storm winds will follow

chapter four - duty and peace

It was warm inside the guard post. A small hearth burned lively and as much as it irked Gwen, she was thankful for the warmth. A woman was boiling water on the fire and mumbling to herself about the men not helping her with anything. Gerda, she had introduced herself briefly.

"Alright come here. If you're going to survive the trip you need to be clean at least."
Gwen didn't move. Her bindings had been cut, after the door was locked and bolted shut. One of the white wolves rested by the only exit with his huge head on his paws, snoring softly. Gwen wasn't going to get far, if she ran.

Gerda rolled her eyes.
"Stubborn thing."
She grabbed gwen by the wrists and stood her up forcefully. The grip hurt, but Gwendolyn accepted the instruction reluctantly.
"Are you going to make me undress you as well or will you do that yourself? You're a grown woman, have some dignity."

Gwendolyn hesitated, but finally started to take off her cloak, then untied her dress and stepped out of her boots. She felt bare and uncomfortable, but accepted her position. It was not like the orphanage had left her much room for modesty either, but she had been a child then. This was the first time she had been nude in front of someone else in 12 years. Half her life... 

"What gutter did they drag you out of? Those bruises... did you get trampled by a herd of elk? I'm going to need more tinctures if I'm going to fix you up."
Gerda poured the content of the boiling kettle in a bucket of cold water and tossed in a rag, all whilst scowling at her victim.
"Well? Say something! Or are you mute?"

"No, I'm not."
Gwen managed to press out.
"Well good then. You wash and I'll go find you some salves for those wounds."
The older woman bustled by her and began unlocking the door. She pushed the canine resting there aside with the edge of her foot. The wolf gave her an accusatory whine, but moved aside at a sluggish pace.

He walked to the hearth, and plopped down heavily. He sighed. Gwen had never heard a dog sigh, maybe only wolves did.

She turned to the bucket and stared at her reflection. She really did look like she had been caught in a stampede, she was gaunt, pale, and her eyes sat deep in their sockets. Her hair was stringy and matted, and her face was covered in dried blood and warp stone slurry. It only hastened her urgency and she finally started to wash. It felt good to get rid of the dirt of the week, and Gwendolyn scrubbed until her skin turned pink. When she was done, she washed her hair and combed through it with her fingers, and finally, when all that was done, she washed her clothing with the left over water, until it was nothing but a cloudy brown soup. She had really needed that.

When Gwen turned, she found that the wolf was watching her, it's blue eyes following her movements as she hung her tattered clothes over one of the wooden support beams holding up the roof of the single story prison.
"What are you looking at?"
Talking to the canine seemed marginally less intimidating than talking to her other captors.

He raised his head and his ears turned towards her.
"Yeah I'm talking to you."
She sat back down on the little sheep fur that separated her bare buttocks from the stone floor.
"You'd bite me in the leg if I ran again, wouldn't you. But you're just doing your job, no hard feelings."

The wolf huffed again and lay his head back down, though his eyes stayed on Gwen. He really did look fluffy...
"Will you bite me if I pet you?"

The creatures eyes seemed to say
"Why don't you find out for yourself", so Gwen reached out and brushed her fingers against his head. The wolf's fur was soft, and thick. Warm like the furnace. He let out another breath and closed his eyes.

Gwendolyn scooted closer to the animal and buried both hands in the warmth. She was envious of the hounds, who could pet these huge dogs every day and as much as they wanted. He yawned and curled against her bare side. The fur tickled, and a small laugh bubbled from Gwendolyn's throat.