Iron Frost - Clan of the Rim Chronicles #1

25

WE HAD TO STOP halfway through the journey to let loose of my tourniquet so the vessels wouldn't be cut off completely and I'd lose my leg. The bleeding had stopped its overflow and now was dimmed down to a trickle. Calder bandaged it up the best he could because as he had said the wound needed sterilization and to be stitched up. He certainly couldn't do so out in the open with the possibility of more traitors or creatures getting in our way, so we had to keep moving.

I didn't know how long had passed running through the forest on our horses, but I knew how weak I felt. The trees started to look as though they were swaying back and forth, and the snow flurries that cascaded around us were blurry white dots. With both the motions I was seeing and what was being felt I thought I might be sick.

"Calder. Calder," I breathed out, grabbing his attention. "I don't. . .think I can go any longer. We. . .We have to stop."

My eyes fluttered and I felt myself leaning to the side, Calder quickly stopping his horse and grabbing mine by the reins.

"Whoa, whoa," he said, jumping down from his steed to catch me before I fell off. "Don't pass out on me Eerika, hold on. It's just over the hill, just a ways more."

"I've. . .lost a lot of blood," I reminded him, "Don't. . .be surprised if I do. We've been riding for hours."

"And we won't have to ride any longer after we cross this hill. Just stay with me until then."

"I wanna' sleep, Calder. I just want to sleep," I told him, laying my head on top of the horse's mane and closing my eyes.

"No, you can't go to sleep yet Princess. Hold on Eerika," Calder told me, mounting back onto his horse and slapping mine to get him to move again.

We came over the hill as the mid day sun finally was in full debut without the trees hiding it. The cave was just across from us, and when we reached it Calder went in to inspect if it was empty.

"It's clear," he said as he came back out, "It's big enough to tie our horses inside too, so there's no chance we will be spotted. We'll be perfectly safe here."

I nodded with what little strength I had, and Calder took me off my horse and carried me into the cave. Gently setting me down he brought the horses next and tied their reins to a piece of rock protruding from the ground.

Then taking off his cloak he tried to make it as comfortable for me as possible, also providing a white fur blanket he had packed with him. Calder kneeled down and unwrapped the red bandage to check my wound, and it was the first time I had seen the opening past the blood. It was rather deep, probably forbidding me to walk at least for the night. If Calder hadn't clotted the bleeding back there, I knew I would have bled out in his arms. . .

"I'll stitch you up and you should be able to get your rest, as long as I keep an eye on the wound," Calder said, wrapping it back up. "I've got a full first aid pack in one of my bags, but no morphine to numb the pain. Will you be alright to handle it?"

I gave a dry chuckle, "Do I really have a choice? I'll be fine. I've handled worse since this mess started."

"Alright," Calder nodded, getting up and grabbing a chalice from his satchel. "I'll go fetch some clean water to sterilize the wound the best I can. We have to prevent infection until we get you medical attention. I'll be right back."

He bent down and kissed the top of my head, exiting the cave and leaving me in silence.