with a hasty, “She will be her old self in no time.”
Fiona turned a sad smile on her brother. “We both attempt to convince.”
“Better than to think the worst.” Raynor shook his head, glancing down at Aliss. “The bleeding does not subside. You need to stitch the wound now.”
“What has happened?” A shrill screech ripped through the silent chilled air.
Raynor and Fiona turned to see Anya rushing toward them. Her purple cloak flew out behind her and her green eyes were wide with fright.
Raynor stood shocked to see his mother. She immediately went down on her knees beside her daughter. “Mother, what are you doing here? Where is father? How did you get here?”
“Your uncle Odo arrived shortly after you left and he brought me here. I could not bear to be away from my daughters. Now tell me what has happened to Aliss.”
“An arrow has grazed her temple,” Fiona explained, and wondered over a sudden sense of hope and comfort that rushed over her. It was the same feeling she had gotten when she was little and her mother would tend her when she was sick or wounded. “She slips in and out of consciousness and has told us what must be done.”
“Her wound needs stitching,” Raynor informed her.
Anya looked to Fiona. “I am talented with a needle.”
“Good, for I am not and this must be done now before she loses more blood.”
Fiona fetched her sister’s healing basket containing a cloth with her various size needles and threads and her pouches of herbs. She instructed Raynor to ask Tarr where the closest water supply was and to bring her a bucketful. Anya prepared her daughter by placing a blanket beneath her head, removing all hair away from the wound, then finally removing the blood-soaked cloth from around her head.
When all was ready, Anya kneeled over her daughter and with skillful hands and a gentle touch she began to stitch the wound.
Fiona remained beside her, dabbing at the wound between stitches as Aliss had taught her to do. Keep it clear of blood she would order Fiona when she had helped her. So with her sister’s words strong in her head, she did as she recalled.
It was over and done in a few minutes, to Fiona’s relief, and glad she was that her sister was not awake to feel the continuous prick of the needle as five stitches were made in her flesh.
The cart arrived soon after, and Tarr and Raynor saw to moving Aliss while Fiona and Anya cleaned up.
Fiona watched the men carefully, ready to bark her disapproval if they were not cautious with Aliss. She needed tender care and a watchful eye, which was why she intended to ride in the cart with her sister and—
Her thought was interrupted by a strong squeeze to her arm. Her glance drifted to her mother.
“I will ride in the cart with Aliss and watch over her.”
A tug, sharp and fast hit her heart. She took care of her sister, no other did.
“Please,” Anya pleaded softly. “Let me tend my daughter.”
Tarr walked up to stand beside Fiona. “We are ready to leave.”
“Mother will ride in the cart with Aliss,” Fiona said, the tug at her heart now a dull, persistent ache.
Anya hugged her daughter. “I will take good care of her.”
Tarr slide his hand into Fiona’s and locked his fingers around hers.
She squeezed tightly. “Things are changing.”
“For the better.”
“Then why do I feel this ache that chokes my heart?”
“It has just been you and your sister for some time and that is no more. You have a mother, a father, and a brother, and soon you will have a husband. It will no longer be just the two of you.”
His remark pitched her deep into her own thoughts, and she remained there as they journeyed to the Hellewyk keep. She rode beside the cart and watched Anya gently cradle Aliss’s head in her lap to keep it from bouncing from the ruts and bumps along the dirt road.
She had wondered over Anya’s sudden appearance. There was time for that later, when her sister was settled in bed. But then Anya would probably want to keep vigil at her daughter’s bedside.
A shout alerted everyone that they neared the keep. When they entered the village surrounding the keep, there was a rush of activity as clansmen and women rushed to offer help and to see how badly their healer was hurt.
Prayers and well wishes were offered as they carried Aliss into the keep.