Prologue~Ch. 1~Ch. 2~Ch. 3~Ch. 4~Ch. 5~Ch. 6~Ch. 7~Ch. 8~Ch. 9~Ch. 10~Ch. 11~Ch. 12~Ch. 13~
Ch. 14~Ch. 15~Ch. 16~Ch. 17~Ch. 18~Ch. 19~Ch. 20~Ch. 21~Ch. 22~Ch. 23~Ch. 24~~Ch. 25~Ch. 26~
Ch. 27~Ch. 28~Ch. 29~Ch. 30~Ch. 31~Ch. 32~Ch. 33~Ch. 34~Ch. 35~Ch. 36~Ch. 37~Ch. 38~
It was only with great difficulty that Gareth and Alexandre kept themselves from bombarding Jessica with questions when she rejoined them at the edge of the battlefield. She seemed preoccupied, thoughtful. The two men exchanged a glance; Alexandre shrugged and they fell in step behind Jessica as she made her way back to the camp.
She seemed to take no notice of what was going on around them until they reached a grove of apple trees at the edge of the camp. There was a crowd of children gathered in a circle beneath one of the trees, jabbering excitedly. One voice rose above the others, obviously in pain.
“What’s going on here?” Jessica demanded. There was nothing she hated worse than bullies, and from the looks of things, someone was being picked on.
At the sound of her voice the children scattered, leaving their fallen comrade behind. Jessica knelt down beside the howling child. His leg was bent at an unnatural angle, from the looks of it he’d fallen from the tree. The apples strewn around him told them what he’d been doing up there in the first place.
“’Tis apparent they were stealing apples,” Gareth said. “I’ll fetch the guard.”
“I weren’t doing nothing wrong,” he wailed. “We was just climbing trees, you’ve got no call to fetch the guard.”
“No one’s going to fetch the guard,” Jessica soothed, shooting a pointed glance at Gareth. “We only want to help. Gareth, I’m sure one of the healers would be of more use than a guard. It looks like his leg is broken.”
Alexandre hunkered down beside her. “Even should you be able to persuade a healer to come, they would not treat a peasant,” he said quietly. “What’s more, they’d report him as a thief.”
“But he’s just a child! And he’s hurt!”
“The best thing we could do for him is take him to his kin. They’ll do what they can for the pain.”
“But what about his leg? Without proper treatment it won’t heal properly.”
“’Tis the way of things, my lady,” Gareth said.
“Well it’s not my way!”
Jessica couldn’t believe the callous attitude of the two men. She and Ellen had taken a first aid course together, and she knew the leg needed to be set as quickly as possible or else it would heal crooked.
“Gareth, I need you to find me two sticks. About this long,” she held her hands about a foot apart, “and as straight as possible.”
With a sigh, he left to do as she asked. As he left, Jessica stood up and, with her back to Alexandre and the boy, reached up under her jerkin to pull the tails of the voluminous shirt free. Taking her knife, she sliced off a wide strip. Sitting down again, she began tearing it into thinner strips.
“What’s your name, sweetie?”
The boy gulped back his tears. “K-K-Kieran.”
“I’m not going to lie to you, Kieran. I have to touch your leg to see how bad the break is and it’s going to hurt. Are you ready?”
He nodded, eyes wide and fearful.
As gently as possible, Jessica moved the boy’s leg until it was straight again. There was no sound from him and when she looked at his face his eyes were closed. He’d passed out, which was just as well.
“This is bad,” she said, glancing up at Alexandre. “I can feel at least two distinct breaks. I don’t know if I can set this properly. Isn’t there anyone else who could help?”
He shook his head with genuine regret. “No one cares for the fate of a peasant lad. To most lads like him are the lowest of the low.”
“Well I’ll just have to do my best and hope it’s enough,” she said grimly. “Where’s Gareth with those splints? I can feel the heat of his injury through the homespun he’s wearing.”
Alexandre’s eyes widened as he looked down at the boy’s leg. “The heat is not coming from him.”
Jessica looked down and her jaw dropped open. Her hands, where they rested on Kieran’s leg, were glowing with a pale, green light. As she became aware of what was happening, the glow intensified and she could actually feel the energy seeking out the breaks and repairing the damage.
“Holy Saint Christopher,” she whispered. The glow flared briefly, then winked out. She could see Gareth approaching with an armful of sticks.
“What do I do now?” she whispered frantically. “I can’t let anyone know I can heal like this, I’ll never have any peace.”
“I suggest you wrap up the boy’s leg as you were going to, and pretend the injury was not as severe as we’d thought.”
Jessica nodded. “I can do that.”
