Ponderosa blew out her breath then hung her head. That was close. Too close. She put her writing kit away. She mixed up a batch of meal, added a little chlorophyll extract instead of the alfalfa, before approaching the cot. Lady Iredys didn’t stir with her touch. It seemed like she had fallen back into a deeper sleep. Still, when Ponderosa set the glass against her lips, she opened her mouth to drink what she offered.

Once the glass was empty, Ponderosa embraced Lady Iredys tightly. Lady Iredys hummed before her arms shifted to hold her back. Ponderosa cried and shuddered. All of her emotions—her fear, her worry, her panic, her gratitude—flowed out with her tears. She knew she would never be able to repay Lady Iredys for the peace she had been given, despite knowing that the rune’s power still affected her. Lady Iredys weakly patted Ponderosa’s back. Ponderosa sniffled and Lady Iredys’ arms slid back to the bed. Her head lolled to the side as she returned to a deep, unresponsive, sleep.

Ponderosa carefully laid her back down and tucked the blanket around her. She picked up Krissy’s book and started to scan through it; she hoped to gain as much understanding as she could regarding the stones. Hopefully come to understand the connection between the stones and whatever runes had been forced upon Lady Iredys—provided the skin healed enough to reveal which ones they were. While she flipped through the book to see how many stones Krissy had written something about, she paused when she saw the entry for the Pearl.

‘The Pearl represents sincerity, integrity, and clear mindedness. It balances the emotions and the ultimate feminine energy—a must have for midwifery. Although the Pearl is a great stone at promoting peace, it often holds onto negative energy until it has been cleansed before being worn again.’

She subconsciously brought her hand up to the chain that hung around her neck. The negative energy surrounding the time of her marking had certainly hung around, but if the stone needed to be removed as a way to reset it then it was no wonder she struggled to move on. Yes, she wasn’t happy with the magic that was forced upon her, but she finally had peace where dread had refused to budge. Even with the peace, Ponderosa still understood that she needed to remain cautious of who and what was around her when she next transformed.

Reading through the entry again, Ponderosa furrowed her brow in confusion. There was nothing about the stone relating to transformation. Unless it was playing off the creative aspect of the feminine energy. She fiddled with the chain as she pondered how the two could be related, if they even were related, or if they even had to be related for the cursed rune to work as it did. She continued to play with the chain while she thought about Dagaz and her ability to become anything. She thought about the night of the new moon. She stopped playing with the chain and let it drop under her dress once more. She felt nothing regarding the new moon. Did that mean she would no longer be forced to change?

‘Yes, Ponderosa,’ she heard quietly in her mind.

Ponderosa turned to Lady Iredys. ‘My Lady?’

Lady Iredys continued to sleep, her breathing slow and deep. Ponderosa set the book down and approached the cot. Her lady had not spoken to her since requesting that they sleep on the cot together. She checked the burns on Lady Iredys’ chest. None of the blackness remained. But none of the red had lightened in color either. She grabbed her burn gel and applied more to the skin. She applied more when it seemed to disappear before her eyes. The second layer remained. She was glad to see that the burns seemed to be healing, but remained a little impatient when it came to knowing what runes Lady Iredys had been marked with.

Ponderosa added a little more gel to the burns to ensure they were well covered, then gently massaged more oil into the scars on Lady Iredys’ face before methodically checking on her other wounds. The bruising was starting to lighten on her broken arm and leg, but she kept them supported since she wasn’t sure about the breaks. The smaller cuts on her limbs and torso were practically closed, and she was surprised to see that the scars from being whipped were gone. Whatever rune was responsible for this, it wasn’t wasting time, but how was it regenerating her body this quickly?

Even with the herbs to support it, it would take a lot of nutrition to rebuild this much. Yes, she had covered the wounds with healing herbs, yes she had added nutrient dense herbs to the meal, but nothing remotely close to the amount she felt would be needed for the body to heal this quickly. Was she sleeping more because she didn’t have the energy to stay awake due to the runes’ work? It was possible, but she didn’t want to try and overfeed Lady Iredys after being starved for so long either.

Ponderosa thought over a few possibilities as she gathered her herbs to redress the wounds that were still healing and see if she would eat some more, but when she tried to give Lady Iredys more chlorophyll laced meal, she kept her head turned to the side.

‘Guess not,’ she thought.

She drank the meal then redressed her wounds. Her hands lingered some on Lady Iredys’ lower abdomen before she transformed into an Owl to take a listen. The baby’s heartbeat was strong and steady, which told her that Lady Iredys’ body was not feeding off of the child in her womb. Changing back to her Human form and dressing again, Ponderosa finished redressing the wounds before she returned to Krissy’s book. The only other possibility she could think of was that one or more of the stones was providing enough support for the body to heal as quickly as it was.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

Opening the books, she found the Emerald entry next.

