Chapter 42: A strange awakening

Cinnamon woke slowly, stretched and yawned before snuggling back under the covers. She felt good being in bed again, and initially thought that she'd had a very amazing dream. Eventually, she woke up and looked around. Not recognizing the room she was in, she sat up with a cry of alarm. It hadn't been a dream. Falling through the portal, and meeting everyone had been real. Cinnamon hoped she hadn't fallen through another portal. The last thing she remembered was walking on a snowy trail with her friends.

Cinnamon gave another cry as she realized she was naked, and quickly clutched the covers to her chest. At that moment, the door opened and a large woman entered carrying a tray. Cinnamon could see two big bowls and some towels on the tray.

Cinnamon sank down into the bed, pulling the covers up to her neck. "W-w-who are you?"

The woman looked up and her lips formed a wide smile. "Well, hello, Dear. It's nice to see you up and about at last."

Cinnamon wondered what she meant by that, and just how long she'd been where ever she was. As the woman came near, Cinnamon shrank back in fear. The woman smiled reassuringly, and said, "Don't worry, Dear, I won't harm you. Your mother would have my head if I did something to hurt you."

Cinnamon looked at her, confused. "My mother hates me, she wouldn't care if you did something." Cinnamon suddenly felt very afraid. "Who are you? Where am I? What am I doing here?"

The woman set the tray down on the nightstand beside the bed and looked at Cinnamon, surprised. "Sharmon doesn't hate you." she said surprised and then as understanding set in said, "Oh, you must mean your birth mother; I'm sure she doesn't hate you either."

Cinnamon sat up upon hearing Sharmon's name. "You know Sharmon? Where is she? Where are the others? Are they ok?" Her confusion over why the woman referred to Sharmon was forgotten in the need to know about her friend.

"Easy, Girl, easy. They're fine. They're downstairs. I'll send them up as soon as you've had your bath. They'll be so happy to see that you're awake, at last.

As for your other questions, my name is Rose. You're in my tavern. You were brought here after you got sick. You gave us all quite a scare. We weren't sure you were going to pull through even after the ritual."

Cinnamon frowned. She remembered not feeling well, but didn't think she'd been that sick.

"How long have I been here?"

"Ten days. Your fever only broke a few days ago."

"Ten days!" Cinnamon exclaimed.

"Yes, like I said, you were very sick. We almost lost you."

Cinnamon sat back in shock.

"Come on now, let's get you washed so you're presentable."

"I don't want a bath." Cinnamon said. "I want to see Sharmon, or Muriel, or one of the others."

"You will, Dear, just as soon as you've gotten a good scrubbing."

"I don't want a bath, I want to see Sharmon," Cinnamon insisted.