Chapter 25: Chloroform is a Hell of a Drug
Smithy woke up in her own bed, sweating in her wrapped up covers. She watched specks of dust floating lazily above her in the sunlight streaming through her bedroom windows as she began to take in her surroundings.
She felt lightheaded and her mouth was dry as a wad of cotton. She rolled over to get out of bed, but stopped suddenly as a wave of nausea overcame her. She could still taste the chloroform in her nose and mouth, which she quickly masked with the taste of dry heaves.
Letting out a weak moan of desperation, Smithy called out for help. She heard somepony opening the door, only didn't recognize the voice saying "Are you alright, ma'am?"
She turned her head to see a bulky, unfamiliar unicorn stallion standing at her bedroom door. "Who are ya?" she mumbled, reaching for her tired eyes to better see him.
The stallion levitated a glass of water over to her side table for her to drink. "My name's Keen Eye," he began, levitating a wet rag over to where Smithy had thrown up. "Your husband hired me from a temp agency to guard you and your house while he's away in Baltimare."
Smithy slowly sat up in bed, listening to Keen Eye speaking. "Where's everyone else?" she asked, eyes closed to keep from getting sick again.
Keen Eye watched his charge once again loose control of her stomach, levitating a potted plant in front of her face just in time to catch her sickness. "Your parents are taking a vacation," he explained as he watched Smithy wipe her mouth on her covers. "Your husband told me about your miscarriage, and I'm really sorry to hear you had that happen. He said it would be wise to give you some space as you recovered, so he hired me to make sure you were okay while he was out of town and keep you away from anything stressful."
While hearing that her parents were gone was disappointing, Smithy was more concerned about her baby, her love, and her zebra friends. Last she remembered, Stinking Rich was stomping mad and threatening violence. "That weren't no miscarriage," she explained, trying to get out of bed again. "Where's the slaves? Where's mah baby?"
Keen Eye used his magic to catch Smithy from falling out of bed, gently landing her on the floor. "What are you talking about?" he asked, watching Smithy wobble as she tried to stand up from where she was laying on the floor. "The zigglers are being kept where they are supposed to be. Your husband wants me to keep you away from them since they kidnapped you. He said they're responsible for you losing your baby, and he's worried they'll try to hurt you again."
With a loud groan, Smithy stood up on her hooves. "What a bunch of mule biscuits!" she exclaimed, feeling her joints ache leftover from childbirth. "We ran away together 'cause we all wanted to get away from Stinkin' Rich, and one of the slaves is mah baby's daddy. Now where's mah baby, and where's her daddy?"
Keen Eye looked at Smithy as though she was insane. "Are you okay?" he asked, confused by her rambling.
Smithy shook her head as she laboriously walked toward the door. "Bring me to the slaves!" she ordered.
Keen Eye used his magic to slam the door before Smith could reach him. "I'm sorry ma'am, but I have my orders," he explained from the other side of the door. "I don't want to lose my job. I can't afford to."
Smithy grabbed the door knob in her teeth, fighting with the magically locked door. "Lemme out!" she shouted, getting no answer from the guard at her door.
After a failed attempt at opening the door, Smithy stumbled to the window to try opening it. She noticed that it was stuck tight with sugar pine sap. She grabbed the glass of water on her side table to use on loosening the window, but there was too much sugar pine sap sealing it shut, rendering the water useless. Desperate to get the window open, Smithy began licking at the sticky sap gluing her window shut, only to find that her dry mouth was just as useless. The only thing she accomplished was getting a new, disgusting taste in her mouth.
Smithy rested her face against the cool glass, letting her eyes leak at the realization of being a prisoner in her own home. She couldn't think of a way to escape, which only made her panic and cry more. What had become of her baby, or of Bladire?
As Smithy stood crying against the window, she noticed Lizza out in the yard putting laundry out to dry on the line. She desperately tapped on the window to get Lizza's attention. She saw Lizza look up at her with a sour look on her face before turning back to her chore.
Tess walked up to Lizza with another basket on her back, a basket they both fawned over. Smithy watched them fuss over the basket, noticing them uncover a baby covered in black and yellow stripes. "Kizzy!" she shouted, beating on the window to get the two zebra's attention. "Mah baby! She's okay!"
Smithy could tell that the two were trying not to look up at her, which served to only annoy her. "Girls!" she screamed from her stuck bedroom window. "Girls! Help me! I wanna see mah baby! I wanna see Bladire!"
Smithy could see Tess looking sympathetically up at the bedroom window, only to be scolded by Lizza. The two zebras carried Kizzy's basket away, ignoring Smithy's desperate pleas.
Not knowing what was going on, Smithy stumbled back to the bedroom door. "Keen Eye!" she shouted. "Ya better lemme outta this here room, ya hear! I want answers!"
Keen Eye let out a frustrated sigh. "Look, I've got orders from your husband," he tried to explain as calmly as he could, finding his patience running out. "I have to listen to him, so you have to listen to me. You have to stay where I know you're safe, and if you can't work with me, then you're stuck in your room."
Smithy screamed out her frustration as she beat on the door. "Ya can't keep me a prisoner in mah own home!" she demanded.
Keen Eye blasted the door with magic, listening to his charge hit the floor from the magic's impact. "I can if you keep fighting me!" he replied, charging up his horn for another blast.
Smithy moaned in misery as she ran for the door again, only to be knocked away again. She knew she had to get to her baby, find Bladire, and get out of Sweet Apple Acres, but how would she do it with that annoying guard keeping her from her goal?