I’ll be fine…. Go ahead (ch8)
Synopsis: Madga suffers through great pain on her own, until a group comes upon her in the woods. One of them is Ress, who is determined to help anyone in need.
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She whimpered and rocked into the soft wool of her brown cloak lying on the ground. The top arch of a root jabbed her hip but she barely noticed. It felt as though an animal with sharp claws was tearing into her insides, while someone dug in and scooped out her blood with a spoon.
The fire next to her quietly flickered, in danger of dying out. A formerly white cloth, long stained and cleaned multiple times over, lay crumped next to it. Beyond it her pack and its contents had been hastily scattered across the ground.
She whimpered again and tears rolled across her face to fall on the wool.
She jerked—several footsteps padded along the dirt of the forest floor. Branches of smaller bushes were pushed aside and a face greeted her. Then two more.
Preservation overruled her pain and she scrambled to sit up.
The first person had used a spear to push aside the bushes. As she stepped forward she pulled it back and away from Madga.
The large woman raised her free hand. “You’re safe,” she said, as though speaking to a frightened animal. “We’re not going to fight you.”
Madga’s eyes flickered to the others, then widened and flashed to her long blond hair. Her breath caught in her throat. She made to stand but a lightning bolt of pain shot through abdomen. She fell with a cry of pain.
The woman dropped the spear and rushed forward to catch her. She lowered her to her knees. Madga leaned into the comforting touch without realizing it; she quickly straightened and slipped out of her grasp.
“Sorry, I’ll go-”
“Go?” the woman said in surprise. “Why would you leave? You’re clearly in pain-”
“Because she’s Gwae,” a man spat.
Madga and the woman looked up.
The woman hesitated. “Yes, but-”
Madga shifted farther away. Her heart beat faster as the fire flickered and the man’s short hair and beard flashed red in the light. A Suuroo and an EreTaam.
The EreTaam man said, “We agreed that you’d take us to Reygo. Not to help one of them.”
Madga kept her eyes on the ground. She curled in on herself, expecting the Suuroo to agree, or hit her.
Instead, she rolled on to her butt.
Madga stared wide-eyed as she said, “I did agree to escort you, yes. I agreed to protect you. I also swore to protect others and right now this woman needs my help. You’re free to go to Reygo on your own. I will see you again.”
She turned to Madga. Her dark brown eyes looked over her, searching for the source of her pain. Finding nothing, she glanced around at the mess, her gaze landing on the stained cloth.
She nodded and removed her pack, untying the small, round shield attached to it. She put the shield aside and began digging. Madga’s eyes widened as she pulled out bone, and then metalshaped daggers, putting them aside to continue looking.
The third person shifted from foot to foot. Metal clanked as she moved. With a sigh, she finally stepped into the little space. She carefully lowered her large, heavy pack down on the opposite side of the fire. She stretched, using the movement to sneak glances at Madga. Her long, auburn hair was braided, and decorated in with wood and metalshaped beads. Her clothes also had bits of shaped metal—fasteners and decorations. The amount of metal like made her Reygo. Her nervous glances at Madga, and somewhat to the Suuroo warrior, bolstered Madga’s guess. Reygo’s trade with Gwae was tentative, and the Suuroo weren’t fond of either.
Madga looked at the Suuroo. The woman smiled as she finally found what she was looking for. She pulled out a cloth pouch and held it to her.
Madga tentatively accepted it.
The EreTaam huffed loud and she flinched, dropping the pouch. The man stomped around the fire, picking a spot as far away from Madga as he could get. He removed his large bag, holding on to it tightly after he sat down. He glared and she quickly adverted her gaze.
The Suuroo gently picked up the pouch again and untied it, revealing a large pile of dried herbs. She held it up for Madga to sniff.
Then she asked, “Do you have water?”
Madga recognized the smell of the herbs. There was something else, maybe for taste, but she knew what she was offering.
Madga blinked up at her. “Ye-yes. I do.”
The woman kindly said, “Why don’t you get that ready, and I’ll get the fire roaring again, hm?”
Madga took the pouch again. She sat, watching in a daze as the woman shifted to kneel by the fire. A moment later the flames grew with new life, illuminating the trees around them.
The man’s glare hadn’t faltered. Nearby, the Reygo woman began removing her beads and braids. A wood comb rested in wait on her lap.
The Suuroo sat back down. The movement jolted Madga into action and she quickly searched around for her water skin, pot, a clean cloth, and a cup.
