The next chapter in the adventures of Meagan the Valkyrie. If you read, I already thank you. If you comment or review, I will thank you even more. It's a little slower than the previous chapter, due to the setting. I apologize. I promise chapters four and five will be faster-paced. On that note... here it is!

Awakening

When Meagan awoke, she first
noticed the strange sensation in her wrist. She lifted it. Her gauntlets were gone,
and she had an IV tube poking out instead. Dimly, she became aware of the smell
of anesthetic, whitewashed walls covered in medical posters, the medicine
cabinets lining the walls, the steel bed she was lying in, and the linen
covering her.

She was in a hospital.
Gingerly and wincing in pain, Meagan gently peeled back the covers. She was wearing a blue hospital gown, and
her legs were swathed in bandages. Replacing the covers, she checked her arms. Though they had suffered numerous scratches, only her left bicep and triceps were bandaged. Lifting a hand, she felt a bandage across her head and temples too. How did I get so banged up and not notice when I was conscious? Meagan wished she had a mirror so she could see if she had any gashes or cuts on her face.

Suddenly panicking, she reached behind her and sighed in relief as she felt soft feathers under her fingertips. Her wings were still there. She experimentally flapped them and screamed as pain assaulted her. Her wings must have been badly damaged.
A nurse burst into the room, no doubt alerted by Meagan's cry. She clicked her tongue, said a string of sentences Meagan didn't catch, then adjusted the contents of Meagan's IV bag. As she did so, Meagan became aware of the fact that she had heard herself scream, though it sounded subdued, and had almost heard enough of the nurse's words to understand. Her hearing was returning, but slowly and gradually.
The pain began to ebb away and the nurse was talking again. Meagan felt frustrated that her words sounded as if they came from behind four or five walls. She cupped her ear, then shook her head. The nurse understood. She pulled a tablet out of one of the cabinets and
wrote,

How is the pain?

“Not too bad, if I stay still,” Meagan replied. She could barely hear herself talking, almost didn't understand what came out of her mouth. She asked, “How did I not notice I was so hurt?” 
The nurse erased the tablet with her sleeve, miraculously not staining her jacket's white fabric, then wrote,

Shock can do that. At least you got out alive; others were not so lucky. Even now they're still identifying bodies.

Meagan blurted out, “Is the Chief Sorceress in this hospital? Is she all right?” She waited for the nurse's reply.

No and no.

Meagan gulped before asking her next question. “Is... is she dead?”

We don't know; we haven't found her yet.

Meagan frowned and inquired, “What do you think? Do you think she's dead?”

Yes.

Meagan fell silent. She knew what death was, but she had never met it. She couldn't believe the Chief Sorceress was dead. Surely someone that powerful could have woven a protection spell far more potent than Ayana's charm, or simply fled. A memory of the warm smile the Chief Sorceress gave her moments before death flashed in her mind. She knew others, and they're sad now. It was a stupid thought, but thinking that reminded her that Ayana must have been far more heartbroken than she was. After all, the Chief Sorceress was Ayana's mentor, not hers. She asked the nurse about her.

She's here. She woke up before you, but she still hasn't heard the news.  Her mother is going to break it to her.

           So Ayana didn't know the Chief Sorceress was dead. Meagan couldn't imagine how Ayana would take it. Maybe she would be so shocked she wouldn't react at all until after she slept. Meagan herself felt so, so tired. She would sleep soon, she reasoned, but first she
had a few more questions to ask. “Who saved me?”

Sheriff Carmen.

Ah. Meagan didn't know much about her, but Carmen was the head of the police force and the previous queen's most
trusted officer. Carmen was not very popular with civilians as she was cold, aloof, and not very sociable. However, no one could argue at the fact that she was good at her job and was the most efficient person on the police force. Carmen had been sheriff for as long as Meagan could remember. Meagan thought she was in her late thirties- at the very least, she appeared to be that old.
“I didn't know Carmen was able to use magic,” Meagan said. “What was she doing there?”

Investigating the robbery. Some Dark Tomes were stolen.

