Kindred Spirit Lodge Presents
Undaunted
by Nessa
August 24th, 2003
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Nessa decided on the dapple grey to pull the wagon to the village down the mountain. Tuttle had a certain pride . She was a war horse with a plethora of strategies for moving through bloody battles and long campaigns against the enemy. She was humble of course but dignity was first. She would not be hitched to a wagon.
The grey was fine for Nessa. Supplies were needed for the Lodge and Nessa needed to get away. She let the reins hang loose. Plodding down the mountain gave her a good time to think. Depression continued to plague the Celt no matter how positively she talked or attempted to look.
There was no amount of time, at least yet, that eased the ache in Nessa over the loss of hope for having Killian as her own. Yes, she was happy for the lass and would not choose to keep her from the one who held her heart, Caitlin.
Now, Shasa too, was gone on to the adventures she loved so much. Tris would do whatever Nessa wanted but it was becoming apparent that she was finding something more substantial with Dagger. Aria was never an option for the Celt. Anyway, it was certainly more than sex that the warrior from the Emerald Island was missing now.
She knew she could have stayed with Edain, the beautiful girl who still resided at her castle in Ireland. But Nessa left for war and then more war and her heart could take no more. She had to leave the land for the sanctuary of solitude, journaling and the friendships she found at the mountain Lodge among the Kindred Spirits.
She never counted on Killian nor the fresh new light she would see in those eyes. Memories of what she shared with the young Amazon psychic through the past months only gave the Celt more reason to want to run away. She knew she would never find that depth with another. Nessa wanted to get to the village, get the supplies, board the wagon and dapple grey in a barn and find a tavern where tankards of ale were poured from barrels. Ah, yes. To get stinking and blindly drunk sounded good to the lonely, aching warrior.
~~~~~
Caitlin walked into the stables. She saw the young Faery sweeping stalls but no Nessa. She wanted to settle the feeling between them once and for all. She knew Jan the Fae well. It was this one who helped her regain her senses in the land of Faery. “Can you tell me where I can find the Celt, Faery?”
Jan was so way far from a fool that she wouldn’t ask why the tall trader wanted Nessa. She knew, and wondered only what had taken Caitlin so long to get things straight with the Celt. “She has taken a wagon to the village down the mountain, Caitlin. May I saddle your mare for you? She only just left less than half a candle mark ago.
“Yes” replied the taller woman. “Thank you. I will find her on the trail.”
~~~~
Caitlin hit the mountain trail at a trot and had to keep it at that pace. It was long and winding. The village below served several mountain communities and they all had smaller trails that merged onto one wide road. Caitlin reached it at last. She tracked the wagon more easily on the smaller trail since it was the only one. Now several wheel tracks ran over each other.
It wasn’t urgent but Caitlin felt that she had to settle the tension between them one way or another. She did not want Nessa as an enemy, yet being friends was hard to ask of either of them. Each was too honest to simply act as if none of it mattered.
Ahead, Caitlin spotted the Lodge wagon obviously pulled off the road. As she got closer, she could see there was no driver. The horse was unhitched and nowhere in sight.
The trader was an expert tracker. She dismounted and found the signs of the direction in which the horse and rider went. The ground was so fresh with signs, Caitlin thought it must have only been minutes since the Celt mounted and rode up the slope.
Caitlin might have thought it odd for Nessa to start on one task and veer off to another if she hadn’t been told of how the Celt often went to the woods for solitude. But Caitlin was not going to give solitude to one who had been silent far too long. It was time to talk. If there was to be tension, it would be tension with understanding and boundaries. No more strategies of avoidance.
The trail led the tall trader into trees now. It got thick with Birch and Cedar. Progress was slow but suddenly Caitlin saw the dapple grey mare standing, silently watching her approach. Caitlin dismounted. She looked all around but saw no Celt. It seemed like the forest went silent and the only movement was the breeze. Caitlin held still.
