The Unwitting Nurse

        The sight of Columbia in distance, the city hidden by fluffy clouds and behind the pane of glass was something she both loved and loathed. Her only window on the world, placed in the library where she spent most of her time, was also the place where she spent most of her waking hours recently.

 

        Elizabeth hummed to herself, her hand stretched in front of the window. The floating buildings on the horizon were not much bigger than the thimble on her pinky as she looked at them and wondered how it felt to be outside, out there. Something so close, yet so far. She slowly stopped humming, and dropped her hand.

 

        The Odyssey was her companion as of recent, the tale of man returning home after a decade of war. The voyage was both terrifying and thrilling, and Elizabeth could not get enough of it. She must have read it umpteen times by now, but it still amazed her, herself dreaming of seeing the world. She picked up the book, readying herself to read it once more.

 

        Something, or someone must have been up above, as Elizabeth heard clink of metal and some shuffling. It couldn't be Songbird, he always made a lot of noise and whistle,d but his was akin to scurrying. Hugging the book, Elizabeth stood, frozen in place and listening carefully to the sounds above. In but a moment, something snapped, something let loose and a figure fell out from Songbird's ceiling hatch.

 

        Elizabeth still stood there as the shape caught the balustrade of the dais. The stranger pulled himself up and looked at Elizabeth with green eyes and an awkward smile.

 

        "Uh, Hello?"

 

        She did not know who that was, but but her first instinct was to fling the book and scream atop of her lungs. Who in the world could that be? Intruder? Some thug?

 

        At the sound of her screams, the assailant fell down on the floor with a dull thump. Elizabeth didn't wait, but instead picked up her Odyssey and flung the heavy tome at the man, who raised his arms in protest as the book hit him.

 

        "Ah, stop it!"

 

        There was no time to waste, the intruder was awake and aware of her.  she quickly descended the stairs, picking up 'Paris and its Environs' along the way from one of the stools and flung it at him again.

 

        "Will you stopOUGh..."

 

        The book, even though not overly thick, but still in hard binding, struck the man right in the middle of his forehead. Elizabeth had more strength than she expected, as the man was instantly knocked out. She ran up to him, picking up another tome as she descended, this time Lutece's 'The Principles of Quantum Mechanics' and raised it over the man's head. After a moment it appeared unnecessary, as he lay still, with eyes closed and awkwardly sprawled over the floor.

 

        "Is this real? Is he...?" Elizabeth wondered and lowered the book, before nudging him lightly with his foot and jumping away a step as soon as she did so. The man was still. He was real alright. Sometimes she thought she saw people behind mirrors in her rooms, but this was no apparition.

 

        "Wait is he.... why is he not moving? Oh my god."

 

        The realization that she inured him settled only a moment after, as she lowered her guard.

 

        "Oh no no no...please don't die on me," Elizabeth knelt beside the man and with shaking hands got closer to him.

 

        At first she was afraid to touch him, having injured him already, but the initial shock slowly wore off. After a moment an idea popped into her head and she got up, running back to her bedroom. She returned with a small hand mirror, which she promptly stuck under his nose. She could see small spots of condensation on the mirror and she sighed with relief. So the man was not dead after all. The problem that she had was that he was still unconscious.

 

        She still didn't know whether he was an intruder or someone else, but given how no one ever visited her, this man could not have been here by accident, she reasoned. But she hurt him, she had to help him.

 

        The statue opposite to the window came to life and played out its tune.

 

        "Oh no, he's here..."

 

        She couldn't leave him sprawled on the ground like that, who knows what songbird would do to him. She grabbed the man by his hand and yanked it, trying to move him and almost fell back, stumbling. He was heavier than anything in her tower. well, apart from the bed maybe but she never lifted that.

 

        Songbird now screeched at it landed, and tried to enter.

 

        "Umm, just a minute now, I'm getting dressed!"

 

        She gave the man another pull and the bird screeched again.

 

        "You're being impatient, that's enough!"

 

        The bird gave another screech, reluctantly giving in to Elizabeth' request, while she strained herself, pulling the man close to one of the shelves.

 

        "Now, how to cover you up...."

 

        The man was big and burly, but not impossibly so, as Elizabeth begun putting books all around and on top of him. The bird made more noise as it started knocking and trying to get in.

 

        "Songbird, I'm lacing my corset!"

 

        The bird was recalcitrant, getting restless as Elizabeth piled the books on top of the man, covering him up completely.

 

        "Okay, you can enter now!"

 

        Songbird opened the hatch and dropped into the library, towering over Elizabeth who now stood next to an inconspicuous messy pile of books. The bird loomed over her and glared with its green-lighted eye.

       

        "Hey, you caught me in the middle cleaning,"she smiled awkwardly and made a gesture with a hand, as if showing off all the messy books. Songbird made some more noises and laid its head at her feet. Elizabeth immediately petted him, trying to keep the pile behind her safe. She wondered how would she get that heavy sack of a man from here to some other place where Songbird would not squash him, like the dining room or the bedroom....