Meagan sat bolt upright.
“Robbery?!” she exclaimed. “Why on earth would someone want Dark Tomes?” Then she winced at the pain the motion brought.

Who knows? The collapsing of the dome was probably to distract everyone; I only wish they had chosen a different method. There are
so many casualties...

Meagan sighed. “I'd like to sleep now.”
The nurse nodded and turned off the harsh white lights. As she was about to leave, Meagan asked quickly, “What's your name?”
The nurse hastily wrote,

River.

“Goodbye, River,” Meagan whispered.
River smiled and wrote a single word.

Goodbye.

She left the room. Meagan grinned, laid back down, and embraced much-needed sleep.


When Meagan woke up the second time, her mother was there. Mrs. Pronozuk was dozing in a chair that Meagan hadn't seen before. Some nurse had brought it, she reasoned. Probably River.
Meagan watched her mother for a few minutes, wondering if she'd wake up, then quickly grew bored. She searched around the room for something to do and wished she had a novel to read. Meagan counted specks of color on the ceiling but lost count somewhere around 500. Finding nothing else to entertain herself with, Meagan decided to test her hearing. She began at what she hoped was normal talking level. Hearing herself fine, she slowly decreased in volume until she was whispering. Meagan heard most of it and concluded that her hearing was nearly restored. Satisfied, she once again felt as  if she had nothing to do. Again, she wished she had a book or something to
write. She was even willing to take her final if it meant doing something, anything to avoid thinking about the traumatic experience she had been through.
Meagan recalled the Chief Sorceress' face before she died. It was a look of complete horror as she realized there was nothing she could do. Meagan wondered what it felt like, knowing you were about to die and there was no way to change it. My goodness, you’re really upset, aren’t you? she thought.
“Are you all right, sweetheart?” Mrs. Pronozuk asked, placing her hands on Meagan's. Meagan turned to face her.
An awkward moment passed before Meagan said, “I'm fine. How'd you sleep, Mom?”
“Terribly; I was worried about you. That was quite a scare you gave me, Meagan.” Her wings folded round her as she talked, a habit of hers that she did when she was worried or nervous. Meagan noticed her mother seemed worn, almost exhausted. “When I heard the dome
collapsed,” Mrs. Pronozuk continued, “I flew over right away.”
Meagan grinned. Her mother was a pretty fast flier. She could imagine her speeding overhead while a police
officer yelled at her to stick to the ground. Flight was limited in Lewis. “Did you break the Valkyries' flight record?” Meagan asked.
Mrs. Pronozuk chuckled. “Almost! Too bad I didn't have anyone timing me, eh?”
“One day, I'll fly faster than anyone,” Meagan declared, “and I'll be the best flier out there.” Though she told everyone that she found it uninteresting, in truth, Meagan was unable to get more than two feet off the ground. This was nowhere near normal, as most Valkyrie children were zipping around at eight years. Meagan's wings, it seemed, were too weak to support her weight. The doctor assured her they were just developing late and that she would fly by the time she graduated high school. Meagan was currently enrolled in intense physical therapy to help her wings' strength, though there wasn't much they could do about development.
“About that...” Mrs. Pronozuk frowned, and bit her lip. “Meagan, your left wing was almost torn off, and it doesn't look good. There is a possibility that it's crippled, though the ER doctor said it would be able to move around... but not fly.”
“So I might never fly?!”Meagan burst.
Mrs. Pronozuk nodded grimly.
“He said it was a possibility,” she
said hopefully. “He might be wrong. Maybe I'd just have to amp up the physical therapy.”
“I don't think so, Meagan,” Mrs. Pronozuk whispered. “It looks bad.”
“That's not fair!” Meagan cried. “Why does all this happen to me? Flying is a Valkyrie's pride...”
“Meagan, flying is not everything a Valkyrie has. Remember that you have other gifts.”
 “What other gifts? We can't use magic, and we're not stronger or faster than other races! Flying's the only
thing we have going for us!” Mrs. Pronozuk sighed. “I wasn't talking about your body, Meagan,” she said gently. “I meant the gifts in
here...” She touched Meagan's forehead. “... and here.” She tapped Meagan's chest, over her heart. “You're brave, Meagan. Downright plucky. I've seen the things you're willing to do; you can tough this out.”
Meagan wasn’t so certain. Sure, she had been willing to do some crazy things and rarely backed down from dares, but
she had been so scared earlier, when the dome was collapsing. “I'm not brave,” she admitted. “I was so terrified! I... I thought I was going to die. I couldn't hear anything and I couldn't... I couldn't even bring myself to believe someone would save me when I saw those giant shards come down.” She stopped and wiped her nose with her sleeve.
