Queen Kianna

Chapter 6| The Abandoned Baby

Chapter 6

Kianna blew the stray strand of curly brown hair out of her face. She glared at the small book in front of her and looked back at Jack, "This anatomy book is disgusting."

He gave her a sly grin, and leisurely leaned back on his chair, "No, not really."

They both sat in silence as the rain neat hard on the huts door. Wind howled from outside, and Jack stood up right before someone knocked the door. He opened it, "Jivan, are you mad? It's pouring out there!"

"A little bit," he said, stomping into the room. He was soaking from head to toe, and shaking. "I n-need your help."

"What is it?" she asked curiously, a little hopeful to escape the assignment in front of her, which was to recite, in order, all the vital organs organized from the top to the bottom.

Without explanation, Jivan walked over to Kianna, grabbed her wrists, and dragged her outside into the freezing rain. She gasped as the water touched her skin, dampening her braid and making the hair stick to her face.

Lightning escaped the clouds, and thunder boomed from the distance. The mud puddles were disturbed as the two ran across them, squelching their toes.

"Why," she panted, covering her head, "did you have to drag me out in the rain to help?"

"There was a little talk in the tavern," Jivan said, ignoring the question, "a baby was found at the borders of the town. The others aren't planning to help him. They thinks he's probably a changeling or something."

Unconsciously, Kianna quickened her pace, "How old is he?"

"I dunno, maybe 'bout a one or two years old," he said.

Inside many girls there is this natural instinct to take care and protect someone much younger than them. Jack explained this to Kianna before, calling it the Mommy Feeling. At that moment, Kianna felt her it rise up in her chest, "Where did you say it was found?"

"Around the edge of town," he said, "near the healers house."

Taking a deep breath, Kianna sprinted away from Jivan, who stared in surprise. She leaped and manuevered her way through the woods, ignoring the mud and puddles forming. Not once did she slip, but there were many times she came close to it.

Finally, the shape of the healers house. Light glowed from the cracks of the shutters. Dimly, Kianna remembered that there were fair folk roaming around this time of the year.

A baby's thin wailing cry came up. Like a hound, Kianna followed it. She turned sharply to the left, into a clearing. In the middle was a naked baby, its face red from crying. Across from her was a wolf, its mouth foaming.

"Oh no..." she almost backed away from the sick animal. Slowly, she leaned down to grab a large stick. A plan formed in her mind. Kianna met its eyes, Ready. Now!

Raising the stick in one hand, she ran forwards and grabbed the baby in one movement. The wolf leaped, its mouth open. She ducked, gently placing the baby on the ground, and reached up behind her to lodge the stick horizontally inside its jaws. It clamped.down its teeth, biting it.

Kianna sweeped a foot under her, grabbing the ends with both hands and used all her momentum and strength to turn around and throw it as far as she could. She took the extra time to scoop up the baby and run towards the nearest tree.

Her heart nearly skipped a beat when she heard Jivan yell out from the woods, "Kianna! Where are you?"

It was hard to climb with only one arm, but somehow she managed it. Looking back, Kianna screamed, enough to drown out the baby's whimpers, "Jivan, rabid wolf, go up!" She didn't have time to see if he heard.