Well into her second week as a patient, Aloe grew impatient. She could fare with being still for hours without end, but as of late, her body had grown pains from the stillness. Not only her extremities but also her torso were developing aches from the increasing numbness. Whilst she could exercise her arms easily, the same couldn't be said for her legs. Sure, she could move them slightly to keep the blood flowing, but beyond that, her pelvis would scream in protest.

“Could I get a change of scenery?” Aloe asked Farah after she cleaned her body with a wet towel.

“That would be difficult, venerable scribe.” The mature maid responded. “The physician has highly recommended against any movements. Are the books not enough for your entertainment?”

Aloe hadn’t been locked in her room looking at the ceiling all these days without any cognitive stimuli. The Palace of Asina’s library was far bigger than Sadina’s, and it was easy for her to get all of those books about plants and herbalism that she couldn’t have read on Sadina either because she didn’t find them or for lack of time. Whilst far from an enjoyable and dynamic read, Aloe obtained a new appreciation for botanical science.

As the seat of empirical knowledge, Asina contained more academic papers than any other place in Khaffat, meaning that she got access to the most up-to-date discoveries. Her unrestricted access was lovely, but not enough.

Yes, she had the perfect opportunity to learn, even to find the papers that Karaim published as that woman had mentioned, but neither her mind nor body were up to the task.

“I have thoroughly enjoyed the books, Farah,” Aloe admitted. “But my body has grown ill from staying still this much time. Wouldn’t it be possible to get a whisp of fresh air?”

The maid looked troubled. “I could try asking the court physician, I guess.”

“Please, do so.” The scribe’s voice almost came out pitiful.

It pained Aloe to make Farah out of her room, even if it was to fulfill one of her petitions. Her company was the only thing that kept her sane. Not from loneliness or her aches but... She just wanted a sweet voice to comfort her. To keep that string of sanity from snapping.

The scribe took a deep breath and focused on her body. Her body had grown ill for one reason alone. And it wasn’t stillness. Mostly.

Vitality flowed across Aloe’s body with a cadence that could only be called sharp. Like a river, the shore and bottom of the waterway would present resistance to the flow of water. Her vitality didn’t act like that currently. It was as if there wasn’t any resistance present, as if the water had gotten wise and always took the most optimal path, never scrapping against any walls. Such a thing would be impossible in the real world, as there would always need to be some water touching borders, but that was how her flow felt. As if the friction had disappeared.

That was the work of her new internal infusion.

It had taken her a few days to develop it, mostly because she didn’t have any clues if it actually existed, just a hunch based on her experiences with the sultanzade. And she had no guidelines to follow, even if they were like the scarce ones Karaim had gifted her.

When activating her new infusion, life felt brighter. This was the only reason why she had deactivated ‘toughness’. Her breaths became bigger and fuller; her sight became sharper and more colorful; her ears no longer rung but let her hear with clarity; her taste exploded with flavor, allowing her to taste more and better – bile gathered on her throat as remembrances of unfortunate tastes assaulted her mind, the taste of things she didn’t want to remember now exacerbated, of her mouth being forcefully filled. Regretfully, the internal infusion also boosted her sense of touch, meaning that all the itches and numbness of her body intensified. Whilst it didn’t boost her pain directly, she indirectly felt more of it from the lack of ‘toughness’.

And even then, Aloe decided to not have it active.

The clarity of mind that this infusion brought her was more than worth it, even if she had to endure more pain because of it. A more tasteful, colorful, and clearer life was worth the price.

Aloe named this internal infusion: ‘acuity’.

The name suited like a glove, and it took her more days to come with it than she was willing to admit. The woman felt that infusions needed to have grandiose or interesting names, otherwise she wouldn’t be doing them justice.

This wasn’t the only infusion she had tried. ‘Strength’ had also proven to make her stay more bearable, at the same expense of amplifying the pain, of course. The names of the infusions didn’t always make them justice, Aloe didn’t only feel stronger whilst using ‘strength’, but also more willing. What that willingness was, she couldn’t ascertain. That made her recall that woman and how she had thoroughly violated her ‘toughness’ as if it hadn’t existed. She could feel it clear as day, the sultanah had not used her own ‘strength’ internal infusion that night. It was her base strength that broke her in half. That led her into her current bedridden state.

