The sun had just finished setting on their third day of travel as Ponderosa approached Pride Town. She was grateful for the lack of storms as they traveled and for the darkness she flew in now, since it would hide her approach and she wouldn’t have to worry about the men in the town organizing a Dragon hunt as she landed in the trees behind her house. She gently placed the well bundled pregnant woman on the ground before transforming to her Human self. The cold of the winter night nipped at her bare flesh while she dug her clothes and cloak out of the hollowed out tree where she had hidden them.
The nearly frozen clothes did little to provide her with warmth, but they did provide better protection against the elements. Ponderosa pulled on her dress and cloak then slid her arms under the woman’s neck and knees. She made sure she had a strong stance before she lifted her. The resistance as she stood was a lot less than she thought it would be and Ponderosa stumbled to keep her footing. She was both surprised and disheartened by how light she was, despite being four months pregnant. She had thought nothing of the woman’s weight while she held the transformations she had taken on while they traveled because something heavy to her Human form always felt lighter when she held another.
Ponderosa blinked back the tears that surfaced as she thought, ‘What all did he do to her to make her…?’
Shaking her head, Ponderosa exhaled sharply then headed for her house. She was grateful she had a back door installed so she could come and go without drawing any attention from the townspeople. Ponderosa used her hip to nudge the door open, then she used her foot to close it firmly before she crossed the dark room and laid the woman on her cot. Then she lit a candle and carried it over to the hearth so she could build a fire.
Once it was burning well, she filled a pot with water and hung it over the growing flames. Ponderosa then picked up her lit candle and carried it over to her shelves to find the herbs she wanted to infuse into the water to help sanitize the wounds the woman had. She added them to the pot then turned to the woman. She opened the cloak enough to get a better look at her face and upper chest. Her face had been horribly disfigured, her body covered in whiplashes, cuts, and bruises. Still, she hoped to be able to figure out who the woman might be.
Ponderosa noted that the woman had been burned at least seven times in her time with that man. The combination of burns formed a shallow arch just beneath her protruding collarbones. As she shifted to let more light fall on her, a glint coming from the woman’s chest caught her attention.
‘Peridot,’ Ponderosa thought, finally seeing that there was a semi-precious stone in the middle of each burn. ‘Alexandrite. Jet. …Diamond.’ Ponderosa paused. Her throat felt tight and her heart was on the verge of breaking. ‘Please, not her. Please. Not Her!’ She drew in a shaky breath before looking at the other three stones. ‘Ruby. Emerald. …Aquamarine.’
Seven semi-precious stones. The very same semi-precious stones that Lady Iredys of Abundare wore around her neck. Ponderosa struggled to breathe. Her chest felt tight as overwhelming disbelief filled her mind. She looked over the stones embedded in the black and lumpy flesh once more before fresh tears spilled from her eyes. She collapsed against the side of the cot and wept. Why had she pushed aside her calls for help?! If she had known who was calling her, she would have gone when she had first been called four months ago! So why…?
Lady Iredys moaned and shifted on the bed. Her breathing pattern changed, and her wounds started to bleed. Sniffling and wiping her eyes, Ponderosa forced herself to stand on her shaking legs. The lid on the pot over the fire had started to rattle. Using a hook, she swung the pot out so it could cool some. She mentally berated herself for letting it get too hot. She added a little bit of cold water to it before grabbing her cleaning cloths and bandages so she could address Lady Iredys’ wounds. She used one of the cloths to carry the pot closer to the cot.
Taking a deep breath, Ponderosa dipped a clean cloth in the steaming water and slowly and methodically started to wash and bind Lady Iredys’ wounds. She washed both of her arms, being sure to realign the right one, since it had been broken. Ponderosa then washed Lady Iredys’ legs and realigned the bones in her left leg, which had also been broken. Fresh tears filled Ponderosa’s eyes as she carefully rolled Lady Iredys to her side so she could address the whiplashes and burns across her chest and the whiplashes and cuts on her back. Once her back and chest were bound, Ponderosa washed the rest of her body.
She found an incomplete Diamond ring on her left ring finger. At first she thought it was dirt and scrubbed a little harder, but the discoloration wouldn’t come off. Was the band incomplete because the spell, to bind her to whomever had left her pregnant, was interrupted? Or was there another reason? Shaking her thoughts away, Ponderosa resumed her bathing of Lady Iredys. She grabbed a fresh cloth to wash her shoulders, neck, and damaged face with. She slowed when she saw the black thread looped through Lady Iredys’ eyelids.
