The Dark Witch And Her Knights

12

I crouched in front of her and placed my fingers over the pulse in her neck. "Her heartbeat is faint but she will live if we act quickly." My body and brain instantly went into healer mode. "Arbor, I need scissors to cut away her dress. A needle, clean thread, salve, and liquor." He started to move around the kitchen frantically searching for them. "Gavrial, I need you to clear the brewing pot and prepare it for cleaning her wound. I need boiling water."

Arbor handed me a pair of large silver sheers. "Help me pull the table from the wall so I can get access to her body freely." Both men came to my assistance working gently for the girl. Once the table was settled I began cutting the top of her bodice down to her waist not cutting too far or more than necessary. "Arbor get clean cloth and start applying pressure to her wound." Gavrial had left to retrieve fresh water. "Where are your medicinal herbs and potions?"

He looked worried at first. "Top shelf of the cabinets."

I pulled open the closest cupboard only to realize why he was nervous. "Umm, which ones?" I asked gaping at all the different types of bottles of all shapes and colors.

"Switch places I will be faster."

I did so and began applying pressure to the girl's wound. The cloth Arbor had used was beginning to soak in. I pulled back the material and began inspecting her injury. It was deep and I was sure an organ was punctured causing internal bleeding.

"Arbor, does she come from the village? Is she a friend of yours?" He was placing useful potions and other items I requested on a small wooden wheeled table next to me.

"Yes," he said with a concerned expression.

He looked as if he was about to bolt. I grabbed a hold of his wrist stopping him while still applying pressure to the girl.

"If she came from the village she would have bled to death before she reached us. She was stabbed not long ago. Close to your cabin." I released him.

Comprehension fell over his features. "Send Gavrial to scout. I need you here with her if she is your friend." I didn't want to send my witchman out there but I needed Arbor to remain with the girl in case she woke. He would be more useful right now than Gavrial.

He nodded and left, returning shortly with the brewing pot Gavrial was filling with water. He put it to boil using his magic to speed up the process.

"What is her name?"

"Esmerelda Eskanova, she's a physic gypsy. One of the strongest of her kind. She must survive this."

"I have never met a real gypsy before. I know almost nothing about them. As I clean her, I need you to try to keep her calm if she wakes."

He nodded at me and kneeled in front of her where I once did. His hand went to her face in a soft caressing manner as he cooed to her. I quickly flushed her wound and began cleaning. "Which potions are for what?" I asked looking at all the different concoctions he had retrieved and placed into two separate groups.

"The ones closest to you are for the wound. The others are to ingest when she wakes. The lighter ones are for cleansing, the rest for healing."

I smelled the cloth we used the first time to apply pressure. I was sniffing for the scent of poison. I could not smell any but some poisons could be odorless. I figured it was best to check her. "Can you test her blood for poison?"

"Yes," he replied taking the cloth from me. He searched his cabinets before finding the right vial and pouring the blue contents over the cloth. Nothing happened. "There is no reaction. No poison."

"You are sure?"

"Positive." He returned to his post cooing her.

I started sorting potions on the cart. I kept the healing ones and pushed the cleansers to the side. I pulled open her wound and poured a vial of shimmery forest green liquid into it. I watched as the potion worked its magic healing the major part of the damage. The bleeding instantly stopped. I took the bottle of clear liquor and began sterilizing the needle and thread before stitching her up with thirteen knots. The salve went over that. Arbor had continued to do as I told him cooing to Esmerelda who remained unconscious the entire process.

"Can you lift her from the shoulders so I can wrap her? Then we should move her to a better place to recover."

"Agreed." He lifted her from behind her shoulders as I helped pull her into a sitting position.

"Your relationship with the gypsy is strictly friendly or more?"

The question seemed to startle him before realizing I would need to strip the rest of her garment to bandage her. His face turned a slight crimson color. "I will not look."

He turned his head away continuing to hold her, sparring her some dignity. Even if she was unconscious it was improper to look upon her bare form while trying to give her aid. The remainder of her bodice was removed and her wound was wrapped in a fast yet neat manner. I pulled her tattered clothes over her chest while Arbor moved her back into a lying position.

"I have a spare room she may rest in but I must prepare it."

"I'll remain with her until you return and then assist you in moving her."

"It would be wiser if Gavrial assists me. You two are nearly the same in size." My eyes fell to the girl then myself. We both were of small stature.

"I shall summon him." Stella had curled into a ball on the floor under the table Esmerelda was sprawled out on. I woke her gently petting her head and scratching behind her ears. "Please find the witchman for me and make him return."

"Meowww," Stella stretched and strutted to an open window hopping over the ledge, into the woods vanishing in the shadows of the night searching for Gavrial.