The Dragons of Rhelawen

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 5

I drifted in and out of consciousness, vaguely remembering being carried about around the inn, and then later feeling the warm outside air on my face. I remembered how, when I was younger, I told myself if I ever had a major injury, I would ignore the pain and continue fighting. Here, there was no fighting. I was completely and utterly drained of all energy.

I did not appreciate the feeling of helplessness one bit. At one point when I was semi- conscious, I remembered being lied down on the warm ground, causing the shooting pain in my stomach to intensify. I tried to force my self to sit up, but the pain consumed me and it was no use. An arm- I assumed it to be Finnegan's-- gently pushed me back on the ground, probably an attempt to not create further problems with my injury.

The ground was rocky, and it made it uncomfortable to lie there, but I focused on breathing steadily.  I distinctly remember hearing footsteps walking away from me, and my thoughts were focused on the hope Finnegan would not leave me here to die.

Something did come back for me, however, but the footsteps were too large and clunky to be Finnegan's. If I listened really closely, I almost guessed the thing had four legs. It had to be an animal of some sort, but I could not open my eyes to see.

In my half- awake state, I felt a sting of betrayal. Had Finnegan left me to be eaten by an animal?

The animal treated me oddly, as if I was not a dinner, but a delicate person. It seemed to carefully nudge me on top of it, and perhaps I was dreaming, but it flew me away. In my head, I was terrified, but of course could not show it. The animal landed, and I wondered what kind of animal it was, after all. It gently lied me down on the warm forest ground, and walked away, its large footsteps pounding on the soil.

Smaller footsteps returned, only two, and I felt Finnegan-- most likely: the person smelled of the same forest and charred smell -- pick me up again. There must have been a small building nearby, and he carried me into it. It was cooler in here, and I opened my eyes a tiny bit. I saw it was Finnegan carrying me, and I heaved a small sigh of relief.

From my small glance, I noticed how the room had small cots evenly placed around. This must be a medic station of sorts, I realized. Finnegan gently lied me down on one, and took a seat on the one next to mine.

I heard another person enter the room, his footsteps lighter than should be possible, but with a slight limp. Finnegan stood up from next to me.

"You are the medic, correct?" Finnegan spoke, and I assumed the medic nodded.

"Indeed, that is I." He responded, his voice high and slightly irritating.

"Will you help her?" In my head, Finnegan gestured to me.

"I will only but see what I can do," the medic said, stepping over to me. I suppose he inspected my injury. "Easy," he commented. "But I ask a price."

"What do you wish for? Neither of us have any form of payment." Finnegan sounded a little regretful.

The medic walked around my cot, using careful fingers to touch around the damaged spot. I opened my eyes to look at him, and I noticed his dark blue eyes and ash hair-- unique traits to Avalonia, but extremely rare here in Rhelawen. The medic could not have been old; he looked like just a kid. Perhaps he was five years older than me or so. He gave me a long look, then frowned and stood up. "I have changed my mind," He announced to both of us. "No payment is necessary."

Finnegan sighed in relief. "But you will heal her."

"Of course," the medic said then left the room. He returned with his arms full of bandages and medicinal supplies. He took out some sort of salve, using a piece of cotton to apply it. I winced in pain, but he continued working, wrapping it in a bandage afterwards. Throughout the process, he seemed to be whispering something to himself, but I could not make out what he was saying. He finished wrapping, when the oddest thing happened.

The heat from the injury was immediately turned to a calmingly cool temperature, and my energy surged back into my body. I sat up, feeling stronger than ever, and in hardly any pain. Finnegan stared at me, and I stared back. Our expressions mirrored each other: what just happened?

"How did you do that?" I asked the medic. He shrugged a little, and I thought I saw the tiniest smirk on his face.

"It is merely a skill I have been practicing. Now, be very careful on the rest of your journey, as your wound is not completely healed." He answered. Finnegan thanked him incessantly, shaking his hand.

I stood up, feeling relieved to stand up and breathe easily for myself. The pain was almost fully diminished, and though I wondered how he had done it, I was tremendously thankful.

We started to walk out the door, when I stopped. "Wait!" I started, turning back to the medic. "I did not catch your name."

"It is Frederickson," Frederickson stated, bowing his head to me. "I have the feeling we will cross paths again."

