by Rocky Bills
Fulk said, “Guess he wants to make sure it’s her in there.”
Soon, Demon had pulled the blankets away from Basilea’s mouth. Basilea said, “It’s me, Demon. I’m okay, just a little wrapped up at the moment.” Before anyone noticed, Mildred had crept up on Demon and stolen his arm off the ground. She was trotting away before Demon realized he had been robbed. He squealed as he turned to chase her. Mildred was nickering and throwing the arm back and forth, taunting Demon as she trotted away. He ran after her, squealing in anguish. Everyone started laughing at the comical scene as the horses raced out of sight.
They all went back into the house to have the evening meal. Within minutes, both horses appeared at the rear windows that opened to the covered turnout. Demon had reclaimed his pretty, and Mildred seemed to be in an unusually good mood. Fina, Roesia, and Trina joined the group for dinner. Roast turkey, tubers, black bread, and cider appeased everyone’s appetite. As usual, a huge jug of tea and ten loaves of black bread were taken out to the guardhouse.
After cleaning up the dinner mess, Nesta said, “Mama, I need to go to the house to get some clothes and a few things.”
“I be stoppin' at ta kitchen ta make sure there be stew at da dining hall hearth. I be seein' you at da house after.”
“Okay, I’ll walk back to the main house with you, then on to our quarters.” Fina, Roesia, Trina, and Nesta left by the rear door. Gamel put Basilea back in bed and took his usual position in the chair by her side.
Giselia came in to clean and dress Basilea’s wounds. She listened to Basilea’s chest and said, “More one day, tube can take out.”
“Good,” Basilea said. “One less hole in me when that’s gone.”
Giselia replied, “Wounds other close, stitching no need, good look. No fester.”
Gamel said, “Thank you so much, Giselia. You have taken very good care of Basilea.”
Giselia just smiled and said, “Welcome; good friends welcome.”
She finished with Basilea and moved on to Goodwin in the other sleeping quarters. The large gash in Goodwin's shoulder was healing well, without sign of festering. Giselia said, “Wound stitch now. Clean, no fester, close now.” Bells lit all the oil lamps and candles in the bedroom while Giselia retrieved her bag of supplies. Giselia put a small curved needle in the bottom of a kettle. She added some heavy thread and a tiny hollow straw. She poured some wine over it and gave the kettle to Ivan, who went to the hearth to boil the wine. Bells came out to see what she could do to help. Giselia gave her an ointment and said, “Put on wound, pain not feeling much for stitching.”
Fulk was the only one with nothing to do, so he went to the writing desk and pulled out a few scrolls to study. Two scrolls were star charts that he rolled out on the dining table. The third scroll was a map of all hold held lands. Fulk busied himself with study while the others tended to Goodwin.
When the wine had boiled, Ivan brought the kettle into the bedroom where the women waited with Goodwin. When the wine had cooled a bit, Giselia put her hands into the kettle and purified them. She dipped a fresh white bandage in the wine and cleaned the open wound. She then retrieved the needle and thread from the wine and threaded the needle. She said, “Few stitches we put now.” Ivan dipped his thin dagger into the wine and washed the blade. With the speed of a seamstress, Giselia sewed and tied her first stitch. Three more followed in rapid succession. Giselia reached into the kettle and withdrew the fine hollow straw. She said, “Put for drain no puss come.” She gently inserted the straw into the wound. Picking up her needle and thread, she quickly placed and tied off eight more stitches, closing the wound around the straw. Ivan handed her his dagger, which she used to cut the thread close to her last stitch. She said, “Few days be taking drain out, no problem being.” Giselia and Bells put a drawing poultice over the wound and re-dressed it.
Goodwin said, “Giselia, you are the best healer I have ever seen. Where did you learn your skills?”
“From old ones, healers of my peoples.”
Ivan added, “Wife study many years with old healers, learning much to make good healer.”
Goodwin said, “She is a fantastic healer, much more advanced in skill and technique than our healers.”