Mrs. Pronozuk drew her daughter close, holding her tight. “It's normal,” she said, “to fear death. We're mortal, Meagan. We all die, and we all try to put it off. It seems we are fond of this world very, very much.”
Meagan nodded slowly.
Mrs. Pronozuk continued, “The important thing is that you're safe. Maybe in a few days you can come home, hmm? Jenni misses you.”
Meagan smiled weakly. “Yeah.”
Mrs. Pronozuk stood. “I've got to go. I better pick up Jenni from school. We'll come to visit later.”
“Tell Jenni she's an amazing little sister,” Meagan said.
“She loves you very much.” Mrs. Pronozuk was about to leave.
Meagan grabbed her sleeve. “Will you come today?”
“I don't know, Meagan. I've got a late shift tonight.”
“Do you think you could spend the night? I don't want to be alone.”
Mrs. Pronozuk sighed. “We'll see.” She gently pried Meagan's fingers away from her sleeve. Meagan knew she wouldn't have let go if her mother hadn't made her. Mrs. Pronozuk waved and left the room. Meagan was the sole person in the room. Meagan sighed and looked up at the ceiling. It would be dark in four hours. That seemed so, so far away. Four hours until her mother came, if she even did. “We'll see,” she said. In Meagan's house, that almost always meant, “No.”
Meagan tediously counted specks on the ceiling once more. When she lost count, she started again, continuously doing so over and over, killing time. When it seemed as if she would die of boredom, there was a knock on the door and a nurse gently opened it. “Visitors
for you,” she said. “Noah and Donny.” The two boys stepped through.
Noah lifted a bag. “We brought you some Peppy Melts!” he said in a perky voice. “Merlin says they pack a punch,”
Donny added. “You should try one.”
Meagan smiled, accepted the gift, and opened the bag. A few moments after struggling to rip off the plastic with Noah's help, Meagan popped a Peppy Melt into her mouth. At first, all she tasted was chocolate, spreading and melting in her mouth. Then came the
sweetness. It was unlike anything Meagan ever had before. It tasted like joy in candy form. “Wow, these are really good!” she exclaimed. “Thanks.” She flapped her wings unintentionally, as she always did when she was happy or pleased. She gasped and prepared for pain when she realized what she was doing.
No pain came. Experimentally, Meagan flapped again. Nothing. Puzzled, she moved them in many different ways, as hard and fast as she could as a confused Donny and Noah watched her in silence. She stopped, panting, when she got tired. “I just don't get it,” she
muttered. “Just a few hours ago they hurt at the slightest movement.”
“Lifewine's in it,” Noah said. “I wonder what that is.” He picked up the box and began reading a back label. “Lifewine has amazing healing properties. Eat one Peppy Melt to relieve pain or receive a burst of energy. Eat three to bring your soul back from the brink! Note: Peppy Melts are not to replace proper medical care. Check with a doctor before eating if you have broken bones or severe internal injuries.” He looked up. “Ah, see! It was the Peppy Melts!”
“Maybe it could heal my wing,” Meagan mused, “and I can fly...”
“You should ask a doctor first,” Donny suggested. “The box even says so.”
“Yeah,” Noah agreed. “I'm no expert, but I think your wing needs to be set. If you eat more, it might heal
crookedly.”
“My wing needs to be set?” Meagan cried. “Setting a bone hurts! I don't want my wing set! Couldn't they have done that when I was unconscious?!”
“Well, it looks like setting it is mandatory,” Donny pointed out. “If you don't get it set, then it'll heal wrong, and it won't work right. Besides, maybe the doctor wasn't able to set it earlier for some reason.”
“It doesn't matter,” Meagan snapped, “because my wings already don't work right. They never had, and any chance they had to was dashed in the... accident.”
“Sorry, Meagan,” Donny apologized. “This seems to be a sensitive subject.”
“We didn't mean to hit a nerve,” Noah said.
“No, it's fine,” Meagan dismissed. “I shouldn't have yelled at you like that for no good reason.”
Noah smiled. “Then we're even. Hey, I'm heading down to do some shopping. Is there anything I can get you?”
“A book would be nice. I can pay you back when I get out of the hospital.”
Noah shrugged. “No need. It'll be a present.”
“Thanks, Noah.”
“No prob.”
Meagan waved, then was struck by a thought. “Noah, was the final hard?”
“Crazy-hard,” he replied, and laughed. “Oh, man! I was studying with Donny the other night, and you should
have seen my face when I saw the war with the Entia Nocte was in our textbooks! You were asleep, and I guess I was spacing out. I wonder what Donny was doing then?”
  Donny scowled. He didn't say anything.


