Blood and Scales

Chapter 7 – Fixing Grunna

The sound of something big and heavy falling to the ground startled the bathing women. Ardera swore to herself and reacting faster than Aelia, grabbed her sword.

“What was that?” Aelia whispered as she hurriedly threw on her clothes.

“I’m not sure,” Ardera whispered back, “Hide behind that rock while I check it out.”

Aelia obeyed without a second thought, and the Lizigoth woman moved into the entrance of the cave cautiously.

“Oh no,” Aelia heard Ardera exclaim after only a moment, “Grunna!”

Aelia ran from behind the rock, fists raised, and ready to attack. She stopped just behind Ardera when she saw the lump on the ground. It was Grunna, and he was bleeding horribly from hundreds of shallow cuts.

Ardera rolled him over and winced at the sight of even more cuts all along his torso. She ripped the tunic from his body and tried to use it to stop the bleeding. There were too many cuts, and all that happened was his tunic became soaked in blood.

Aelia was frozen in place, because she recognized the type of wounds that were all over his body. Her father had done this to many of his political rivals over the years, whenever he was challenged to a duel.

“I don’t know how to fix this, it’s too extensive. Is there anything you can do?” Ardera pleaded, and Aelia snapped back to reality. She tried to think back to her lessons, but they hadn’t really included any medicine. After a moment, she thought of something, but she couldn’t do that. Could she?

“There is something I could do, but I can’t,” Aelia winced.

“What do you mean you can but you can’t?” Ardera asked almost angrily.

“It’s forbidden. It’s not something you do with strangers,” Aelia stammered and blushed at the thought “it’s only for couples. I’ve heard that it can heal just about any wound, but mixing blood with anyone else is forbidden, especially with non-Vanardis.”

“Mixing blood?” Ardera asked incredulously.

“It’s part of how we reproduce.”

“Would it save my brother?” Ardera asked with a need that touched Aelia.

“Wait… He’s your brother? Oh gods. I’ve never done it, but according to everything I know…” Aelia started, and the hopeful look in Ardera’s face broke through her defenses, “Yes.”

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“Please save him,”Ardera pleaded.

“I would, but I can’t marry him,” Aelia tried to explain.

“If you join our village, we don’t have that custom, you wouldn’t have to marry…”

“It’s forbidden…” Aelia trailed off lamely.

“Why?” Ardera demanded.

“The priests never said why, but there must be a reason. It’s probably dangerous!”

“Please, Aelia, he’s my brother,” Ardera was almost in tears and for some reason, she couldn’t explain, it broke Aelia’s heart.

“Okay. I can but I don’t know what will happen. There is a possibility it won’t work with your race,” Aelia hedged.

“I understand that, but if we don’t do anything, he’ll die,” Ardera wiped a tear from her eye, “and while he’s an idiot, he’s also strong and our village needs him.”

Aelia was heartened by the thought of “our village.” Maybe she could join the Lizigoths, and Ardera was right, their customs weren’t the same. Maybe no one had to know that she had saved Grunna this way, and she could still marry someone else. Maybe Ardera.

Aelia stopped at that thought.

Why did I just think about marrying Ardera, she thought to herself, it’s not like I even know her that well. She was shaken out of the thought by Ardera’s hand on her shoulder. She practically jumped.

“What do we need to do?” Ardera asked plaintively.

“Um, let me think,” Aelia said, “do you have anything that might stop some of the bleeding?”

“Let me check my bag.” Ardera said as she stood up and walked into the room with the pool.

As soon as Ardera was out of sight, Aelia sighed and flexing a muscle over her gums, extended her eye teeth to their full length. She knew that there was no way she could let Ardera see her doing this. She felt guilty for having tricked her but she also couldn’t help the thought that this should be done away from prying eyes.

Closing her eyes, she bit her wrist and winced at the pain before holding it so the blood dripped down and into Grunna’s mouth. After a moment, his scales started to regain the color that she hadn’t even noticed he had lost. His eyelids fluttered open and his eyes rolled back in his head. He started gently convulsing and the blood pouring from his cuts increased.

Aelia looked around guiltily, before pulling her hair back with her other hand and biting into his wrist. She knew that most people preferred to use the neck for this, but she couldn’t bring herself to. It was too intimate, and would have been very difficult to position him while he was unconscious.

Aelia let out an involuntary moan as the blood hit her tongue. She had not eaten in nearly three days, and was starving. As her blood left her body, she could feel it changing him, and she could feel her own body being changed as well, though not as dramatically.

Strength returned to her body, and she could feel a mental bond growing between herself and Grunna. She recoiled at its presence, fighting it, and dropped his wrist. She tried to pull back her own wrist, but he was grabbing it, hungrily. His teeth had grown, and were digging into her arm painfully.

His blood began to travel back into his body, through the wounds covering his body as he drank. Then they began to close. That was when Aelia heard something clatter to the ground behind her.

“What are you doing,” she demanded, angrily.

Aelia turned and her heart ached at the look of betrayal in the other woman’s eyes. She knew that there was no possibility of her marrying Grunna, how could she, but also that no one else would want her after this. She was certain that Ardera would never look at her the same.