The sword came from above, plunging into the earth at her feet, burying at least a foot of the blade, leaving the hilt to wobble. The voice came with a thick brogue. “My sword, Lord Kat-leen.” Hearing her name pronounced in Gaelic nearly brought a smile to Caitlin’s mouth. Then Nessa was in front of her, jumping down from a Cedar branch above, and bowing low in allegiance.
The two women stood glaring at one another for only a moment, each sizing the other up. Nessa could see a hardy spirit and able body before her. Caitlin was damn beautiful and the Celt knew first hand what she was capable of as a fighter. There was a softness about those piercing blue eyes though. She could see how Killian could love this woman.
Caitlin thought Nessa’s eyes were such a pale blue that they appeared gray. The warrior braids were all that kept the thick mass of red hair at all managed. Nessa was not as tall as Caitlin but there was an ancient kind of ferocity about her that made her seem taller. She had the broad shoulders of a warrior who practiced the art of fighting yet had an aversion to it.
It was not that Nessa could read minds, but she knew how she appeared to others. She spoke. “I am a Druid as well as a warrior, Kat-leen. And you too are a lover of Mother earth and the life she bares. Why did ye follow me?”
Caitlin leaned down and lifted Nessa’s sword out of the earth and held the hilt out toward the warrior. “Not for your sword, Nessa” she answered.
~~~~
Caitlin stood straight, still holding Nessa’s sword out to her. She said, “Killian wants your friendship and I want your pledge of honor. She is mine, has always been mine and always will be mine. I would never begrudge the friendship but… I don’t know how to trust you. The way you love her shines in your eyes when you look at her.”
Nessa took back her sword and sheathed it. She lowered her eyes, folded her arms and leaned back on the tall Cedar. “So then, ye want a promise from me that I will not try to take your woman. I give ye that promise on my honor right now.” Nessa watched surprised relief come over Caitlin. Then she said, “But in exchange for that promise, I want you to hear my words now and take them to your heart.”
Caitlin knitted her brow in suspicion at first but then assented, “That’s fair. I’ll hear you out.”
The Celt invited Caitlin to sit right there on the forest floor with her. Once both women were sitting, Nessa began. “Ye say ye don’t know how to trust me but, Kat-leen, it is not me ye should be trusting… ‘tis Killian herself. Ye were gone for a long time. Ye were stolen away from a child and brought back to a woman. Friendship is all she wants from me. You are the love of her life. If she wanted me, I would have her. She has made it clear where her heart is and I am not strong enough, brilliant enough, deep enough, rich enough or stupid enough to try to change that. I would prefer a lonely friendship than nothing at all with one so fine as she. She is a psychic of monumental proportions… gifted beyond explanation. That is how you were found. Yes, I love her but I never did win her, Kat-leen. That is all” Nessa concluded.
Caitlin listened in silence. She never wanted to think that she was wrong about something and yet, she heard the words of the Druid and felt teachable. She drew in a breath to speak when a rumbling came up from the earth and the ground rocked beneath them.
Trees were falling around them and still the earth shook. They could hear the whinnies of the horses. Suddenly the ground split open between them and Caitlin was thrown down grasping for a hold on anything. She managed to wrap her hands around a root of a fallen tree that hung half way over the new chasm. It was barely holding, then slipping. Caitlin searched for something else to hold to. Then she heard Nessa’s voice from the other side of the crevice. “Hold on, Kat-leen!”
A large Cedar branch crashed down on Nessa. She knew her arm was broken and maybe a clavicle. Her strong legs were still working. She saw what happened to Caitlin and ran for the horses. Caitlin’s mare, Keara made it through the quake without harm but the dapple grey had a broken neck from a fall when she attempted to run on the rocking ground. Keara was skittish but calmed when Nessa talked to her. The Celt was highly pleased to see a crossbow fitted in a saddle bag. She had to work fast, Caitlin was slipping.
