Graceling Academy discussion

This is where Madlen, the healer works. And where you can come if your sick or hurt.

On her way back to the dorms, Arella remembered the plant she had collected that day for the healer. She dug all of it out of her pockets, and when she got there found Madlen. "I was in the forest today with Giddon when we found a couple patches of this plant that heals stab wounds. Giddon said you were needing a bunch and instructed me to bring it to you." she held out the bunches of it she had collected and handed them to Madlen.

Madlen looked up from her medical journal. "Oh! Thank you! I was waiting for these! He didn't stab himself again did he?" when the girl nodded she scoffed. "His extreme ways of teaching are absolute nonsense. Until you become the fiercest warrior and the gentlest of persons. Then his ways of teaching are not so nonsense" she said taking the herbs.

Arella didn't really know what to say to this so she just smiled. She thought pretty much the same thing. "Yes he was lucky I was good with plants or I might have had to bring him here!" she added. "See you Madlen, have a nice day," she said with a small smile and turned and left.

Stepping into the infirmary, the first thing that hit me was the smell; sterilizer and disinfectant hung in the air like a curtan, it stung my nose so i breathed out of my mouth from then on. I found Madelen sitting in a chair by a desk, "uh, hi Im Cat. I was supposed to meet you." I said.

"Hello, you can sit" she said sweetly. Madlen walked across the room and grabbed a surgical kit. She then went into the back room and grabbed a catheter. She rolled in the gurney with the pale lifeless person on it. She readied the catheter and set out the surgical tools. She unveiled the white cloth that was covering the patient. The person had many deep open wounds with blood and dirt caked around them. "Stitch him up. Clean the wounds. I will be back in a bit" She said and walked out the door.

"WAIT A MINUET!!!! WHAT IS THIS?" I called after her. "Who is the dead guy? Were did he get like this? Why do i have to stich him up? And i dont think im qualifyed to do this, i could get thrown in jail." I said panicing. "And dont you think that i should clean the wound before stitching it up?" I said with a mocking tone.

Madlen paused "Your grace is the absence of fear. Which makes you cocky! Triggering comments that that of which you just spoke. You will clean and stitch this man. And you will do it now" she said calmly.

"Do i get an instruction manuel at least?" I said. "Never mind. But if i get thrown in a dungen im selling you out." I grabbed gause and some sterilizing and cleaning solution and wiped away all the dried blood.

"I hope you know that stitching him up wont help any, he's already dead so it wont heal. It will just look like he got thrown into a shirtwaist sewing factory." I said annoyed that this is how i get to spend my morning."

Madlen kept walking, smiling smugly. She walked around the building and started cleaning the knives and scalpels. She listened to Cat inside.

"Tell me when you finish!" She called into the infirmary. She had finished cleaning and sat down, beginning to get bored. Her last student had finished by now.

Sitting in a chair for long hours on end my butt was falling asleap and my hands were cramped, but i had finished cleaning and stitching the wounds. My mother had never sewn the clothes that i would ruin with time, i had to, so i was pretty skilled with a thread and needle, and discustingly needle, wire, and flesh wern't that different. "Im finished." I said and walked over to the sink to thuroly scrub my fingers of all the blood and skin, and i had an itch on my leg since stitching both the legs. "What do you want me to do now? Another dead person?" I said. "Am i aloud to go now?"

Madlen came back in. "What did you learn from that?" she asked gently. If this incompetent girl was going to complain and scoff the whole time then Madlen wasn't about to let her leave.

"I learned that i need to learn patience." i said in a dronny voice. "May i ask you one thing? Who is he?" i pointed at the man laying on the strecher, he looked peaceful like he could be sleeping, lying there with his eyes closed.

"Wrong! And He is a Monsean commander that was poisoned in his sleep. A friend of the queens. You stitched him up for his funeral. Im having someone take him to Bitterblue city tomorrow" Madlen said. She sat down and inspected her work. She fixed a couple stitches and then pulled the cloth over him. "And you did not learn patience. Infact you did not learn anything because your too stubborn. So let's try again." she said in a soft tone. She motioned for Cat to follow her outside.

"where are we going?" I said. I was suspecting that she was going to murder me in the back of the school, that would create bad press though wouldnt it.

They walked around to the back and Madlen led her through a different door. It was the emergency room. There was only one man lying on a bed. He had a deep cut on his face and the were two knives sticking out of his abdomen. Bann was there trying to care to his face. Madlen walked up to him. "Miss Madlen, his face will be as good as new thanks to my handiwork! I put him under. It's up to you now" Bann said to her. Madlen thanked him and looked at Cat. "Your going to help me fix this"

This seemed alittle worth doing. "Alright tell me what to do." i washed my hands and pulled on gloves and a mask, my hair was already tied back in a braid.

"Just do what I say, or this man will die. " she sat down in Banns chair. Madlen geabbed gloves and a mask, she tied up her hair and washed her hands and forearms. After she was ready, Madlen examined the mans wounds. One knife was sticking out of more the left side. So That meant probably his large intestine. And other was higher and more to the right, so his stomach. She ripped of the rest of his shirt and cleaned around both knives. She grabbed the surgical kit and everything else she would need. Everything was sterilized from earlier. "You, Cat are going to be my scrub nurse ok? Just hand me what I say and observe intently."

