Exton

Rowan and Raina are visiting by the fire when they hear the first scream.

Raina gets to Alise first. Alise had covered her face with her hands, screaming and crying. Raina sits on the bed, wrapping her arms around her, trying to quiet her. “Its all right, sshhhh *rólegur lítill einn, I'm here, Stoney is here...sshhh” and she rocks her gently until the sobs quiet and her breathing returns to normal.

Stoney touches her mind, I am here, je taime Allie. Dont cry, I'll hold you as soon as I can..

Alise nods, I know...She looks up and sees Rowan standing at the foot of the bed. “Who are you?”

“My name is Rowan. Mortuis asked me to come and help take care of you for a couple of days. I got here earlier but you were sleeping.” Rowan comes closer to Alise, “May I sit with you? I talked to Stoney while you were resting..”

Alise looks to Stoney, did she?

Yes, Allie. She seems very nice, you can trust her. Mortuis must or he wouldnt have sent for her...

Rowan could feel the energy that flowed between the two and wondered how many lifetimes they had shared and if they were aware of that or not. When Alise nodded her consent Rowan made a quick examination of the basics, listening to heart, lungs, checking glands and temperature, explaining everything as she went. When she saw Alises back she had to say a quick prayer to the goddess for control over her emotions and mouth. By all thats holy, how could anyone do this to this poor child? “All right, this cut on your hip is going to need some attention and I have cold compresses soaked in a mixture of lavender, calendula and feverfew to help with the rest of your back. Is there anything else I need to see?”

Alise hesitated a moment too long, indicating to Rowan that there was something else.

Show her Allie, its all right, she is a healer and a woman, she will understand...

Alise shows her the bite marks, two of them, one already fading and the other dark and swollen on her breast. Rowan hugs her, “The compresses will help that as well as the black eyes. I have some tea for you to drink, it will help your stomach. How are the fingers? Are you having any pain from them? I can give you some more pain medication but I need to know if there is any chance that you might be pregnant. Certain things we dont want to use if you are..”

Alises mind went blank for a minute, “I dont know....I... I dont think so....I havent..I mean....”

“Its all right Alise. I dont think you need a narcotic or anything that strong anyway. I have some herbal things to try for the pain and we'll just go from there. After all you have been through I am sure its easy to lose track of things.”

Rowan got to work and showed Raina exactly what to do in case she got called away. Surgical glue for the hip, compresses for all the bruises, a cup of hot tea and Alise was yawning. She was laying on her tummy, the cold cloths feeling good on her back when she fell asleep. Rowan chased Raina out, “Go get some rest. I'll stay with her for now.” Raina headed for the couch, and Rowan pulled a chair into the bedroom to keep an eye on her patient. She took out her journal and sorting her thoughts, started to write....

*quiet little one