Part 4 (1/2)

The man nodded, and as she went to check on the fourth and last patient, he removed his pants then sat down to wait for her return. The fourth man had not waited for her to tend to his wounds in a stationary manner. He had grown restless and had gotten to his feet to move about, for lack of anything else to do.

”How are you feeling?”

”I am not cut open like the others were, if that is what you mean, but my shoulder feels as if it is on fire. Nor can I seem to move it.”

Aura nodded as she tried to remove the man's tunic, but he would not let her as he screamed with pain at the first sign of movement. She sighed as she noted his anguish then took out a sharp knife to cut the s.h.i.+rt off of him, only to uncover a ma.s.s of bruising. She sucked in her breath as she looked at the discoloration then told the man to sit down while she took care of the man awaiting her attentions.

Watching her return to him, the man laid down as she approached. She gave him a little of the opiate she had given the other man earlier, but knew it would not be enough, so she warned him. ”What I am about to do will hurt. I will understand if you feel you need to scream, but I must ask that you control any urge you have to hit me.”

”No man would hit a Lady.” The statement was said in such a manner as to give a genuine impression of his feelings on the matter, and Aura smiled at him.

”I am just warning you so you will have an idea what to expect. After I do what I must, well, you just might want to hit me.”

The man nodded in understanding and Aura, determined to get it over with, cleaned and st.i.tched his leg. He let out one yell as the antiseptic touched the wound then gave several whimpers thereafter. Aura wished she had more to give these men for pain, but she did not. She had never expected to treat anything like this and was not prepared.

She suspected the fourth man was going to take more muscle than she had. He had a broken collarbone and she knew he was not going to let her set it without resistance. It was definitely going to need attention. She looked at his heavy build and bit her lip in indecision. He had the look of a warrior and the demeanor of a peasant. She thought about it for a moment, the decided to play a similar game with him as she had with the last man. She checked him out one last time then sat beside him to speak to him before trying to help him out.

”You only have the one injury and I have to tell you it is very serious.”

”Serious?” The word made the man nervous, especially as he had watched her take care of the other man and she had not used that word with him.

”Yes. I need to know if you are a brave man, especially when it comes to pain.”

”I am just as brave as the next man, why?” The question had definitely chaffed at the man's pride.

”I ask because I am going to need your help with this. You see I am just a woman, I can only do so much.” Aura made herself sound almost helpless, something she was not.

The man nodded, this was something he knew about, as women were weaker than men. She spoke the truth about that. ”Just tell me what you want me to do and I will do it.”

”Alright, but it is going to hurt, even with the medicine.” She then gave him the rest of the opiate as she continued to inform him. ”I need to set the bone in your shoulder.”

”Jems can take it, do whatever you must.” The opiate had given him extra courage.

Aura chuckled to herself then warned him a second time, just before she set the bone. He was to brace himself, which he did, and a few moments later he gave a resounding bellow as the muscle was stretched enough to allow the bone to fall back into place. She then braced his arm and tied it into place, using what was left of his cut up s.h.i.+rt as a sling.

”You can go home, if you have one left. You are not to use that arm or shoulder for at least a couple of weeks. Do you understand?”

The man nodded, and a few moments later he was gone.

Returning to the third man she checked to see if he was all right, then with some stout pieces of branches she fas.h.i.+oned him a crude pair of crutches. She showed him how to use them, and sent him off with his wife and family. She reflected at how lucky the man was that he still had one. Most had not been so lucky. Most had lost someone cherished.

The second man was still unconscious when she checked on him, and the first man had mercifully died. Aura felt saddened at his pa.s.sing and sighed. To make herself feel that what she had done had not been a total loss, she examined the second man over again. She reflected on how one loss seemed to nullify the saving of the others. When she was sure she could do no more for him she settled nearby to rest, and to await his waking.

A man had been watching her from on top of his horse. He dismounted and came to sit beside her.

”You have a way with the injured.”

”I try, but I have not been trained properly.” Aura admitted. ”I don't have the right medicines and equipment, and conditions are so very primitive that it is a minor miracle that I have had the success rate that I have. Even those who survived could succ.u.mb to infection yet and die.”

”You speak strangely girl. What is it you wish to tell me?”

”I mean to tell you that st.i.tching a man up with silk thread while he is on the ground is no proper way to practice medicine.” Aura snapped in her frustration.

The man frowned still confounded by some of the words she used and her accent. He decided she must have come from another land. He also noted that she appeared to be alone. According to what he could see she had to be an important person. Her clothing was strange, but well made, albeit a little worn, and she had the general appearance and manners of a lady. She must have been some n.o.ble's daughter, although whose and how she got to be here was a mystery. He could think of no one he knew with a child such as this, or even one missing a daughter.

He gave her knowledge, possible status, and usefulness some thought. He then decided to take her with him. He wanted to know more about her and would learn that as they traveled together.

CHAPTER X.