Nessa’s whole upper right side was not only full of pain but it was useless. Still, she managed to fasten an end of a braided rope to the end of a bolt. Fitting the bolt into the crossbow was nearly as difficult… and how well could she aim? There was really no time to wonder. She stood at the edge of the crevice and spotted a tree stump just beyond Caitlin’s reach. It looked like it was rooted solidly.
Caitlin held to the unstable root, trying not to move. She saw what Nessa was doing and was glad to see Keara on that side of the split earth. The Celt had something wrong. She couldn’t seem to hold the crossbow to aim it. Damn! It looked like her arm was broken! She had to risk yelling. “Nessa! Lay on your stomach and brace the bow on the ground!” The root slipped just a little more. But she watched Nessa drop to the ground and stabilize the crossbow. She waited only a second before the bolt shot passed her and hit something solid beyond her sight.
Nessa jumped up as fast as she could and wrapped the other end of the rope to Keara’s saddle horn. She pulled herself up on the back of the mare and urged her forward to tighten the rope. She turned in the saddle and yelled for Caitlin to grab the rope but Caitlin was already grasping for it. She got it firmly and swung out just as the root of the tree gave way and tumbled down into the deep chasm.
The Celt held Keara in position while Caitlin moved closer hand over hand until she reached the solid earth on the other side. She scrambled up and ran to Keara’s side just as Nessa slumped forward and passed out. Caitlin tossed herself up behind Nessa and headed for the wagon.
The roadway was havoc. It was strewn with large rocks, ruts and tree limbs. Caitlin hitched Keara to the wagon and then helped Nessa to the wagon bed. The two women realized that the quake had no doubt effected the entire mountain. They looked into each other’s eyes and said simultaneously, “Killian!”
~~~~
Up at the Lodge things were not as bad as they were down below, but still the damage was heavy. Several of the Kindred were injured from the stairway that collapsed. But none seriously. Mostly folks bonded together as was their way, to put things right as soon as possible. Klancy and DJ made a thorough inspection to assess the injuries and damage.
Several windows were shattered and the kitchen was beyond disarray. Pots and pans and dishes were strewn from one end to the other. Tables in the main dining room shifted and some toppled over. Pictures on all the walls in every room were either hanging askew or they had fallen. Most of the Lodgers were nervous about aftershocks but the worst was really over and the basic structure of the Lodge was intact.
Killian went to Aria’s room first, only to find the injured woman dressing to help. She knew better than to argue with the assassin. Together they went down the back stairs and set up a large space in the dining room for those who needed healing attention. Bandages and poultices and every herb Killian had in stock was brought to that room. The two women were kept busy and that was good.
Killian was determined to not go after Caitlin and Nessa. Caitlin made it clear enough that she could take care of herself and didn’t want any more “rescue missions” from the lass. Killian was worried to distraction but she was also very sick of that part of her not being okay with Caitlin. She thought Caitlin had a bit of an ego problem concerning Nessa and she was quite righteously tired of it.
~~~~
Caitlin led the way back up the mountain but the going was slow. She had to keep stopping to remove fallen limbs and large rocks. Ruts in the road were most often huge and she had to maneuver the wagon around them. Nessa was in and out of consciousness in the back of the wagon. Caitlin used the saddle blanket she had on Keara to cover the shivering Celt. It occurred to her more than once that Nessa could have let her fall to her death… but herself injured, chose to save her.
The Druid’s words kept coming into her head, “Ye say ye don’t know how to trust me but, Kat-leen, it is not me ye should be trusting… ‘tis Killian herself.” Caitlin began to see. Of course a warrior like this one would love her Killian, not for a minute or when times were good… but for always. She smiled to herself in pride that Killian had such a friend. But the friend was in danger of going into shock. Caitlin decided to unhitch Keara and rode the mare bareback and at a high gallop to the Lodge. She left Nessa in the wagon, covered and under the shelter of an Oak.
