"Bohyne... Help... Me." The voice, I hear it again.
"Hello," I say to the wind that carried that voice to me. Aware of what might happen if the voice belonged to someone that wished me harm.
"Hello. C-Can you hear me?" The sad voice says. With an unsure tone.
"Yes. Are you alright? Can I help you?" I ask the disembodied voice. If there is anything I could do to help, I would.
"Please help me Bohyne, I cannot handle the pain anymore." The weak voice says. "AHHHH No, No more" The man screamed, begging for help. But there was nothing I could do.
"I'm sorry, I don't know where you are," I say to the man. Tears stinging my face. How do I help someone I cannot see? "What is your name?" The voice asked weakly. Barely above a whisper.
"Terra," I tell him my name, hoping he will tell me his. Just then a bolt of lightning struck my tree, and a Big Branch came falling down, pinning me to the ground. Part of the broken branch cutting my leg wide open. I screamed out in pain "AHHHHHH."
Next, I was being shaken awake. I felt really weak for some reason, and I couldn't open my eyes. "I think she has lost too much blood brother, Terra honey if you can hear me, you have to open your eyes, come on My lady please wake up," that sounds like Enre. "Please Bohyne, let her be alright, come on Princess You have to wake up, please" I felt drops of something wet on my face. Is Enre crying?
I force myself to open my eyes, If only a little. Enre was right in front of me his eyes closed, mumbling something. Is he praying? "Enre," I say my voice almost failing me.
"Princess," Enre says almost relieved. "I thought I lost you, you have lost so much blood. I thought the gods were being cruel and had taken you away from me" He says just above a whisper. How would I have lost blood? What is he talking about?
"I am alright," I say to him. Not really knowing what is going on.
"No My Lady, you are not alright. Your leg has been cut very deeply. I have gotten the blood to stop, but there is more pain to come. I still have to stitch the wound up. Do you know what happened?" He tells me the severity of my injury. It is kinda numb at the moment. My leg has been cut open just like in my dream, but how is this possible? How does an injury in my dream become a reality? "I am going to need my brothers help to stitch your leg, My lady. So I am going to carry you in there so you don't have to be left alone ok" He says. Being too weak to speak, I simply nod to him. Then he gently lifts me up in his arms. The jarring was very painful, the numbness was gone, so I winced, "I am so sorry My Lady" Enre whispers to me in a sad and worried tone. He then carries me to Thegan's room. "Thegan, wake up, come on Brother I need your help, something has happened" He wasn't waking up, so Enre yelled at him "THEGAN, WAKE UP."
"What is it, Brother?" Thegan says in an almost angry voice. Slowly raising up on his elbows on the bed. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
"Something has happened," he says in a sad voice. Thegan then sits the rest of the way up quickly and looks at us. We are both covered in blood.
Seeing the cut on my leg he says, "What in Bohyne's name has happened to her leg? Set her down on the bed and go fetch the binding, thread and stitching needle. And enre, you may want to get her some of the pain medicine in your bag. Hurry now, before this starts bleeding again" Thegan noticeably concerned then looked at me and asked in a quiet voice. "How did this happen to you?"
"In my dream," I say so weakly that I'm not sure if he heard me or not. Not really even sure what's happening is real. This could be a bad nightmare or something.
Then he sighs and says "Not you too." Huh. Not me to. Has this happened to someone before? I ask myself. I am so tired my eyes slip shut, but I hear Thegan’s' voice say. "You have to stay awake My Lady, just for a bit longer. I have to sew your leg up and get some of this medicine into you ok. So try to stay awake alright" All I can do is nod. My body just about too weak to even do that. My voice is gone, it is taking all my strength to stay awake. "Here is the stuff brother, how is she?" Enre asked as soon as he enters the room.
