On hearing this, Peter's head turned to meet Tank's steely gaze. This was not something that either of them had bargained for, or wanted to hear, on this they could agree with just a look. The good doctor continued.
"The reason," she started to explain, turning and glaring at Tank, "that the healing mantras don't work on her, is that her DNA has been changed, rewritten if you like, and is unlike anything we've ever seen before. I've spoken to dragons across the world about this, and nobody has any answers."
Opening his mouth to speak, the doctor held up her index finger to halt the king. Flash looked on with great respect for her, given what had just happened.
'She's either incredibly brave, or unbelievably stupid,' he thought.
"Essentially her DNA has been completely transformed into something we of course recognise... a human! As far as we can tell, apart from the fact our mantras don't have any effect on her, she's totally and utterly human. No trace at all her dragon heritage."
On hearing this, Peter was stunned and glancing around at the others, he could plainly see he wasn't the only one.
"What can be done?" piped up Tank, meekly.
Turning to face him, the doctor had a scowl of epic proportions plastered across her face.
"NOTHING! Not a damn thing. Even if we knew how this happened... and we don't, finding a way to reverse it is all but impossible. It would be like taking a normal human and turning them into one of us. It simply can't be done."
Fighting back the urge to vomit, Peter's legs suddenly turned to jelly.
"You mentioned that there were two halves to this problem. What's the other?" queried the king.
"You remember out little conversation... just a minute ago?" whispered the doctor.
The monarch nodded.
"You and I need to have a little chat in private."
"Okay."
Grabbing a fistful of curtain, the good doctor yanked it two thirds of the way around Richie's bed, enclosing Peter, Tank and Flash. Turning to the friends, her scowl having all but disappeared, she said,
"You can stay for fifteen minutes. After that, you'll have to go. She drifts in and out of consciousness, and might well wake up. She's coherent but pumped full of some rather powerful painkillers, so you can expect her to be a little confused. Make sure you don't tax her too much. At some point tonight we're looking to move her upstairs to one of the human wards. There's nothing more we can do for her down here."
Peter started to protest. Again the doctor's index finger came out.
"She'll be just fine. We'll make sure, wherever she is, that the ward is staffed by dragons familiar with her condition. But it's better this way... trust me. Also, you'll be able to visit whenever you like, something I'm sure will boost her recovery. And you, mantra boy," she exclaimed, using her well exercised index finger to point at Tank, "no more of the clever stuff. We've tried everything, and none of it works. You'll only get someone else hurt. Understand?"
Sheepishly, Tank squeaked the tiniest, "Yes."
"This way Your Majesty," declared the doctor, holding back two parts of the surrounding curtain to form a doorway. Taking one step towards the gaping hole, the king turned back to look at Peter.
"I'll catch up with you... I promise. It might take me a few days with everything that's going on, but I will. If there's a problem, or she," he nodded his head sideways, indicating Richie, "needs anything at all, you know how to get a message to me."
Peter croaked a, "Thank you," in reply, his throat really dry from not having had a drink all day.
The king turned to face Flash.
"I'm going to need your particular skill set, so don't get too comfortable."
"Ready as ever Sire," replied the ex-Crimson Guard, bowing his head slightly.
With that, the monarch waltzed through the gap in the curtains, followed swiftly by the doctor, leaving the three friends in total silence, none of them quite knowing what to say. It was Peter who spoke up first.
"What does it all mean?"
Tank shrugged his shoulders despondently. Flash considered the question carefully before replying.
"It has implications on so many levels. First and foremost, her health. If she's a fit and healthy human, and we've no reason to doubt that's the case, then she should make a full recovery. We all know what a superb athlete she is, so on that front things should be fine. As for the mantras not working on her, I for one have never come across anything like it. But as a group, I would suggest we're ideally placed to try and find out more. I can search the king's library, and Tank can pump Gee Tee for information. It might be a little complicated and confusing now, but together we're in a unique position to get to the bottom of it."
Silence resumed briefly, that is until Peter plucked up the courage to ask,
"And what is it you're not telling us?"
Burying his face in his hands, Flash exhaled deeply. In the normal course of his duties, it would be about now that he'd be deciding if a little white lie was in order. But ever since the cruel twist of fate that had left him trapped in human form, the three dragons with him had become his friends. Never having had friends before, he really didn't want to lie to them. But he also didn't want to hurt them either. In the end, the decision wasn't a difficult one.
'Friends always tell each other the truth, no matter how hard the subject matter, don't they?' he thought, as he straightened up to face Peter.
"If she's human when she leaves hospital, she'll have to live as one of them."
Peter's face brightened.
"That's not a problem; that's what she does now."
Flash caught sight of Tank's troubled face out of the corner of his eye, realising he was much further along with where this was going.
'Here we go then,' he thought. 'Might as well get it out in the open.'
"She won't be allowed to carry on as she is, Peter. Under no circumstances will the council allow it."
"I don't understand," replied the young hockey playing dragon.
"I think I do," cut in Tank. "You mean the council won't allow her to live as a human and retain her dragon memories, don't you?"
"I'm afraid so," Flash nodded.
"That's preposterous!" exclaimed Peter.
"I'm really sorry Peter, but I'm pretty sure that's what'll happen."
"Why, why, why would they do that?" Peter stuttered, starting to get in a tangle.
"If she's fully human, then they simply can't take the risk that she might reveal our existence to the rest of the world. As well, to them, it will be easier casting her out than actually trying to help her recover and fit back in, without any of her dragon abilities. To them, it will seem like the perfect answer to a very uncomfortable question."
"You can't know this for sure," Peter spluttered, getting more upset by the second. "Anyway, the king would never allow such a thing."
Tank wandered around the bed to his friend. Putting one of his giant arms around his shoulder, he said,
"Just calm down a little... okay? Getting upset won't do anyone any good, and there's certainly no reason to take things out on Flash. You asked him the question, and he answered truthfully. For what it's worth, I think he's probably right." Peter started to open his mouth at this point, but taking a leaf from the good doctor's book, Tank held up his index finger and then carried on. "But the point at which that happens is a long way off. For now, we need to help her recover. We need to be there for her. And while we're doing that, we can look into how the change occurred and what, if anything, we could do, should the council try and cast her out. But for now, let's just support her. That's what she needs the most."