Ivan spoke to Giselia in their language, then Giselia said, “Welcome, kind are you, good friends being. Make home good for family.” Everyone smiled as Ivan and Giselia cleaned up the various materials and left the room.
Chapter 16
Nesta had parted company with her mother at the kitchen and continued on to their small cottage on the road outside the main gate. Upon entering the house, she noticed her father asleep in a chair by the fire, no doubt drunk again. Nesta crept to her tiny bedroom area off the kitchen and started collecting some clothes and items she wanted with her. She got an empty flour sack from the small kitchen to carry her things. With all her things stored in the sack, she turned to leave. A massive fist caught her just under her eye, knocking her off of her feet. When she regained her vision, she rose to her knees to receive a second fist to the side of her head. Barely coherent, she was pulled to her feet. Her father bellowed at her, “Where is it, you little bitch! Where is the mirror set?”
Nesta looked at her father with blurred vision. Her speech slurred, she said, “It’s mine, and you will never get your hands on it.”
“Hell, I’ll beat it out of ya! Godless whore! Yer just like yer bitch mother!” Her father grabbed her by the hair and threw her onto her bed. He yelled, “You be tellin' me soon enough; too bad yer face won’t be so pretty anymore!” A fist slammed into her cheekbone, causing her to temporarily lose consciousness. She braced herself for the next blow, but it never came. When she was able to focus, she could see her mother pushing her father off of her. A cooking pan was in one of her hands.
Trina dropped the pan and raised Nesta off the bed. With tears in her eyes, Trina asked, “Darlin', can ya sees me? Come into da light.” Trina inspected Nesta’s face, asking her questions to see if she was fully awake. She wiped her bloody face with a clean cloth dipped in water. Satisfied that Nesta had no permanent damage, Trina took her swollen face in her two hands. With tears streaming from her eyes, Trina cried, “I’m so sorry, Nesta, my baby girl. I nevers thought he would come after ya!”
Nesta said, “Don’t cry, Mama. I’m okay. I’ll be all right!”
Trina hugged her girl to her, putting one arm around her back and another supporting her head as you would a baby. She whispered, “I promise you he never be touchin' ya again, on me life I promises ya!”
Crying in her mother’s arms, Nesta said, “It’s okay, Mama; please don’t cry. I’m all right.”
Trina said, “It breaks me heart ta send ya away rights now, but you need ta go back ta Fulk, baby girl.”
Nesta protested, “No, Mama. I can’t leave you here with him, not like this!”
Trina reached down and picked up the packed flour sack. Handing it to Nesta, she said, “Go back ta Sirates, darlin'. I’ll come see ya in da morning. Say goodbye ta yer father; he’s not comin' back after tonight!”
From the bedroom area, they heard, “Not comin back me ass! Ya bitches! I be teachin' ya ta hit yer old man.”
Trina took Nesta by the arm and guided her to the door. She said, “Go now, baby girl, I’ll just be a bit sending this lout down da road—go now!”
Nesta pleaded, “No, Mama, don’t make me leave you, please?”
“Nesta, trust me, ya have ta trust me; go now! Stop by Eva’s place and ask her ta come see me, please.” Trina pushed Nesta out the door. With a reassuring smile, she said again, “Trust me, darlin', send Eva dis way; trust me.”
With that, Trina quietly closed the door in front of a heartbroken, worried Nesta. She could hear her father yelling, “Come here, ya bitch! Been easy on ya till now! Now ya gettin' a good lesson! Get over here, Bitch!” Nesta could hear her mother’s confident voice as she responded with, “Me name ain’t bitch! Ya should be careful what ya ask fer!” There were se
veral loud rings, as if a metal object struck something solid.
A trembling, crying Nesta stood outside the door, afraid to open it to find her mother dead. Nesta turned and ran as fast as she could for Eva’s cottage down the road. Banging on Eva’s door as hard as she could, she yelled, “Eva, come quick, it's Mama! Hurry, Eva! Hurry!”
