fandomania | The Adventure continues... (Reply)

After the doctor left, I felt very tired and drifted off to sleep.

I awoke some time later. Donal was sitting in a chair next to my bed. He heard me stirring. “How are you feeling, love? Can I get you anything?”

“I am thirsty. May I have a drink of water?”

“Of course, love. I will be right back.” Donal left the room and returned a few moments later with a pitcher and a glass. He placed them on the night stand next to the bed. He then leaned over and helped me to sit up. As he did this, the blanket slipped off the upper part of my body. I was nude under the blanket. I blushed beet red and tried to cover myself with the blanket once more, but, in my weakened state, I only managed to knock the blanket off me entirely.

“Donal, please, please get me a nightgown? There should be one in the chest of drawers over there.”

Donal quickly searched for the gown and found one. Getting it on me proved just as embarrassing. Donal did his best and with a bit of struggle, I was eventually clothed. Modest once more, and my thirst quenched, Donal helped me to lie down again. That is when I noticed how all this was affecting him. Taking the glass and pitcher, he left the room and didn’t return for a while. As I was falling back to sleep, I heard him return to the chair.

“Why did you come back? How did you get here so quickly?”

“Orlando came and got me. This time we didn’t stop to rest. We had just landed when we heard Loysa scream. And I came back because I love you and don't wish to be anywhere else.”

Satisfied, I went back to sleep.

I awoke to the morning sun streaming through my bedroom windows. I looked over to the chair and found Orlando sitting there, reading a large tome. When he saw that I was awake, he closed the book and put it on the floor.

“HOW ARE YOU DOING THIS MORNING, LITTLE ONE?”

“Tired.”

“I AM NOT SURPRISED. YOU LOST A LOT OF BLOOD LAST NIGHT.

“I AM SORRY IF MY ACTIONS HURT AND DISTRESSED YOU IN ANY WAY. I DID WHAT I THOUGHT WAS BEST. I KNOW NOW THAT I WAS WRONG. I HOPE THAT YOU CAN FORGIVE ME?”

“You did nothing wrong. There is nothing to forgive. I am sorry that I fell apart so badly. I thought I was stronger than I am. With all that has happened recently, I just couldn’t handle Donal leaving me. I couldn’t handle the fact that my husband was still alive. Or that I would have to return to him and his abuse. I would rather die…”

“STOP THAT, LITTLE ONE! YOU ARE NOT ALONE. AND YOU CAN BE SURE THAT I WILL GUARD AND PROTECT YOU FROM HIM!”

“You don’t know him as I do. You haven’t had to live with him for ten years and suffer as I have with the beatings and the rapes; the tortures and the humiliations; the constant domination. I am Jaizel’s wife, and in his eyes, and in the eyes of the law, I am his possession, with no more rights than a slave. Jaizel is very jealous of his things. He never gives away anything that he finds useful. Especially if it is useful enough to help him gain power and feed his enormous ambition. I am part of his plan, me and my sons. He will never let me go. He will never let his sons go.

“I CAN AND WILL STOP HIM. I HAVE MANY POWERS THAT CAN DESTROY HIM.”

“I know that you are a most puissant Magi dragon. But so was your mentor, Tivor, and you know how well he protected Elphston from Jaizel. Jaizel, without any magic users, crushed Elphston and brought them to their knees. There is good reason everyone calls him the Butcher of Elphston.”

“TIVOR WAS VERY OLD AND SENILE. I MAY BE OLD, BUT I AM NOT YET SENILE. JAIZEL WILL NEVER HARM YOU WHILE I AM AROUND.”

I couldn’t think of anything further to say. He wasn’t willing to listen to me. I felt an overwhelming sense of doom.

Orlando changed the subject. “YOU ARE NOT THINKING STRAIGHT BECAUSE YOU ARE ILL AND PROBABLY VERY HUNGRY. I WILL GET NORA TO BRING YOU YOUR BREAKFAST.”

“Nora? Who is she?”

“OH, YES, I FORGOT TO TELL YOU ABOUT HER. WHEN YOU FELL ILL, I HIRED A LOCAL WIDOW WOMAN TO COME AND BE WET-NURSE TO YOUR BABIES AND TO BE COOK AND HOUSEKEEPER FOR THE REST OF US. SHE SEEMS A NICE ENOUGH PERSON. LET ME GO AND FIND HER.”

A few minutes later a short buxom woman of about thirty came into the room. She had a ruddy face and the reddest hair I have every seen. “Hi! I am Nora. Your father hired me to help out here while you are under the weather. Such a nice family you have. Your children are so well mannered and polite. And ever so helpful! I can see why you have so many, you being such a young thing and all. That husband of yours is so handsome. I am sure that it is hard to say ‘no’ to him in bed, you know what I mean? If I had a husband as good looking as him, I probably would have more babies myself. My Hubert wasn’t much of a looker, but he did know how to please a woman in bed, he did. And he gave me three lovely babies. The youngest is almost the same age as your Loysa. Now that one is going to be a handful, especially when she becomes a woman. She is going to be quite the looker, just like you. Oh, but here I am chattering on and on. You must be famished! I’ll just go and get you some breakfast.”