 

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        Getting the bird out wasn't too difficult, although it did not go without a lot of shoving, pleading, cooing and petting, in the end concluded by a clever request.

 

        "Hmm, I think I'm getting hungry.... Songbird, could you fetch me something to eat? and I mean big. I haven't been that hungry since... ever. and some herbal tea would be nice too." The girl was putting on a show, making exaggerated gestures with her hands and body, but Songbird did not know better than to obey his ward's wish. with a screech and puffed out chest, it took off, moving from library.

 

        "Ugh, I thought I would never be able to get rid of that thing.... Back to you, big guy."

 

        Elizabeth moved the books aside and carefully cleared them out to make space to drag the man across the floor. She knew how heavy he was, so she did not look forward to dragging him, but with the bird back soon, she had to make do.

 

        The corridors of the tower were filled with sounds of pushing, pulling, dragging and grunts of a young woman, doing her best to roll, drag and push the man across to the bedroom, where the giant bird had no access. She told Songbird to make it a big meal, so she hoped that would be a distraction for long enough. the problems started when after half an hour of rolling the unconscious man she only made it halfway through the corridors

 

        "Umph, you are so heavy... come on, you big... man!" she kicked him lightly for emphasis.

 

        "Oh, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that. I hope it won't bruise... Just give me a moment to rest."

 

        A few deep breaths later, Elizabeth restarted her task and managed to get the man to the stairs leading to the dining room.

 

        "Alright if I just put you like this, no no , just like... ah much better." She managed to sling the man over the railing of the stairs. She stepped away from him to take another deep breath, but the man seemingly slipped from the railing and thumped against the stairs, knocking his head on one of the steps before rolling slowly down.

 

        "Oh no! I'm sorry, please stop, aaah," she could barely do a thing, out of fear of tripping as she followed the tumbling man down he stairs. The steps ended and the he lay at the bottom awkwardly. Elizabeth rushed to him to pick him up.

 

        "Oh no no no no, I'm so sor...!" She tried to get around him and tripped up, landing on her hands.

 

        "I hope you are certainly worth the trouble, mister," She picked herself up and proceeded to put the man in a more comfortable position, before dragging him further down towards the bedroom. She was nearly at the dining room when she heard a heavy thump and a screech.

 

        "He's back! but he can't get here. I think I can leave him here.. just please don't wake up when I'm gone, okay? I won't be long, I promise."  

 

        Elizabeth looked the man over again, before leaving him by the door to the dining room, running off upstairs back to the library.

 

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        Songbird turned out to be unusually clever and thoughtful, bringing Elizabeth three cans of beans and a second loaf of bread to the usual fare of cheese, some bread and fruit, as well as tin of Columbian coffee. It took some time however ot pacify the creature, that insisted on staying and keeping Elizabeth with it in the library, making various noises and gesticulating, trying to keep Elizabeth with it.

 

        "I know you get agitated when I leave, but I really can't eat in the library, can I? Or open these cans with my teeth for that matter."  

 

        The bird made a noise, acquiescing to the girl's request, but grumbling against it nonetheless. Elizabeth only patted the giant gauntlet of the creature and smiled as she always did to calm it. She took the foodstuffs, all bounded together in a wrapped napkin, before walking slowly to the library door and then dashing down the stairs to where she left the man. She threw the bundle on the table near the easel in the dining room and ran over to the unconscious man.

 

        "Oh you are still unconscious, that's good... I mean bad, but in a good way," she thought out loud, talking to herself by this point.

 

        This was most excitement she had since ever. On one hand, the excitement of meeting a real person, interacting with them (for now it was mostly dragging him to her room), on the other the thrill of keeping it a secret from Songbird, and making sure that the man did not cause her any trouble. So far she was performing admirably, or at least in her own mind as she finally managed to drag him into the bedroom where she rested him against the bed.

 

        Late afternoon rolled around as Elizabeth sat in the bedroom, chewing on her apple and staring at the man sprawled halfway on the bed. She could not comprehend how could someone be so heavy. She at least managed to take off his shoes, she would have hated it to have it soiled, but it did not make the an any lighter. There had to be a method for it. On the other hand, she managed to drag him here, she could try to put him in the actual bed. She briefly thought about blanket and pillows on the ground, but after all the trouble she went through it would mean wasted effort, not to mention she was the one who knocked him out, she owed him.

 

        "Alright Mister, lets try this one more time," she set the core aside, rubbing her hands like an athlete and approached the man.

        She bent over him and slowly but surely, inch by inch, with some grunting and pushing, she got him where she wanted, propping him with a small stool in places.

       

        "Agh, finally. Now, lets have a closer look at you...."

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