fandomania | The Adventure continues...

“Mama!!! No-no!!!!”

[Why is Loysa here? Why is she calling me? Why is she sitting on top of me? Nothing makes sense.]

“Mama!!! No-no!!!!” she screamed louder and then began to scream at the top of her lungs.

There came the sound of footsteps.

“Oh Lord, Patra, no!!!” [Donal? You went away…] “She is still alive! Thank heavens! She is still alive!”

Someone lifted Loysa off of me. She was still screaming. “Here, Celianne, please take your sister.” [Donal? You are in Rawn-Devu…] Someone was muttering something in Old Tongue. “I HAVE STOPPED THE BLEEDING. THAT IS THE BEST I CAN DO FOR THE MOMENT. THE HEALING ARTS AREN’T MY AREA OF EXPERTISE. SHE IS GOING TO NEED A DOCTOR.” “Does this ghad-forsaken place have one?” “I DON’T KNOW, BUT IF THERE IS, I WILL FIND HIM.” More footsteps. Someone strong lifted me out of the bathtub and carried me somewhere, and placed me carefully on a bed. He wrapped some cloth around my wrists.

I groaned and opened my eyes. “I hurt.”

“I know, my love, I know. I am taking care of you.”

“Donal? You left me …”

“I know, love. But I am back now and I promise that I will never leave you again. Ever.”

“My husband is alive. Orlando has seen him.”

Donal went quiet for a moment, and then started swearing under his breath.

“I can’t return to him. I just can’t! I just can‘t take his abuse any longer. I would rather die.”

“You don’t have to, love. You are never going back to him. Trust me.”

“You don’t know him, Donal, you don’t! I know he is coming to get me. I am his possession and he never lets anything go that is his. Never!” I began to sob hysterically.

Our eggs:

Our hatchlings:

Donal took me into his arms and held me close. “I swear that I will always protect you. I swear that he will never hurt you again. Do you hear me?”

“You don’t know him. He is evil. He will kill you and he will punish me. ”

Donal sighed and said nothing for a while. “I need your promise, Patra, never to do this again.”

I said nothing. He shook me slightly, as if to get my attention. “I mean it. I need your promise. I cannot lose you, not like this!”

“I cannot give you a promise that I am not sure I can keep. I would rather die than go back to my husband.”

“Then will you promise me that as long as we are together, you will not attempt suicide again?”

“All right, as long as we are together, I promise I will not try to kill myself again.”

Donal kissed me and hugged me and held me until the doctor arrived.

The doctor arrived twenty minutes later in Orlando’s company. He examined my wrists, tisking and clucking as he went. “I am amazed that you managed to stop the bleeding so well. The cuts are deep and will need stitching.” He put a numbing agent on the wounds and began to sew up them up. He then placed a healing poultice on the wounds and wrapped them with gauze. “Well, young lady, I hope you realize how foolish you have been. You are young and should have a good, long life ahead of you. Don’t cut it short with such nonsense.”

He then turned to Donal and Orlando, and said to them, “Has she been under any stress lately? Had any shocking changes to her life?”

Orlando and Donal looked at each other, not knowing how much to say. Then Donal answered, “She just had a baby about a month ago.”

Before Donal could say anything else, the Doctor jumped in and said, “Ah! Well there you have it. New mothers sometimes get depressed after giving birth. It is not an uncommon thing, although most don’t go as far as this. What she needs is lots of rest, lots of love and attention, and three square meals a day. She is way too thin, by the way. As regards to the wounds, here is some gauze and poultice. Change her bandages twice a day and keep the wounds clean. If any infection occurs, don’t hesitate to call me back. Infections are nasty things. It is best to nip them in the bud right away. Well, I must be off. My bed calls me and tomorrow is always busy. Good night!”