Aloe took a deep breath, incense filling her nostrils, and washed the memories away.

‘Speed’ was not as successful as ‘strength’ or ‘acuity’ to deal with her mortality. She had to deal with the fact of not having ‘toughness’ active and then having to acclimate her body to the accelerated pace. That infusion didn’t bring any positives in her current state – probably only negatives if she tried to walk with that amount of celerity – so she shelved it.

Her mood swung constantly, mostly following the hours of the day, and she changed her infusions to mitigate it. Before going to sleep, Aloe always set her internal infusion to ‘toughness’, otherwise the pain wouldn’t let her sleep – though sometimes she had cried herself into unconsciousness regardless of the infusion – meaning that she would wake up feeling numb and bleak-eyed. Only after breakfast, did the scribe dare to change the infusion, though her breakfasts tended to be closer to noon. As more wakefulness filled her body during noon and afternoon, she defaulted to ‘strength’, with an intermission of ‘acuity’ to taste her meals.

She wasn’t in a hospital, but the most expensive place in all Ydaz, after all. Food was prepared by top-class chefs, and she was well past the gruel and porridge feeding, so even in her handicapped state she was able to enjoy extravagant feasts.

The spices were many, the meats exotic, and the vegetables colorful.

It didn’t matter that she was bedridden, she ate like a queen. Probably even better than most queens depending on the size of their kingdoms like those in the east.

Aloe’s visage was drawn to a tired smile. I... Best to look at the positives, no? No food, no matter how delicious and nutritive, could compensate for her pain, loneliness, and lack of movement, but it helped.

Every bit helped.

As for the night, the scribe reserved ‘acuity’ in those hours. Night, even in the heart of the palace, was cold. But as she was smothered on blankets, not even her increased senses suffered from the low temperature. ‘Acuity’ was nice during meals, yes, but one couldn’t underestimate its value during the night. Her body was still weakened – therefore her vitality too – but even in such a state, her eyes could pierce through the coat of darkness.

She didn’t know how eagles and hawks may see the world with their sharp eyes, but Aloe felt closer to them with ‘acuity’. A bird... What a suiting analogy... The woman let out a morbid chuckle. Clipped wings and a gilded cage.

With her enhanced senses, Aloe felt the steps echoing through the hall, faintly making their way under the door and reaching her ears. She was jumpy, even if she recognized the exact weight and cadence by now. Nonetheless, she switched to ‘toughness’.

Changing infusions was a long and arduous process, one that required severe concentration and a calm heart. In the beginning, when she had managed to shift her flow of vitality and barely performed her first infusion, the process had taken minutes. Now, after having donned ‘toughness’ for weeks without end, it felt like her default internal infusion more than ever, meaning that she could snap back into the appropriate flow without taking much time, just a reaction.

That only applied to ‘toughness’, though. She was less competent in the other infusions, even with these many days of practice and usage, but a new infusion like ‘acuity’ was a matter closer to seconds rather than minutes. ‘Speed’ was by far her most lacking subject, still needing grueling minutes to get her internal flow right.

By the moment that Farah opened the door, Aloe was prone and unmoving in her bed, ‘toughness’ protecting her.

“I have good news, venerable scribe.” The head maid referred politely to the bedridden woman, even if she had called Aloe by her name more than once.

“What those may be, Farah?” The scribe raised her head slowly to lock sights with the mature yet still beautiful woman. Whilst certainly passed her prime, she was still lovely.

“The physician has accepted your petition for fresh air.”

Epsilon_Twilight

Most stories don't tend to mend nursing and training arcs, but for better or worse, Aloe has gained a slight respite in her weakness.

Fun fact: now all my ongoing or finished stories have someone puking on them. I don't know why I do that, but it just happened.

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