Chapter 1, Pages 44-48

 

Rielari
blacked out, slumping in her saddle. If the grouper had been a horse
she would have fallen from his back. As soon as she lost
consciousness and slumped over the grouper stopped and shifted it’s
weight to keep her on his back.

“Rielari,”
it growled in fear.

Zefrik
pulled his horse up short and signaled his men to do the same, “We’ll
stop here for the night. Do either of you know how to stitch a
wound?”

“I
do,” Asrik said.

Zefrik
lifted her from the saddle and again was amazed at how little she
weighed. He had expected her to weigh more because she was not much
shorter than him, but her height was deceiving. Her head lulled on
his arm as he carried her to somewhat level ground. Ruik laid a
blanket on the ground while Asrik built a quick fire. They work
proficiently and soon had a small camp set up.

Asrik
placed a cast iron pot on the fire to boil and dropped some herbs in
it to clean the wound with. While the brew was cooling he knelt down
by the unconscious woman to examine the wound. It was very deep but
to his surprise was not bleeding.

“She
put something on it shortly after it happened,” Zefrik answered his
questioning glance.

“We
should just leave her,” Ruik said looking at his Lord with
contempt.

Zefrik’s
looked up quickly, “No, she saved my life.”

Ruik
would not be dissuaded, “No offense my Lord but I think she’s the
one that’s been following us. Probably trying to kill you.”

“She
saved my life,” Zefrik said with an authoritative tone that
silenced Ruik.

Asrik
said quietly, “Well it’s a good thing she is already unconscious
because this is going to be very painful. I need someone to hold her
down though just in case she does wake up or starts to thrash around
while I’m sewing her up.”

Without
hesitation, Zefrik knelt down and placed a hand on each side of her
head to hold her shoulders down.

“I’m
going to have to remove her pants and these short swords to do this,”
Asrik looked at Zefrik questioningly. He nodded in agreement.

Asrik
began by removing her belt and kampilan, then carefully so he
wouldn’t agitate the wound anymore than he had to he pulled her pants
off.

The
skin around the wound was red and inflamed. It had not been a clean
cut either and it’s jagged edges were wide showing the fatty tissue
inside her leg. Asrik looked to see that Zefrik was holding her
firmly and he began tediously cleaning the wound. The herbs had a
pungent aroma that brought tears to Zefrik’s eyes.

When
Asrik felt that the wound was thoroughly cleaned he took his bone
needle and started to methodically sew the rough edges of the skin
together. In several spots he had to reenforce his stitching to
assure that it would hold and not burst apart again.

Finished
finally Asrik took the clean linen he had set aside and putting a
good quantity of the herbal mixture from the pot onto the wound. He
carefully bound her leg with the linen then pulled her pants back on,
but left her boots off.

Sitting
back on his heels Asrik looked at Zefrik, “That should heal, but
it’s going to leave a nice scar. Now it’s your turn.”

Zefrik
let him clean all of his little cuts and scrapes, “She cleaned and
stitched the big cuts.”

<span sty

le=”font-size:medium;”>“She
did a very good job,” Asrik stated admiring Rielari’s stitching,
“The one on your cheek will probably not scar.”

Content
with Asrik’s work Zefrik pat him on the back, “Thank you, now we
should eat it’s been a long day.”

Ruik
had returned while Asrik was still sewing Rielari’s wound and had
spitted a giant hare over the fire. The aroma of fresh meat made
them all hungry, the rabbit was soon gone.

Sated
for the time being Ruik said, “I’ll keep the first watch.”

Zefrik
and Asrik agreed and they both went to get out their sleeping rolls.
Zefrik placed his near Rielari so he could keep an eye on her. She
was close to the fire and he laid his roll on the side of her away
from the fire. Laying down he watched her breathing it was fast and
irregular. He examined her features now that he had a close
undisturbed view of her. Her round face was almost childlike in
sleep and her cheeks were getting color back. Full lips slightly
parted as she moaned softly and turned her head towards the ground.
The fire light caught the outline of her ear and he again was amazed
at how pointed it was. Her braids, so intricately done they hide her
white hair, was coming loose. He tenderly pushed the loose strands
from her face and her eyes shot open.

“Don’t
move, your leg was just stitched up and you might tear it open. You
are safe,” Zefrik whispered hesitantly trailing his finger down her
cheek. She’s so beautiful when she is vulnerable, he thought.

Rielari’s
eyes grew larger with apprehension, “Thank you, can I get some
water?”

Zefrik
reached behind him and produced a water bladder, uncorking it he
passed it to her. Rielari looked at him suspiciously before she
drank deeply. She scowled, angry with herself for being weak. He
pulled his hand away looking a bit confused.

“Where
are we heading?”

Zefrik
tucked his hand under his head, “Friat, it’s the only place I will
be safe.”

Rielari
nodded, if someone was out to kill him he would be safest with his
people. She didn’t like the idea of being stuck on the island but
she had to know the truth behind Yislon’s murder and she knew it had
something to do with him. Closing her eyes she fell asleep, more
restfully this time.

Zefrik
watched her sleeping again and sighed, he couldn’t understand why he
was drawn to her. All he knew was that he had an unexplainable urge
to protect her. He fell asleep watching the fire’s light dance of
her serene face.

Rielari
woke before the sun came up and looked around her slightly
disoriented. The throbbing in her leg had woken her. She slid her
pants down to examine her leg, unwrapping the linen to get a better
look. The skin around the wound was red but the stitching was very
good. It will hold together, she thought. Smelling the linen to see
what kind of herbs they used she frowned, not recognizing their
smell.

“It’s
Ampalaya , from Friat,” Asrik spoke softly.

Rielari’s
head snapped quickly locating the man, she didn’t trust any of them.
Leaving the linen off she pulled her pants back up and put her boots
on. Rolling to her uninjured side she tucked her good leg under
herself and pushing off the ground with her hands, she stood. The
pain was incredible and she wavered unsteadily. Asrik jumped up from
were he was sitting and quickly put his arm around her to steady her.

“Thank
you,” she grit her teeth.

Asrik
looked into Rielari’s eyes, he was shorter than Zefrik. He smiled at
her with a confidence that made her heart beat quickly. His
appearance was typical for a Friatian; tall, pale blonde hair, and
blue eyes. However, were Zefrik’s appearance was more feminine,
Asrik’s appearance was more masculine. His face was slightly fuller
than the average Friatian, with a very strong jaw line. Large, pale
vivid blue eyes were watching her curiously.

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