"Her wound is deep, but it should heal nicely. She is feeble from blood loss and pain. We will have to take turns watching her for the next few days to make sure she doesn't get a fever or infection in the wound. Come over and hold her leg for me so I can sew this up. Alright". I hear Thegan tell enre. Then he holds my head up and tells me "Open up your mouth Princess, this will help with the pain," he pours this nasty tasting liquid over my tongue and says "You have to swallow My Lady, it will help you I promise." I swallow the liquid, Trying not to wretch it up. Not long after I feel myself drifting off into a dreamless sleep. I don't know if it was because of the nasty medicine or if I passed out from the pain and loss of blood. All I know is that I couldn't feel anything.
Chapter Ten
Enre
Thegan was stitching Terra's leg up, and the only thing I could think of was how I could not protect her. How am I supposed to keep my princess safe from harm, when I do not even know how this had happened. I promised her she would be safe. Will she leave me now, because I could not keep her from harm? 'Bohyne, please let her be alright' I pray to myself "Brother, This is not your fault" Thegan says to me. How is it not. She was all right, living a normal life before she met me. It is my fault.
I look down at my hands, and my voice shakes as I say, "I-I couldn't protect her Brother, I promised her she would be safe here, I let her down." How was she going trust me now?
"You could not have stopped this Brother," Thegan says to me in a dark tone. Does he know something I do not? How does he know that I could not have protected her from this? Thegan then says. "After I finish here, and you get her settled back in, I will tell you what I know." All I can do is nod at him. I am worried about what he is going to say to me. My brother never keeps anything from me. It must be bad for him to keep this to himself. "There she is all sewn up and bandaged. Let her sleep here for now then we can move her to your room. Ok brother." Thegan says to me.
I position her up on the pillows, and I elevate her leg with some extra blankets. I gently sweep her brown locks to the side out of her face. She is so beautiful, even in this condition. I place a small kiss on her forehead and cover her up. Looking back at her before I leave the room. She has been through so much today. Bohyne, why is this happening to such a pure hearted woman.
I join my brother in the living room. When I look at him, he has a withdrawn look on his face. "Thegan, the confliction on your face is very worrying, tell me, please. What is going on?" I say to him.
"Sit, I will tell you what I know," he says. I sit down across from him and wait for him to explain. He seems to be trying to gather the words. Thegan looks down and begins to explain, "It happened to her in a dream."
"A dream? How is that possible?" I say to him. Since when can dreams harm you? I ask myself.
"I'm not sure how it is possible. All I know is that it's definitely possible. I have hidden something from you brother, but you have to understand. I only hid it to keep you from worrying" Thegan says to me in a small voice.
"What is it, Brother?" I ask him. He never keeps things from me. He has always told me everything.
Thegan then sighs and begins to speak. "It has happened to me. I have been hurt in my dreams before as well." Looking down at his hands. "I am sorry I did not tell you the truth when it happened." It's happened to him? I think back about the past few months and the only time he has been hurt was the cut on his arm. Could that be it or did he hide a different injury of his from me? The cut on his arm that has to be it. He was acting oddly that night when he was telling me about it.
I ask him just to know if I am right in my assumptions. "Your arm?" I say to him, motioning to his injured arm.
"Yes, but there have been other injuries you did not now about. Mostly bruises and soreness. This cut is the first time blood had been drawn." Thegan says, looking ashamed. How have I not noticed.
"I am not mad at you for not telling me brother, you had your reasons. What's important right now is, we need to kno
w how to make this stop before you both end up dead. I cannot lose you or her" I say to him. Something has to be done.
While we sit and talk about what can be done, I have an idea. I run it past my brother to hear his thoughts on it, "What if we could find a Haruspex, do you think one could help?" The Haruspex is considered to have oracle abilities, surely if we can find one they could help us. "It is possible that they may know more about what's going on, but I'm not sure where to find one," Thegan says.
"We could ask Aiden if he knows of one. There has to be at least a couple that has traveled here to this realm over the years." I suggest to him. He nods his head and then takes out his phone and calls Aiden. While he is on the phone, I decide to go check on Terra. I enter the room and walk up to the bed. She is sleeping soundly. I really hope she is not dreaming. If she were to get injured again, she would not survive. Her blood loss was too great the last time.