Eva came out of her door with huge, concerned eyes. Her giant meat cleaver was gripped in her right hand. “Good lord, Nesta, what’s wrong, girl?”
Nesta yelled, “It’s Mama! He may have killed her this time! Come quick!”
Eva began running toward Trina’s house. Having heard the ruckus, Master Tanner Forwin and his son joined them. Both held short swords in their right hands. When they reached Trina’s house, Forwin said, “Best let us go in first ta have a look!” Forwin looked at Eva, then Nesta. Eva grabbed hold of Nesta and nodded her head in approval. Forwin went in with his son, expecting the worst.
A minute that seemed an eternity passed before Forwin’s son came back outside. “Lady Eva, Pop says go on in. I’ll stay with Nesta.”
Eva quickly went into the house, leaving Nesta with Evan. Trembling in fear, Nesta looked at Evan and asked in a shaking voice, “Evan, is Mama dead?”
Evan looked at her and said, “I promise you, your mother is fine!” Nesta started to reach for the door. Evan pulled her hand back and said, “You need to stay here with me now; yer mom will come out ta you shortly.” Evan looked at Nesta’s face in disbelief. He moved her hair out of the way to see her left eye swollen shut. Her right eye and cheek were already changing to a dark purple color. He put his arm around her and said, “I’m so sorry the bastard turned on you, Nesta. Pop and I have wanted to do something about the bastard for a long time!”
Several minutes passed before Trina came out of the door, carefully closing it behind her. Nesta ran to her mother and wrapped her arms around her. She cried, “Mama, I was so scared he killed you this time!”
Trina hugged her daughter and said, “Not this time. Told 'im never lay hands on ya, he be gettin' da worst a it this time. We be sendin' 'im off now, darling; you go on ta Sirates, not ta worry no more 'bout da bastard.”
Evan said, “Come on, Nesta, I’ll walk ya over.”
“Ya go on now, an haves Giselia look at yer face,” Trina said when Nesta still hesitated.
Nesta said, “I’ll see you in the morning, Mama?”
Trina said, “Yes, baby girl, I come ta ya in the morning.” Trina slowly turned and walked back into the house, well pleased that her baby girl was headed to Sirates House with Evan.
Once at Sirates House, Nesta stayed outside the back door as Evan went in to see where Fulk was. Evan returned to take Nesta inside. He said, “Fulk has gone to bed. Giselia and Ivan are the only ones still up.” Giselia met her at the back door and quickly took her into the great room, where Ivan was collecting oil lamps and placing them on the table. Giselia pulled Nesta’s long hair back and tied it out of the way. She examined her closed eye and the bones around the eye orbit. She then moved to the other cheek. After a complete examination, Giselia spoke, “Bones not broken, okay being eye, just looking bad.”
Ivan asked Evan, “Where is this beater of women? I will handle him, not very nicely!”
Evan said, “Trina has taken care of him. He is in no condition to hurt anyone now.” Ivan looked at Evan. Evan just nodded.
Ivan said something to Giselia in their language. Giselia said, “Yes, good; this is good thing!” Giselia said something to Ivan, and he went outside with a wash basin. When he returned, it was filled with ice-cold water from the well. Giselia made cold compresses and applied them to Nesta’s face.
Evan said, “I’ll be going back now. Trina will be wanting an update on Nesta.”
“Thank you, Evan,” Nesta said softly.
“You’re welcome, my lady.” Evan left by the rear door, closing it gently as to not awaken anyone.
In the early morning hours, Fulk woke to find Nesta tucked against him, her face snuggled into his chest. He carefully started to move her long red hair from her face, but Nesta suddenly rolled over and sat up on the bed.
“Good morning, good sir. Did you sleep well?”
“Why, yes, my lady; I was in the company of an angel.”
