Shift, Chapter 4

1-4-4365

Case no. 1302.

In my initial assessment of the patient I determined her case to be one of critical urgency. Her lower torso and legs were trapped beneath the body of the horse, which was euthanized on scene after it became apparent that there was a negligible chance of recovery. Fortunately, the horse had not struggled on the ground, possibly due to spinal paralysis, so the girl’s injuries seemed largely confined to the initial impact.

Having supervised the safe removal of the animal, I was able to more fully examine the patient. She seemed to be in a state of delirium or semi-consciousness, yet there was no external sign of damage to the cranium. The abdomen was swollen and distended and my first suspicion was the rupturing of an organ in the region. The pelvis seemed also to be displaced, possibly extending back as far as the vertebrae. There was a protrusion from her left thigh, which I suspected to be a fractured femur.

At this point I sent for Dr Kar, whose expertise in repairing internal organ failure would aid in the treatment of the potential rupture. I then administered a dose of Endormedol to aid in the release of her Shifting capability, before beginning the process of setting the bones. The girl had an unusually diverse Shifting mechanism, which made the process of unlocking and healing the bones unusually fast and accurate. I remarked on this unusual gift to the patient’s father, who informed me she had always been a quick and proficient child.

I encountered a difficulty in the healing of her bones at about the same time that Dr Kar arrived. At this point my priority was to assist Dr Kar by stemming the internal blood flow, while he worked on repairing the spleen. With two Medics on hand the process worked particularly quickly until Dr Kar pronounced he was happy with the level of internal health that the girl had acquired.

He offered to help with the setting of the bones and the clearing of the inflammation from the site of impact. I asked for his particular assistance with the femur bone, which was causing an unusual level of concern. There seemed to be something inorganic wedged into the bones that was hindering the ability to Shift the bones back together. I could see no external signs of an entrance wound for a foreign object. Cutting away the trouser leg over the site revealed faint traces of an old scar wound, which lead me to suspect that she had suffered an injury in the past, which had not been treated by a Medic. The only option was to reopen the leg and perform investigative surgery.

I administered a dose of Lepodon to the patient to keep her calm and still, before proceeding with the operation. The surgery revealed an unusual foreign object twisted around the bones of the femur. It was a gold chain, partly fused into the exterior of the bone, with some ossification occurring around the links. Attached to the chain was a narrow pendant of some kind, but calcification had largely obscured the design. When I asked her parents if they knew how this object had got there, both seemed unusually shocked and upset. I do not think they could have known about it, but it seems likely that this could only have been placed there by deliberate design.

The Medical Journal of Dr Rosse Murnagh, Volume VI, Chapter XXI.

***

“Lile? Hey Lile! Are you up yet?” a voice whispered urgently between the crack in the doorway. The girl sat bolt upright, casting bleary glances around the room.

“Who? What?” she muttered, rubbing her hands over her face, trying to concentrate.

“Its me- Dyl- by the door,” the voice whispered back.

“Dyl? Do you know how early it is? It’s not even light yet.” Elile grumbled back and started to curl back up into her bed clothes. The door flew open and a young boy entered and marched up to the side of her bed, puffing himself up into his full and diminutive height.

“Don’t be so boring. Come on, before the grown-ups wake up and stop us going.” Elile rolled over and looked at her cousin curiously.

“Go where exactly?”

“Down to the lake. I’ve got a boat. But we’ve got to go before the grown-ups wake up because they’ll make the Minder go with us. The Minder is so boring. He doesn’t let us do anything.”
Elile was intrigued. She’d been in Dirdarn for nearly a month and was increasingly bored and homesick. Plus, Dyl was right, the Minder never did let them do anything.

“Ok. I’m coming,” she replied, scrambling out of bed and grabbing some clothes out of the wardrobe. “But you’ll have to wait outside while I get changed,” she added, gesturing him out of the room.

“Great!” Dyl replied enthusiastically and dashed out to wait in the corridor. Changing quickly, Elile joined her cousin in the hall and the pair padded quietly down the stairs and out of one of the side entrances to the Castle.

“We made it!” Elile whispered excitedly to Dyl before the pair disappeared through the long grass and into the wood beyond.

***

Sil·vet·era [sil'vět'ěr'ər] noun.

1. City of, the capital of the Kingdom of Silvetera and one of the oldest and richest cities in the world. Founded under the control of the Kingdom of Arrozale, the city passed into independent self rule during the Merchant Rebellion of 4245. The city is generally understood to be the International Trading Capital of the World.