"Kay." I said the man looked severly beat up i wondered were the academy was getting all these people that looked like they were put through a meat grinder or gotten drunk while playing darts.

Malden was suprised at her reaction. From what shed seen earlier Cat would've complained about not being able to do much. In one swift motion Madlen took out the knife imbedded in his stomach. It emediately started bleeding. She quickly grabbed the clean pads and pressed them over the wound. Madlen looked at Bann who was doing something across the room. "Bann, come over here and hold these" she called to him. He did so and Madlen got ready to cut around the wound. "Scalpel" she said and held out her hand hoping that Cat knew not to put it in her hand with the blade up.

I picked up the scalpel and handed it, blade facing me, to her and held out my hand for when she was done. She was quick and clean with her movements, she was used to this i could see why the school wanted her for their nurse but i thought she was kind of slumming it as a nurse. She should be in a world famous hospital, or some were with better pay at least.

Madlen cut around the wound and told Bann to lift the cloth. As he did she grabbed a retractor and opened the wound. Madlen stopped the bleeding quickly and stuck her hand in the open chest. She felt around to see the damage. There was a puncture wound but not bad. She turned to the tray near Cat. She thought for a moment, then grabbed a needle, medical thread and tweezers. She proceeded to close the puncture. Madlen could tell Cat was deep in thought. "You should say what your are thinking."

"I dont think you want to hear it." I tried to lighten the mood alittle but so far it wasnt helping. I was feeling the need to puke but i was determined to hold still, when Madlen pulled her hand out of the mans chest i held down a gag and took the scalpel she handed to me and gave her a towel to wipe her hand. Then handed her another to wipe the mans chest. "Yeah you really dont want to hear it."

"You will say it" she said, focusing on the chest. She finished sewing the stomach. Madlen moved to the second knife. She looked at Cat. "You do it" she said. "Do exactly what I did"

I looked at the wound this one wasnt as bad as the first i thought she didnt trust me to do a great job so she babied me, just wonderful. I took the knife from her grasp and and repeated what she had done to the first the cut wasnt as good as hers was. But the stitching was just as well, if not better, than hers. I wraped both wounds and wiped my hands with a towel. I looked at Madlen for a reaction hesitently.

Madlen didn't say anything as she was working although. When Cat was done she stood and walked over. "Hmm, the cuts could've been cleaner. And... What's this?" said Madlen said and got closer to the incision. "Shit! You forgot to stop the bleeding" Madlen said and practically pushed past Cat to grab the tray. She went to work inspecting the sides of the intestine. "If the blood wasn't going into the incision then it must be going somewhere else" She stuck her hand in and felt around and sure enough she felt the blood clotting under the skin left of the wound." Sometimes when the surgeon does stop the bleeding in the wound it will bleed into somewhere else near it and that's bad. Feel it" she said looking at Cat.

Damn it damn it I thought i had done it but aparently i hadnt i gulped and felt were she was positioning her fingers. My mistake could cost this man his life.

Madlen sat down and started to work. It would take a while to repair the damage but she didn't think he would die. Unless he had some other infection that they didn't know about. She grabbed another retractor and opened up further. What she saw wasn't good. The man had been stabbed twice here. "Ok Cat, you need to come here and fix this tear while I try and repair the mistake" she said, already prepping to cut out some of his large intestine. The blood that was clotting there was harming it some a small part had to go.

Fixing atear in an intestine while another person is trying to stop the blood flow was difficult. But eventualy we finished fixing what had happened and the look on Madlen's face said we had done a good job. She instructed me to sew it up and i continued to sew as cleanly, if not better than Madlen. I yawned, "okay whats next." I asked.

"We wait for him to wake up." She said. Madlen started to fill out the paperwork and realized that Bann was still here. She looked around for him and found him sleeping on an empty patient bed. "Bann, there will be no sleeping on my ER beds!" she called. Madlen walked back over to the man an motioned Bann to come with her. They lifted him to another bed that was clean. "You can clean up Cat, it's a tradition that rookie cleans after their first procedure" she said motioning to the blood stained sheets and the dirty instruments. There was also blood pooled on the floor. Madlen smiled as she sat down, tired from the past three hours of surgery.

'Yeah im sure it is' i thought to myself as i took the tray in my hands and lead them to a big rince off section that convered a large section in the room. The tools cleaned i moved into the sheets, since there was no machine the took care of them i brought them to the rince off section and started t oscrub them on a washboard that was hung up in the corner. Once the sheets were washed i hung them on a clothes line outside and came back in, picked up new sheets and fixed the bed for the next hospital canidadte. Exausted i colapsed down in one of the rolly chairs and wiped my forehead with my sleave.

"Now, tell me what you learned?" Madlen said. She went and told Bann he could go home. Prince Raffin was probably looking for him. She went to the bed and started cleaning the surgical tray.