Nora left the room and returned with a huge tray full of food. Looking at it on my lap, I doubted that would be able to finish even a quarter of what she gave me. She looked at me so expectantly, that I had to make an attempt at eating. It hurt some much when I tried to pick up the fork. I gritted my teeth and took a bite of food. Seeing that I was eating, Nora bustled out of the room.

Our eggs:

Our hatchlings:

It was all that I could do to eat that little bite of food. I was in that much pain. And I felt trapped under a heavy tray that I couldn’t even move. I began to weep.

Donal breezed into the room about ten minutes later. “Good! You are up and eating! That Nora is such a good …” He stopped mid-sentence when he noticed my tears. “Oh, love, what is the matter? Please don’t be sad?”

“I am sorry to be such a burden to you. My wrists hurt so bad that I can barely move them, let alone feed myself. I am so weak that I can’t even move the tray. I am so stupid and so helpless.” I began to sob.

Donal moved the tray to the night stand and then took me in his arms and held me as I cried. “You’re just not feeling well, love. You will never be a burden to me. Never. You will feel a lot better when you have had something to eat. Will you let me help you?” He took my nod for a yes.

He fed me my breakfast all while telling me funny stories and acting very silly. Before I knew it, he got me laughing and eating. Afterwards, he helped me with the chamber pot, then washed my face with a warm, wet cloth and brushed my hair for me. “You are looking very beautiful, love,” he lied smoothly. “Are you up for a few visitors? I know of four children who are very anxious to see you. They have promised to be very good and mind their manners.” I smiled and said okay.

My beautiful children hesitated at the doorway, looking worried and unsure. "Sweetlings! Come here to me. I want to see you!” I smiled me bravest smile for them. They returned it as they rushed forward. “Come sit next to me, so that I can hug and kiss you all?” They carefully got on the bed and sat or lay next to me. I have everyone lots of hugs and kisses. “I am sorry that you have been worried about me. But I am feeling much better now. And that is because of you. I love you all so much. You are my brave, wonderful children!” “We love you too, Mommy!”

We spent an hour together, mostly letting the children talk and tell me about what they had been doing. Donal came in after the hour and told the children that I needed to rest. He asked them to go outside to play. The three little ones got up, but I asked Celianne to stay with me for a bit longer. We cuddled together.

“I am so sorry Celi that you had to see what you did last night. I wasn’t myself and I didn’t realize what I was doing. You are such a good girl and you shouldn’t have to grow up so fast.”

“It’s all right, Mommy. I understand. I understand why you did it. It is because of Father, isn’t it?”

“Why do you ask that, Celi?”

“Because I know what he does to you. I have heard you screaming when he hits you and I have seen the bruises. The others aren’t old enough to understand, but I do. I have even seen him hurting you.”

“What? When?”

“It was a couple of years ago. You and Father went out somewhere. The twins and I were playing hide and seek. I went in your room and hid in your closet. I saw Father dragging you into your room by your hair. He was shouting at you something awful. I saw him hit you and hit you and hit you. He then tore your dress off and hurt you some more on your bed. You were screaming and crying and begging him to stop. And it is all my fault.”

“Oh, no, Celi! How can you say that?”

“Because I should have run out and made him stop. But I was too afraid to. I am a coward. I should have made him stop. It is all my fault.” Celianne began to sob and I did too. “I hate Father!” she added. “I wish he were dead!”

“Celianne, stop that. None of it was your fault. Your father wouldn’t have stopped for you. He probably would have hurt you also. You are not to blame!” I held her and rocked her until she was all cried out.

Donal was standing in the doorway, looking very grim. It was obvious that he had overheard our conversation.

Celianne hugged and kissed me and told me she loved me. As she walked out of my room she added, “I wish that Donal was my daddy.”

Donal was about to say something, when we heard, “Dada! Up!” It was Loysa, she had crawled up to Donal and was trying to stand by holding on to his leg. “Dada! Up!” He reached down and picked her up and held her in his arms. He smiled at her and said, “Hello, Sweet Cheeks! Where did you come from?”

Loysa looked around, pointed at me and said, “Mama!” He laughed and said to me, “You know, sometimes I think she actually understands what she is saying. Scary, huh?”

Nora came rushing in to the room. “Oh there you are, you little scamp! I am sorry, sir! I had just put her down in her crib for her nap. I turned away just for a minute and she was gone! She gave me such a fright! Sometimes I think our little bird has sprouted wings!”