Chapter 13: Revived

With the baby settled, Minara made her way along the hall to the landing. She stood at the top of the stairs then hesitated. She wondered if Mark Fuller had shown any sign of improvement and regained consciousness. The doctor had said there was nothing further he could do and Arron believed he had been revived from cryogenic sleep, whatever that was, too quickly. He was due back from inspecting the condition of the army barracks in the city that had suffered during a riot against Varna's heavy handed rule. She wanted to update him on Mark's condition.

She turned from the stairs and walked down the guest wing. At the far end stood two Royal Guards, The King and Queen had come out of hiding as Minara's servants, once Varna and her remaining crew had been deposed and locked up. The palace royal apartments were however in need of some work so the King and Queen had taken up temporary official residence in Arron's and her manor until the apartments and furnishings were decorated and restored. She opened the first door as she left the landing. After the Doctor had left Minara had detailed several of the maids to sit and monitor Mark Fuller on a four hour rotating basis. She stepped into the room and the maid stepped back from the bed, a guilty expression on her face.

As soon as she saw it was Minara she flushed. "My ... m'lady."

"Feleina, what are you doing?"

"N ... n ... nothing, m'lady."

Minara frowned. "Why are you acting nervously then, why were you standing over Mark Fuller?"

"I'm sorry, m'lady, I don't know what came over me." She twisted her hands together in front of her and bowed her head.

With a sigh, Minara walked further into the room, around the bed and faced the nervous maid. "Feleina?"

"Well m'lady, I have just taken over from Iomyce and when I got close to him I had an overwhelming compulsion to touch him. I ... I only touched his cheek, My Lady, I'm sorry."

"Do you still have that compulsion?"

Feleina nodded. "Yes, My Lady, something is affecting me when I get close."

Minara looked down at the sleeping human. "That's not possible," she murmured.

"M'lady?"

She turned back to the maid. "You're still single aren't you, Feleina?"

"Yes." Feleina flushed an even deeper red.

"Right, go and get one of the older maids who has a partner to come and take your watch. I will sit here until someone comes. Oh, and tell the housekeeper I want to see her please.

"Yes, m'lady." The maid scurried out.

Minara turned back to the human. He was as powerful looking as Arron, and while he had the hair color and some of the fine features of a Grojan his ears were human. Minara shut her eyes for a moment then stepped back. "Ancestors!" She could clearly sense him as if he were a Grojan and she also sensed he had partly bonded with a female. There was a strange but oddly familiar aura about him that she could not identify, could not place. "What are you, Mark Fuller? You have not been genetically modified like my Arron was, as you do not look Grojan, but you are certainly not human." She turned and sat on the maid's chair to watch. He suddenly groaned. Minara stood and walked over to the bed just as his eyes opened.

He looked at her for a moment, confusion on his face, then he said something in Arron's language. Minara shook her head. "I'm sorry, I don't understand you" He frowned for a moment then spoke Grojan. "You're not Nora, how come you look like my sister? She is one of a kind."

Minara raised her eyebrows. "Your sister looks like me?"

He nodded and shifted higher on his pillows. "Yes."

She touched her ears. "Even her ears?"

"Yes I loved her ears - when we were growing up she looked like an elf from a fairy tale. I and my grandparents had to protect her, keep her secret from everyone." He looked round. "Where am I, this isn't the Intelligence Corp medical facility is it?"

The room was old fashioned almost medieval, the woman standing by his bed was beautiful, dressed in a long flowing dress that fitted in perfectly with the rest of the room. He had to be dreaming still. He had suffered a lot of strange dreams lately, and he scratched his head and took a deep breath. If it was a dream it was very realistic.

"No, Mark, this is not the Intelligence Corp medical facility."

"Why are you speaking in the language of the planet I have been assigned to?" A thought suddenly struck him. "Have I been assigned and forgotten about it." He had spoken to himself, but the woman answered him.

"No, Mark, this is not your assigned planet."

Just at that moment a large male walked into the room dressed in equally old fashioned clothing, like a lord of a manor or what a knight would wear without his armor. His shirt was what looked like linen, with lose sleeves, and it was laced up the front and his trousers more like tight hose.

The woman turned, smiled and ran to him. "Arron, he has just woken up."

"So I see." He put his arm round the woman's waist and they both turned to face him. "Captain Fuller, how are you feeling?" He had spoken in Earth Standard.

Mark's stomach chose that moment to rumble. "Oh! I'm sorry, excuse me ... I'm fine thank you if not rather hungry and confused."

The newcomer smiled and switched to the woman's language. "My love, can you get some food arranged for our guest please while I try and explain what has happened to him."

Mark noticed her expression change for a moment and a slight smile appear on her lips. "My Love, would you like me to curtsy for you as well?"

"Sarky bitch!" He laughed and he patted her bottom as she turned to walk out the door. She flashed him another smile and Mark was taken aback at her pointed teeth. She raised an eyebrow.

"Later Arron," and disappeared out the door. The man turned his attention back to Mark and switched to Standard. "Captain Fuller, I am Captain Arron Johnston, late of the Intelligence Corps. Do you remember meeting before?"

Mark frowned as a vague dream-like memory bubbled in the back of his mind but he could not make sense of it. He shook his head. "I'm sorry, Captain Johnston, everything is fuzzy, I don't remember, sorry." He struggled to sit and Captain Johnston moved to the side of the bed and helped him sit, pulling more pillows from the opposite side of the bed to support him. "What is wrong with me, Captain?" A thought crossed his still sluggish mind that caused Mark to frown. "I'm sorry, but do you have any proof you are part of the Intelligence Corps as you look to be the same species as the woman rather than human."

The man laughed. "Of course, Captain, please wait a moment, I will get it." He turned and walked out of the room. As he had been left alone Mark tried to swing his legs round but his muscles were slow to respond and he knew straight away he would not be able to stand. Had he been captured? Drugged? He had no choice but to bide his time and for the moment go along with these people. The woman swept into the room followed by a dark haired dark eyed woman, a dark elf for want of a better description. The dark elf who carried a tray of food and drink was not dressed in the same finery as the original woman, perhaps a servant, Mark wondered.

The blonde woman stood back as the servant placed the tray carefully over his knees. The servant smiled and Mark noticed her teeth were white and even. The blond woman sat down on a couch placed beside the bed and adjusted her skirts. She waited until the servant had finished fussing with his pillows, making sure he was properly supported and had left the room before speaking.

"Captain Fuller I am, Minara, Captain Johnson is my bonded mate." She looked at the tray resting on his knees. "Please do eat, but slowly, it will be a few days before you regain your full strength."

He turned to the tray and started to eat the food. His stomach growled, but as Minara had advised he resisted the temptation to gulp it down.

"Do you mind if we talk while you eat, Captain?"

He swallowed his mouthful. "No of course not."

She smiled, showing her pointed teeth, and that stirred a memory in his mind. The fuzziness was beginning to clear, so if he had been drugged, it was wearing off, probably helped by the food and drink he was consuming.