All heads turned when Caitlin burst into the Lodge. The look of relief on Killian’s face could have been read by a blind man. Then she looked beyond but there was no Nessa. Caitlin ran to her. “Nessa is hurt, you have to come now!” Killian grabbed her herb bag and ran for the stables. No sooner was Caitlin back up on Keara when she saw Killian speeding from the stables on the back of the black Friesian. They galloped down the mountainside at breakneck speed.
The riders reached the wagon and the injured Celt before dusk. Killian dismounted Flame while she still moved. She jumped into the wagon. She lifted Nessa’s eyelids, felt a pulse and saw the obviously broken arm. She shot a look at Caitlin. “Make a fire” she ordered. “Then get down to the stream and fill up your water-skin.” Caitlin moved to do it.
Killian held Nessa’s big hand and closed her eyes. She felt herself wandering through the psychic space between them. She heard a question without a voice but would have sounded like, “What would ye have me do lass?” Killian answered in kind. “Remember how you left your body to go with me to see Mother Oak? I want you to do that again so that I can set your broken bones. The pain would otherwise be unbearable.” Killian felt a wisp of air and the Celt’s body went lax.
The fire was built and the water was brought. Caitlin gathered some strong sticks as straight as she could find, heated some water as instructed and then watched in fascination while Killian set the broken arm and clavicle of the perfectly silent Nessa. Then Killian closed her eyes again and after a moment Nessa became conscious. Killian had the pain herb ready and brewing in the cup of hot water.
“Well now lass, I see you have learned even more,” quipped the Celt.
“Be still and drink this so we can get you back to the Lodge in some kind of comfort,” Killian countered. Nessa was in too much pain to argue and before the brew was fully finished, the pain was already gone. She went to sleep. Between the two of them, Caitlin and Killian got Nessa back up to the Lodge to rest comfortably on a cot in the dining room.
The tense silence between Caitlin and Killian was broken by the taller woman. “She saved my life Killian”
“Of course she did.”
“But she didn’t have to.”
Killian shook her head. “Yes, she had to, Caitlin. She would never have wanted to see me that miserable.”
~~~~
The tense silence between Caitlin and Killian was broken by the taller woman. “She saved my life Killian”
“Of course she did.”
“But she didn’t have to.”
Killian shook her head. “Yes, she had to, Caitlin. She would never have wanted to see me that miserable.”
Aria over-heard the exchange while folding fresh bandages and said under her breath, “I might have risked it. Check… one more difference between me and Nessa.” She did not keep in mind at that moment that Killian’s psychic passages were sometimes open even when the Amazon wasn’t trying.
Killian heard the dig from across the room. She shot a look at Aria that held both hurt and understanding. She would have wanted her best friend and her lover to like each other. But she learned a long time ago that the world and it’s people are never that easily maneuvered into how she would like them to be. In fact, Killian was deciding that her own life and her own thinking were hard enough to manage. Others would have to figure it out for themselves. She let it go and turned away.
But, Aria saw the look and realized that her message was sent unaware to the ever vigilant Killian. She knew she would not have allowed the trader to die like that. She would rather have done it purposely or in a fair dual. But no, she must apologize to Killian.
As soon as Caitlin walked away, Aria set down the last bandage and walked over to where Killian stood beside the unconscious Nessa. “Look baby, I guess I just can’t quite get passed remembering how she beat you nearly to death. It will take me some time but I will one day trust her. I am sorry Killy.” Aria said as Killian turned to face her.
Killian smiled and it was genuine. “Aria, you can hate Caitlin all you want for as long as you want. Nothing will keep me from loving her. That is something Nessa knows” Killian said as she looked back down at the injured Celt. “Maybe you should talk to Nessa… or not.” Killian shrugged then wrapped her arms around Aria in a warm embrace. “I won’t stop loving you either my bad ass assassin.”
Caitlin already found work helping the other uninjured begin the rebuilding of the main staircase. They were all clearing debris. She spotted Klancy among them and approached the warrior. She picked up one end of a large piece of banister that Klancy was attempting to pull out of the debris. Together they got it outside and put it in the pile relegated for things that may be salvageable.
