The Ranger Queen

Singing

Halt lay in his cabin, blood pooling around him. His only thought was, Will.................... he hoped his apprentice was okay, and even though he thought he heard Tug neigh in fright, he couldn't move to check anything. He thought it ironic that he would be dying from an arrow wound when he was a ranger! And with one last thought to Will, he let the darkness take over his vision.

" Princess Deorwynn, Princess Eliza, you must come immediately!" A woman's voice yelled.
Deep in the forest, in a camp made largely from leaves and timber, stood a large number of people, many were women. They crowded around a single woman's body on the dusty ground. All wore dark dresses and strangely made jewellery, while the men wore animal skin clothes.
A small girl dropped down from a tree on the edge of the clearing, another young girl dropping down beside her.
They both sprinted over to the large group of people and shouldered their way to the front. A woman's body lay there, covered in blood and unmoving. A large arrow protruded from her heart.
The oldest of the two girls dropped to her knees beside the woman.
" No, no please mum! You can't be dead!" She stuttered.
The other young girl joined her sister and the two cradled their mother's body between them.
" Princess Deorwynn, now that Queen Kathryn is dead, we need you to tell us what we should do," A young man murmured, putting a hand on the oldest girl's shoulder.
Princess Deorwynn stood up shakily, this was no time to grieve.
" As the new queen of the Lupus Tribe, I decree a two day mourning period for our former queen. Princess Keelan will lead the burial service," Deorwynn murmured, eyes still glued to her mother's body.
" And what of you, sister, what will you do now?" Keelan sobbed.
" I'm going to find who did this, expect me back in three days, then I will assume full queen duties," Deorwynn growled darkly.

Deorwynn ran through the forest like a blur, fleet footed and silent. Her black cloak billowed out behind her as she went, her amber eyed piercing the forest gloom. She had found a foreign trail, and was on the chase. She'd been going for about an hour, and yet the trail hadn't faltered, and there was no sign of the attackers themselves on the trail ahead yet. Yet. She had hoped she'd find them by now, but judging by the tracks, they were close by, and not caring about being quiet, judging by the sound of a horse's frantic neighing.
She stopped suddenly, crouched behind a tree as she caught sight of a cabin in the trees. She'd seen this cabin before! Often she'd patrol this area and see the funny little wooden cabin.
Something was different this time though, as the two men who lived there had left the door open. She dared to creep closer and caught sight of something that made her blood boil.
The same type of arrow that had killed her mother was embedded in the cabin wall!
Creeping closer she peered through the window and caught sight of the older man lying on the ground, blood pouring out around him.
She shut her eyes as images of her mother flashed through her mind. He was the same way.
As she looked she swore she saw him twitch! Creeping through the open window she silently crawled along the floor towards him, the cowl of her cloak up around her face to hide her identity from unwanted eyes. Looking closer she saw that he was in fact breathing. And yet he wouldn't survive long!
What would she do? She was warned never to let outsiders see her, no one was to know of her existence! And yet after her mother's death, she couldn't leave someone to die the same way, could she? No, she wouldn't!
She ripped the sleeve off of her dress and readied it beside her. Carefully, and as gently as she could, she pulled the arrow out swiftly. The older man let out a small cry of pain but then became silent once more, eyes still closed.
Deorwynn leapt back at his sudden noise, fearful of what the outsider would do if he saw her, outsiders killed people of her tribe!
Carefully she wadded up the ripped sleeve and pressed it securely on the wound, applying pressure. Looking around the trees outside she saw what she was looking for, a plant whose vines were incredibly thin, about half a centimetre thick, but were incredibly strong. Her people used it to sew up wounds. She took a sewing needle from a small box and started to sew the wound back up.
Thank goodness mum made Keelan and I learn from the healer!
She sang as she worked, remembering a song her mother had taught her in their language.
" Yevena salanem rae, yevena grassen san, yevena asante lolan fase, elas gren sante, elas gren sante," Deorwynn sang as she finished the stitching and wound a long strip from the bottom of her dress over his wound, leaving the arrow for him to find later. He wouldn't die, not any time soon anyway.
A loud neigh made her stop all movement and look out the open doorway. A shaggy grey pony was standing outside, the other young man who she'd seen around here laying on the grass. The horse was protectively standing over him, neighing for help.
Cautiously she arose from her crouch and made her way outside.
The horse caught sight of her and bared its teeth, snorting protectively.
" Hush, havistoo, havistoo nam," Deorwynn hushed.
The horse stopped still, staring at her in what could only be described as surprise. He stepped away from the young man, somehow understanding her words, that calmed all horses.
She nodded to him and dragged the young man in to the cabin, laying him next to the older man. Quietly she delivered the same treatment, and sang her song again as she worked.
The young man groaned slightly as she started stitching and opened his bright eyes slightly. Instantly Deorwynn stopped singing and stared at him in fright, not moving any more for fear of him. Maybe he would attack her like the rest of the outsiders did, maybe he'd kill her! He mumbled something inaudible before closing his eyes again and going limp. Deorwynn finished stitching shakily, fear making her shake like a leaf. When she was done she wasted no time in getting out of there!
She still had a trail to follow, and some blood to wash off her hands.

Halt opened his eyes to find himself staring at the ceiling, in the same place he'd been before blacking out. Was he still dying? Was he dead? Neither of those options seemed right since he felt considerably better, but still in pain. Looking to his right he was startled to find himself face to face with an unconscious Will! He hadn't been there before!
Will had some dried blood on his forehead, and was considerably more pale than usual, and yet he was still breathing.
" Will!" Halt called in a hoarse, but worried voice.
Wincing, he sat up and crawled over to Will's unconscious form. He stared at the stitched up wound in the man's side, and the black fabric bandage covering it. Had Will managed his own wound? Looking down at his wound Halt noticed that he had the exact same black fabric bandage over an no longer bleeding wound. Two blood covered arrows lay side by side next to Will.
Will stirred slightly and blinked open pain filled eyes.
" Halt," He whispered hoarsely.
" Will, did you take care of your wound and mine?" Halt asked gently, helping the man sit up.
" No," Will slurred, holding his head to stop the sudden nausea.
Halt was taken aback, who had fixed them up? Tug and Abelard obviously hadn't!
" Halt, I remember hearing singing, in some weird language, and there was this black cloaked figure staring down at me," Will murmured dopily.
" You were probably hallucinating, my boy," Halt murmured affectionately.
Will shrugged with a wince and lay back down, eyes already closed again.
Halt looked at the black fabric covering their wounds, a figure in a black cloak? Suddenly Will's story didn't seem so far fetched. Maybe there had been someone singing to them?