Chapter 85 - The Maiden of Tye-An

Char Char slumped down on a chair inside the tent that was within the “Devileyes” section of the clinic grounds. Her feet were aching as she rested for the first time in several hours.

Her long black hair had been tied up in a pony tail, and she currently had on a set of nurse scrubs. The white cotton coat had been lent to her by Josie the nurse. It was a winter set, so the fabric was a bit thicker and it had long sleeves.

With this outfit, she stayed on the clinic grounds and ran errands for the doctors and nurses for the entire day as a volunteer. It was fairly labour intensive work, carrying boxes and supplies around, and also directing deliveries and guiding and reassuring patients.

Since the clinic was short on hands, they gladly accepted her offer of help. Even Corbin, who was initially resistant, eventually wavered and let her stay. He remained in the luxury carriage across the street, setting it up as his temporary office while working through paperwork that he had to prepare as part of his business duties. Throughout the day various employees would arrive to report to him and deliver documents. He kept the window open so that he had a clear view of the grounds, and if she ever disappeared for more than thirty minutes he came looking for her.

In this way the day passed quite quickly, with Char Char barely getting any chance to rest as the clinic seemed to get more and more busy as the day wore on. This moment alone in the tent was her first chance to rest since she had eaten a rushed dinner a few hours ago.

As she sat alone in the tent recovering her stamina, Char Char lamented how even though she was an Exalted now, she didn’t seem to have gained any physical benefits. She wasn’t any stronger or faster or more agile than before. Though that isn’t to say that she didn’t notice distinct changes in herself.

Her ears pricked up as she registered the steps of people passing by outside the tent. Her hearing wasn’t significantly better than before; it wasn’t that she was ‘hearing’ their footsteps, she could actually sense where they were behind the walls of the tent. She could tell that one of them was holding a cup in his left hand, and that the other was gesturing animatedly as she talked.

It was like she had gained a sixth sense of her surroundings, a hyperawareness of the conditions around her. There wasn’t anything she could do with it, but it was at least a sign of her new status as someone with ‘super’ powers. However she wasn’t excited or eager to test out her new abilities, because there were other pressing concerns on her mind.

After recovering for a minute, Char Char paused to listen to her surroundings to make sure no one was about to enter the tent. She quietly rolled up the sleeves of her borrowed nurse coat and looked at her arms, which were dotted with dark, swollen circles. Some were puffy and red and hurt to touch, while the larger ones were hard, like scabs. And when she pressed against them she could feel that it extended below her skin.

She sighed heavily, her fingers clenching in anxiety as she covered her arms back up with the sleeves. As a Candidate she could feel that her spirituality was being drained by the thing growing under her skin. The catalyst had boosted her strength and she could fight against the parasite if she focused, but it was tiring and ineffective.

She had hoped that her strength would recover over the course of the day, but she only felt weaker. The catalyst hadn’t been the instant cure that she’d hoped it would be. Instead it felt like it was only a dam, delaying the inevitable.

The sores hadn’t progressed to her face or hands, so with her sleeves rolled up no one could tell that she was also infected. This was her dark secret. She stayed around the clinic to volunteer and help those in need, but also to find out if there was any way to save herself. Unfortunately, the doctors did not seem to have any idea how to treat the parasite, and Hakuya, the one person who had the knowledge and skills, was missing.

Despite waiting the entire day the monk of Yuima did not show up. After failing to save Anabelle he had mysteriously disappeared without a trace. Based on his personality, Char Char couldn’t believe that he’d simply run away, but she had no idea where he would have gone.

Char Char’s intuition gave her ample warning to let her compose herself as a doctor walked into the tent. The young doctor, whose name Char Char hadn’t yet memorized, smiled at her as he saw her. He walked over to the corner to pick up a number of supplies.

“I heard some patients talking about you.” He said, “They said you saved a lot of people last night in Tye-An street.”

“Oh?” Char Char asked, slightly surprised. She had overheard a few conversations throughout the day that she thought could be about her, but didn’t investigate.

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“There’s a rumour going around about how you’re a hero blessed by the Lord.” He chuckled mildly, though Char Char didn’t get the feeling that he was mocking her. Rather, there was a feeling of hope in his voice, “It seems to have lifted everyone’s spirits a little.”

Char Char was about to rebuke the statement, but instead just smiled softly and bowed her head, “I’m not blessed or anything... I’m just doing what I can.”

“Perhaps that’s exactly why you’re blessed.” The doctor said.