2. Kingdom of, founded during the Merchant Rebellion of 4245 and named after its most prominent city…

***

“What do you mean, ‘missing’?” the Queen demanded angrily of the Minder.

“Just that M’m,” the shivering man replied, twisting his hands together nervously in front of him. “I went in to check on the Prince this morning and I found his room empty. I then went to check if he had gone to see the Princess, but she wasn’t there either.” Queen Vinthia narrowed her eyes, clenching and unclenching her fists.

“So what have you done to try and find them?” she asked acidly; the Minder flinching at every word.

“I came to tell you directly I noticed, M’m,” he paused nervously, noticing the Queen’s increasingly tight expression. “I don’t think they can be in the Castle or one of the staff would have reported it to me.”

“Do you have any conception of the potential consequences of your incompetence?” she snapped furiously at the man.

“I, uh,” the man began to stammer in reply, before the Queen cut him off with a curt gesture.

“Enough! Just find them,” she replied caustically. The man hesitated, casting a furtive look at his Queen.

“Now!” she shouted violently, causing the man to scuttle hurriedly from her presence.

***

Arr·o·zale [ār'ō'zāl] noun.

1. Kingdom of, founded 1366, the Peninsula State of the West. Capitol city: Dirdarn.
...

***

“I have found them Your Highness,” the Minder gasped as he rushed into the Court. Noticing the King was sitting by his wife, he paused and bowing murmured, “Your Majesty.”

“Found who?” King Falos asked the flustered man, frowning in curiosity.

“The young Prince and Princess, Your Majesty,” the Minder replied quietly.

“What?” the King shouted suddenly, leaping to his feet. “Where have they been?” The Queen shifted uneasily in her seat, but managed to maintain an air of apparent calm.

“I found them down by the lake, playing with the Prince’s boat, Majesty.” The man was visibly shaking now.

“That boy!” the King exclaimed angrily and began to pace the room. “Why must he always cause so much trouble?” he turned to ask his wife, who met his troubled gaze with a soothing steadiness.

“He does have a streak of mischief in him,” she replied pensively, “But I am more concerned about young Elile. We must be very careful of her while she is in our care. My brother is not likely to forgive any mistake on our part that we make which affects his child.” Falos sat back down, furrowing his brows and rubbing his chin broodingly.

“Send the children in,” he said to the Minder, who had calmed down once the focus was directed away from him. The man hurried out of the room and returned quickly, leading one child by each hand.

“Well, what do you have to say for yourself, boy?” the King asked his son sternly.

“We were only playing,” the boy replied sullenly.

“You know you’re not supposed to leave the Castle on your own- let alone to go all the way down to the lake. Do you have any idea how dangerous that could be?” the King stood back up and began to pace again. The boy stared at the floor defiantly, clenching his one free fist.

“And dragging your cousin along as well,” the Queen chipped in, “Did you think about how much trouble you were getting her in?” The boy shifted slightly uncomfortably before resuming his stubborn stare.

“I think you need a lesson in respecting the privileged life you live,” the King added, sitting back down again. “If you can‘t use a boat responsibly, then it can be sent back to the Shipyard.” The boy snatched his hand away from the Minder and stamped his foot.

“I hate you!” he shouted before turning and dashing out of the room. A sad expression flickered briefly over the King’s face and he sighed and rubbed his face with both hands.

“I never seem to get it right with him,” he said mournfully to his wife, who also looked slightly anxious. “I did do the right thing, didn’t I? I wasn’t too harsh?” The Queen looked thoughtful again, drawing a deep sigh.

“We have to be tough. How else will he ever learn?” she replied after a pause. “He reminds me of your brother. He was always very wilful and daring. I can’t help but worry that our son will come to a similar end.” The King put his hand on his wife’s soothingly, looking straight into her face.

“What happened to my brother was a tragic fluke of nature, even though my parents would never accept it.” He paused as a deeper look of grief drifted over his features. “It was a terrible end for such a magnificent man, but it was just one of those freak accidents.”

“I know you’re right. It’s just hard not to be protective over our only child. I sometimes worry how he’ll cope away from us in Silvetera.” She paused, noticing that Elile was giving her a thoughtful stare. Raising her voice, she turned to give a command to the Minder, “Escort Princess Elile to her morning tutor and then find our son and bring him back here.”

“Yes, M’m” the man replied, bowing out of the room and pulling the girl along behind him. Just as she passed through the doorway, Elile cast a long look behind her, her eyes fixing briefly with the Queen’s , before she passed out of sight into the shadows.