‘The Emerald is great for maintaining relationships. It aids in rejuvenation….’

‘Rejuvenation, alright. So, there is at least one stone speeding the process along,’ Ponderosa thought before she returned her attention to the entry.

‘…enhances psychic abilities, clairvoyance, promotes truth and discernment,….’

Ponderosa paused again and looked at Lady Iredys. ‘If she was experiencing visions, and the visions were overwhelming, it might explain the onset of the seizures…. It could, also, be the body releasing trauma or a reaction caused by malnutrition.’ She felt the edges of her mouth turn down before turning to the entry once more.

‘...it brings awareness of the unknown into one’s consciousness, and improves vision.’

‘Vision, but Lady Iredys is blind.’ Ponderosa hung her head. ‘Blind physically perhaps, but there are other ways to see; other ways to know.’

And knowing that man, she wouldn’t put it past him to try and see into the future. To try and manipulate a situation so he would win instead of lose, but there were at least seven runes that dealt with foresight. But which one? If he used Kenaz, it would add yet another boost to the rapidness of her healing, but even with that rune, it still didn’t explain how she was still alive. The rune Uruz dealt with sudden or unexpected situations, but she felt trying to see into the future would be a stretch—even for magic. Raidho would be another one she thought he might use, but that rune had more to do with stasis than rebirth….

She thought about the Emerald, thought about the runes—if he had even used a vision rune for the Emerald. Would the vision rune make it so she would continue to sleep? Or was that a side effect of her mind trying to heal the trauma of the experience while being filled with more stimulus? It really could be as simple as her body trying to conserve energy to help with the faster than normal healing, and there was no better rejuvenation—that she was aware of—than sleep after a harsh experience.

A sound that was a mix between a moan and a whimper escaped Lady Iredys’ lips before she started convulsing on the cot. Ponderosa dropped Krissy’s book as she rushed to grab one of her many calming tinctures, but she struggled to get Lady Iredys’ jaw loosened sufficiently to accept the herbs. Lady Iredys was jerking hard enough that trying to worm it in between her teeth and cheek wasn’t going to happen either. After several attempts, Ponderosa set the tincture aside and rested her hands on Iredys’ forehead and chest.

‘Move the furniture,’ Ponderosa’s thought to her. ‘If you can hear me, move the furniture.’

Lady Iredys continued to writhe on the bed as nothing in the house moved. A sound behind the cottage caused Ponderosa to turn slightly. The crack of the wood was steady. Someone was definitely chopping wood outside but with every chop the stronger movements stilled, despite her body continuing to shudder and twitch. Ponderosa released her hold and tucked the blankets more securely around Lady Iredys then added another log to the fire. She filled a pot with water and set it over the fire to warm. The flow sound of wood chopping outside ceased, but Lady Iredys shivered more.

Ponderosa shifted the pot of water out of the hearth when it was hot. She ladled the water over a tea bag of Astragalus root. She set it down and lifted Lady Iredys into a seated position. Ponderosa brought the cup up near Lady Iredys’ face, as she curled over it and let the steam warm her head and neck. Ponderosa rested her chin on the top of Lady Iredys’ head. Her thoughts were calm now that Iredys wasn’t convulsing. Iredys took a much deeper breath then shifted a little. Ponderosa removed her chin then supported her head and neck while she brought the tea cup up to her lips, while Lady Iredys accepted small amounts of tea. Her shivering gradually ceased, and each breath deepened and lengthened.

Setting her hand over Lady Iredys’ heart, Ponderosa felt the much calmer and steady beating of her heart before she lay her down and tucked the blankets around her once more. Ponderosa then staggered over to her chest of belongings and sat hard. She was grateful that Lady Iredys was able to find something to help calm her fit. It was the longest and hardest she had thrashed like that and she was afraid she was going to fall off the cot. The last thing she wanted was for her broken limbs to be damaged further or her body to harm the child growing in her womb. She was grateful that she didn’t have to go out into the cold to finish chopping the firewood now, but would she be able to bring any of it in for burning? She hadn’t dared try to move the furniture again just in case.

Guess when the need arose, she would have to do her best to unblock the doors of the woodshed to get to the wood in there instead of what was most readily available. Leaving Lady Iredys alone while she went into the forest for more accessible wood was not yet an option. Sighing, Ponderosa rubbed her eyes then picked up Krissy’s book once more.

‘The Ruby is known for its ability to bring fire into one’s life. It encourages bliss and the ability to travel among the stars. The Ruby provides light in the darkness. It expands one’s awareness and aids in the manifestation of worthy goals. This stone is, also, known to draw the mind into greater focus with increased clarity and wisdom. The Ruby is a great detoxification stone for the blood and is a wonderful aid in preventing starvation.’