Part 18 In which Jack cares for Marlot

Marlot was drifting in and out of consciousness now that all of the fun was over. She couldn’t remember the last time she had been in so much pain, she didn’t even remember being placed in a bed.

“How long has she been out?” The voice sounded far away.

“For a few minutes, I think the shock got to her.” Is that the shop keeper, she thought.

“Or the pain from this nose.”

“Is Marlot going to be alright?” she wanted to tell Jack that she was fine, but he sounded so very far away.

“I think so, but I hope she really is unconscious because this is going to hurt.”

The witch tried to bite back the scream as her nose was set into place, the sound was almost as nasty as when it had broken. When she opened her eyes it was to look over a handkerchief that Jack was holding very gently to her bleeding face.

“Thank you Jack.” She whispered, she had to admit the pain had decreased slightly now that all parts were back where they belonged.

“The healer fixed it.” The golem nodded to a middle aged man standing to the right of the bed, the kind shop keeper who had rescued them was there too smiling down at her reassuringly.

Marlot heard a knock on the door, “Is she awake, father? I will have the maids draw up a couple of baths now if she can be moved.” There was a stern looking woman in the doorway. “You are welcome to stay here as long as you need to Miss Marlot, Master Jack.” The little witch was surprised by the warm smile the woman directed at her and she instantly liked the shop keeper’s daughter.

“Thank you, but I believe we should be going home now.” Marlot tried to sit up but Jack was still leaning over her.

“You aren’t going anywhere until you get something to eat miss witch. You lost a lot of blood out there and I doubt you can walk all the way home in your current state.” The healer pushed Jack’s hand out of the way in order to take a closer look at Marlot’s nose. “The bleeding is slowing down; you should be able to get up soon.”

“Thank you Master Healer. But why are you all being so kind? And why do we need baths?”

Samuel the shop keeper knelt beside the bed taking Marlot’s hand. “The bath answer is easy my dear.” He pulled out a new handkerchief and placed it below her nose, they both noticed Jack glaring at him and with a chuckle the man relinquished the cloth to the golem. “You are both covered in dirt and you have quite a bit of blood on you too, so the least we can do is clean you up a bit. As for why we are helping you, well call me an old fool, but I see a lot of good in you miss Marlot and I would rather find myself on a kind witch’s good side than a scared and obviously powerful” he glanced at the golem “witch’s bad side.”

“I’m not sure how powerful I am.”

“Well I’m sure that not just anyone can create a golem on a whim and be successful.”

“How do you know that?”

“I talk to miss Lilly often, she has told me quite a bit about you two. He is quite extraordinary, moving, talking, and playing the hero.” He winked at Jack.

“He’s right Jack.” Marlot smiled up at her creation, “You’re my hero.”

“But Mr. Samuel stopped them from hurting us anymore. I’m not a hero.”

“Your right, he is a hero,” Marlot reached up and brushed a strand of green hair out of the golem’s brown eyes. “But they weren’t going to hurt him, you on the other hand were in great danger. Why didn’t you run Jack?” she blinked back tears, the palm of her hand on his dirty cheek, she had come so close to losing her beloved golem.

“I couldn’t leave you Marlot, you’re my whole world.”

“Because she created you and gave you life?” They all turned to stare at the healer who had moved a bit away while Marlot and Samuel spoke. He sounded so arrogant and looked at Jack with disgust.

“No,” Jack said simply, “because Marlot is my friend and I love her.”

“Nonsense, there must be some spell or enchantment tying you to her, there is no way you can have true feelings.”

Marlot interrupted, “It is entirely possible that there is some spell tying him to me, but I am unaware of its existence and would not have put it in place had I known about it. As for his emotions, it may seem strange but according to the books golems will develop a sense of self, complete with personality and feelings all their own.”

“And how do they develop this sense of self?”

“By observation, he learns extremely quickly.”

Samuel spoke up then, apparently trying to lower the tension in the room, “you have been nothing but kind to him, that must be where he learned that particular trait.”

The healer snorted, “Then where did the hero streak come from?”

“Fairy tales.” Marlot said with a smile.