Nesta stood. “You flatter me, sir. I will start some biscuits.” She was still dressed. She just walked out of the bedroom without even combing her hair. Fulk thought that sort of odd. She always loved taking care of her beautiful hair. He got dressed and went out into the great room, which was still dark. Nesta hadn’t bothered to turn up the oil lamps. Fulk started to adjust the lamps, but Nesta asked, “Please, Fulk, I have a headache this morning. Can we leave the lights low?”
“Oh, I’m sorry. Do you need a tonic?”
“I already took one. It will pass soon enough.”
“Okay, my lady, but let me know if you need another tonic.”
“I will, good sir.”
Fulk went to work on the fire. It soon flamed in the great hearth. “I’ll feed the horses and be right back to help with the cooking,” he told Nesta. He went out the front door thinking something wasn’t right. The horses were in good spirits. Demon’s neck wound was healing nicely, and to see them now, just a few days after the horrible battle, one would never guess they had been involved in such bloodshed. Horses had the kind ability to feel little or no regret. Their memory patterns favor present time versus the past. As Fulk returned to the house, he thought, What a gift the horses have, to live in the present without concerns for the future and no guilt for what has already passed. We could all learn lessons from them.
Once inside, Fulk settled at the great hearth and began cooking pork strips. Nesta brought a platter of thin sliced meat to Fulk. Her hair hung over her face, hiding most of it, but in a flicker of firelight, Fulk saw the discoloration of her cheek. He dropped the platter of meat on the floor and took Nesta in his arms. He carefully moved her hair away from her face to reveal the damage. Her left eye was closed with a blackened bruise under it that extended to her entire cheek. The right side of her face looked like a purple sunset with browns and yellows mixed in. Fulk was shaking uncontrollably now as he gritted out, “Nesta, who did this? What happened to you?” With tears running from her face, Nesta’s lips moved, but no words came from her mouth. Fulk demanded, “It was your father, wasn’t it? He beat you, didn’t he?” Nesta still couldn’t speak but simply nodded her head slightly in agreement. Fulk held her in his arms tenderly for a time. Then, he lightly pushed her away and kissed her forehead. He whispered, “My beautiful Nesta, I promise you, after this day, he will never touch you nor lay eyes upon you again.” Shaking with barely controlled rage, Fulk headed for the front door. As an afterthought, he went to the corner piled with weapons and grabbed the first thing he came to, Gamel’s battle-axe.
By the time Fulk cleared the front door, he was at a full run, with the lethal axe pumping in his right hand. He ran in the straightest line possible toward Trina’s house. As a bird flies, it was through the thick woods with no trails. Fulk never slowed down in the tangled woods. When he came to a fallen tree, he jumped it. When a limb obstructed his way, he swung the great axe and chopped it from his path. He was teetering on the edge of insanity when he cleared the woods. Buildings and cottages along the main road were visible now. He spotted Trina’s house and corrected his flight.
It took some time for Nesta to reclaim her senses. When she could think clearly, she realized she couldn’t let Fulk kill her father, which she was sure he would do as soon as he found him. She ran into Gamel’s bedroom wailing, “Gamel, wake up! You need to find Fulk. He’s going to kill my father!”
As soon as Gamel heard his name, he was on his feet. After he heard what she said, he came to her. The wretched mess of her face was evident in the morning light. “Good Lord, Nesta! I’m not sure I should stop him. How could a man do this to his own daughter?”
Basilea was slowly sitting up in bed. She said, “Ne
sta, come here. Be with me.”
“Please, Gamel, don’t let him do this, not because of me. I could not shoulder the guilt.” Nesta went and sat with Basilea on the bed while Gamel dressed. Basilea was inspecting the damage to Nesta’s face.
Gamel asked, “Will he be at your house, Nesta?”
“Mom fought with him last night. She said she was sending him away and I would never see him again. He won’t be at the house. Fulk will probably go to Mama to find out where he’s gone.”
“I’ll try the kitchen, then. Stay with Basilea.” Gamel ran from the bedroom. Moments later, the rear door could be heard slamming shut.