Through a Masked Maiden's Eyes

Chapter 13: Restless Care and Conversation

I sighed and turned and gathered the supplies quickly into two spare bags I found in a closet with the bandages. I packed some herbs for treating his wounds and a needle with some thread, I may have to stitch it depending how strong his bond with water was because he might not heal very quickly if his bond was weak.

I also grabbed some blankets, ice giant or not he wasn’t going to want to be fully exposed to the cold if he got a fever. Once the bags were packed I dragged them to the door and hesitated not really wanting to go back out in the wind. How could I avoid being blown all over the place? I wondered twisting my mouth to side and my brows slightly furrowed with thought.

Then it hit me like a clay wall, well more like an ice wall. I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t thought of it before. I would just create a shell of ice to arc over me and block the wind and slide it along around me. I’d just have to make it small enough to get through the trees, but thick enough that it wouldn’t just flip over with the gusts of wind.

I cracked my neck and rolled it left and right trying to get some of the tension out of my shoulders. Then I hefted the two bags so that they crisscrossed over my chest so that either bag laid on my opposite hip, keeping me balanced. I felt a twinge of guilt for not bringing him into the house but I just couldn’t risk it, no one could know about my hideouts, or then I’d be vulnerable. I shook my head trying to console myself and then focused on creating a shell of ice to encase me from the wind. I went to the kitchen and ran the water, filling the sink full. Then I made my protective shell.

I stepped outside the door and closed it behind me pleased when my shell of ice held against the airstream. I began the trudge toward the cave pleased that I made it in much shorter time than before, despite having to reshape my shell a couple times to get through the trees. I came into the cave but the breeze seemed to follow me in so I stopped than made a layered wall of ice that would block the wind but let us leave the cave from my ice shell. I nodded with satisfaction when it held and then quickly turned to check on my patient.

I found him lying on his stomach in the exact same position as before. I threw another log on the fire and kneeled down beside him. I unclasped my cloak and let it all around me so I didn’t get it bloody while patching him up. I removed the now saturated pouch peeling it slowly from the cluster of wounds. I was pleased to see that it didn’t start bleeding again. I ruffled through the one pack and found some clean rags for bandages and pulled out some herbs to apply directly to the wound to fight off infection, who knew how long the wound had been open and exposed. I bit my lip trying to figure out how I was going to lift his monstrous torso off the ground to wrap it. I sighed and quickly ground the herbs together and mixed it with some water to create a thick paste. I washed off his back to insure that it was clean before I bandaged any dirt into his wound. Then I covered his raw purple gashes thoroughly the green paste. I cleaned off my hands and took the bandage in my hands yet again. I placed a small directly over the wounds and took a very long one in hands and rocked back on my heels examining how I could go about wrapping it up.

He was still unconscious so he couldn’t lift his chest off the ground and there was no way I could just lift if by myself. Maybe I if I rolled him on his side… but then if he rolled too far he could stretch and reopen his wound; I sighed there was no other way for me to do it. I carefully adjusted my position so that I could use my legs to roll him on his side. I tried several times to roll him gently but he was too heavy. I took a deep breath getting frustrated and pulled him more forcefully on his side moving his arms so that they provided more balance. My hands hovered to be sure that he wouldn’t fall. Once I was certain that he would stay on his side I took the bandage and started wrapping it around his shoulder so that incased the wound, since the wound was close to his shoulder.