“Thanks Caitlin” Klancy said, once the heavy wooden rail was down. “And, I’d like to thank you for saving the life of our Nessa.”
“She was in that injured state when she saved my life, Klancy. I would have fallen clear to the other side of the world by now if she hadn’t saved me. Getting Killian and getting her back to the Lodge was the least I could do.”
Klancy pulled a large cotton cloth from her pocket and wiped the sweat from her handsome face. She was always one to see beyond a person’s words alone. She said, “It must be very difficult now to owe your life to one you would sooner be done with.”
Caitlin swallowed visibly. She gazed back at the wise eyes before her. “The truth is, I will have to learn to see things differently in many ways. Killian will not give up her friendship with the Celt and I will not give up Killian.” The trader shrugged.
Klancy stood thinking for a minute then said, “What of Aria? How will you change her mind? She loves Killian too and does not quite believe you won’t hurt her again. She stands ready to slit your throat at any move of violence against her friend.”
“It is much the same with both Aria and Nessa” Caitlin replied. “but at least I can reason with Nessa. I am not so sure about the assassin with the deadly dagger in her boot.”
“Aye,” replied Klancy. “ I recall having to tie her to ah…” The warrior thought better of the telling of this tale. “well anyway, I think things will work out. The Lodge is a strange but magical place. Folks heal here and folks get hurt here.” Klancy looked straight into Caitlin’s blue eyes and said “But you will always find at least one friend here.” Caitlin flashed a beautiful smile and started back to work on the piles of debris.
~~~~
Killian was a bit anxious. There were so many others to attend to. She pulled away from Aria and asked, “Would you stay with Nessa for a bit while I check on some more of the wounded?”
When Killian was a few steps away, Aria looked down to see a gray eyed Celt looking back. “Well now ye know lass, Caitlin is here to stay. It has been a hard rock in me own belly to see her every day and not do or say anything that might goad her to a fight. But then I got to thinking; would it be worth it to lose my Killian’s respect and love for a few moments of satisfaction? Of course the answer to that is plain as day. But think of this now too, lass: if Caitlin is made to feel unwelcome here, she may decide to leave. Do ye think the lovely Killy would stand at the door and wave farewell after everything that’s happened and all she’s been through to finally find the tall trader again?” Nessa waited for the blonde beauty to ponder.
At last, Aria spoke, “I’ve never been one to act a way I didn’t feel unless it was part of the job I was on and the outcome was usually one that spared me any over acting.”
Nessa said, “I’m just tellin’ ye lass. Caitlin is part of the package now and you have to decide within yourself if your kindness is weakness or strength. For ye will surely have to be showing more kindness to Caitlin if she is to feel good about being here. She could have tossed my unconscious body down the crevice and come back without me. But she really is a decent sort, lass. Don’t waste another moment of your precious thoughts in seeing the woman in such a dim light.”
“How can I trust her Ness?”
“I’ll tell you the same thing I told Caitlin… it is Killian you must trust. Her judgment in choosing who she loves has proven to be on the mark so far. I mean… she loves you… and she loves me.
Nessa had to lay back. The broken clavicle was doubtlessly the most painful injury she had ever known. She broke into a sweat and attempted breathing exercises but breathing was a painful problem in itself.
Aria gave the Celt a dose of the pain brew Killian kept by Nessa’s bed. Soon Nessa was out of pain but out of coherent conversation as well. Aria stood gazing at the Celtic warrior’s handsome face as she slept. She thought that she and Nessa were very much alike. She did not hold the spiritual beliefs of the Druid warrior but she did understand the aching, yet preferred loneliness they each chose. “It is better to be alone,” she thought “than to be with one not worthy of such undaunted love.”
~~~~
Aria stood gazing at the Celtic warrior’s handsome face as she slept. She thought that she and Nessa were very much alike. She did not hold the spiritual beliefs of the Druid warrior but she did understand the aching, yet preferred loneliness they each chose. “It is better to be alone,” she thought “than to be with one not worthy of such undaunted love.”
