Martin came running out from around the boulder and jumped in front of Gwen, waving at Hilde to not shoot. Clarissa and Stefan came running around and stood behind Gwen.
Stefan looked at Gwen and smiled and reached up and lifted the hood off her head and laid it back on her shoulders.
They couldn’t hear her, but they could read her lips when Hilde said, “Oh my god!”
She immediately put her arrow away and started guiding Venia toward the ledge. She had to do it slowly because there really wasn’t enough room for her and the four people standing there.
It didn’t take them long to realize they needed to move back and they did, allowing Venia all the room she needed to land. Within half a heartbeat, Hilde vaulted from the back of her dragon and landed, running to the little bowmaiden.
Martin wasn’t sure what to make of this and he was going to defend the love of his life if needed. He stayed firmly planted between Gwen and this woman who had the audacity to point an arrow at her.
Hilde skidded to a stop, wondering what she was going to do with this boy, who was ready to fight and defend Gwen.
Martin felt Gwen lean forward and kiss him on the cheek.
“It’s okay, soldier. She’s a friend.”
Martin looked at her, still feeling the wetness of her lips on his cheek.
“Okay, but I’m right here if you need me.”
“I know you are,” she said with a smile.
When Martin moved out of the way, Hilde fell on Gwen, wrapping her arms around her and hugging her tight, as she shed tears of joy over her. She felt Gwen wince in pain and stepped back.
“What’s the matter? Are you hurt?”
“Yes, Lady Hilde. Falling over a hundred feet and crashing into a dozen tree branches tends to take a toll on a body.”
Clarissa stepped up and said, “Come on, young lady. We need to put you back to bed.”
Gwen giggled and said, “Yes, mother. But, not for long.”
“Why do you say that?”
Gwen pointed to the sky at the approaching dragons.
“One of those ladies is a healer.”
Venia turned and dived off the ledge to provide Morgath enough room to land, so that Caroline could assist this injured warrior. As the healer drifted closer to the ledge, Gwen could see her smile was as wide as the sky.
Clarissa turned Gwen around and walked her back to the house, leaving the two men there to handle the landing of dragons and welcoming of the ladies that rode them. Just as she got Gwen situated in the bed, Caroline came rushing through the curtain.
“Oh Gwennie,” she said, her face covered in tears. “What can I do to help?”
“Well, Caroline, I’m pretty banged up.”
Clarissa said, “She has at least two broken ribs, a couple of cracked ones and a bunch of scrapes and tears on her back.”
“And a swollen knee.”
They turned and saw Martin standing in the doorway.
“Yes, and a swollen knee,” said Clarissa as she walked to the door. “And you don’t need to be in here for this, young man. Outside.”
“What if she needs me?”
“She is in good hands.”
“Martin,” said Gwen from the bed, “if I need you, I will certainly call you. You’re my protector.”
Martin turned around, not quite happy about being dismissed, but there was no arguing with his mother in times like this. He went back outside to see the dragons.
Clarissa helped Caroline get the robe off of Gwen and the healer shook her head.
“Mm mm mm. Seems like I got here just in time. Your mother would skin me alive if I didn’t get you healed up properly.”
“My mother loves you,” said Gwen as she gasped when Caroline ran her hands over her ribs that were broken.
Clarissa sat down on the other side of the bed and took a cool cloth and wiped Gwen’s forehead. Setting those bones back together was not a painless experience. The pain was worth it in the end, but it was still quite excruciating.
When Gwen tightened up in pain, Clarissa squeezed her hand and the little bowmaiden clenched it hard. Tears formed in her eyes as she tried to weather the pain. She could feel the bones moving around, under her skin, knitting themselves back together.
As Caroline worked to heal the breaks, the pain became less severe and Gwen began to breathe a little easier. When Caroline finished with the worst breaks, she moved to the cracked ribs and took care of those in just a couple of minutes.
Then she moved her hands down Gwen’s legs to the swollen knee and stopped about halfway down her upper leg.
“Hmmm. Seems like you cracked this leg bone, too.”
“Did I?”
“Tell me, Gwennie, did you miss any branches on the way down?”
Gwen laughed a little, now that laughing wasn’t nearly as painful.
“No, Caroline, I believe that tree pretty much had its way with me.”
“Well,” said Caroline, as she set to fix the crack, “it did save your life.”
“That it did.”
Clarissa wiped her forehead again as Caroline went to work on Gwen’s knee. Within minutes she was finished with everything in front, so they helped her turn over.
They heard the door of the house open and it was just Stefan coming in to get some water for the others.
When Caroline removed the bandages and saw the damage, she sucked in a breath.
“Is it that bad?” asked Gwen.
“Let’s just put it this way,” said Caroline, “you are probably going to have a few battle scars to show off after this war.”
“Oh,” sighed Gwen. “I hope I find a man that can overlook them someday.”
She could feel Caroline’s hands moving up and down her bare back, fixing the wounds to her skin as best she could.
“I’m going to need to spend a little extra time on your bottom, so you can sit on a dragon again.”
“Does it look terribly bad?” asked Gwen.
“Actually, not too bad. You have a rather nice looking bottom.”
“Caroline!”
