Chapter 1, Pages 40-44

Kneeling
as best she could next to Zefrik she unhooked her medicine pouch from
her belt. Taking a small clear vile out she set it aside. Her bone
needle was very sharp and thin and still had a large line of sinew
attached to it. Uncorking the glass vile she poured a small amount
over the needle. Leaning over Zefrik she finally looked into his
haunted eyes. Some of his hair had come free and hung around his
face in strands. One of the large gashes was on the right side of
his face just below his cheek bone, she winced slightly.

“This
is going to hurt,” Rielari said apologetically.

Lifting
the vile to his face she hesitated when he jerked away suspiciously,
“What is that stuff?”

Sighing
with exhaustion she lowered her hand slightly, “It’s alcohol,
similar to the kind you would drink in a pub but it’s a higher
potency. It would make you very ill if you drank it. It’s to clean
the wound before I stitch it closed.”

Zefrik
shied back, “Can’t we wait to do that till we find a doctor?”

“Of
course we could,” she was getting irritated, “And if anyone else
attacks before I get you back to your body guards we will just ask
them to not cut us up until we find a doctor.”

Finding
a small piece of wool in her bag she poured some alcohol on it,
“You’re bleeding, we need to stop it before you lose too much. Now
I don’t have anymore time to argue with you, there could be more out
there.”

Grudgingly
he leaned closer to her, “Thank you for saving my life.”

Rielari
nodded and dabbed the wool to his cheek, he winced in pain. She sat
on the stable floor and instructed him to lay his head in her lap.

“Try
to hold still,” she said almost apologetically.

When
she was finished stitching his wounds Zefrik’s face was pale.
Wrapping her needle back in the wool she placed everything back into
her bag and strapped it back on her belt.

Standing
she searched the stable area for a water pump. It was right outside
the door, with several pumps to the handle water gushed out. Washing
her thigh and pants as best she could she bit her lip to stifle a
scream. The pain momentarily made her dizzy and she gripped the
water pump to steady herself. Pulling another vial from her belt
pouch she sifted an orange powder directly onto the wound. The
scream she had been holding back escaped her lips in a short burst of
agony. Were the powder came in contact with the open wound it
sizzled and smoked slightly. The bleeding stopped almost instantly
but the wound would need stitching to heal. She repeated the
procedure with the nick on her arm.

Zefrik
ran from the stable with the grouper, he was concerned for her. She
had lost a lot more blood than he had.

“Aren’t
you going to stitch your leg,” he questioned.

Rielari
glared at him, “We need to move, we have already been here to
long.”

Refusing
to say more she tightened the cinch and painfully hoisted herself
into the saddle. When her vision cleared she noticed Zefrik was
sitting atop a giant black horse. She led the way out of the
village, she knew how to slip out of places unseen.

Leaving
the village Rielari scanned the surrounding forest with apprehension.
She didn’t know if she could face another ambush, her leg was going
numb and she knew that was not a good sign. The gates of Sairk were
several miles down the road still and she knew anything could happen.

“Horses,
approaching fast,” the grouper said as it moved off the road in
hast.

Zefrik
followed with his skittish horse, curious. Rielari jumped down from
the gr

ouper and almost fell, forgetting momentarily that her leg was
wounded. She motioned for Zefrik to dismount as well and quickly she
tied the horse’s lead to her saddle horn.

“Take
this loud animal somewhere,” Rielari instructed the grouper.

Before
Zefrik could protest she put her hand up and signaled him to follow
her. She got down on her belly and crawled to the edge of road,
hidden well in the undergrowth and a large bush. Looking down the
road towards Sairk she saw the horses, the riders appeared to be
Friatian.

“Those
are my men,” Zefrik said standing and walking onto the road.

Rielari
stood as well but stayed were she was, she whistled for the grouper.
It came up behind her and affectionately nudged her shoulder.

“Apparently
they are with him,” she told it. Absently scratching it’s head and
released Zefrik’s horse.

The
Friatian’s slowed their steeds as they approached, the temperamental
animals reared as the stopped. The two men dismounted and saluted
Zefrik.

“Lord
Zefrik,” the one on the right greeted.

“We
need to leave Sairk, Lord,” the one on the left informed.

Zefrik
returned the salute and the two men relaxed slightly. He turned his
attention to Rielari momentarily drawing their suspicious glances.
They both reached for their scimitars prepared to defend Zefrik.

“Ruik,
Asrik, may I introduce,” with that Zefrik paused and looked
questioningly at her, “You know I don’t think I caught your name?”

“Rielari,”
she offered reluctantly.

The
two guards bowed slightly at the waist. Keeping their hands on the
hilt of their scimitars they turned back to Zefrik.

“Lord
Zefrik,” Ruik said keeping a watchful eye on Rielari, “We need to
leave Sairk now.”

Ruik
hesitated to say more in front of Rielari, he didn’t trust the way
she looked. He had sent Karik back to scout a few nights ago and the
man had not returned yet. He wondered if this dangerous looking
woman had killed him.

Zefrik
understood Ruik’s suspicious looks, he himself had not trusted
Rielari at first. Her pale face had gone a few shades lighter just
standing there and he knew her leg pained her.

“Will
you come with us?” Zefrik asked hesitantly, “I think there is
more we need to talk about.”

Rielari
felt trapped but knew she had to, if only to find Yislon’s murderer.
Not trusting herself to speak she just nodded and attempted to get on
the groupers back. Her leg had gone completely numb standing still
however and she fell when she tried to put her weight on it to place
her other foot in the stirrup. Zefrik caught her before she hit the
ground and with a fluid motion hoisted her into the saddle.

“Thank
you,” she whispered. Feeling ashamed for showing more weakness to
the man she averted her eyes. He placed his hand almost tenderly on
her thigh causing her to look into his tranquil blue eyes. He smiled
shyly at her and walked over to his horse.

Ruik
and Asrik exchanged worried glances. When Zefrik was on his horse
they lead the small group off the road and through the woods. They
were trying to avoid danger.

As
the day progressed the group remained quiet, the only noises came
from the horses. They were traveling at an alarming speed and the
guards did not stop except to water the horses once. Rielari began
to fade in and out of consciousness, she had lost to much blood and
still hadn’t stitched her thigh.

<p align="JUSTIFY" style="text-indent: 0.2in; margin-bottom: 0in”>Zefrik
kept a constant eye on her as they traveled. His fear mounting the
further they went, but he didn’t know how to stop their progress
without angering her. She was a mystery to him but he did realize
she was a very proud woman. When he had stopped her from hitting the
ground he knew he had damaged her pride a little and he found he had
a strange urge to make her happy. His decision was made for him as
the sun began to set however.