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Bile rose in her throat and Ponderosa had to press her lips together to keep herself from throwing up. Knowing how sadistic that man was, he would have sewn Lady Iredys’ eyes shut while she was still conscious. She stepped away from Lady Iredys’ side to grab a pair of scissors so she could remove the thread from her eyelids, then she very carefully cut away the knotted thread. Using the blunt tip of her needle, Ponderosa had to tug on the thread to pull it out of the skin that had started to incorporate it into her flesh. She tried not to cry as she slowly snipped the long thread apart.
Ponderosa repeated the process with her other eye before opening her eyelids to check what damage lay underneath. Both eyes were scarred and Lady Iredys’ iridium had clouded over. Sighing, Ponderosa grabbed a clean, wet, cloth and wiped Lady Iredys’ eyelids before she grabbed her oil and gently massaged it into Lady Iredys’ face. If nothing else, she hoped she could at least soften the scars that marred her beautiful face given time, then she turned to address the burned skin across the top of her chest.
As Ponderosa dabbed the cleaning cloth around each of the stones, she could only lament how much she didn’t know about their properties, despite knowing that Krissy used them. She didn’t even know what runes that man would have forced on Lady Iredys for his gain and pleasure. The burned skin hid any sign of the runes, just as the burned flesh in the center of her own chest did.
Subconsciously, Ponderosa paused and brought her hand up to where the Pearl was embedded in her own chest, to the place where the Dagaz rune—one of the several runes that dealt with transformation—lay hidden in the hideously bubbled and blackened flesh between her breasts.
Lady Iredys’ breath hitched a little, pulling Ponderosa out of her memories.
‘Lady Iredys?’ Ponderosa thought to her.
A whimper escaped her lips, but then her head turned to the side and she continued to sleep.
Ponderosa checked her for a fever, but didn’t feel one. She then dipped the cloth in the warm water then finished her task by washing Lady Iredys’ feet and toes. Then she set the pot of dirty water aside. She grabbed the only other dress and pair of socks she owned and maneuvered Lady Iredys’ limp body into them to help keep her warm. She was glad, yet saddened further, that the dress was a little too big for her. Ponderosa then covered her with her two quilts before she took the pot outside and dumped it out. She filled it with snow and brought it back inside. She set the pot close to the fire so the snow would start to melt.
Taking a moment, Ponderosa set one of her chairs near the fire and sat down. She rubbed her arms as she watched the flames. The world had become a darker place when Lady Iredys went missing over a year ago. A darkness that may still be pushed back, now that she was back because Lady Iredys carried a light about her. A light she had brought with her when she arrived at Greywolf Castle just over three years ago, and spread that light throughout the kingdom because she refused to use her title as an excuse to not walk among the people.
However, Ponderosa wasn’t so sure it would be able to shine through the darkness of her trauma. Not only that, she wasn’t sure if she should write to Prince Kelton to let him know that his betrothed had been found, because she didn’t want to see Lady Iredys harmed further because she carried some unknown man’s child.
Lady Iredys shifted on the bed a little before Ponderosa found the strength to get to her feet to check on her. Her eyelids fluttered and she jerked a little as if trying to avoid whatever she was dreaming about. Ponderosa sat beside her and rested a hand on her side. Lady Iredys’ movements stilled and she relaxed more deeply into the cot. Ponderosa rubbed her side then stood to mix some gruel together. The night had been long and she hadn’t eaten much over the last six days. It would be good for Lady Iredys to eat as well, if she could. Trying to get her to take in more than just water on their journey back had been difficult.
Ponderosa was saddened by how emaciated Lady Iredys’ body looked, despite her pregnancy, while she had cleaned and attended to her wounds. It was a wonder she had survived it all. Rubbing her forehead, Ponderosa hoped to figure out if the two of them were in danger of being taken again and, if they had enough time to flee, if so. She also needed to figure out how she was going to assist Lady Iredys through her recovery and the rest of her pregnancy. Other than a rune that allowed her to speak telepathically, she had no idea what other runes had been burned into her skin.
Shuddering at the memory of how twisted that man was, Ponderosa struggled to reorient her thoughts, so she could prepare a glass of food for Lady Iredys to drink when she woke next. She mixed ground wheat meal, with alfalfa extract, and some water. She had just finished stirring the ingredients together when she heard Lady Iredys stir again. Ponderosa brought the glass closer to the bed. She set it on the floor for just a moment so she could help Lady Iredys sit up. No sooner had Ponderosa touched her then Lady Iredys’ body tensed. Her head twitched as Ponderosa slid her arm under her shoulders and neck. She was just about to start lifting her, when Lady Iredys’ whole body went limp and her chest stopped moving.