Veil's voice was the first thing I noticed when I came to, quickly followed by the sweet smell of jasmine and magnolias.
"She's going to be alright, Baron. Her corset kept the wound pretty compressed and the sword missed any major organs or arteries. I honestly don't think that this attack was meant to be fatal."
"I don't believe her surviving was an accident either. Whoever is behind this will surely pay dearly."
At the sound of the Baron's voice, I fully came around, opening my eyes to find him sitting in the arm chair next to me holding my hand. He looked as though he had been awake for days.
He looked over at me, surprised to see that I was awake. "My darling, you've joined us. How are you feeling?"
I tried to speak, but my mouth and throat were dryer than the clay in summer and my voice came out in cracks. My chest seared with pain like a hot branding iron with every breath I took.
"Baron, give her time. Her diaphragm suffered a great trauma, so she may not be up for talking for a couple of days. For now, she needs to drink water and broth, and rest." She came to the other side of the bed, gently sitting down beside me. "Now, you're going to be just fine. I've stitched your wounds and provided your handmaiden with a tincture to give you every night to help you sleep. Take it slow, don't try to sit up. I'll be back in a couple of days to check on your progress."
"You'll be back tomorrow morning. I want you here as soon as the sun is up." The Baron was firm, but his concern still peeked through.
"Yes Baron." Veil picked up her bag, taking a moment to look me in the eyes, trying to communicate some form of unease before turning and slipping out the door, closing it behind her.
The Baron stood and sat on the edge of the bed, still holding my hand. For a long moment, we just looked at each other. Was last night a lucid opium induced dream? Had my cut hand been more than just a laceration and the Baron, concerned for his property, taken to overseeing my recovery? Or was I really to marry the Baron? Here he was, gently stroking my hair, and wiping sweat from my fevered brow, his face betraying that of a concerned lover. What was the meaning of all this? Just the afternoon before, I had been a lowly Cog in my Baron's fields, beaten and used by my Baron's Clippers, only to be cared for by my Baron's doctor, dressed in my Baron's finest clothes, wined and dined at my Baron's table, given room in my Baron's bed, and now I lay wounded and coddled by my Baron's hand. I tried to take a deep breath and coughed at the effort, my chest screaming for air that wouldn't come.
"My darling, please believe that I didn't mean for this. A traitor was in our midst. One of my Clippahs.... MY OWN CLIPPAH.... was working with the Widow. When they found that I brought you in, they set the wheels in motion to start a war.
And if war is what they want, war is what they will have.
But know that no one comes for my family without retribution. I swear that I will protect you til my dying breath, should you choose to stay with me."
He looked to me for a moment, seemingly waiting for a response that I couldn't voice. I looked around the room for something to write on, settling on a journal on the vanity table. I painfully lifted my hand and pointed to it. The Baron followed the line from my finger to the book and motioned for the handmaiden to fetch it. From his pocket he produced an ornate fountain pen, uncapping it and handing it to me with the journal opened to an empty page.
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"And you always will be." He gently kissed my forehead, and turned toward the door. "Come on in, Sunny."
The Regent walked in, dressed for war. His swords crossed his back in handmade leather sheaths, and in his hands, the Baron's large blade hungry for battle. His face looked stern, but weary, like he'd seen far too much for one man and knew that the path of destruction he laid wasn't done. "The Clippers are armed and waiting, Baron."
"Good" The Baron stood and walked briskly to the door, taking his sword from Sunny as he passed. He stopped just before exiting the room, running to look at me lovingly, nodded, then crossed the threshold into a battle fought, not over me, as I would discover, but over his own pride and love of war.
-*-
As the weeks passed, summer turned to fall, bringing with it chilly nights and a carpet of brown and red leaves. I rarely heard from my Baron, save for the updates sent back from war camps to the Clippers and, on rare occasions, a personal letter for me. In them, he would assure me that I would be safe and tell of hard fought battles. In every letter, he would sign off with a promise to come home to me, though as I grew stronger and began to walk the empty halls of my new home, I began to doubt that I would ever see him again. He instructed me to begin planning the wedding as soon as I was able, or rather I think to keep me occupied while cooped up in bed. The House Cogs provided me with official stationary and helped me to know who I should invite and how. It struck me as odd to be sending out invitations to such a lavish and frivolous affair in the middle of a war, and my Baron assured me that it would all be over soon and that the Badlands would return to normal, but it's hard to plan for and invite people to a wedding that we still don't have a date for.
I was out in the garden, trading the stuffy air in the vast rooms of the house for the crisp evening breeze when a House Cog shouted to me from the balcony.
"Baroness! He's coming! The Baron is coming!"
I gathered up my skirt and sprinted through the house, leaving my new regal airs behind in my excitement. I had never been so relieved to see a man that I knew so little. He looked weary, but triumphant, his horse trotting smartly up the oak alley of the Fort. Behind him, his Regent and an army of Clippers, now thinned and wounded from war, marched and rode, strong, yet visibly exhausted. I stopped in the front steps, letting my dress down and fussing with my skirt and the thin tendrils of hair that always hung over my face.
"You look fine, Baroness. I'm sure he'll be pleased to see you." My handmaiden smiled reassuringly, brushing my hair from my face. She had been my only friend these last few weeks, save for Veil, and I had become grateful for her presence and guidance in running the household in the Baron's absence.
I straightened my shoulders and, after a deep breath, stepped forward down one of the long stairs that framed the front of the mansion. The Baron reached the house just as I reached the lawn at the base of the stairs, and dismounted to greet me.
"Ah my beautiful bride!" He wrapped his arms around me, picking me up with ease. "How are you feeling? Veil's ensured you've healed nicely?" I told him that she had, and, in my most authoritative voice, began to tell him about the affairs of the house before he interjected. "No no. We've no time for that. We have business to attend to."
And with that, my Baron swooped me up into his victorious arms and marched us straight into the house.