~

Later, Char Char was making her rounds in the closed off area, checking on the development of the sores on the patients who were infected by the Devileyes. Night had fallen, and without enough lamps to go around the staff had instead lit a number of candles that lined the makeshift paths. The dim, flickering glow of the candles cast everything in a soft orange glow.

As a volunteer Char Char only needed to walk around and make sure the patients were resting peacefully, or provide simple things like water or pillows. For actual medical issues she was to call a nurse. She stepped into one long tent that had the beds laid out in rows, with sheets hung between them to give a small semblance of privacy. Char Char held a lit candle holder out in front of her as she walked down the center aisle.

“Who’s there?” A patient called out from behind the sheets, a few beds away.

Char Char quickly walked over to see an old woman with deep wrinkles and gnarled hands. She wore a light cotton garment with short sleeves, and the sores on her arms were plainly visible on her thin, veiny arms.

“Yes, do you need anything?” Char Char asked, holding up the light.

As the candlelight illuminated their faces, their eyes widened as they recognized each other.

“You! You’re that no good girl from this afternoon!” The woman pointed a shaking finger directly at Char Char. It was the old lady who had chased her down the market, when Char Char had gone looking for Biltishroom. “You heard I was sick and you’ve come to finish me off!”

“What- no!” Char Char rebuked, feeling extremely self conscious as the old lady’s nasally voice broke the silence of the night.

“Help! Help!” The woman crowed, clutching her thin bedsheet close to her chest.

“Gladys, what are you on about?” The sheet on the left that made up the privacy screen shifted away by an old lady on the bed ‘next door’.

“This demoness is here to end me! Oh, white maiden save me!” Gladys wailed.

Char Char’s ears perked up at the old lady’s strange prayer for help. She was about to say something when she heard a match light behind her, and saw that a few other patients had already started gathering around.

“Stop your grumbling, Char Char is a hero!” An older gentleman said.

“Char Char’s here?” A young lady with long curly hair approached, “I heard about you! You saved my uncle and his family at the theatre last night!”

The old woman found herself drowned out by the small group of people who excitedly found themselves in the presence of the hero they had heard rumours about. Char Char quickly gathered that not only had she saved quite a number of people that were currently being treated by the clinic, but that the story of her saving the theatre was already being widely spread.

Char Char found herself slightly flustered as she quickly processed the stories, discovering that the white haired spirit that had spoken to her had not only saved her, but also many, many people in Tye-An street that night. No one had seen the spirit clearly, and even those who did could only remember fleeting impressions of her.

She had long, flowing white hair. She was pale skinned, wearing beautiful, flowing white garments. She didn’t speak, but the people she touched were guided towards safety.

Only a small amount of people actually ‘saw’ the glimpses of the maiden, and most of those were distinctly of long white hair flowing in the wind. Some people didn’t realize they had been helped by the white maiden until later, after hearing about the experiences of others and reflecting on their own. Her image had been formed from the myriad of impressions she had left on the people she had helped.

They called her the white maiden, the guiding beauty, and the guardian angel of Tye-An. The last title was because most of the people who claimed to have been guided by her were in the Tye-An market during the previous night’s events.

And this wasn’t mentioning the two hundred people that had been granted a vision of Char Char as their saviour. Among all of the stories of last night, this one had the most people corroborating it. And though Char Char was the key figure of the story, to her the important piece was that it, too, was the work of this white maiden.

Shortly after a doctor came by to see why there was so much activity in the tent, and the patients were ushered back to bed to rest. In fact, though they had displayed excitement and had vigorously told the tales of the white maiden, they were all infected by the Devileyes, with sores on their skin. They retired to their beds quickly without needing much encouragement, and soon the tent was at peace again.

Though no one knew who this maiden was or where she came from, through her newly bolstered spiritual intuition Char Char found herself feeling more sure that she knew the identity of the spirit.

At ten in the evening Char Char’s volunteer shift was over and Corbin Nao came over to bring her back home. The cabin of the carriage was quiet on the ride home. Char Char stared out the window, deep in thought. After hearing all the stories, Char Char was certain that not only was the spirit that had helped her was the same as the one that helped everyone else, but that she had a special connection to that spirit that no one else did.

After all, she was the only one that she knew of that was spoken to directly by the white maiden. The maiden had given her multiple warnings prior to disappearing. Though Char Char didn’t have a solid impression of the spirit, there was a distinct sense of familiarity, as if Char Char had known her for a long time.

After considering all the facts carefully, Char Char came to a conclusion about the spirit’s identity.

She had to be the Lost Maiden from the forest shrine!