Paul Kater - Bactine

“How are things with respect to miss Rayko?” Huajo asked.

“She is doing better, sir. She is still in a lot of pain with her ribs, but the wounds on her arms and back are healing nicely.”

“Ah, good. I am glad she is making good progress.” Huajo nodded to emphasise his words. “Well, there may be a few things we need to arrange before the moment that I will meet our friend Clelem tomorrow…” They started some more planning.

After the scheming, Daniel went to the kitchen and arranged for a cup of tea. He took it to Rayko’s room. After a gentle knock on the door, to which there was no response, he looked inside. Rayko lay asleep, a book on her knees, some pages folded over her fingers. Her hair was a bit of a mess around her face.

Daniel placed the cup on the table and just stood looking at the frail-looking woman in the bed. After standing there for a while, he pulled up a chair and sat down, next to the bed. Carefully, so he would not disturb her sleep, he took the book from her fingers as it looked it would fall down the next time she stirred.

He had a smile on his face as he saw it was a book about Nahmyo. “Preacher,” he grinned to himself. It startled him. He should be careful, he did not want to wake her up.

After a while of sitting with Rayko, reading pages of the book and drinking the tea he had gotten for her before it got cold, he got into a rather strange state of mind.

“I really don’t understand,” he slowly said, keeping his voice down. “Why I risked my neck to get you out of that cellar.” His thoughts were churning around and around. “But I couldn’t leave you there. Even if you kicked my shins at the party.” He grinned at that thought. “It was amusing, in a way.” His thoughts went back to that evening. The encounter with the senator, the cloaked figure. So much had happened here in such a short span of time, when looking at it objectively.

Daniel looked at a page in the book again. “The care for a being shows how much you are in tune with nature. Every being is a part of nature, of everything,” he read out, quietly, “and the realisation of you being a part of that everything is the start of becoming a more whole person.”

He shrugged, and looked at the sleeping woman again. He bent over and carefully brushed some hair away from her face, so he could see her better. “Care,” he whispered. “I’ve been caring all my life, and look what that got me. Maybe Troy had a better idea. Although… commanding a station at Trados Noxos isn’t exactly what would make me happy.” He chuckled to himself, picturing Troy up to his knees in badly smelling goo, screaming commands. Then his thoughts found another alley to stroll down.

“I wonder what you know about your father,” he mused to himself. “Step-father, should I say. But I am not even sure if you know that…” Daniel tried to picture for himself the state of mind of a man who would sacrifice his step-daughter for whatever reason. He ended up with something so inhuman that he was not able to make the picture in detail. The rough sketch of it was already making him sick.

He turned to the book again, skipped to a random page and started reading.

“Daniel?” Rayko’s soft and not so awake voice startled him.

“Oh. You’re awake.” Daniel became aware that he had no idea how long he had been sitting there, dividing his time between reading the book, dozing off and thoughts.

“I think so,” she said. “Could you help me sit up, please?”

“Certainly,” he said. He put the book on the bed and held her up, rearranging the pillows with one hand. “Comfortable enough like that?”

“Yes. Thank you.” She smiled a tired smile. “I just wish this sitting and pain was over. I want to go outside. Walk. Feel the sun and the wind, and smell the ocean.” She reached out for the book, a short twitch in her face showing that the movement still hurt. “Oh.” She smiled. “You were reading this.”

“Yes, I did. I picked it up as I was afraid it would fall off the bed,” Daniel said.

Rayko looked at him. “How long have you been sitting here?” Her voice did not sound accusing, it was just a question.

“I’m not sure. For some time.” Daniel noticed the empty cup. “Would you like something to drink?”

“Oh, and to eat, please!” She nodded. “I am famished.” After all, she had missed breakfast.

“I’ll go see what the house has to offer,” Daniel said as he got up and picked up the teacup. “Do you want to try sitting in the dining room?”

“I’d really like to. Maybe we can see Kernak from there.”

“Oh, you know her?” Daniel asked.

“Yes, I have seen her several times. She is magnificent.”

Daniel agreed. “Let me see what can be arranged. I’ll come back for you, okay?”

Rayko glared at him. “Okay. Okay. Do you know how much that makes you sound like an uncivilised peasant boy, Daniel? It is such a dumb word.”

“Calm down, you. You’re in no position to fight, remember?” Daniel warned her.

“Hmpf. If my ribs did not hurt, I would throw a pillow at you. You don’t know how lucky you are that I am defenceless at the moment.”

“Shouldn’t that be offenseless?” Daniel laughed.

“Oh, go and do something useful, instead of trying to outsmart me.” She opened the book and stared so intently at the page that it was clear she considered the matter closed.

“It’s upside down,” Daniel said before he left. He laughed at the peasant sound she made as he closed the door behind him.

It did not take long to get a nice lunch on the table in the dining room. Daniel and a servant had brought a large chair into the room, filled it with pillows and then he had picked up Rayko and seated her in the chair.

“I am relieved that you no longer worry about me dropping you, Rayko,” Daniel said as she was sitting and he took his own seat.

“I know now that you are strong enough. And not nearly as clumsy as you look,” she said as she reached. “Oww… could you please hand me the bread?”

“Of course. What do you mean by looking clumsy?” Daniel had no idea that he looked like that. He held the bread basket for her.

“You’re so… big. Broad. Your voice was so loud then. And then your clothes… so sailor like. And you smelled bad.”

“I was at a ship, Rayko. Sailors don’t wear suits or costumes.”

“So I’ve noticed. Marmalade please.”

For a while they ate in silence, until Rayko suddenly exclaimed: “Oh, there she is!”

Daniel looked over to where the woman was pointing. Outside the window, the Kotrvayk walked to her spot under the low tree. “She’s magnificent, isn’t she?”

“Oh, yes, I can’t look at her enough.”

“She is also good fun to play with,” Daniel said, a grin on his face as he remembered the tugging contest.

“Play?” Rayko’s large eyes stared at him. “Surely you are joking, aren’t you?”

“No? Why should I? The senator introduced me to Kernak, and she seems to like me,” Daniel said.

“For lunch, I’m sure, or a hearty snack in-between,” Rayko muttered as she buttered some toast.

“I’ll show you after lunch,” Daniel said.

“You will do nothing of the kind, Mr. Zacharias. I can not allow you to go near that animal just because you have the need to show off. Kotrvayks are strong and dangerous. I have read my books, you know. It is a miracle that the senator has not been hurt by her. Magnificent or not.”

“You, miss Dandra ko Galem, are hardly in a situation to allow me anything. Allow me to pour you some more tea.”

“Thank you for that, Mr. Zacharias.” Her face made it clear she was not done with the other issue though, it was just on a back burner.