The woman smiled. “Ress, daughter of Ceosu. Wife of Sorsee and mother of Romee, Sera, and Arna.”
She hesitated as she poured some water into the wooden cup. “…Madga.” When she didn’t go further, the EreTaam snorted and muttered something. She kept her gaze on her cup.
Ress said, “Nice to meet you, Madga.”
Madga silently nodded as she poured the water from the cup into the pot. The imaginary spoon scraped at her insides again and she grimaced, choking back a groan of pain.
Once the pot rested on the fire the Reygo woman spoke up. She slowly combed her hair as she said, “…Eeyn. Great-great-niece of Gavrg the Funny. Oh!” Her eyes lit up. “He once stopped a fight between a Gwae and Reygo!!”
Madga only glanced up in acknowledgement. Ress furtively shook her head. The EreTaam didn’t look away from Madga.
Eeyn made a quiet noise in her throat and deliberately returned her focus to her hair.
Madga tried to keep an eye on the pot, but the unseen claws suddenly dug deep, tearing at her flesh and painting her skin sickly pale. She swayed and Ress shouted something.
A moment later she struggled to open her eyes. Her eyelids weighed heavy, but she was able to force them open.
Someone was leaning over her. A strand of hair shone like gold in the light, just before a heavy weight settled carefully on her lower abdomen. She moaned as the heat travelled through her, soothing the pain until it was just bearable .
Brown eyes flashed to her. Ress sighed in relief. “Good, you’re awake. How does that feel?”
Madga rubbed an eye. “Awake?”
“You passed out.” Bewildered, Eeyn said, “I’ve heard of people who experience such pain before, but I’ve never seen it. If you can sit up, I’ve finished your brew for you.”
The EreTaam man grunted. “I’ve seen it.” He grumbled, “I’ve added some herbs. Drink it.”
It took her a few beats of time before she could gather the energy to twist onto her side. Her hand shot down to keep the hot rock wrapped in layers of cloth in place against her. She carefully glanced around. EreTaam had put his bag to the side but he no longer held on to it, instead staring grumpily into the fire. Ress watched her carefully with half-raised hands, while Eeyn waited with the cup.
Madga hesitated. Her lips worried together, then another bolt of pain overcame the heat of the stone and she accepted the cup with a whimper.
Ress’ hands lowered and she looked at Madga in sympathy. “One of my daughters has pain like this. I can’t imagine having it… I don’t know how she goes through it. Brew and heat seem to help.” She smiled. “Once you’ve finished, get some sleep. I’ll keep watch.”
The EreTaam suddenly looked up. “What? We should go-”
Eeyn weakly tried, “YuuTes…”
“Again, you’re free to go.” Ress began gathering up Madga’s things and placing them by her pack.
YuuTes scowled.
Madga’s shoulders turned inward. She weakly said, “It’s okay. I’ll be fine…. Go ahead.”
Ress’ gaze turned to her. Her eyes softened. “Madga….”
“You heard her,” YuuTes said. He rose to his feet and donned his pack. Madga choked on another whimper and he glanced at her. Something flickered in his eyes, but it quickly disappeared.
Eeyn glanced around rapidly. “Wha-what? But I’m not ready! I thought we were resting!!”
YuuTes’s mouth twitched. “Eeyn, you could have nine-hundred rests and you would still have sore feet.”
“I’m not used to all this travelling! It’s your fault!”
Madga turned her head and her wool cloak muffled another whimper.
As the two bickered Madga heard Ress crouch next to her.
She whispered, “Are you sure? If you need help I don’t mind staying here longer. Just say the word.”
Madga shook her head, rubbing her face against the soft wool and wiping away the hidden tears. “I’m okay.” She shrunk when her voice cracked and hoped Ress wouldn’t notice.
After a long moment, Ress quietly sighed and stood. Madga listened as she carefully walked around, gathering her pack and weapons. Branches rustled as she followed YuuTes’ through the brush with slow, reluctant steps. Eeyn hurriedly packed her bag and rushed off after them, muttering a ‘sorry, see you again’.
Madga’s fingers clenched around her cup, then let go. Sniffles and hiccups escaped as they dug into the wool. Another punch jabbed her insides and she inhaled a cry, cursing herself, and cursing herself again for forgetting to gather extra herbs in time. Then she wouldn’t have had to rely on them.
She pushed aside the cup to curl in on herself, holding the warm stone tight against her body. She rocked, trying to alleviate the pain as she cried into her sleeve.