Page 3 of Grounded By Love
Watching carefully, she made sure he was still unconscious. It wouldn't be good if he woke, while she was trying to save his life. He could harm her or harm himself.
She realized he’d just been reacting to the pain, and not because he was close to consciousness. Letting out a breath she’d been holding, she bent back over him.
Gently, she laid a hand on his forehead and was shocked by the fever he was running. A fever like this could mean he was beyond her care. Either way she was going to try to save his life. Too many had died on both sides.
She pressed against his ribs causing him to suck in another breath. Her fingers went along his armor, finding the deep slice in his armor plating. She was concerned about how deep it might have gone. Someone had swiped at him with the intent to kill.
She rolled her eyes. Of course, they aimed to kill. This was a battlefield.
Dipping her fingers into the slice she pulled the armor away to expose his flesh to her view. She needed to see what she’d have to contend with.
She frowned, as infected flesh greeted her. How much worse could it get for him and for her? It was so crusty and swollen. How long had he been out here suffering on the battlefield all alone?
Even if she couldn’t save him, at least, she could make him comfortable and keep him company. Her heart went out to him. How could it not? He must’ve been in such agony, with a wound so far gone.
After she finished inspecting him for any more wounds, she looked up the way she’d come. Now that she knew he had only the one wound and no broken bones, she felt sure he could be moved. There was no way she would be able to care for him down here and in the rain.
Claira would be able to give him better care, if he was in her cottage, where it was warm and dry, and where his wound would be able to heal in peace.
The only problem for her was how to get the brawny rock giant tied up to her horse. She didn't want to reopen his wound on accident. She had no platform to put him on. If she tied him to the horse, she could cause him more damage, but if she left him he faced certain death.
Tying him up to the horse was the only choice she had. It was a challenge she was up for. She only hoped he could hang in there, while she brought him to her cottage.
After leading her horse over to the rock giant, she attempted to lift him. Huffing and puffing she struggled to raise him so she could wrap the rope around him. Once done, she and the horse slowly made their way up the hill.
Her horse almost had the rock giant to the top of the hill. This hill had never seemed so massive, but she hadn’t ever made her horse drag a rock giant in full armor up such a hill. It now seemed like a mountain, as she ran between guiding her horse and making sure the rock giant didn’t get stuck on any forest debris.
Claira hoped he’d be grateful for her saving his life, because she was working her hardest to do just that. Never before had she worked so quickly to get rocks and other debris out of his way, as the horse dragged him. She was near to collapsing from the work and from the cold rain that pelted her.
It didn't help she had decided to keep his armor. This journey would’ve been finished much faster, but she’d been reluctant to remove any of the items in case they held any special meaning to him. These items could help him with his recovery. Familiar items could always bring the injured comfort in their last moments.
If she did end up successfully healing him, he would need these things to survive. The rock giants had retreated from the area, and he would need to dodge human troops who were now prowling the area for any survivors. His only defense would be his armor and weapons.
She would take his sword off him, once she got him to the cottage. Then she would search him for any other hidden weapons. She would keep them all far away from his grasp, just in case he didn’t enjoy the sight of her.
Taking a deep breath, she continued to remove any harmful debris from his path, as the horse dragged him up the last step of the hill.
The rain had let up to Claira’s relief, and she gave a brief smile, but the rain started up again to Claira’s great frustration. When she made it to the top of the hill, she stopped to suck in some much needed air. What she and her horse had just completed was no small feat, by any means.
At least, the horse only had to drag him across flat land to her cottage now. They were so close to warmth and comfort.
Another groan slipped out from between his lips, and her heart broke. At least, he wasn't dead yet, but she was unsure whether or not that was a blessing. They would both have quite the challenge in the upcoming days. He would have to be strong to beat the wound he’d been dealt by his opponent.
Once to the wooden door of her small cottage, she stopped her horse and looked down at the giant’s broad frame. Would the rain never relent? She was trying to do a good deed here and the rain was just drenching her to the core.
As a healer, she needed to remain healthy or she wouldn't be able to assist the ill. Right now she was shaking because of the piercing cold drops of water that kept hitting her.
After yanking open her door, she untied the ropes, put her hands under the rock giant’s armpits, and drug him into the cottage. They both would be much better off, once inside the warm dry walls of her cottage.
She lugged his huge muscled body over to her bed. The one room cottage didn’t allow for her to have more than one bed. So she’d have to sacrifice it to the rock giant.
Now the struggle would come when she tried to put him onto her bed. Thankfully, her bed was close to the ground. With a groan, she struggled to get his torso lifted onto her bed. Once she managed to heave his body onto her bed, she turned her attention to his legs. They weighed almost as much as his torso. She grabbed his legs by the ankles and pulled him fully onto the bed.
She stared down at him, his breathing was labored, and his fever was still raging, yet, she was frozen in place. It all came crashing down on her. What had she been thinking?
She had an injured rock giant in her home, the home of a healer, a place where villagers would come to seek her help. And now she had a huge secret she would have to be extremely careful with.
Claira shook her head. Now that she had accomplished what she’d set out to do, she was doubting her sanity. Healing might be her life, but saving a rock giant could cut her life short. The villagers wouldn’t understand her reasoning. They had too much hatred built up, here on the borders.