I nodded respectfully. "Thank you for your kindness." I told him, and Finnegan and I left again and resumed our path on the trail.

"I am very relieved to see you well again, princess." Finnegan stated genuinely, unusual for him.

"Are you alright?" I asked him. He looked rather shaken up.

"My lady, you were the one stabbed. It is not I who should be attended to." He said.

A great deal had happened in the last few days. I checked for my sword and satchel, but could not find it.

"Looking for something, Cordy?" Finnegan chortled, pulling the sword and satchel I had not noticed earlier out of his belt and handing it to me. I checked to ensure everything was safely in the bag, which it was.

"Thank you," I told him graciously. I wanted to talk about the variety of strange things that had occurred to me that day, but I resisted. He would be able to explain them as well as I could.

Except, perhaps, he could explain my encounter with the mystery animal. "While I was unconscious, I remember some sort of animal picking me up, and I remember it flying me over to the medic station before you appeared again."

From beside me, I felt him tense up a bit. "I do not recall any animal," he said, and this was the first time in my memory he had contradicted me. It felt as if he were berating my intelligence.

However, I assumed he did not wish to talk about this topic, so I pretended to forget about it. We continued walking in awkward silence, until finally I could not take any more of it.

"Alright," I stopped. "We have a long ways to go, do we not?"

Finnegan nodded confusedly, still not as jolly as he usually looked. The trail stretched endlessly in front of us, although some cliffs a few miles away caused the path to detour.

"We shall play a game." I announced, feeling the bandages on my stomach and waist. "I will ask a question, we will both answer, and then you will. The rules: you must answer truthfully. Alright?" I had hoped to cheer him up a tiny bit.

He stared in front of us. "I suppose, Cordy, if you wish."

"Okay." I said, skipping a little, an action too childish to perform at finishing school or the castle. Perhaps I would actually learn something about the stranger who had accompanied me for three days with as little as his last name. "What was your most embarrassing moment?"

Finnegan thought about it for a moment, still not into the idea of a game. "A few years ago, I suppose, I was sharing my 'extensive' knowledge about plants, with several people watching. There was a bush with some dark purple berries that looked appealing enough, but I suppose now they were berries that put one in a comatose. Of course, I had a volunteer eat them, and well, I had to work for a medic for a year to repay the cost of healing the volunteer."

He chuckled a little. "Now it seems rather funny. It is your turn now, princess Cordy."

"Okay," I said, stepping forwards. "Among many, perhaps one time some Grand Duke of a kingdom far away was visiting in hopes of becoming an ally. I thought he was the court jester, by chance. When I was that age, I dreamed of nothing more than becoming one, so I demonstrated my incredible juggling skills. I even went as far as to perform an acrobatic trick, which, of course, failed horribly and managed to break his leg."

"You, my lady? Such a poised young woman could once be so childish?" He questioned, and I laughed.

"I am not as poised as you seem to believe," I responded. "The king scolded me for days, but my mother was impressed."

Finnegan chuckled again. "Your mother sounds wonderful. It is my turn, am I wrong?"

I nodded. "Go ahead!"

"What do you regret?" He asked, and I looked at the trail, watching the rocks meander backwards.

"Do you have another question?" I asked, knowing that my answer would be a downer.

"The rules, princess?" He reminded me and I sighed.

"I could have saved my mother, but I did not." I said dejectedly.
"I am sorry, lovely princess." He told me and I sighed.

"It is nothing but the past now." I told him. "But now it is your turn to answer."

He nodded, and then looked at me, grinning. "I hugely regret breaking into your chambers. Now I have to accompany you on an endless journey, Cordy."

"Oh, ha ha. Very funny, Finnegan." I told him, and out of habit checked for the lamp in my satchel, which was still resting in the bag. "You are supposed to answer honestly, however. Those are the rules, plus, I answered honestly."

"Perhaps I did not appreciate something well enough when I had it, and now it is gone." He answered, shrugging. I nodded back at his reasonable answer.

"Alright, I will take that as an answer. I would like to know... your last name?" I asked, failing to come up with another question.

"You first, my dear." He said, and I laughed.

"You already know it!" I responded.

"Indeed, princess Cordelia Avalon of Avalonia. My surname is Dante, but I prefer not to be addressed by it." Finnegan Dante responded.