Aria lifted the Celt’s large hand into her own, gently massaging the muscular limb with small rhythmic circles. Looking down at Nessa with love in her eyes the Lady pondered the wise words of the Druid before the drugs took their effect.
It would take time and some diligence on the blonde’s part to trust Caitlin, of that Aria was sure. In the ex-assassin’s mind the woman simply did not deserve it. To Aria’s way of thinking, Caitlin had not earned that trust...yet. The warrior’s actions lent to violent outbursts, with Killian as the intended target. In fact had it not been for Killian’s deep love of the mysterious warrior, Aria would have had to feign innocence when her Sisters questioned where Caitlin had wondered off to.
Smirking, Aria realized she herself sought out that fiery temperamental quality in women, but the Lady had long made peace with the fact she needed to be kept on her toes to stay interested, too much nice, too much pampering only ended up boring the Lady. So if Aria required that fiery trait in women, why was it not ok for her Killian?
It took only a nano-second for the blonde to know the answer. She wanted more for Killian than she ever dreamed of for herself… because she loved Killian that much.
(by Aria)
~~~~
Nessa woke to sounds of hammering and smells of cooking. She was aware that the quake caused some damage to the Lodge but that was apparently being taken care of. She knew by the rumble in her stomach that she must have been sleeping for some time now. The smells were of breads and meats and garlic roots. It must be afternoon. Her thoughts were interrupted by the smooth low voice of her friend, Klancy saying, “Isn’t it just like ye to break bones so ye won’t ha’ to work… but I bet ye can manage to eat.”
Nessa loved the fine lilt to the brogue special to the Highlander. She also loved how the brave Scot was always thinking more of her sistren than she ever thought of herself. The courtly warrior never managed to hide a kindness that was underlying even in the fiercest of battles. Klancy stood before the prone Celt with a twinkle in her deep blue eyes and a tray of steaming food in her hands.
After putting the tray on the table next to the cot-like bed where Nessa lay, along with other injured Kindred in the makeshift infirmary there in the main dining room, Klancy helped the Celt to a sitting position. “Ye’ll be learning to do everything wi’ your left arm for a bit o’ time cairad. Killy has ye bound to yourself in earnest.”
It was clear that the skill of bone-setting was honed well in Killian. The braces she first used which were branches from the forest floor were now replaced with a kind of hardened plaster and a sling that held Nessa’s upper body still and her right arm close and unmoving. The problem this presented was the one the Celt hated most. She would have to be asking for help for the simplest of tasks. In fact, at this very moment, the pressure of her bladder was even more clamoring than her hunger. She resigned herself out of sheer need. “Uh, Klance?”
“Aye Ness?”
“Do ye think ye could be helping me to the privy?”
Without a notice of hesitation the Highlander said, “It’s clear enough tha’ ye canna’ make it on your own Ness.” She leaned down and wrapped a muscled arm around Nessa’s waist and lifted her to her feet. “Hold your good arm around my neck and put one foot in front o’ the other and I’ll be doing the rest.”
Together they made it to and from the enclosed commode. Klancy couldn’t help noticing that the curly hair on the Celt’s nether region was the same light red as the wild mass that covered her head. She also thought that fastening the pants was much easier than it ought to have been. “Are ye losing inches or what?” she asked.
“I fast now and again Klance… especially when I have been unconscious for… How long?” Nessa said.
“Oh, right ye are. Let’s get ye back to the food.”
The Celt ate with the appetite of two warriors convincing the Scot that her friend would be fitting her clothes before the day was out.
“How is Cat-leen?” Nessa managed between mouthfuls.
“Caitlin? You are no’ asking about Killian or Tris or any other o’ the clan?” The Scottish warrior feigned incredulousness. “Well now, did something happen to your head too? Or maybe twas your heart?”
~~~~
“How is Cat-leen?” Nessa managed between mouthfuls.
“Caitlin? You are no’ asking about Killian or Tris or any other o’ the clan?” The Scottish warrior feigned incredulousness. “Well now, did something happen to your head too? Or maybe twas your heart?”