“What?” said Clarissa. “It is a nice bum. I wish I still had such a nice bum.”
From the other room they heard Stefan say, “You do have a nice bum, sweetheart.”
Gwen shook her head, concealed her face in the pillow and said, “Oh, just kill me now.”
She hoped the others couldn’t see her red face.
“I know of one young man that wouldn’t be put off by any scars you may have,” said Clarissa.
Gwen turned her face toward her and looked at her.
“He’s a sweet, young man. You and Stefan have done a fine job in raising him.”
“It’s been hard sometimes.”
“It always is,” said Caroline. “Be thankful your son’s childhood only lasts about twenty years. This little troublemaker right here is almost three hundred years old and her childhood lasted over one hundred years. Drove her mother and father crazy.”
“Caroline!”
“Tell me I’m mistaken!”
“My mother and father loved me anyway.”
“Yes, they did. Especially since you were the youngest of three daughters.”
“So,” said Clarissa as she looked at Caroline, “you’ve known her for a long time?”
“I was just over thirty years old when I held this little one in my arms as a baby. Even then I could tell she was going to be a handful.”
Caroline grinned across at Clarissa.
“Seems the Guildenians aren’t much different than the rest of us. They just live longer.”
Caroline finished up with Gwen’s back and there were some light scars left, but nothing too bad. She patted Gwen on the bum and said, “All finished and it still looks good.”
“Stop talking about my bum, Caroline!”
“Well, we could talk about your boobs.”
“Oh good grief!” whined Gwen.
The two ladies giggled and helped her turn back
over and then got her covered up.
“You need to rest for about an hour before getting up,” said Caroline. “Just lay here and relax. I’m going to tell Sarabel she can come in now.”
She leaned forward and kissed Gwen on the forehead and stood up and walked out. Clarissa took a moment to make sure Gwen was comfortable and stood up. As she was heading out the door to see what Stefan and Martin were up to, she was almost bowled over by another Guildenian rushing into the house.
“Sorry!” yelled Sarabel as she disappeared into the back room.
She found the two men in her life standing next to Hilde and she was introducing them to her green dragon. Morgath and Keeleth were flying circles above, keeping an eye on things.
Hilde looked at Caroline and said, “When she comes back out, Sarabel and I are going to head back down the valley. We probably shouldn’t have delayed this long with the fighting still going on.”
“You want me to stay here with Gwen?”
“Just until you’re certain she’s ready to fly back with you. Then come back and join us.”
“We shouldn’t be more than an hour behind you.”
Martin looked at Hilde and said, “Earlier they addressed you as Lady Hilde. Why?”
“Because my husband is Jarell of Greenvale Castle.”
Clarissa cocked her head and asked, “You joined with Master Jarell?”
“Yes, I did. About three weeks ago. He and Master Pendivall are still battling the dark wizard’s army back in the fields near Strafton. We absolutely need to be getting back there.”
Caroline turned on her heels and said, “I’ll get Sarabel back out here.”
Hilde nodded and then turned and said, “Stefan, Clarissa, Martin, thank you for taking care of her. You have no idea what she means to us back in the battle. But, don’t tell her I said that.”
The three of them laughed as Hilde turned and climbed onto Venia’s back.
“Ready to get back to the fight?” asked Hilde.
“I’ve been wondering when we would,” said Venia.
Venia turned and fell off the cliff because she had no room to turn around. About halfway down the cliff, she spread her wings and caught the wind and soared back up to where Morgath was still circling.
They saw Sarabel had come out of the house and was climbing on Keeleth and then she performed the same falling maneuver.
When she returned to them, Morgath said, “Take care ladies. Be careful when you go back to the fight.”
“You be careful, cousin,” said Venia as she and Keeleth turned back to the west and headed for the battle.
Morgath settled down on the edge of the cliff and looked at the three people still standing there. They just stared at him. He was considerably larger than the other two dragons and he was white.
“What?”
Clarissa and Stefan were quiet, not sure what to say.
Martin spoke up and said, “We have just never seen such a magnificent dragon before.”
“Well, thank you, but my father is even bigger than I am.”
“Your father?”
“Mirroth the White.”
“Oh,” said Stefan. “I’ve heard of him. He’s the king of the dragons.”
“That he is.” said Morgath.
~~~~
“You know where I live. After this war is over, maybe you can come and see me.”
Martin looked into Gwen’s eyes.
“I’d like that,” said Martin. “As I said before, I’d like to come to Wyndweir and see Guilden.”
“I’ll be there.”
She turned to Stefan and Clarissa.
“I want to thank you for taking care of me.”
“It was our pleasure,” said Stefan. “It’s not too often we have guests up here.”
Clarissa took her hand and said, “You take care, Gwen. Caroline worked real hard to put you back together.”
They gave each other a hug and Gwen turned around and started walking toward Morgath. Caroline sat patiently on the white dragon’s back, waiting for her friend.
Then Gwen stopped and stepped up to Martin. She looked into his eyes, reached up and put a hand on the side of his face, then leaned over and kissed him on the other cheek.
“Please stay away from this war, Martin. I couldn’t bear thinking of you being hurt.”