I realized i had gotten blood smeared across my legs as I was picking at the hem of my shorts. "I learned that you have an extremley hard job." i said, 'i wonder how i got blood on my legs.' i thought.

"Wrong answer, try again." Madlen said. She was looking for a real answer, not complete bullshit. Madlen was specifically teaching Cat something and they were going to stay in the infirmary until Cat had figured it out.

Maybe it means something literal. "How to heal a wound." I said. Maybe it was something metaphorical. "That you cant be good at everything."

"Mmmm, closer. But still not correct. Your free to go. We will meet in two days. Same time and place. Lets see if you can learn what I'm trying to teach you next time"

I couldnt be told twice. I threw my braid over my sholder and bolted for fresh air. I hit the doors and burst out of them. The smell was fantastic blooms of flowers and the spring time airy lightness was all around the antiseptic still clung to the inside of my nose but through that i could smell the world again. I staggered back to my room and took a small nap.

Adam followed Raffin into the infirmary. "What are we doing in here?" He questioned as they got into the room. He had no idea what possible use he could have in an infirmary.

"We are in the ER because I'm going to teach you to be a general practitioner." he said. Prince Raffin walked over to a bed with a man sitting on it holding his bloodied forearm. "Adam, lets come and fix up this poor man"

"Wait! You cant be serious! Ill hurt the first person i touch!" Adams breath shortened and he was panting now. "You can not possibly tell me to hurt people, for my own selfish uses, its inhuman." He stuttered on the last word, he couldnt be serious, Adamnthought that Raffin looked like a knowledgeable man, but it turns out he is an airhead, one that could cost someone their life.

Raffin turned to the hurt man. "I am Prince Raffin of The Middluns and Iwill be back in one moment to fix up your arm. You are in great care so please don't fret" he said gently with a kind smile. He turned to Adam brought him to the back room. "Adam, if you don't want to learn how to control your grace then you may leave. Katsa is my best friend and I can garentee you she won't assign you anyone else to work with she will just send you away. You will not question my methods of teaching because I've done this before and you haven't. I am not asking you to hurt someone, do I look like a man that does that? If I did not think you were capable of helping me mend that mans arm I wouldn't have asked you to do it. It was irresponsible to say what you did in front if the man with the bleeding arm because now he will be scared that you are not a good healer and he doesn't actually have to worry because you will be a good healer. Trust me on this one. Now are you going to cooperate or are you going to leave?" Raffin said. He did not raise his voice but instead kept it at his normal soft tone. He didn't like to yell, his father yelled all the time. Prince Raffin was disappointed in Adam. He thought that the boy had more drive that that.

Adam sighed, looked straight into Raffins eyes and said, "If you think that i can do it then i will try, i only said that earlier because it was the truth and i didnt find anything wrong with telling you that in front of him he has a right to know anyway, its him were opperating under. But i will try to do this you were my last hope to get back to my baby sister." Adam had a flashback to when he had first gotten his grace and he hadnt known it, his sister was up in a tree and he was helping her down, setting her down he snapped her arm in half and didnt even ralise it until she was screaming at him to let her go, she couldnt climb trees for months after that. Adam shoved the memory and the emotion down into his gut and hoped it stayed there.

"Alright then, we can get back to being productive" Raffin said smiling. He brought Adam back to the injured man. "Hello again sir. Please don't be worried, my friend and I will take excellent care of you" Raffins said sitting in a stool and pulling up a tray with various instruments and liquids on it. He pulled over another stool for Adam. Raffin let the man set his arm down on the tray. He examined it. "See, it's only a couple shards of glass. All we do is take them out and then stitch him up. Simple just watch me and do exactly as I say" he whispered to Adam. He grabbed a needle and injected some Numbing solution. Then he put on gloves and waited for Adam to do the same.

Adam put gloves on. He was shaking down to the bone he would try do do this, no, he would forse himself to do this, no matter how much damage it did t ohim he had to do it, to live a normal lif, t osee his sister again. He sat down on the stool next to Raffin waiting his orders.

"Alright. With theses tweezers" Raffin grabbed a pair for him and Adam "Very carefully pull the glass out. Like this" he concentrated on on medium sized shard. He pulled it out slowly at the angle it went in. "Just like that" he said and set the glass on the tray. Raffin gently pressed cloth on the place he'd just pulled the shard from that was bleeding. He set to work on the smaller shards so that Adam would do the bigger ones.

After Raffin had finished Adam picked up the tweezers and set to work on the bigger pieces of the glass he closed the tongs around the glass and pulled out. He had done it, Adam was excited, but he didnt let his feeling get to overconfidence. He brought the enclosed piece of glass to the pile of glass and was setting it down when he accidentally put too much preasure on the tweesers and the glass shattered and the tweesers were disformed and mangled. The glass splinters flew everywhich direction. Adam flung his body between the glass and the pacient, and in doing so got a shard of glass stuck in both arms and one in his hand.

((Hello?))

((Sorry sai!! Didn't come up on my notifs! I am busy now but I'll try and post later!!))