Once I’d confirmed that the mercenaries were gone, fleeing for the nearest woods, I returned to the house to deal with the aftermath. Progress was still distraught, and wouldn’t leave Constance’s side. Grit was furious and wanted revenge. He was stomping back and forth in the hallway. Of the three, Swift seemed the least affected. In fact, she’d started work to clean up the mess of our kitchen.
Then, there was Eu. When I arrived, Constance was carefully removing her gambeson. Obviously, she didn’t want to pull or tear at the wound. Despite that, she needed to hurry, because Eu was so small and thin, that I’d worry how much blood she could lose. Even now, her face had dangerously paled.
One of the mercenaries had sliced straight through the armored padding above her shoulder, then the clothing underneath. Luckily, the blade had cut down at an angle, so the wound was at the top of her tricep on her upper arm. Otherwise, it would have hit her collar bone. The blood that I’d seen on the floor actually came from here, but thankfully, the gash wasn’t very deep.
“Let me handle that.” Since Constance didn’t seem to know what to do next, I took over. I’d seen my share of battlefield injuries and knew what the physicians did to stop the bleeding.
First, I found a clean cloth and pressed on the wound to stop the bleeding. It wasn’t that bad, but the concern now was infection. The opening wasn’t very wide or jagged, so I could only hope that we wouldn’t need to sew it together. That would only compound the risks.
Unfortunately, I’d seen grown men die from less. At this point, it all came down to luck.
“How did it end up like this? I told you to run and hide.” There wasn’t much else I could do besides hold the cloth. If it filled up with blood, I could exchange it for a new one. In the meantime, I wanted a full report, but Grit was still stomping around in the front hall.
Swift piped up, “She was amazing!”
“Don’t you mean appalling?”
Constance supported her, “No. If it wasn’t for Eu, none of us would have made it to the storeroom.”
“What do you mean?”
“Somehow, she knew they were coming. She kept trying to tell me that, pointing at the door, but I didn’t understand. That’s the only reason Grit was in the kitchen. When the door swung open, we were so surprised, none of us could move. He grabbed up Swift and ran, but he wouldn’t have made it out if it wasn’t for Eu. She charged straight at them.”
“I see, but why?”
Eu finally joined the conversation. “Someone had to do it.”
Constance stopped her to continue her story. “There was more than just that. After we were caught, one of the men was messing with Progress and threatening her with his sword. The other men just laughed, but Eu took his dagger and stabbed him in the back.”
I felt the hairs on my head prickle up. I guess my worries about mercenaries' foul appetites wasn’t unfounded. That also explained why Progress still hadn't said anything, nor left Constance's side. Luckily, Eu had been there to take the initiative.
“So you slowed them down and protected my family.” It wasn’t what I’d instructed her to do, but I couldn’t complain over the result. “Thank you.”
In return, she gave a nod and a smile.
Constance could tell that I was relieved, so she added more. “Even before that, she fought like a beast. There wasn’t room in here for her draw her sword, but she kicked at their knees, knocked down the biggest one, punched another in the eye, and even tried to fight one of them using our big butcher knife.”
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Looking around, I couldn’t see the knife in question. In fact, I couldn’t see any of our knives. Constance saw my eyes searching and explained. “Those men didn’t just steal our food. They took anything they could.”
“No better than bandits. I’m glad they didn’t ransack the whole house.”
“Exactly!” Grit arrived back at the kitchen. I could see the pain and betrayal in his eyes. I knew that feeling. The realization that the law can’t punish those it can’t catch. The knowledge that the world isn’t always fair. The despair and shame that comes when someone uses those facts against you. “We should hunt them down like dogs!”
“Wait for the others.”
“What others?”
“Our peers and neighbors. They’ll be arriving shortly and they’ll feel the same way you do.”
“What about you, Father? Aren’t you angry?” Grit was shaking with rage. At the same time, I suppose he was accusing me since I wasn’t riled up like he was.
“Oh, I’m angry. I want my knives back. The food’s probably already eaten. But vengeance? That won’t make me feel better.”
I saw him clench his fists, “It’s the right thing to do! They need to be punished.”
“Absolutely! But, right now, I’m just glad none of you are hurt. I don’t mind losing a few knives. It would break my heart if one of you were injured.”
“I’m hurt!” Eu complained.
“Oh, right.”
“Is your heart broken for me?”
How to answer that one? “Umm… yes, but you aren’t terribly hurt. So, it’s only a little broken.”
She sniffed at me, “You don’t have to pretend.”
Where was she learning all these words? Just a week ago, she could hardly speak! Regardless, I hadn’t handled this conversation well. Obviously, I’d taken her in as my daughter. However, I wasn’t treating her with the same concern as my other children. In the end, I just nodded at her, “You’re right. I haven’t known you half as long as the others. When you were a baby, you didn’t cry or make a mess on me. I don’t have as much invested.”
Constance sighed and patted me in the arm, “Now isn’t the best time to pour out your feelings. We need to get her to her bedroom before men start arriving.”
For a moment, I didn’t know what she meant. Obviously, Eu was wearing pants, and without her gambeson on top, it was more obvious. However, that wasn’t the issue that Constance was referring to. “Ah! She’s injured.”
“Right!” Constance nodded. In other words, it was better for us to hide how close we’d come to a disaster. If we could claim that bandits had attacked, but we’d driven them off, there would be no loss of prestige or honor. However, if it was learned that they got all the way inside and injured one of my daughters, it might start all sorts of rumors.
“Grit, help me carry Eu out of the kitchen.”
Eu stood up and waved him off with her good arm. “I will walk on my feet.”
I couldn't help but grin. “Ah, I see … that’s good, but let me walk with you. You won’t do yourself any favors if you fall over. Swift, can you come with us? Keep Eu company and make sure she doesn’t get worse.”
“Worse?”
“Umm… the bleeding has nearly stopped now. See how the cloth is mostly clean at the edges? But when Eu moves, she might reopen the wound. Keep an eye on it. Also, she might get woozy or dizzy. Keep her seated or lying down. Uhh… besides that… I don’t know. Just watch her!”
“Yes, Father!”
Once that was settled, I asked Constance to bar the door behind me when I went out. After all, most of the evidence was inside, so the easiest way to hide the damage was to simply prevent entry.
Back outside, HandEater was waiting for me. The mercenaries hadn’t touched him when they’d fled to the woods. I suppose he felt pretty proud about his part in all this. I could see how he held his head aloft and eyed me. If a horse could grin, I’m sure he would have done that too.
“Good job. I’ll have to promote you. If I’m a squire, I guess that makes you a gentleman?”
He tossed his head and stomped his front hoof.
“Gentlehorse? I’m not giving you a ‘Sir’ honorific!”
At this, he stomped his foot again and neighed at me.
“Fine, fine! Sir HandEater! Perhaps a military rank? Sergeant? Captain? Major?”
That seemed to do the trick, since he calmed down and turned his side towards me to mount. I wasn’t quite sure what his final rank was, but I’m guessing he didn’t know either. I could just make something up. Regardless, it didn’t matter. I’d claim that he was a general if it made him happy.
“No need for the saddle. We’re already home, friend. We can walk the rest of the way to the barn.”
With those words, we set off walking together, comrades in arms.