“What help do you think I can give? I’m not a doctor,” the sprite said pertly.
“The springs, the healing springs where we met,” Kestrel began.
“You want me to take the two of you to the springs?” Dewberry asked.
“Can you?” Kestrel replied. He had only expected to ask the sprite if she could deliver some of the water to him, wondering if a small dose of the water would be sufficient to heal the wounds Alicia had. If the two of them could be transported to the spring, so that his guide could be immersed in the water, he was sure she would heal.
“I’ll need help. Wait here just a moment; and don’t do anything to the girl while I’m gone. In fact, why don’t you get some clothes for her to wear when she awakens?” Dewberry said, resting her hand on his forearm for a moment, then disappearing.
Kestrel looked around and discovered the skirt and the blouse that Alicia had discarded. They were wadded up and thrown in a corner of the room. He fetched them, then stood uncertainly by Alicia, and wondered about his next problem.
Alicia was going to awaken, healed, in a strange spring far from Center Trunk, and would need assistance from sprites to travel back to the capital city. She would react, he was sure of that. The Alicia he had met in the office had seemed stolid and unimaginative, and he felt that that personality would not over-react to the extraordinary circumstances. Yet the Alicia who had removed her wig and stripped off her jacket in the street might be a different personality altogether, and might react differently.
Whichever reaction he had to deal with, he decided he would rely on the authority of Colonel Silvan to deal with the aftermath; the colonel knew of his encounter with sprites, and could order the girl to be quiet once she was healed and they returned to the base. As he sat and contemplated that, Dewberry returned, and then moments later the room was filled with the gently puffing sound of sprite arrivals as five other sprites appeared as well.
Kestrel stood, and studied the herd of small people intently. They were easily discernible as individuals, he noted. The shades of blue they displayed were spread across a wide spectrum, their sizes were noticeably different, and there were clearly males and females present.
“Kestrel elf, this is my affianced,” Dewberry, placed her hand on the shoulder of a sprite that was almost a greenish turquoise in color. Though no taller than Dewberry, her fiance had remarkably broad shoulders, and shoulder-length hair. His fingers were webbed, Kestrel saw, and as he turned his head, his hair moved momentarily away from his neck, allowing Kestrel to see gills. Dewberry had told him that she was engaged to a prince of the water imps, and he saw that there were differences between the two races.
“I am Jonson, and I thank you for the salvation you gave Dewberry. We are all in your debt,” Jonson said gracefully, bowing deeply at the waist.
“Her friendship has already more than repaid the debt, and I appreciate the assistance you are here to offer,” Kestrel replied.
“He’s so gracious. And you said he was a pig!” another sprite said mischievously, grinning wickedly.
“That is my brother, to whom you need paid no attention,” Dewberry said airily. “None of us listen to him!
“And these others are Jonson’s brother and sister,” Dewberry motioned to two others, whose hands were also webbed, Kestrel noticed in passing, “and my particular friend,” she motioned to the last, “Reasion.
“Reasion is the sweetest of all the sprites in the world,” Dewberry grinned at her smaller friend, who appeared to blush a deeper blue.
“Reasion is an unique name,” Kestrel commented.
“Thank you all for coming,” Kestrel said. “Now what are we going to do?”
“Three of us will form a ring about each of you, with hands held, and our bodies pressed against your bodies, and in that manner, you will be transported with us to the spring. Then when your friend is healed, we will bring you back here,” Dewberry answered. “Can you raise your friend, so that we can gather round her?”
With a sense of awkwardness, increased by the hovering audience of sprites, Kestrel carefully lifted Alicia’s limp body upright, then let three of the sprites surround her and wedge her into a small circle between their bodies, so that they held her upright. Kestrel gathered Alicia’s clothes up in a ball pressed against his chest, then felt the warmth of the sprite bodies snuggle against him, and before he knew it would happen, he felt a churning sensation within his stomach and inside his head, then there was blackness and cold and airlessness, and then he was standing in the small glade on the edge of the spring.
“Thank you,” Kestrel spoke gratefully, as his cluster of sprites moved away from him. He dropped Alicia’s clothes, then took the weight of her body as her sprites left her. She was a slender maiden, as most females elves were, a body that was easy for Kestrel to lift and move about, even as he was careful about where he let his hands rest upon her. He turned his head as he slipped her skivvies down her legs, then undressed himself, self-conscious of the sprites that were watching, and took Alicia’s body into the water with him. She floated behind him as he maneuvered over to the same comfortable spot he remembered sitting in before.
“Friend Kestrel?” Jonson came over near him and spoke.
“Yes, Jonson?” Kestrel looked inquisitively at the imp.
“We suffer when we touch this water you know,” the small being began. “Well, not suffer so much, but we lose consciousness.”
Kestrel nodded in agreement.
“But all of us would like to enjoy the restoration the water provides to our bodies. It feels so good to us — one of the best experiences a sprite or an imp can have,” Jonson said. “And it gives us wonderful dreams; so we wonder, would you watch over us until we reawaken if we join you in the water?”
“I don’t know if I can hold everyone all at the same time in the water, but I don’t mind watching over you,” Kestrel replied. “Dewberry and I did fine when she was here before.”
The sprites began to disrobe at the edge of the pond, heedless of any personal embarrassment, then began to float through the air and hovered around where Kestrel sat. Only Reasion was an exception, keeping underclothes on while moving towards the water.
There was a gasping, and then sputters, and Kestrel felt Alicia’s body, resting beside his, start to shake. Her eyes opened, and she looked about wildly, saw the flock of naked sprites floating above her, and screamed softly. The sprites instantly disappeared, as Alicia reached for Kestrel and grabbed onto him clinging to him tightly.
“What’s happening? Where are we? Is this a nightmare?” she looked up into his face.
“Everything is okay,” Kestrel said hastily. “We’re fine. We’re in a pool of healing water, from a special spring.
“You were in your father’s apartment, and two men attacked you,” he explained. “When I heard you scream and came to see you, you were unconscious, and I couldn’t awaken you. I didn’t know where to find a doctor in the city, but I knew about this healing spring, so I called the sprites and asked them to help me bring you here to be healed.”
The sprites suddenly reappeared in the air around them. “That was embarrassing!” Dewberry said angrily, as Kestrel hastily clamped his hand over Alicia’s mouth to prevent her from screaming once again.
“Do you know that we all transported to the court because your girlfriend’s scream scared us?” the sprite asked crossly.
“And do you know that none of us are dressed?” she further asked. She didn’t wait for an answer. “It’s one thing to go skinny-dipping with friends, but showing your skin at court is not amusing!”
Kestrel looked down into Alicia’s eyes, and saw the amazement in her eyes. “We’re sorry,” Kestrel apologized. He removed his hand from Alicia’s face. “This is such an amazing thing, for an elf to be with sprites and imps, and she had no idea of what was happening,” he tried to sound reasonable.