To Stand Beside Her (37 page)

“So do you have the stomach to do this?” Roger asked Anatolio who had just seen his first surgery ever.

“Yes,” Anatolio replied
continui
ng
to help clean
everything
.
“Who trained you?”

“No one,”
Roger
replied.
“In all honesty, I am never quite sure what I am doing, but she depends on me to figure it out.
Someday it will need to be you that she looks to.”
Roger watched the young man clean each tool.
Anatolio
was perfect for the job.
“You will have a lot to learn, but between me teaching and Leila getting hurt often, I think we will be able to do it.”

“So you have never seen a naked woman before?” Roger asked
,
changing the subject and causing Anatolio to blush again.
“Well
,
I will tell you, she pretty much ruins seeing any other woman.”
Anatolio was surprised.
“I may be old, but I still know who is beautiful.
She is probably the most
perfect
woman you will ever see
- clothed or not.” Roger chuckled as he continued to place each instrument in its correct
designated
location
in his bag
.

Anatolio and Roger returned to Leila’s room to find Nalick sitting on the bed watching her.
Neither man wanted to interrupt him as they stood in the doorway and watched him
tenderly
touch her face.
The love Nalick felt for Leila was obvious.

“The water is in the pot on the table,” Nalick said
finally noticing
.
Roger quickly brewed the tea and brought it over to Nalick
who
gently sat Leila up and helped her drink the tea.
After he handed the cup back to Roger,
Nalick
again laid her down on the bed.
A few minutes later, Leila slowly opened her eyes.

“It better be the same day,” she warned Roger who laughed.

“See,”
Roger
said to Anatolio who still stood in the doorway.
“Good as normal.”
Roger was on his way back home, and Leila was left to spend two more weeks recovering.

Since Roger had given Leila his approval to move around carefully, she spent every morning working with Anatolio and Theo the following two weeks while waiting for Roger’s return;  she tried her best to teach Anatolio how to fight better without physically showing him how to do anything. She was quite surprised to see how quickly Anatolio progressed and had no doubts as to why Nalick had chosen him. Each day they worked on a new move, and by lunch time he had mastered it. With Leila able to move more, Nalick could go back to his work full time, but Nalick was even more distracted without her around.
The day before Roger was to return for the second time, Nalick left his office before lunch to check on Leila.
S
he
was
in the training court yard
.
Nalick
was surprised to find that she was not just there with Anatolio and Theo
anymore
.

“Why are so many people here?”
Nalick
asked
the nearest man
.

“I heard Nikias agreed to fight Anatolio,”
the
young man said eagerly.

Down below, Nalick watched as several people helped Leila sit back down. She did not see him in the crowd nor did she seem to see the crowd at all. Nalick stood with the men and watched as Nikias approached Anatolio. The match up was unfair; Nikias had many more years of experience, but Anatolio did not seem to mind. Nikias made the first move, and Anatolio quickly evaded it.
Nalick watched Leila study the two men’s movements.
The match lasted longer than Nalick had expected
,
though Anatolio lost in the end.
After they were finished, Leila made Nikias repeat his last move as she walked Anatolio through how he should counter it and use it to his advantage.
When the men standing around saw how Leila could have easily won the match, they cheered.
Leila smiled up at the men watching her and
finally
noticed Nalick.

“You are not supposed to be walking,”
Nalick
said
,
scoop
ing
her into his arms.

“Roger will be here tomorrow
,
and he will give me permission to walk gently on it.
I am just getting a head start,”
Leila
explained
,
though did not ask to be set down
.
Being in his arms was
comfortable
.

“So what do you think?” she asked
,
referring to the two men who were sitting and resting after their long match.

“I am h
onestly amazed
.”
Nalick did not set Leila down.
“But for your last day before Roger returns, I am going to insist you spend the rest of the day relaxing.
Roger will scold me if you hurt yourself right before he gets here.”
Nalick turned to carry her away.

“Thanks Nikias,” Leila called and waved to the two men as Nalick carried her from the courtyard.
Anatolio bowed his head to her as she left.

Nalick took her straight to her room and set her down gently on the balcony.
He
began to pace
,
wondering how to tell her his thoughts.
“I thought I would get so much more work done now that you can do whatever you want, but
…
,” he paused.

“You missed me,” she guessed while grinning.

“Yes,” he said while sitting down next to her and moving her to his lap.
Leila casually put her arms around his neck. It was warm and inviting to sit so close to him. Her heart began to race
,
and she needed to concentrate to
hear
to him talking.

“I have decided I am going to choose a few men to work right below me to help get all this work done.
It was fine to spend all day working
before you came along, but now
I just don’t find it entertaining.”
Leila was happy he wanted to spend time with her.
“Life’s too short to spend behind a desk.”

