Lies Dressed In Lace

Memories of Hate and Blood

Chapter 3 Memories of Hate and Blood

It has been a few days and my wound is healing but Valtok wont let me train or even give me my knife back. Sitting in my room all the time is making me crazy. He constantly hangs around saying he wants to make sure I stay in bed but really he wants to protect me. It's annoying as all hell and making me even crazier. "Please go away!" I groan throwing my blanket over my head as Valtok starts reciting battle tactics again.

"Cant do that, you need to learn and since you cant train you will memorize." I groan as a skinny boy comes in bowing. Valtok sets down his papers standing from my bed.

"The king wishes to speak with you master Valtok." He says in such a rehearsed way it bores me.

"Thank you." He nods and the boy runs off. "I guess I gotta go."

"Yay!" I cheer he sticks out his tongue at me as he walks past and out childishly. I sit up tossing my blankets off stretching I turn to my window wanting fresh air but find my mother and father watching charlie demonstrate a knife tactic with another knight. Annika stands close by watching with a few of her ladies in waiting. I smile at the scene, she watches him with a small smile on her face like she doesn't notice she's doing it, not even listening to her ladies chatter. I turn away for a moment to get dressed then I hear a shout and a woman screaming, I run to my window to see red splattered across the dirt of the training field and a woman holding a dying knight in her arms. I run down the stairs forgetting my slippers and my stitches, the cold stone bites into my heels but I push myself faster because that woman is my eldest sister.

I get to the field the gravel crunches under my bare feet. Hearing my sisters sobs as clear as day ringing in my ears, she screams Charlie's name not caring about the blood soaking into her green silk dress. Father stands holding mother as she cries. Valtok kneels beside Charlie looking over the wound before the healer arrives as he arrived first. Annika sees me reaching out for me to hold her, I fall to my knees beside her and we wrap our arms around each other, she cries into my shoulder I stroke her hair.

"Ann, it's ok, shh, shh, you'll see him again." I whisper to her rocking her in my arms as our doctor and a few knights arrive to try to stop the bleeding by taking off his armor with Valtok. I watch the knights fumble around for a few seconds then let go of my sister to help them take the armor off, once the armor and leather is stripped away I see the gapping hole in his chest I almost throw up at the sight of all the blood oozing out of it, I pull away but before I can go far the doctor claps a withered old hand around my wrist, the blood sticks to my skin, staining it.

"I'll need your help dear." She says I nod not really knowing what else to do. "Hold this here." She slaps a rag in my hand and places my hand on the wound, "Press it harder." I do as she says making Charlie groans but grits his teeth but nods to me telling me its fine blood flows between my fingers. "You've got a lot of blood pouring out of this wound, I'm going to sow you up because we cant move you yet, this is gunna hurt, you think you can keep still?" She asks threading a needle, he chuckles painfully.

"I'm a knight, it wont hurt." She snorts kneeling on the other side of his body.

"Thats what they all say, now keep still Mr. Knight." She nods to me so I remove the rag blood drips from it. She dives right it quickly sowing up the wound as if it were a simple mend to linens and not thick muscle and human flesh. Charlie grits his teeth the whole time and Ann crawls over to take his hand. By how hard he's squeezing he's in real pain now so is she I flinch remembering my own painful encounter with that needle. I help the doctor tie off the thread then the other knights help carry him back to the infirmary where the doctor will do anything else she needs to, Ann follows. I help the doctor carry her bag just wanting to get away from the blood.