Page 4 of Grounded By Love
Claira just stared at him for a few moments, letting her mind run away with her. It was true, she would have to be careful, not only for her life, but for his. She’d hate to see him killed, after all the effort she’d gone through to save his life.
Looking around her cottage she noticed she’d left the door open. Quickly she darted over and peered outside. It would be just her luck, if someone saw her lugging a rock giant into her cottage.
After putting her horse back in the barn, she closed the door to her cottage and noticed all the mud and blood she’d dragged in. It was time to get things cleaned up, just in case someone came to her door. She didn't want the evidence smeared across her floor. No need to get anyone too curious about the mess.
Grabbing a few rags, she cleaned the floor vigorously. Claira didn’t stop until she had every speck of mud and every drop of blood wiped from her floorboards. Her mattress was a different story. She would have to get rid of the mattress altogether.
Claira knew she couldn't have him waking up. First, she had no idea what his reaction would be towards her and second, she didn't need him trying to escape. He would only end up harming himself further, and she wasn’t about to let that happen.
Stoking the fire, she grabbed a pot of water to boil for tea. Making her way over to the chest of herbs she kept handy, she dug through them to find the right leaves.
“Where are you?” She whispered down at the chest. “Found it!” She held it up high into the air.
Taking a mortar and pestle she ground the leaf into a pulp with a few drops of water, then wrapped it in a cloth. Once ready Claira grabbed a cup and placed the cloth inside. Now she just had to wait for the water to boil.
She took a seat on a chair across from her bed, so she could watch the rock giant slumber.
He hadn't made a sound, since she’d brought him inside. She was able to hear his heavy breathing, so she knew he was still alive. He was just fast asleep, which was what he needed. That wound needed energy to heal.
Some part of her hoped he could sense he was somewhere safe, and that was why he was sleeping so soundly. Yet, she knew deep down he just had no energy to wake.
Claira frowned, as the water started to boil. She was so comfortable, now that she was off her feet. Moving up the hill had sucked her spirit away. Getting up with a sigh she spooned the hot water into the cup and stirred the cloth tea bag around.
She waited until the tea was cool enough to drink. Then she warily approached the bed. Claira wanted to make sure he wasn't pretending to sleep so he could take her by surprise. Of course, she doubted he would or was capable of doing anything, at the moment. But she still approached slowly, ready to jump away at a moment's notice.
After she stood by the bed for a few moments, she bent down next to him. Gently, she put one of her arms under his head and tilted his head back slightly. Claira brought the tea to his lips and poured a trickle into his mouth.
At first, he sputtered and choked on the liquid, but then he sucked in the liquid until the cup was empty. With how thirsty he was, she wondered how long he had been on the battlefield. She made several trips between him and her bucket of fresh water. Eventually, he had his fill and wouldn't take anymore from her.
Stretching her arms above her head she tried to stretch out her back muscles. With the rock giant out for good, she only had to worry about the villagers finding out about his presence.
Now that she wasn’t being one minded with her healing, she turned her attention to herself. She was still in rain soaked clothing. If she didn’t want to catch a sickness, she would want to change to dry clothing.
With the amount of tea, he drank, he would be out for quite some time. She didn't need or want him waking to see her naked. She wasn’t accustomed to being naked around another person, but she needed to change out of her wet clothing.
Slowly, she let her dress slip off her shoulders. Grabbing a clean cloth, she dampened it and began to wipe the blood and dirt from her skin. When she finished, she reveled in the feeling of being squeaky clean. She slipped on a new dress, one of the very few she owned. Claira needed to be careful with how many dresses she ruined or she would soon be walking around in the nude.
She didn’t make much from those she healed. The villagers could only give so much, when they decided to give her anything at all.
Now came the giant’s turn. She needed to get him out of his wet armor and take all and any weapons away from him. She didn’t need him waking up in a panic and reaching for a sword. Claira was positive a giant warrior was trained to strike first and ask questions later.
She’d seen many naked men as a healer, but she’d never seen a naked rock giant before. Claira had to confess she was insanely curious. This was her chance to study a rock giant up close.
After stripping off his heavy armor, she found him very similar to human men. The only difference was the height, eye color, and muscle build.
She had no dry clothes that would fit him. For now, he would just have to wear a blanket, and hopefully he wouldn't kick the blanket off. He needed all the warmth he could get, at this point.
Walking back to her chest of herbs Claira dug through them again. She put different leaves and flowers into her mortar and pestle. While she ground them, she added a little water until it became a thick paste.
While she waited for it to harden a little, she looked over at the rock giant lying on her bed. Strangely enough, having him here in her cottage made her feel less lonely. The villagers had never accepted her, which was the reason she lived by herself on the outskirts of town.
She had no family to speak of, and just the presence of another being, after all these years, made her feel content.
She shook her head. There was a patient to be tended to. She didn’t have time for lamenting her loneliness through all these years. Grabbing the bowl of paste, she made her way over to his bedside. She applied the pleasant smelling paste to the deep wound on his chiseled chest. Taking a long strip of cloth, she wrapped it tightly around his chest.
She needed to stop his blood loss, at all costs, while keeping infection at bay.
Chapter 2
