to see you."

I tried to nod but failed. "See you soon."

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Feeling a little dead inside being at work during spring break before 9AM but here you go y'all. <3 -Ryan