Fanfic:The Cleansing/Part Three
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Once more, Lembirt wondered if the Novice guarding the door to his quarantine room had any idea who he was. He was as neatly dresses as he always was, except that today he had neglected to wear his Council of Youth ring. The chances were that it made no difference, though. Some Yellow Asha'man or other - burn them and their arrogance! - had decided to call Lembirt Antii sick, and that was all there was to it.
No matter that he didn't get sick. Short of poisoning, anyway, but that was a separate case. He wasn't sick now, anyway. Just a little feverish, a bit nauseous... and so weak he could hardly stand on his own, truth be told.
What were the chances that so many of the Soldiers living in the rat infested Great Serpent building would be fine, but that he, a Dedicated who had only ventured over that morning to help with the cleansing, would be stricken ill? There was no mystery in it, really. Several of the little monsters had managed to get past his defenses and had bitten his ankles repeatedly. He supposed he could blame the situation on being too close to their nests, but still... He resisted the urge to scratch at the red, raised bited that covered his ankles. He would burn in the pit of doom before he allowed himself to scratch in public.
Without the benefit of a knock, the door to the small room began to open. Lembirt leapt to his feet as quickly and smoothly as he possibly could, ignoring the dizziness that wanted to force him back down - almost.
Ending in an undignified sprawl back in his chair, Lembirt looked up in time to see who was entering the room.
After the Amyrlin's dismissal, Zuri set about her task immediately. The Amyrlin had said that the report should be handed to Crysthia Sedai as soon as possible and Zuri had every intention of actually making it as soon as possible. She knew that illnesses were urgent matters to deal with, and she was not about to think that the danger was over, simply because the vicims had been quarantined. Striding quickly down the halls, she turned into the infirmary and reported to the Aes Sedai in charge, Velamira Sedai.
The tall, short-haired woman told her briskly where the patients were quarantined, and that they were being carefully monitored, but she may visit each one to aquire the information she needed, provided she had herself checked afterwards to be sure she hadn't caught the plague herself.
With a determined frown, Zuri set about her task. A Yellow Aes Sedai could not be afraid of catching ill. Instead, she must courageously strive to heal others with no regard for herself. In Zuri's mind the Yellow Ajah were the trueServants of All.
Zuri interviewed the Accepted first. The girl had very little to add to what Zuri already knew, but she supplied her name and rank. The Novices did likewise, as did the soldiers. Two of the soldiers reported seeing rats the day before in the Halls of the Learning ranks, and they helped to report the names of the ones who were too ill to speak for themselves. She had compiled quite the list of names so far, but she still had the Dedicated left.
Zuri entered the first door, past the Novice on watch,and saw Lembirt sprawled in a very un-Lembirt way, across a small chair. Apparently he was not about to make use of the cot provided for him. Zuri closed the door hurriedly, knowing her friend would not like to be seent his way, and crossed over to him, crouching down to look at him with compassion thick on her voice.
"Lembirt, are you doing alright?" she asked, "Here, let me help you to the cot, you shouldn't be trying to sit."
"I thank you for your concern, Zuri, but I am quite fine." Lembirt tried to speak in his usual clear, cold tone, but the phrase came out slightly slurred. Burn me, I'm better than this!
He stood somewhat more successfully this time, making a point of standing slowly and carefully so as not to fall once more.
"I believe that I am here accidentally," he said slowly, making a point of pronouncing every word to it's fullest. "I was bitten by one of the rats, but otherwise I am fine."
He felt another wave of dizzyness coming on, but this time he managed to sit down somewhat more gracefully than he normally would have. The cot might have been more comfortable, but he would never, ever allow himself to show that sort of weakness where someone could see it and take advantage of it. Especially not Zuri, not after what he had seen in the arches.