Going back into the living room I can hear Thegan on the phone, so I sit down and wait for him to finish. A few seconds later, he turns to me and says "Aiden said he will see what he can do on his end."
"That is good" I reply somewhat short. I can't help but think about her, my mind clouded with the possibility of me losing them both.
"There is still more that I must tell you Brother," Thegan says. Once he has sat back down he looks at me and continues "I think our dreams are connected" He tells me about what happens in his dream. About how he had heard a voice a few times, and that just tonight, the woman's voice finally had a name, Terra. She was in his dream? What if the shadow in my dream is her?
"I believe we are all connected brother. I have the same dream night after night as well. Except I am searching for you in mine. There is also a big tree in the center of a field with a shadow of a person standing by it. It makes me wonder if it is her that is standing there?" I tell him.
"We will have to wait till she wakes to ask her what she dreamed about, but the likely hood of it being the same dream is very high," Thegan says. I do not understand what the meaning of all this is. Or why it is happening to us.
"That medicine we gave her should keep her asleep for quite a while. So one of us should go buy some food and more bindings for when she wakes up. Her dressing will need to be changed and she will need her energy to heal." Thegan expressed. I didn't think about that. We do not keep much food here because we usually order out.
"Would you mind going brother? I want to stay with her" I ask him, pleaded with him rather. Not wanting to leave her side. Just in case something else happens.
"Yes brother, I will. I will be back shortly." Thegan states with a hint of a smile on his face. With that, he left the loft. I locked the door behind him to be on the safe side. Heading to the bedroom to sit with my wounded Princess.
As I sit there on the side of the bed stroking her hair, I notice how fragile she is. Her hands are delicate and soft, her skin is like smooth cream and her lips... her lips are as plump as a new day berry. The perfect ripe shade of pink. Only Bohyne herself could create such a perfect creature. My Heart longs to be by her side forever. To have the love of this beautiful woman, to feel her warmth and to hear her lovely voice for eternity. I remember back to something our mother had told us before she passed away. "My Handsome sons, one day Bohyne will send to you a beautiful, priceless jewel. A woman that will be the other half of yourself. She will be the missing piece of your heart. When that day comes, treasure her. For she will be your savior in love and in life." I cannot help but feel that this beautiful creature is my jewel, my missing piece. I believe in this with my entire heart and soul.
I Whisper a prayer to our Goddess, "Bohyne, I beg of you to please send me an answer to how to save her, and my brother, from this dream that is harming them. I-I cannot lose them, I have lost so much already". An hour or so later my brother returns. I walk in the living room and see a mountain of paper bags full of food and supplies. I look at him and laugh, "Did you buy enough Brother?"
"I thought it would be better to have everything we needed, to keep from having to go out too much" He says. He had every food imaginable sitting there. Two bags being nothing but medical supplies. The guards must have helped him carry it all.
"Good thinking, with everything going on it would be safer to stay in," I tell him. While we put everything away I find a couple of long nightgowns, I look at Thegan with a smirk and say "Brother I don't think these are your color." holding the green gown up to him. We both laugh.
He says, "I thought she would be more comfortable in these, plus it will make it easier to change her dressing." Always the one to take care of other’s needs.
"That's very thoughtful brother, I'm sure she will be grateful as well," I say to him. He always thinks of every detail.
When we finish storing away the supplies, I go back to check on her again. She has tiny beads of sweat on her brow and her face if flushed. I lay the back of my hand on her forehead to check for a fever. Startled, I yell to Thegan "She is burning up, bring me a cold cloth brother." He brings a bowl of ice water and some cloths and sets them down on the nightstand.
He says to me "I am going to call Aiden and see if he can get some vaxen leaves." I know there are medicines in this realm that would work, but the plants and herbs from our realm seem to be more potent and act much quicker than the ones found here.
