Taliesin

Tal quickly dismissed the idea of going to his classes when he took a step forward and immediately broke down. He stared at his ankle in shock and considered the worst case scenario. It was broken, he’d need a cast, he wouldn’t be able to attend classes and – he gulped – no season finale. “Fuck!” Tal rarely cursed but now he screamed out as if the power of the word alone could change his situation. He was running his fingers through his hair in despair. What was he going to do now?

If he went to the Academy’s infirmary Mr. Hemlock would catch wind of it and sooner or later his coach Mr. Moreno would find out about his injury as well. He could practically hear him nagging at Tal already. “How could you get hurt during such an important time? It’s the season finale and you break your precious ankle? How could you do this to me? My top star, a broken mess, where did I go wrong?” Yes, Mr. Moreno was that dramatic.

Tal let out a sigh. He had no choice. He couldn’t make it to his classes while pretending to be fine. As soon as Scar saw him they would drag him to their nurse. Despite that, he wouldn’t survive the whole day with no pain killers and his supply was used up since the last ice hockey game where one of his opponents bruised his ribs with a hockey stick. If he could get to the infirmary in a slightly better condition, he might be able to convince their nurse Ms. Paieon to let him off without notifying neither Mr. Hemlock nor his coach. Ms. Paieon, who was called Ms. Pie sometimes but wanted to be called Katy instead, was the Academy’s main nurse. She had a few substitutes but usually worked alone in her office. She was kind but strict.

The last thing Tal needed now was the director and coach worrying about him. He couldn’t even explain how he got these injuries, what would they think of him? It was almost the end of the school year which meant that Mr. Hemlock was busy organising events and approving exams for the upcoming finals. He also needed to confer with the student teacher and parent council about the following years at the Academy and new schedules. All of this meant that Mr. Hemlock had more important matters to attend to and Tal couldn’t distract him from them. He didn’t have the time to look after one clumsy teen. No, Tal thought and took a deep breath.

He’d go to the infirmary on his own, get the painkillers and then go to class as always. He would have to talk Ms. Paieon out of telling anyone he was ever there but that shouldn’t be much of a problem. Doctors and nurses were bound to medical confidentiality, which meant that if Tal asked her not to tell anyone she legally wasn’t allowed to. At least he sincerely hoped that this law also applied to the Academy’s premises.

Since Tal could barely walk without yelping, he hopped through the corridors towards the infirmary. Thankfully everyone was busy attending class and those who did spot him were trying hard to avoid looking at him. He wanted to know what time it was to figure out how much he had left before the corridors were filled again but he had left his phone in his room. The only person who texted him was Scar and they had spammed his phone this morning with at least twenty messages of the same type.

<< YO, prick, where are you?

<< You’re late, you know that right?

<< Taliesin, what’s wrong where are you

<< Send an SOS if Nik has kidnapped you

<< Okay or just send nothing and I’ll assume it anyways

<< If you don’t reply soon, I’ll dropkick Bennet later

He hadn’t been in the right mind to reply so he had left them on read, which Tal thought would possibly reassure them before making them extremely mad but he hadn’t thought that far. It wasn’t as if Tal could just change his situation with the snap of his finger. He shook the thoughts away and hopped on. They would meet later either way. It was Friday. The cafeteria always served fish on Friday and successfully chased off people like him and Scar.

It has long since become their tradition to spend Friday afternoons together and drive into the closest city for dinner. The Academy was pretty much surrounded by nothing but there was a train station and every two hours one train would set off towards the small-town of Tuckerville. Tuckerville was such a small town that calling it a town felt like calling Pluto a planet. Though Tal did sympathise with Pluto since he believed it to be rather rude to say, “it was just too small to be considered a real planet”. He was sure there were more scientific reasons for taking the planet status away but he couldn’t bother to check them.

Tuckerville had everything a small town needed. A drug store, a liquor store (that didn’t check any ID), a bookstore and the restaurant where Scar and Tal ate each Friday. It was cheap and rundown but better than the fish from the academy. The owner was kind, too. He and his wife had run this restaurant for almost over forty years and even with so few customers and cheap prices they managed to hold on.

Tal had made it more or less safely to the infirmary. He only had to stop about seven times to catch his breath and rest his aching body against a wall. Nurse Paieon opened the door for him. “Good morning, how can I- Grundgütiger!” She sometimes switched to her mother tongue when she was shocked or aggravated. Right now she seemed to be a bit of both. Katy’s usual patients were kids with an upset stomach or a headache. Not someone with a swollen ankle and still bleeding head injury.

“Taliesin, what did you do? I thought Coach had you benched!” He flinched at the last word. He didn’t like it. In fact, he hated it. Tal wasn’t benched. He just wasn’t allowed to attend practice. There was a big difference between those two. Being benched meant he wouldn’t be allowed to play the semi finals next week and that couldn’t happen. It couldn’t and it wouldn’t. He gazed down at his ankle and gulped. This little injury surely won’t ruin the finals, would it? He would rather play high on painkillers than sit back and watch his team lose.

