! Never mind! Here's the second chapter. Enjoy and review, please, although you think it's an unreadable tale :o !Disclaimer: as you suppose, I don't owe Pern or any of its characters. I usually write for my own pleasure!.
Chapter 2: THE DRAGON QUEEN
The beast's last painful yell shook the doctress, who started to shout orders:
-Let nobody go out, Ruth!. Give a touch to Robert and Abby, and send somebody to review reserves of bandages and sutures .
-Sutures and bandages? Do you mean that you're going to heal it? It can be dangerous!- Ruth DiFalco, the nurses chief, looked at the hurt beast nervously.
-Wirenth isn't dangerous.
The little boy again. He had left the puf and he had put his face against the crystal windows. The doctor went down until their faces were on line.
-How can you be sure?You have never seen this kind of ...animal before, haven?t you? And why do you use that word again and again?-the doctress' voice tone was soft but sure.
-I have rescued her, I brought her here to free her from Pridith's jaws, everything was happening now, I wasn't able to send her home, I was so tired...-the child was changing his speech faster and faster- Her name is Wirenth and she would never injury people.Don?t you remember my dreams?
Of course she remembered it, she remembered that, in those dreams, two huge, golden beast fought without resting....suddenly, a strange thought appeared into his mind...what would happen if those dreams were not only dreams but also premonitions?. Many times, a powerful but young Talent can show with Sight, but in that case, the sights used to making reference to patient's environment.....if that little boy had got Looking at so far - and he had got it, because she didn?t know any colony where those beasts were grown -his power could become incredible..
Where did that creature come from?
Suddenly,s he asked other doctor for taking care of the child, she opened the door of the big crystal wall and went down to the hangars zone. She advanced surely, but she stopped when she was near the creature's head, without knowing how to continue: the beast exhibited a frightening claws and, although she was using one of them to protect the injured eye, the other one was free.
Slowly, she advanced a few steps more, paying big attention to the beast's movements. In the hospital, doctors, nurses and the patients who were in conditions were looking across the windows that were located in front of the hangars zone, containing her breath. Ruth DiFalco was very frightened and she had even sent a warning to the garrison.
Those few steps put the doctor inside the lighted zone.. and inside the zone the animal could see; with a quick movement, which looked impossible due to its size, the beast lead her big triangular head towards the doctor and a new yell sounded, not only painful, but also urgent yell. But what amazed the young doctor, what put doctress Faith Benden in her place was the voice that whispered into her head:
Help me. They hurt, I cant?t see, please help me
* * * * * *
The creature's eyes were full of facets, their colour were changing and Faith was next the left one, in a very, very short distance. She trembled: that eye was a bit bigger than her. She wondered if, really, she had hear what she thought she had heard.
Help me.They are so painful
-Where are you hurt?- Faith's answer was instant, before understanding the creature's voice was in her mind, not in her hears. Perhaps the beast was intelligent.
Of course I'm intelligent. An angry tone and an eye that shined in red, like a bengal.
-I'm sorry- God, that was incredible!
You can listen to me. That's good, because now I can?t make any strong effort. It's difficult to find somebody that can hear creatures like me, and he or she isn?t that creature's rider.
A rider? Did that beast let anybody ride it? And hearing? Could nobody hear the creature's words?
No. A rider only can hear his own beast.
-What are you?- Faith was looking forward to making that question. She felt that some people had gone out of hospital and they had stayed in a certain distance: the beast's peaceful attitude had quieted down everybody, but nobody wanted to risk to suffer a sudden attack of anger.
And then it happened. Despite her injuries, the creature woke up on its four legs, rose her wings, roared in a long, deep way.
I'm a dragon queen. I'm Wirenth of Brekke, dragon queen in High Reaches Weyr, in Pern
Faith observed Wirenth's wings and strong body in astonishment. Effectively, it seemed to be a dragon,a dragon like those ones whose descriptions she had read in books...but those descriptions told nothing about dragons' intelligence or mental voice. She wondered if she wouln?t be seeing a big and complex illusion but, when she extended her hand, she could feel a soft and warm skin, a skin without scales; she caressed more confidently....and suddenly, she felt a glued touch: blood continued flowing from injuries in the dragon's throat. In that moment, Wirenth fell heavily, due to blood loss.
Can you help me?. I can't return to Pern if I am injured
The asking for help decided Faith to act: the creature must be saved. Whatever did after, she would think it in that moment.
-Please, wait for me here. I'll bring help to heal you.
Yes.
She turned around and saw the people who had arrived near the beast,and the garrison guards who had been warned by Ruth. Faith spoke to their officer:
-Lieutenant, keep people away from the dragon. She isn't dangerous, but we need enough space to heal her.
-Did you say dragon, doctress? Well, it's logical, it seems like...wait a minute! did you say healing!?
-Yes- Faith could see fear into the officer's eyes: she couldn't reprove him due to it, but she knew, like the child, that Wirenth wouldn't attack people.
The young doctor came back to the hospital and the little boy came out to meet her.
-How does she feel?
-Injuries don't like very well, but nothing is sure until I can examine them. I'm worried about her eye, it is scratched and swollen...-suddenly, she asked him - Can you hear her?
The child looked at his toes.
-Yes, I can.That's no normal, you know. Doctress, where is Pern?
Faith didn't know the answer, however that name was very familiat to her , perhaps she had read it somewhere. When she finished healing Wirenth, she would search information about that name...but the dragon was the first priority. For a moment, Faith observed stars shining in the clean sky: that one was going to be a very, very long night.
*********
I hope this chapter is better that the first one, guys!
Wyrth