"I like it. It suits you well." I told him and he nodded.

"It does, does it not? Oh, I have a question for you. What is the number of romantic partners you have had?" He asked and I frowned.

"I have had none." I answered, thinking the question was a bit strange. This was Finnegan, though, so nothing was all that strange with him.

"Same here, princess." He said.

"I have a hard time believing that statement." I said and he laughed. "Where did you grow up?"

"Why must you keep asking these one- sided questions? I know these things about you, Cordy." He claimed.

"I ask because I wish to know these things about you." I answered. "That is the purpose of this game."

"Okay, Cordy, whatever you wish. I grew up in northern Driere until I was about sixteen, and then moved to southern Driere until now." He answered.

"Why did you move?" I asked but he held his hand out, as if silencing me.

"All in turn, Cordy, all in turn." He answered and I rolled my eyes, laughing.

"I lived in Avalonia my whole life," I stated, as if he did not know.

"My question. How many years old are you?" He asked, and I pretended to be offended.

"You should know better than to ask a lady her age!" I reprimanded, but decided to answer anyways. "I am sixteen years of age."

"Is that so?" He asked and I nodded.

"I probably look much younger, do I not?" I said, pretending to flatter myself. He chuckled again.

"I am nineteen," he answered his own question and I nodded. We walked forwards in silence, and I debated my next question.

"Why do you want the lamp so desperately?" I asked him.

Finnegan shook his head. "My lady, you can not answer that question, and the rule was we both answer."

"Fine." I stated. "Who do you look up to most in the world?"

He seemed surprised at my question. "I used to think I knew, my lady, but I can not think of any."

"That is not a direct answer." I said, noticing how the cliffs were coming up on us. The midday light was becoming warmer and warmer, and my stomach rumbled quietly.

"I do not have one," He answered quietly, and I sensed it was a touchy subject. My attempts at making him happier were failing, but perhaps I did use it as an opportunity to become familiar. Finnegan looked in the distance as the road turned, and we saw a small village.

"I apologize, Finnegan, I did not mean to make you uncomfortable." I told him, and he smiled.

"You did not, Cordy, it is alright." He responded. "Shall we stop for a midday meal here and perhaps ask for a map?"

"That sounds wonderful." I answered, and I noticed how the trees gradually became shorter and greener. We picked up the pace; practically tasting all the food that might be there.

The village was small, but there were two inns. We chose one and ran inside, to ask if they had any food. A lady came out of the back room and greeted us with a smile.

"Are you both hungry?" She asked us, seeming a little too kind in comparison to the thugs we constantly ran into. We nodded eagerly, and she smiled yet again. "Our small village of Craedith does not get many visitors, but we are rather well known for our food."

She led us into another room heaped with all sorts of stews and bread, even some foods rich in Avalonia. We sat down and she left the room. I looked over at Finnegan. He looked wary, as well as I did.

The lady seemed genuine, however, not sickly sweet as the girls earlier did. I picked up a roll, which was warm as if it was freshly baked.

"Do you believe it to be safe?" Finnegan whispered and I shrugged.

"It appears to be fine," I commented quietly. "Would you care to try some first?"

Finnegan laughed. "Of course, Cordy, why should I not?" He took a bite of a roll. It must have tasted incredible, for he ate the rest.

We waited a while to see if it would knock him out. When it did not, I grabbed some and ate it, also. I was right; the food was amazing. It was the first proper meal I had had since Avalonia. We took forever stuffing the food down our mouths, and when we were finished, I was stuffed. Finnegan probably was, too, but I refrained from asking.

When we finished, we went to thank the lady. She nodded, obviously happy we were full.

"What do we owe you?" Finnegan asked.

"I do not need anything. Our policy is to help weary travelers, as long as they spread the word about Craedith. This village will collapse if we do not get a small bit more attention. I am afraid our economy is lower."

"I will mention this village. The meal was wonderful, so thank you very much." I responded and she nodded.

"Do have a nice day, and stay out of danger!" She called after us as we left the building.

"She was awfully nice..." Finnegan commented and I nodded.

"Strange, indeed, but I doubt she was going to kill us."

"I hope not, Cordy." Finnegan commented mildly. We walked to the edge of the village, then found the same trail and resumed our journey.