章 643: A Bump
On the back of the Princess's head, a large bump was hidden in her luxurious dark hair. Since neither Eira nor Uri had any reason to touch Mairwen's head, they had no idea of the severity of the situation.
"I feel dizzy?" Mairwen looked confused by her own words.
"I'm amazed you could stand at all," Renat answered tenderly. He rocked his wife in his arms, causing her to giggle with a dazed expression.
"What are you doing?" she asked as she tucked her head into his chest.
"No no, none of that," Renat scolded gently. "I want to see your beautiful blue eyes. Look up at me."
The princess looked up at him from below her eyelashes, making the man's heart skip a beat. Renat resisted the urge to kiss his wife, and smiled brightly instead.
"That's right! Keep your eyes fixed on me. It will help me be brave. You know how scared I can be without your bravery to bolster me. I am relying on you fully right now to keep me calm."
"Calm." Mairwen repeated, blinking slowly. But she pulled he eyelids back open, much to Renat's relief.
"That's my girl," he cooed. He kept his voice even as he addressed the rest of the group. "We need to get back to the horses. Now."
"This way!" Eira led the charge. The guard, Mairwen and Uri had come straight from the camp, so the stalwart soldier had much better bearings than the group who had been wandering aimlessly through the branches.
She led the others at a brisk pace toward the mound closest to the horses.
Alaron fell in step beside the scientist and gave him a meaningful look. 'How bad is it?' he wanted to know.
Renat smiled a little too brightly. The sadness in his eyes was too easy to spot. Alaron looked away. "I'll clear a path."
The Guardian shot forward, cutting any branches in their way with a swipe of his blade. Between Eira and Alaron, the group was able to move swiftly along the uneven surface. Coming to the embankment, Eira began to scavenge as much rope as she could.
"Is that from the Harpies?" Alaron had never heard that the flying women bound their prisoners.
"No, it is from the Sprites." The soldier began to knot the pieces together to form a longer rope.
Alaron caught onto what the woman was doing. "Will it be strong enough?"
"It held down monsters. I think it can hold a petit princess." Eira looped one end and sized it up against the approaching royal.
It was much easier to lower Mairwen and have Renat climb down beside her. Trying to scale what was left of the wall while holding his wife would have been impossible. As it was, they had to use one of the thicker branches as a beam to keep the rope away from the wall.
Mairwen had had enough bumps for one day.
Alaron accepted the princess as she reached the ground and took her the final distance to the horses. And not a moment too soon.
"I want to sleep," Mairwen begged her brother.
"You can in a moment. Just wait a little longer." Alaron allowed Eira to spread out a blanket for him to place the princess.
Renat came with a bag from his pack. "I am glad that the healer sent me with a few things."
"I have something as well," Lilith brought a small sack.
The scientist nodded. "I will look at it in a moment. First I need to check her more closely. Mairwen, my love, I need you to roll over."
The girl complied, proving that her motor functions were still intact. Parting Mairwen's thick hair, Renat revealed part of the whelp that had formed on the back of her head.
"Be...gentle," the girl held back a sob.
"I will try, but I need to see how bad it is." As tenderly as he could, the scientist ran his fingers around the bump, feeling for any obvious break in the skull underneath.
The others held their breath.
"Nothing obvious," Renat mumbled to himself.
While he didn't want to say for sure that there was no fracture, he could not find a clear point of failure either. The bump itself was formed around a singular knot. The swelling seemed to be outwards and not inwards. Another positive sign.
Renat heaved a sigh of relief. He began to rifle through the medical bag.
"What do you need?" Lilith knelt beside the prince.
"I'm looking for a clean cloth that I can use to hold some snow." Renat tried to focus.
"He wants something cold to lessen the swelling, I think," Alaron added.
The Guardian had been injured enough times to know the value of ice.
Pulling out a small pouch, Renat passed the fabric to Alaron with a nod. The silver-eyed man moved out of the copse of trees to find a bank of snow thick enough for a clean handful.
When he returned, Lilith was explaining how to apply the salve she had brought to the princess's scalp.
"It will enhance the cooling of the ice and provide some pain relief." The elf explained. "At least that is what it does for elves. It isn't magical so I assume it would work the same for humans."
Renat sniffed at the package. He assessed their contents and agreed with Lilith that they should help. After applying the poultice directly to the knot, the scientist also added a bit to the ice for an extra boost as the snow melted.
"Can I rest now?" Mairwen asked as her husband held the ice to her head. Her big beautiful eyes looked slightly less dazed, and her expression seemed less bewildered.
At least that is what Renat wanted to believe.
"If you promise me you will wake up in a little while, I think some rest would be good." Finding something soft, Renat tucked a pillow under the princess's head as she made herself comfortable on her side.
After being tucked in, Mairwen sighed, allowing her soft, even breathing to take her to dreamland.
"I've never known Her Majesty to want to sleep when things are happening," Eira noted with concern.
"She was hit pretty hard on the head. I would want to sleep as well. It is a the best healing," Renat had heard Phileas say as much.
When there were patients the the doctor was sure would not make it, sleep sometimes helped them to recover in spite of the odds.
With the most immediate danger past, Renat turned to the newcomer of the group. "I don't believe we were introduced. I am Renat, Prince of Valiant."
"I'm Uri, scout for the elven kingdom. I heard you were looking for me. I am most sorry to have caused you all this trouble." Uri glanced at the sleeping woman with a somber expression.
"The Harpies abducted her, not you," Renat reminded him.
"But if you want to start making it up to the humans," Nath nudged his friend with his elbow, "you can start by telling us what happened in your journey. Did you make it to the Fates?"
"Yes and no…" Uri rubbed the back of his neck. He suddenly looked very reluctant to speak.
"Which is it?" Nath rolled his eyes.
"Both," the scout persisted. "I fought my way all the way to the Mystic Spires. There are some hideous creatures between here and there and a had to fight off a few by myself.
Uri pointed to a few of the nicks in his armor caused by the creatures of the wildlands.
"It is amazing I survived at all. I never realized how much we rely on our ability to disappear without warning. I also had no idea that so many creatures find elves to be a delicious snack. We must be quite a delicacy!" Uri wiped his brow.
"Stop stalling and tell us what happened," Lilith warned the scout with a wagging finger.
Cowing under her gaze, Uri yielded.
"I made it to Dew Mountain, which is currently missing, and tried to march up under the Mystic Spires to speak to the Fates.
"Unfortunately for me, something had already taken up residence there, and it chased me off with my sword between my legs. I failed…"
"Good news," Nath patted his friend on the back, "You are going to get another chance to rescue the Fates. We are heading there as soon as Her Majesty can travel."
"You and what army?" Uri asked seriously.
"A small but strong human one," Alaron replied, crossing his arms.
Uri studied the Guardian. Then he heaved a weary sigh. "If you want go get to the Spires, you'll need more than an army. You'll need a miracle."
Despite the ominous words, Renat could not help but smile. He glanced down at his wife. "A miracle, you say? It's a good thing we brought one with us."
Staring at the dark-haired woman, somehow he knew everything would be alright.
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