Nessa lifted her pale eyes to meet Klancy’s blue gaze. “Both, my good friend” she answered. “I saw what Killian loves so much in Caitlin. They have a bond that is old as time and true as the great Mother Earth.” She paused a minute to think about her own darkness and how Killian would never be able to be there for her in that way. Caitlin, on the other hand, gave Killian exactly what she needed. “They are a match and I am glad for them both that they have found each other again.”
Klancy raised her brow in feigned wonder and then smiled. “I knew ye couldna’ go on like a brooding child for too much longer. ‘Tis not fitting for a Druid of your ilk to keep such dire resentment. I know ye dinna want to harbor that thief in your already aching heart.”
Nessa loved the wisdom in her friend. She smiled at how the Highlander rolled her r’s, sounding like the regal Scot that she was. Nessa could see a true leader in Klancy. She decided to ask something she had wondered about for a long time. “How is it that ye keep so well to yourself? I mean… don’t ye ever get lonely Klance?”
“Sure I do. But I’ve learned to wait wi’ clan and good friends. I do na’ want to jump into something just because I get lonely. It will be right… or it won’t be at all.” Klancy patted her friend on the hand and stood tall. “I’ll be getting over to the kitchen now wi’ this empty tray.” She looked down at her friend before she turned away and said, “Look around ye, Ness. You’ve got more love coming at ye right here in this room than any warrior has a right to.”
The Celt watched the tall, graceful form weave through the room, pausing to ask after some of the injured Kindred and then disappear into the kitchen. She did look around as Klancy suggested. She saw care and work and skill and love. She saw herself fitting in. Then she saw Killian and Caitlin walking hand in hand toward her.
Suddenly the Celt didn’t know whether to stand, which she couldn’t, or lie down and cover her face, which she also couldn’t. They were coming closer and they were looking like it was their mission to end up right there at her bedside, which it was. She was stuck like a salmon in mud. She sort of felt that way too. Nothing to do but take in air that felt like drowning and get through to the other side as soon as possible.
Killian’s smile was radiant. She reached for Nessa’s wrist to feel for a pulse and asked, “ Feeling better, Ness?”
Nessa looked up passed the lass at Caitlin’s clear blue eyes and answered, “Way better, lass. I mean the whole mountain shook and some of it tried to open up and swallow us.
“You mean me, it tried to swallow me” Caitlin said. “Thank you for saving my life, Nessa.”
“It seems that we are even, Cat-leen.” Nessa looked down at her broken shoulder and arm. “Though I feel like I’m near useless the way the lass has me bound.” She looked up at Killian and said, “How long will I be wrapped like a mummy Killian?”
Killian became serious. “Nessa, the bones in your upper arm and clavicle are broken. Moving that arm from the position it is in will possibly unset the clavicle.”
“How long, lass?”
“Six weeks” Killian braced herself for a tirade of Irish come-back. But all she got was a blank stare. The silence filled the space around the three women as if there was nothing and no one else in the room.
Nessa finally asked quietly, “Who will be pulling my drawers up and down for six bloody weeks lass?” After the question finally sunk in, all three women began a laughter that lasted hearty and long.
Caitlin finally said she would offer her services whenever she could and they would be finding plenty of volunteers among some of the other Lodgers. “Maybe we should have a raffle” she said. “I’m sure there must be a few lasses that would be more than happy to help.”
Killian gave the Celt a dose of the pain killer tea and the two walked on to see other injured. Nessa lay back and felt a warmth for both of them. She drifted into sleep. Dreams of gold and clashing swords and black, evil death filled her while she slept. She woke knowing that these were not drug induced dreams but premonitions of things to come. She bowed her head and prayed to her Goddess in the Druid fashion that only the will of the Goddess be done, then added, “But please wait for at least six weeks.” The Celtic warrior fell back into sleep.
____****____
The End - 'Undaunted' - by Nessa