Leila nodded.
“I figured that out when I was five
-
years
-
old.
Glad to see you’ve finally caught up.”

“Hey,”
Nalick
said while tickling her ribs.
The knock at the door interrupted their conversation.
Nalick rose and opened the door.

“Early again?”
Leila
asked
,
turning to view Roger as he walked out onto the balcony behind Nalick
.

“Would you rather I
was
late?
I can go back to the inn at which I plan to stay and return in a couple
of
days,” Roger suggested pretend
ing
to turn and leave.

“No, no,” Leila cried
, grasping into the air because she could not throw herself at him to stop him
.
“I am glad you are early.”

“So
,
I can guess by the smile on your face you are doing much better this time around,” Roger said
,
sitting
down next to Leila.
He picked up her hurt leg and slowly unwrapped the support around it.
“It looks good.
Have you been following my advice and not walking on it?”

“Do you think anyone around here would let me get away with walking on it?”
s
he responded nodding her head toward Nalick.

“I knew he would be g
ood for something,” Roger joked before giving her the okay to walk on it.

The next morning Leila rose excited that she could finally return to the market.
Roger had given her consent to walk again with a cane.
She was up before everyone and happily humming to herself while getting ready.
Nalick was surprised when he finally woke to find she was already to go.
He hurried to dress to not keep her waiting.
Leila
,
though
,
did not mind waiting for everyone.
A
fter one month she would
finally
get to leave the palace.
She
felt cramped and caged.
The one comfort she had in the palace was the garden, but she no longer felt safe sitting alone
there
.
Only
Anatolio had noticed.

Leila led Roger along with her escorts to the market.
Roger had not been to the Lexia market in years and was surprised to find Leila excited to go to it.
She wished to hurry along with the crowd, but it was slow walking with the cane and her leg was not yet healed enough to walk without it.
N
ear
ing
the first stand,
Leila
searched the crowd for the young children that met her there since she first went to the market.
She did not see them and continued on to
her favorite
fruit stand.
Leila introduced Roger to the people she passed on the way.

“How many people know who you are?” Roger whispered to Leila under his breath.

“Just a few,” Leila shrugged.
P
art of her charm and winning over people’s loyalty came from her honesty and openness to trust them.

As the day proceeded and there was still no sign of the children, Leila began to wonder where they were.
Did Phillip recognize me
?
she
wondered
.
She had seen him in the crowd
on their way back into the city after being kidnapped
, but she was not sure
he saw her
.
Leila joined the men sitting at a table enjoying snacks and drinks as she continued to search the crowd.

“Is something wrong?” Roger asked her.

“Normally I meet three children here: an older boy and his younger brother and sister.
I have not seen any of them yet today,”
Leila
looked at the clock and could see it was getting close to the time Phillip would normally leave for work.

“Could they just be late?” Roger asked.
Roger remembered
that
she had mentioned the children to him before.

“The oldest works and always made them leave at the midday bell,” Leila pointed to the clock above the market.
“I hope they are okay.”

After everyone was finished with their drinks and snacks, they stood to return to the palace.
Leila continued to search as she followed but could see no sign of the children.
Nalick put his arm around her as he could see she was worried.
As they neared the last stand, Leila noticed Tim standing by himself.
As soon as
Tim
saw Leila he ran to her and smiled.
Balancing against Nalick, Leila carefully picked him up.

“Where’s Phillip?”
Leila
asked look
ing
around.

“With Ruth,” Tim replied.
“Ruth is sick and Phillip stay
ed
with her to make her better.”

“How long has she been sick?”
Leila asked.

“I dunno,” Tim replied.
“Phillip told me to come and tell you
we
can’t see you today.”

“Could you take me to them?” Leila asked.
“My friend here is a doctor
,
and maybe he can help Ruth.”
Leila sat Tim back down on the ground.

Tim stared up at all the people standing with Leila.
“I’m not supposed to take grown-ups to our home,” Tim said.
Leila looked at the men around her.

“Can Roger and Nalick come with?” she asked.

“Nikias, Javed, Theo, and Macarius, go on back to the palace.
We will stay with Leila,” Nalick said.
The men followed their orders and walked back towards the palace.

“Is this better?” Leila asked.
Tim smiled and began to walk between two of the nearest buildings.
Leila followed close behind him as quickly as she could.
The young boy had failed to notices she was limping
,
but he slowed
when
she was not walking close to him.
Soon they arrived at a broken down three story building.
Inside Leila could see several children hurriedly hiding.
Roger quickly stopped Leila from following the young boy into the building.