“Katy.” Tal said and shot her a quick reassuring smile as he sat down on the bed. “It’s not that big of an injury, really.” He pointed at his ankle and head. “Or rather, they aren’t that big. I just need a few painkillers to get through the day and…” “Young boy,” she pursed her lips and crossed her arms in front of her chest. “Whether or not your injuries are great is something I will evaluate and as far as I can tell you’ll need crutches and an x-ray.” “No!” Tal’s scream startled both of them and he gulped. “Taliesin.” “No hospitals. You know the rules. No hospital, no x-ray.”

She tried to come up with an argument that would convince Tal but gave up and gnawed on her lower lip. “Taliesin you need an x-ray. I can give you painkillers and bandage your ankle but what if it’s broken? Putting some salve on the skin won’t heal a broken bone.” He looked at his swollen foot and shrugged. Of course, there were risks involved but Tal was used to bruises and injuries. He tried to move his ankle and winced. “I don’t think it’s broken.” He wanted to make a snippy comment when Katy caught sight of the gash on his head. She gasped and cursed in angry German again before covering her lips with her hands.

“Your head, Taliesin, who did that to you? What happened?” “Ah… this.” He thought about it. How exactly did he get the head injury? Did he hit his head against the bedside cabinet when he fell? That wouldn’t explain the sight of the wound. He shrugged his shoulders again. “I just woke up with it.” Tal sounded indifferent as if waking up with a gash on his head was something he experienced at least once a week. Katy eyed him with strange sentiment. She wasn’t sure she could trust his words. Particularly because they weren’t saying anything at all.

“I will get the bandages and salve and…” She examined his scalp again. “Something for that. Wait here and don’t you dare put your foot on the ground or I’ll write down some convincing arguments that will end in an amputation.” He was pretty sure Katy had just threatened him, so he nodded quickly. “Katy? Could you maybe not tell anyone that I’m here.” “With anyone you mean?” “Coach and the director. Please.” She pursed her lips again and then left without another word. Tal hoped she’d heard him.

He was alone in the infirmary’s main room for several minutes. It gave him enough time to think about recent events. It was bizarre, if not utterly crazy, that he couldn’t remember how he got home after being with Nik and then woke up with all these injuries. He remembered being at the manor and having a fight with the other boy. He recalled what he had said back then and cringed at his own words. What came after that? Maxwell was asked to take him home but that didn’t happen. He got teleported away. To where? His room?

A sharp pain went through his head and he supported it with his right hand while the other clenched the fabric of his jeans in a tight fist. Why did it hurt when he tried to remember last night? Did he have a concussion? Katy came back into the room. She was equipped with bandages, salves and a bottle of disinfectant. This was going to be very painful.

“I’ll put a bandage around your ankle for support. You can switch them on your own but be sure to put salve on first, okay, Taliesin? If it doesn’t get better come back on Monday,” she explained as she knelt down to take care of his ankle. Katy put on gloves before treating the swelling with salve. Tal tried not to flinch but he did anyway. He hated being taken care of by nurses or doctors. It had happened way too often in his past and whenever he had to visit the infirmary he was reminded of the darker days in his life. It wasn’t Katy’s fault but he hoped she would hurry up so he could leave before having a mental breakdown.

“This will be the least painful part. You’ll have to rest in your room and promise me not to exercise for a while.” Tal shook his head. He could stop exercising for the sake of his wellbeing but he couldn’t go straight home. “I’ll be fine. Classes are more important now, I can’t miss them. Not so close before the final exams.” He gulped. “And if I’m not in class Mr. Hemlock will find out and worry.” Katy sighed and finished up. “You’re so stubborn. I wonder where you got it from.” She glared at him as she got up. “Now, your head. This will hurt but please do me a favour and don’t scream. Few kids already think I torture people in here and won’t come visit me when they’re sick.” Tal nodded firmly and grabbed the sheets he sat on.

He wasn’t prepared for the pain. Katy poured a little bit of disinfectant onto a cloth and counted to three before cleaning the gash on his head. Tears stung in his eyes and a sob left his lips. She had a tight grip on his chin so he couldn’t move away but he almost passed out twice due to the pain. It worried Katy even more. “Just a bit longer.” She tried to sound reassuring but her voice broke in the middle of the sentence. Tal clenched his jaw and gave her a small nod. He could handle it. He had to.

The gods will regret underestimating us

A memory flickered in his mind, triggered by the pain.

And the knights will fall like pawns upon a board

“Taliesin!” Katy’s voice brought him back. He looked up at her and blinked in confusion. Her hands were on his shoulders, holding him in a firm grip. He hadn’t realised how much his body trembled. He had been out for a few seconds. “Sorry.” He mumbled in a quiet voice and straightened his back. “Taliesin, please. Let me take you to a hospital.” “No, I can’t. Sorry Katy and thank you.” He wanted to get up and leave when someone barged into the room and almost ran him over.

“Taliesin Thornwell!”