Bulletproof season 1

Episode 8: Being Flume Willow

May 2, 1193

The Pastures, North Lively 

      It took Maleficent a ten-minute stroll to find the infirmary. It would have taken Maleficent longer if she had just run, but, in the nymph culture, it was unladylike for a nymph maiden to run. A female must always be graceful, much to her dismay. The village was particularly crowded today as several new arrivals had come. In many ways, the bustling village had reminded her of the crowded cities she had traveled in as a child which in a way was comforting. 

   Maleficent took great pangs to fit in with the other villagers today. Rather than a usual dark-colored gown, she donned the typical nymphean white dress that village maidens wore.  She made sure that her curls were not out of place and she made sure to cook breakfast for her mother and Evelyn before heading over. Maleficent felt a little anxiety leaving her family alone, particularly Evelyn. While her mother insisted that Evelyn will be with her all morning, she was still scared about leaving her baby sister all alone. 

      She had passed several people on the way to the village before finally being able to locate the deep large hole far removed from the crowded town square. Maleficent looked down at the hole to see a staircase that led to the infirmary and climbed down the staircase. When she finally entered the infirmary, she instantly smelled a mixture of floral perfume and blood, her favorite scents. The chambers were rather wide and dark, though there were several candles. There were several small beds covered by generic brown sheets, though each bed was separated by a faded white bed sheet or a long piece of cloth, whatever it was. 

  The infirmary was filled to the brim with various people. One man appeared to be lying on the bed groaning, a ghastly wound where his ear should be. Next to him was a girl no older than Maleficent who looked rather sickly, her skin was not the light green most nymphs typically had but a pale yellow. 

      The walls appeared to have been entirely made of rock or some kind of rubble. On the far right of the room away from the beds, there was a large table containing what Maleficent recognized as several ingredients to various potions: spider legs, spinner gems, and a glass of poison ivy, not that the poison ivy was poisonous, at least not for humans. But then again, humans claimed that some things were poisonous to them randomly. 

   Maleficent always found that rather odd. The thought of humans finding things poisonous was strange. Snakes bit her all the time and that never bothered her. Some humans could get poisoned by peanuts or in some cases milk which made even less sense. It was funny how humans could be so weak and still the most frightening species magical beings every encountered.  Finally, she saw a portly man who appeared to be in his forties (in human years anyway) arriving from a back door, probably a closet, walking to the table of ingredients. Maleficent felt strangely nervous as she walked toward this man. She wanted this job, more than anything. 

 "Excuse me sir", she started hesitantly, before cursing herself mentally and switching to the nymph language. "Ser, dozvol'te meni trokhy chasu?" 

    She knew her Nymphean was different than most. While her mother taught her the language perfectly, the dialect was a little off despite her photographic memory and she mostly spoke Livelian as did most nomads. "Yes, you do have a moment of my time", the older man spoke carefully and politely. "Pardon me, miss. I grew up in a human village before coming so I am not as skilled in the language as you villagers may be."

     Maleficent smiled. "I understand. I just moved from further south and now and then, I am confused when everyone speaks Nymphean."

    "But you understand it", he stated, which caused Maleficent to nod in response. "So what brings you here to the infirmary? Is your family ill?"