“I didn't know what you'd like,” Noah said, showing Meagan the novel, “so I picked one out from the Teen section.”
 “Whispers of Eternity? What's this about?”
“Some dude hugging some girl. They're on the cover.”
Meagan read the back quickly, then scanned the first couple of pages. “It's a romance novel,” she stated.
“Oh. Sorry.”
“It's okay.”
“Did your mom and sister drop by?”
“No, not after she left yesterday. My mom's busy, so what can I say?”
“What did the doc say about your wing?”
“He set it yesterday, and it hurt something fierce!” She smiled. “The Peppy Melts wouldn't have healed it, apparently. It's crippled.”
“Oh. Did you eat any after he set it? To relieve the pain?”
“Nah. I asked the nurse to give one to Ayana, but I'm saving the rest for emergencies.”
“That's smart.” They lapsed into silence.
Meagan said, “I'll read Whispers of Eternity, even if it is a romance novel.”
 Noah grinned. “It's that boring here?”
“Yep.”


Meagan's mother didn't come later that day either, though she sent a pigeon explaining why. Things had been hectic at home, and Jenni had come down with fever. What with work and caring for her little patient, Mrs. Pronozuk barely had time to breathe or scratch out
a hasty message to send by pigeon. Meagan read about half of Whispers of Eternity before River came in to check on her. “Close the book,
sweetheart,” River said. “Time for bed.”
Meagan dog-eared her page, closed the book, and obliged. River fiddled with the contents of Meagan's IV bag for a few minutes, then said, “Ayana thanks you for the Peppy Melt.”
“Oh.”
“Maybe you can visit her tomorrow,” River suggested.
“That sounds good. Does she know yet?”
“Yes.”
“Did she take it well?”
“...No.”
Seeing Meagan's uncomfortable silence, River attempted a smile. “Well, enough of that. You must be very tired.”
“...Yeah.”
“Goodnight.”
“Goodnight.”
River turned off the lights and walked away. Her footsteps echoed in the hallway as she disappeared, sounding dreadfully empty and depressing. Meagan was enveloped in darkness, soft,warm, pale darkness. Her breath seemed to follow a rhythm, one that lulled her into a deep, comforting sleep.


This chapter was very difficult to write, actually, because of the dialogue between Meagan and her mom. I wanted to make it express her feelings without sounding overly cheesy. I feel like it was a bit too sappy, but oh well. Anyway... thanks for reading!

P.S. I did try to space the paragraphs, and it turned out all right in the input box, but I'm not sure it quite worked once it switched to the forum format... if that made sense. Sorry.

Dragonlord Stephi : Wondervare ( I did not spell that correctly ) . Another piece of writing genius Good job and keep it up . Now to read chapter 4  

Mr. Zed : Thank you! Please, enjoy!