He heard most of that, but it didn’t register. He was still lost in the feeling of her hand and lips on his cheek.
He almost wanted to cry when she turned and walked to Morgath and climbed behind Caroline. He felt like his heart was being torn out as they watched the great dragon, lean and fall from the cliff.
Martin stepped to the edge of the cliff and watched as Morgath spread his wings, caught the wind and soared across the treetops, heading back to the battle. The last thing he saw of them was Gwen looking back over her shoulder, her brown hair blowing in the wind and her eyes looking straight into his.
After they had disappeared around the curve of the mountain, he turned around and looked at his parents. They were standing next to each other, with arms around each other’s waists. They could tell he was suffering a small amount of pain, watching this woman fly away. A woman he had barely known for a day.
“So, how many days does it take to walk to Guilden?”
Chapter 17 ~ The Battle Ends With A Breeze
The battle raged below as Hilde and Sarabel flew back over the fields. They could tell they had been gone for far too long. Though finding Gwen had been one of the greatest things that could have happened that day, the devastation they saw below cast a dark cloud over that happy event.
Not only that, but Emmilyn had returned with three more dragons from Rosemoor, but they had been met with five red dragons of the dark wizard. Even with the dark wizard gone, they still fought with the fire and fury they had become known for.
Hilde and Sarabel immediately joined Emmilyn in her battle against the red dragons. She was being attacked from two sides by dragons that were giving her and Sophia everything they could handle. As Emmilyn was a new rider, she wasn’t as comfortable in the seat as Hilde or Caroline and she was having to spend as much time hanging on as she was fighting back.
Sophia was doing exactly what Hilde hoped none of the dragons would do. She was flying in a way to protect her rider instead of flying as a sky-born warrior. Obviously she was going to need to have some words with the two of them after this battle was over.
Hilde and Sarabel each dove on a dragon and took its attention away from Emmilyn. Venia wasn’t one to fly in a protective manner. She was more of a full-on, attack them face-to-face kind of dragon. Hilde loved her even more for that. The two of them shared that as a bond stronger than Guilden steel. Venia being smaller than the other dragons, was able to move quicker and turn faster than any of the others.
It took Hilde and Venia less than ten seconds to send their dragon plummeting to the ground in a fiery crash. The crashing dragon sent troops scattering as it exploded in a giant ball of dragonfire from the gas in its gut.
As Hilde searched for her next target, she saw something on the ground that caused her blood to run cold. A group of royal soldiers, dressed in the colors of the dark wizard, were encircling a group of Wyndweir soldiers and moving in on them.
It wasn’t the royals wearing Kerrick’s colors that scared her. It was the sight of Symon in the middle of the Wyndweir soldiers, backing them up as they prepared to fight to the death. She realized these were all the soldiers they had captured the day before and who had sworn allegiance to Wyndweir for the rest of the war.
“Not in this lifetime,” she muttered to herself. Venia heard her in her mind and knew exactly what they were about to do.
They wheeled around in the sky and dove with lightning speed toward the surrounded troops, lining themselves up with the edge of the royal soldiers. Venia cut loose with a stream of dragonfire that engulfed the royals. The new Wyndweir troops raised their shields quickly and only got a little singed from the fire
.
Symon looked up and saw his sister-in-law flash past on her green dragon and felt a huge swell of pride rise up in his chest. The only thought he had come to mind was she and Jarell were perfect for each other. A bit of fire in her reminded him of Laurelai.
He bellowed a command to attack and his troops didn’t hesitate. They waded into the burning royals and ended their lives as quickly and humanely as possible. There was no attempt to capture any of them, given the orders that Jarell had yelled at the beginning of the battle.
Hilde and Venia circled around and she fired a couple of arrows, killing a couple of royals that had escaped the flames. Then they turned their attention back to the sky.
There were still four red dragons giving the Wyndweirian dragons everything they could handle. Emmilyn looked like she was starting to get the hang of riding Sophia, but her aim was still a bit wild. Hilde was sorry she hadn’t been able to give the two new riders enough time to practice.
Coming up from underneath, Hilde fired an arrow straight up, that pierced the soft chin of the red dragon that was attacking Emmilyn. It didn’t kill the dragon, but only served to make it mad. It wrapped one of its claws around the arrow and yanked it out. Then, it turned and dove straight at the approaching green dragon and Hilde could see the fiery anger in its eyes as it drew closer.
“Hang on, Hilde!” screamed Venia between their minds.
She made a move to pass by the red dragon, over its head and saw the red dragon match her move. Which was exactly what she wanted.
She flipped over with such speed that Hilde was almost flung off her seat. She made another lightning fast move, that put her in position to pass by the red dragon, under its belly. As they flashed past each other, she raked the soft underbelly of the dragon and ripped giant gouges into the body of the attacker.
It screeched like a baby dragon as it spiraled to the earth. Venia had dug so deep into the red dragon’s body, she ripped open the gas sac in its gut and the gas spewed into the air like a cloud. Venia turned and fired a ball of dragonfire, which ignited the gas, causing a huge ball of fire that burned the red dragon all the way to its insides before it crashed into the forest on the edge of the battlefield.
The Wrath Page 17