Love and War

Chapter 2

I watch Adam carefully as he rides his chestnut mare over to where my horse and I were waiting. "Are you ready?" He asks me quietly and I have to nod slowly. He hardly gives me a moment before his horse bolted forward and our swords were locked in battle. I had never even touched a sword before while he had been using one for years. It only took a moment for him to land a solid blow on my arm. A soft groan escaped me and I backed my horse away from his threatening wooden sword.

"Never back away from an opponent." he instructs and his horse lunges towards me again. Its everything I can do to just keep him from hitting me again. Though soon enough I'm whacked against my ribs and I fall from my horse, landing soudly on my arm. I know my arm is broken as soon as I land and the pain shoots up my arm. A very unmanly scream escapes me and I hug my arm close to my chest.

Adam swings down from his horse and just looks down at me. "Get up."

I glare up at him and slowly get to my feet. "Come on. I'll take you to the doctor." His look towards me isn't full of regret or anything similar. Just anger and what seems to be a hint of fear. Seeing him scared make me scared. What if he knows? They'll kill me.

Women are clearly not to be in the military. We can't even vote. Women were almost as low as slaves, to cook, clean, and have children. My mother had trouble supporting my brother and I after our father died. She had planned to move us up to the North, but that plan was destroyed when the war started. My brother has been the one supporting us. I do what I can, but short of selling my body I cant help much. My mother used to tell me to go off to town to do silly menial tasks that could wait, but now I understand that she wanted the men in town to see me. She wanted me to attract a husband. Quite a few showed up too, but none of them seemed to care about me, just my body.

Adam walked ahead of me towards a large white tent with a large red cross on it. Why he thought i couldnt find it on my own is beyond me but he holds the tent flap open while I step inside. "I'll be back after training to make sure you're alright."

With that he left and i walked over to one of the small cots by the wall. A man in a white coat similar to what my dad used to wear comes out from behind a flap i didnt see and he smiles at me. "What happened to you?" He asks as he walks over.

I slowly lift my arm up and sigh. "Broken arm." He frowns and gently takes it. For a old man with glasses and gray hair, he is surprisingly gentle and steady. "I think you're right. I'll set it and bind it for you." He pushes me down on my back and places a knee on my chest, right where Adam hit my ribs. I groan and he frowns. "What else is injured?"

I bite my lip, knowing to look at my ribs I'd have to remove my shirt. "Nothing. I jolted my arm is all."

He gives me a look but replaces his knee, holding me down on the cot. He then takes my arm and with a jerk, wrenches it back into place. I groan and my body jerks inwards, attempting to go into the fetal position. Now I understand why he placed a knee on my chest. Had he not, I would have rolled inward and possibly moved my arm back out of place. He kept me safe. As pain continues to roll through my arm, I feel myself getting dizzy and my eyesight goes fuzzy. My eyesight goes black and I'm vaugely aware of my body going slack against the cot.