Princess of the Silver Ocean - Chapter 63

“You do not have to be afraid, okay?” she told Lara, who smiled and nodded, “I will be right next to you when the nurse examines you.”

She stood up and crossed her arms, waiting for the nurse to return. The nurse came back a few minutes later with a notebook and pen in her hand.

“Sorry about that,” the nurse said, smiling at the little beige fox who could not meet her gaze, “Let’s go get you examined, little fox.”

Lara nodded and followed the nurse, Astoria following close behind. The policewoman noticed that some of the royal guards who had been wounded by Saxhish were almost completely healed. Some of the beds, which were previously fully occupied, were now empty as some guards recovered.

“Please enter this room,” the nurse pointed to a white room.

They entered the room, and the nurse closed the door. Astoria was astonished at how big the inside was, and it had many workstations in it. There were also other nurses going about their duties. They bowed to her as they walked past. They entered another room, and the nurse made Lara change her clothes and lie down on a silver-like table.

The little fox watched as a laser began to travel over her tiny body, from head to toe and vice versa. The nurse and Astoria were in a separate room checking the information which was coming up on the computer screens in front of them. Astoria watched as the nurse leaned forward, staring at the screen. She took down notes in her notepad.

The nurse furrowed her brows as her fingers quickly and lightly tapped the computer’s keyboard. After a while, she leaned back and wrote in her notepad for the last time. She then stood up and told Astoria that she was done. The nurse walked towards Lara and gave her her clothes back.

Lara changed back into her clothes and followed the nurse into a separate room. This was one of the many consulting rooms within the infirmary. The nurse sat down and ushered Astoria and Lara to sit. They sat on the chairs across her. The nurse placed her notepad on the desk and pushed her glasses back.

“The good news is that the little fox’s body is not badly injured. The bad news is that she has a fractured rib,” the nurse stated, causing Lara’s eyes to widen in shock, “However, it is not badly fractured, so I will give her healing medication, which she should take three times a day.”

Astoria stretched her hand over Lara’s and entwined her hand with the little fox’s to assure her that she would be okay. Lara held the princess’ hands tightly, feeling her heart race at the news the nurse had just relayed.

“It really is nothing serious, little fox,” the nurse emphasized, giving her a calm, reassuring smile, “You just need to take this medication for about a month, and you will be all better.”

Lara nodded, her lips pressed together.

“As for the bruises and scars on her body,” the nurse continued, opening one of the drawers behind her, “She must apply this special ointment. It helps with removing scars or bruises. It will also prevent any permanent skin damage.”

The nurse handed Astoria the ointment, which was in a blue bottle.

“Claritonin,” Astoria softly read the name on the blue bottle.

“I will also give her some painkillers as the medicine for healing her ribs may sometimes cause some level of light or heavy pain,” the nurse told her.

The nurse then stood up and smiled at them both.

“Other than that,” the nurse concluded, “The little fox is okay and will heal soon. Let’s go back to the infirmary so that I can give you all her mediation.”

They followed the nurse out of the room and back to the infirmary. They stopped by the cabinet full of some medical supplies. The nurse grabbed a small box of painkillers and two sets of bottles labeled ‘Acimine .’She placed the medication in a plastic bag and handed it to Astoria.

“The painkillers are for when she experiences pain,” the nurse began explaining, pointing at the medication in Astoria’s hand, “The Acimine bottles are for her fractured rib. Make sure that she has something to eat before she takes her medication.”

Astoria nodded. “Noted. Thank you so much for your help.”

The nurse bowed and left. Astoria turned to Lara and told her they could go to the garden now. The royal garden was a luscious garden of moss-covered grass, surrounded by tall hedges, flower bushes, and shrubs. It was lit up by magical lanterns. There was also will-o’-the-wisp, blue, green, and yellow in colour, floating about in the garden like levitating lanterns. This gave the garden an enchanting and mystical element. Astoria and Lara halted a few steps away from the gate, unable to take another step. They were too stunned to move and stared at the lights in awe, their mouths agape.

“It is so beautiful and enchanting,” Lara breathed, unable to take her eyes from the will-o’-the-wisp floating about.

Astoria nodded, and they both examined the scenery in front of them. A gold fountain stood near the left edge of the garden. Nature had already claimed it for itself as there were vines that had snaked their way around the fountain. The rows of flowers were growing with boundaries. There was not even a single weed in sight. The hedges, flower bushes, and shrubs reached 1.2m/4ft high.

Archways overgrown with exotic flowers were scattered throughout the garden, leading people through the garden and making sure all the best spots were marked. The grass had yet to try, creep, and crawl its way around the garden. It was probably held at bay by some magical intervention. Built a generation ago, there was an ornamental piece of a woman constructed in the middle of the garden to commemorate the kitsune goddess, Miyata Ririko.

She was a goddess whose life was lost two hundred years ago after saving the lives of many humans in a freak fire that occurred in the mountains of Chesropis. It was designed by an international artist, a descendant of one of the humans who was saved in the freak fire. This artist superbly captured the cultural history of the event, which was widely known throughout the Chesropis kingdom.

The artist had used a modest style to convey his vision in this beautiful ornament. Every element was crafted and created with durable materials from local suppliers. This ensured that the ornamental piece would remain an inspirational source for generations to come, mainly since the same ornamental piece could also be found at the center of the shopping district of Yuudai.

The ornamental piece was the main centerpiece of the garden and was mainly designed to be this. The rows of flowers and plants were indeed a sight to behold. The hedges, flower bushes, and shrubs did their best to take some of the attention from the goddess, but the spotlight would always be on the ornamental piece. All of the plants and flowers had wooden tags with descriptions stuck to the ground. This contained information about the plant and flowers.

“The Caryopteris Heldreichii is an extremely rare, huge plant and can be found in most highlands,” Astoria read the description of one plant which had caught both their eyes the moment they arrived in this beautiful, massive garden.

It was a pretty colossal plant the size of a rock. One would not walk past it without noticing its vast size. It was a plant that blooms twice a year for one month. It has tiny, egg-shaped leaves, which are usually lime green. It also grows relatively tiny flowers, which can be light orange, light silver, and light grey.

Astoria read that this plant grows within short distances from each other. Still, it was slightly hard to control and maintain its growth. The plant can be eaten to relieve a sore throat. As a defense mechanism, the Caryopteris Heldreichii grows small thorns. It relies on self-pollination to reproduce.

Once pollinated, it produces small, green edible fruits. Lara pointed at a rose bush, and Astoria nodded, knowing that the little fox was fond of roses and wanted to see the rose bush across from them. They walked towards the rose bush and admired the different coloured roses.

They followed the stone path, strolling in the garden and viewing the other plants and flowers. There were various flowers such as roses, tulips, carnations, chrysanthemums, and lavenders. The mixture of different coloured plants and perennials added life to the massive garden.

They found an area with five benches, and they sat on one of them. They sat across each other and looked up at the blue evening sky. Astoria placed the plastic bag with medication on top of the table, and they gazed up at the beautiful, starry night with the stars that twinkled like lamps along the edges of a clear river.. It felt good to relax and sit in comfortable silence.