"Alright brother, I am going to stay with her," I say to him as I place a cold rag on her forehead. He walks out of the room to call Aiden. Looking at her in this state makes my heart ache, is there nothing I can do to help her. I soak the cloth in the ice water again and ring it out. Then I gently wipe the sweat off of her face and neck. After a few minutes, she starts to shake slightly. The fever has given her the chills. I climb in beside her and lay her head against my chest. Running my hand over her hair. After a while had passed, she started to stir. She to begin to mumble little no coherent sounds. Please Bohyne, don't let her be dreaming. "Enre" I hear her say in a weak voice.
"I am here My Lady," I say to her in a soft tone. She sighs and went silent once again, falling back into a peaceful sleep. That is very odd. She should not be able to speak yet. That medicine should have kept her sound asleep for at least two days. People from this realm cannot tolerate the potency of our realms herbs. I must tell this to Thegan.
Chapter Eleven
Thegan
"Aiden, do you happen to have any herbs from our realm?" I ask him over the phone. Praying that he does.
He replies to me "Yes My Lord, I brought many plants and seeds with me when I came here. Is there something you are in need of?" That is great. Thank the heavens that he has some.
"Yes Aiden, I need all of your healing herbs, as well as the ones for infection and fever. As quick as possible." I tell him, I know he brought those from Aelmere for personal use, but we are in desperate need of them at the moment. I will have to find a way to pay him back for his help when this is all over.
"I will gather what I have My Lord and will bring them straight over to you," Aiden says. After telling him thank you, we hung up, and I go back to my room where Enre and Terra is. Standing at the door looking at them, you can tell that he is already lost in her. The caring touches of her hair and him gently wiping the cold cloth across her skin. It makes my heart warm to watch him being so caring to another.
Enre then looks up at me and says "Brother, she woke up a few minutes ago. It was only for a moment, but she spoke to me." I looked at him with a shocked expression.
"How can that be? She shouldn't be awake for at least another whole day." I say to him. The only explanation for this would be that she is not from this realm. Or maybe her parents are not from here.
Enre then asks "She is not from here, is she?". Almost reading my mind. That would explain a lot if she weren't.
"I am not sure brother; we won't know for sure until we find out about her past. Either way, though, we have to get her well before we can really think about that at the moment. Aiden is on his way over with some her
bs from back home" I say to him. "Hopefully, he will have something to help her." I trail off and then say. "We need to get her into a clean gown. The night clothes she has on are soaked in sweat and blood". I will have to change the bedding as well.
Enre looks down at her, wiping her face again, then without looking at me he says "Alright, but I will need your help to keep from hurting her."
I nod at him and say "I will go get some clean cloths and some water to sponge her off with." I leave the room to get the washcloths and water and more bandages just in case. Once back in the room, I help hold her while Enre gently wipes her skin down with the washcloth. There is no way to remove the clothes she has on, not without hurting her anyways. So enre takes out his knife and cuts them away, just leaving her underclothes. Then he softly wipes the newly exposed skin down. After he has washed her up, we switch places so I can re-bind her wound. He is holding her so gently. Like she was a fragile, precious treasure. One day I hope to have someone like that. I think to myself. I unwrap the bindings on her wound and am shocked by what I see, "her- her wound, it's almost healed. How is that possible?" I say astonished at the speed that she is healing.
"Maybe the medicine we gave her earlier has a different effect on people like her," Enre says, trying to stay calm. That could be the only explanation at this point in time.
"Could be Brother." Was all I could say to him. This is highly abnormal. I have never seen anyone heal that quickly. At this rate, she will be completely healed in a day or two. I finish re-wrapping the fast healing wound, and we put a clean gown on her. It's a soft wintergreen color that suits her well. The one Enre held up to me earlier joking around.
Once Enre gets her settled back in and places another cold cloth on her forehead. He says to me "Thank you, Brother, for helping me." I will always be here to help him. He is all I have left.
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