Aldene pulled the last arrow out of the man’s body and stood up with a sigh. She dropped it into the quiver on her waist. The quiver was given to her by a guard when she stayed to help with the clean up.
Her knives were already back in their sheaths after a thorough cleaning and her sword was strapped comfortably in its sheath on her back after receiving the same treatment as the knives.
The wounded were brought into the castle an hour ago, leaving only the dead to bury. Soldiers were already laying out the bodies in straight lines, separating allies from enemies. She stepped aside as a two men approached to take the body at her feet.
“The battle's finally over.”
Aldene turned and saw her husband walking toward her, his hands cleaned of his patients' blood. His short black hair clung to his scalp from sweat. She didn't see any blood in it, but there most likely were some splatters like the ones that stained his dark green uniform.
She placed her right hand on his cheek. “How are you?”
“I'm exhausted. You?” A hand landed on her head while the other ran down her back. Marcus moved his hand up to her shoulder, to the hand caressing his cheek. She watched him look down at her. Aldene knew what he saw. Her leather and metal pieces of armour had scratches on every surface. Any number of cuts could have come from any of the men now lying dead in the field. Many of them could have even killed her if she hadn’t been fast enough to evade them. The hand on her head pulled her closer to him as he came to the same conclusion.
“I have a few scratches,” Aldene said. “They're not serious.”
“You would think that scouts stay out of the fighting,” he said, looking at her pointedly.
She grinned. “They needed everyone for this battle, be it a scout or herbalist. Luckily, I am both.”
Marcus shook his head with a laugh and slapped his right hand over her forehead to examine her condition. When he suddenly felt the throbbing pain coming from her, he quickly retreated and closed the connection. She gasped and grabbed his arms for support when she finally registered the pain.
Quickly, Marcus located the deep gash on her thigh and pressed a glowing orange hand to it. He methodically stitched the wound back together and closed it until the wound showed only a pink line. A moment later, even that was gone.
“You should save your strength for other patients as well,” Aldene said when he began to heal her other wounds, both the major and minor ones.
“I’ve helped all of them come through the worst of it. The lord’s Healers can handle the rest of his soldiers.”
“So your work here is done,” Aldene said.
“Not quite,” Marcus murmured and looked around. “There is one more out here.” He cast his mind out and focused on the ragged breathing and weakening heartbeat. “One more soldier who is still alive.”
Aldene followed him as he carefully but quickly walked past the men still lying where they were slain.
Marcus stopped in front of a man who was holding a curved sword in his left hand, his right arm broken at the elbow.
The injured man was wearing the uniform of those who attacked them early this morning but it didn’t matter to Marcus. He went down onto his knees and put his hand to the man’s forehead while Aldene passed him the wood they used to splint broken bones.
“We can finally go home,” Marcus said as he worked on healing the enemy.
“I said that this morning,” Aldene said. “The worst always happen when we hope for something good. It has been six years. Six years since we held Maya!”
Marcus thought longingly of their daughter who was turning sixteen this year. With their first priority as curing Lord Albin from a mysterious illness, they spent most of their time researching and creating new formulas with the other talented Healers already present. When they weren’t working on a cure, they were eating or sleeping.741Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOhPWnsOQCi
Finally, after two years, the Healers found a working cure. It gave Marcus and Aldene hope that they’d soon return home. But that hope was disrupted by the arrival of rogue Ician soldiers who were determined to invade Enzla. Being near the border, the castle was under the pressure of accepting refugees and sending out soldiers to help defend their homeland.
The problem only worsened when late last year, they found out that the attacks were orchestrated by a faction of the Ician government that was trying to overthrow the Ician king. The king's fall would destroy the tender alliance Icia had with Enzla that was only formed three years ago. Even now, the skirmishes continued throughout their kingdom while Enzla tried to maintain contact with the Ician king.
“Do you think she’d recognize us?” Marcus asked after he waved over two young boys holding a stretcher.
Aldene pinched his cheeks with a scowl on her face. “My stupid, stupid sweetheart. Why did I ever marry you? Of course she will recognize us! How could she not? As a child she had my facial features and your colouring. I bet she looks even more like us now.”
Yes. Maya was an adorable babe who had the brown eyes of both her parents and black hair from her father. As she grew, her features had become more defined and more like her mother's.
“Mm. You win,” Marcus said through stretched cheeks. Aldene held back a smile. She released him and planted a kiss on his bruised face.
“Our magic mirror broke five years ago, but we can find another one now that we have time,” Aldene said.
“They’re expensive and rare. It took me months to find someone willing to sell me a small one,” Marcus said.
Aldene scowled at him. “Then we can at least ask Lord Albin to borrow his for a quick message, to tell Maya that we are coming home. With snow that’s predicted to fall this afternoon, it’s going to take us two months. I will see her before we leave.”
Marcus had no intention to stop her because she was right..
It had been too long since they saw their girl.
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