For the next two days Aura reluctantly rode beside Vernon as their troop swelled to eventually become a full army, and still they continued to move onwards. They came upon the enemy almost by accident as they crested a hill. Vernon put his hand out to grab the reigns of her mare as he noticed the camp and she had not. He held up his other hand to halt the forced march. Aura followed the focus of his attention and immediately noticed the large a.s.sembly of men below them, as well as the area they had chosen to settle into.

”There lays our enemy's camp Aura. Deceptively quiet and peaceful is it not?”

”Yes it is,” Aura agreed as she continued to scan the scene before her. ”It has not been very well selected. They could not have thought to stay in this area long.”

”Why do you say that?”

”Look at the layout of the land.” Aura spoke as if she was making a report for a cla.s.s project. She remembered taking courses that studied ancient battles. ”We can easily see the whereabouts of the whole force below us. If we were to encircle the hollow we could descend on them and destroy their whole army. It would not take long in terms of most battles.”

”I think I understand what you are saying, but do carry on.”

”Correct me if I am wrong, but the Lord Thorn's army holds the pa.s.s across from us, right?” Aura asked as she tried to make sure of her facts.

”That is right, and his force should number as much as my own, if not more.” Vernon did not want to admit that Thorn's forces would probably be considerably larger. In some ways Thorn's popularity chaffed at his pride. Men trusted his warlord in battle where they would not trust him.

”In that case if you were to spread your army out to cover the other two hillsides they would be left with no choice but to stand or surrender. That is unless they want to swim the lake. Their general has been very careless to select such a resting place unless he expects to face a force much weaker than his own, or unless it was only meant as a very temporary place to stop.”

”He knows little of whom he faces.” Vernon replied with a smug smile. ”If he does not fear me, he should fear Thorn. I have no fiercer warlord.”

”If you remember, your Lord Thorn rides to his own defense. Have you thought that perhaps your adversary below had that prearranged?”

”It is a thought, but I know Thorn. He will take only the most elite of his force, a mere riding guard. The rest he will leave behind under his brother. I will be well served. We will attack as the sun rises. You will remain behind. Nor do I want to see you until after the battle has been fought and won. If we lose you are to turn and run for your life. Do not let them catch you Aura. I would hate to think of what they might do to you if they did. Your best and safest destination would be Thorn's stronghold in the Northwest if we become seriously separated. You would be safe under his protection. Just tell him I said you are under my protection. He would guard you with his life under that condition.”

”I have no interest or intention of joining your battle, for as a warrior, I would be less than useless. Nor am I about to turn and run. I will tend to the wounded and for the most effective result that is best done as soon as possible to prevent ma.s.sive infections which could cause unnecessary fatalities.”

Vernon caught on to what Aura meant immediately. She had no intention of doing what he told her and he clipped out his orders. ”You will do as you are told Aura. Stay away from the field until it is safe.”

Aura said nothing as she regained the reigns of her horse. She followed him back down the hill in a deceptively docile manner. They would camp two hills away from the enemy so they would not be detected. Vernon held his first council before the camp was even pitched.

The men had grown used to Aura's strange habit of disappearing after a day riding, so made no fuss about her leaving the containment area as they settled. When Vernon finished his conference and went to search her out he found nothing. ”Wolf was with her,” was the general comment he got, indicating that people had seen her, but that they had gotten used to her coming and goings and no longer paid any attention to them. He knew there would be no use trying to find her, no one yet had managed to, and the Wolf would take care of her as long as they were together.

Vernon sat beside his fire and sighed as he leaned back to think about the girl who had integrated herself into their lives so fast. The men had labeled her their lady, as they knew she did not share their Duke's tent. Aura slept alone under the stars like the rest of the men, with her wolf at her side. n.o.body approached her out of fear of what it might do if they tried.

Vernon knew that Aura was aware of the fear Wolf caused those about her and she was more that happy to keep it that way. She had noticed the way some of the men looked at her from time to time and decided it was best to leave things as they were. The decision gave her the privacy and freedom she needed to be her own person, without having to fight for the right.

Aura had made no changes in the pace she traveled, thus giving no warning of her intentions. The move had paid off as she slipped away to find a quiet little hide away where she decided she would spend the night. No one would miss her. They would be too busy preparing for battle, and she could have some time to herself for a change. It was a refres.h.i.+ng thought. She had grown used to being alone over the last couple of years and missed the solitude as she had traveled with the army.

She bathed and swam in the temperate waters of the river then washed her clothes while Wolf chased down a rabbit for the two of them. After they ate she spent some time petting and playing with him before they retired for the night, sighing happily as she drifted off. It had been just like old times.

She was woken by the sounds of battle at daybreak. Aura did not even think as she got her things together, and jumped onto the back of her horse to race to the edge of the battlefield. Only the dead and the badly injured remained in the area and she moved from body to body to determine which was which. She almost went unnoticed except for the fact that she was a woman. After checking over one body three times she decided to mark the bodies of the deceased, so she would not keep checking on them over and over. There were hundreds that would number amongst the dead. It all seemed such a waste.