Celia slowly opened her eyes and peeked through her heavy eyelashes only to see a dark red stain covering the cloth in front of her. It took her a while to register what she was seeing but as her mind started to become clearer, the memories of what she witnessed a day before overwhelmed her, it was just as she was reliving them again and again in her mind. The pale flesh and warm smile of her grandmother was now simply an old memory for her, all she could see and think about was the face she once knew in the hands of those beasts, the cold blood dripping over her whitened skin and her eyes looking hauntingly at her without any signs of life in them.
She wanted to scream and cry, but her body was not listening to her anymore, she felt like she was detached from her own physical body and not return. With every memory of her grandmother, the sweet laughter she often heard, the strength she sometimes saw in her eyes and even the sadness that she often tried to keep hidden, were all there, replaying in front of her like she was reliving all her memories and as much as it was once part of her life, she now felt her heart constrict at the reality. A reality she willing to admit just yet...
Celia was watching fervently all the memories rushing in her mind when a loud groan made her snap out of the trance she was in. When she heard the gruff voice she managed to finally turn her attention to the crimson mass in front of her. The giant she barely knew was laying by her side, with his strong body slightly twisting in pain and the once white shirt was now filled with a crimson liquid. The sight of what she knew as a giant and powerful man turned into a perfect example of pain and suffering and her heart was in even more pain. She had been too weak to protect herself before, she could only let him do all the fighting and as a result, he was now wounded and in pain.
The young witch managed to finally gain some control over her body as she reached to touch the mass shivering in front of her. The once warm touch was heated to an unbelievable temperature and she almost burned herself if it wasn't for the clothes dampened with his blood and sweat. Panic started filling the mind of the young witch as she finally noticed the amount of blood all over him, that was slowly dripping on the floor, dirtying the once-white sheets of the bed.
"No, please wake up Tom!" She managed to say, she thought she would scream but only a whisper came out of her lips. She had to do something, she couldn't lose someone else again. Although they didn't know each other for long, they had become close over the last few weeks, and she knew that the man was important in the eyes of her grandmother so she owned it to her and him to try her best and save the giant. The urgency of the situation made her will herself to move more than she ever thought she could, stepping out of the bed, she analyzed the wounds that covered the Count. Although her own body was tired and she seemed to have some burns over her arms, she had to get over the stabbing in the muscles and do what she knew best, tend to his wounds and make him recover.
It was already quite late in the evening however that didn't bother Celia. Looking around the rundown house, she found an old linen sheet which she shredded in several pieces by suspending it from a nail hanging out of its frame and pulling at it until a loud ripping noise was heard. She went around the house and gathered some firewood and soon the cabin was lightened up with the comfortable light coming from the small fireplace on which a thick pot filled with fresh water was placed. She had to carry all the water from the back of the house and to her tired body it was an excruciating task, but her dedication to helping Tom was stronger than the exhaustion of her body.
Celia took another look over at the Count. She unbuttoned his shirt and somehow managed to it take off, then she examined the wound on his shoulder which was not that deep, and the one on the right side of his abdomen which was still making him lose blood. Using the shreds of cloth she prepared before, she covered the larger wounds and with another piece she carefully wiped the sweat and blood from the pale trembling face.
After inspecting all of the wounds and patching the smaller ones, she had one big problem to deal with, she needed to apply some salve to his abdomen in order to stop the bleeding but she didn't have any herbs on her, so the only chance she had, was to look around the forest for some devil's nettle, a plant that was well known to help in containing the bleeding of injured soldiers.
Without thinking too much about it, after taking a last glance over to Tom, she exited the cottage and made her way through the darkened forest. Luckily for her, she didn't have to go very far away when she found what she was looking for. At first, she tried to use her power to cleanly pick up the plant and make it grow in the process, but no matter how much she concentrated, she couldn't do it. Time was running out and it was critical to tend to Tom's injuries, so forgetting about the initial plan, she quickly used her hands to slightly weaken the grasp of the roots in the soil and with a small tug the bunch of leaves was nestled in her arms together with the roots, while bits of ground fell all over her dirty dress.
When she considered she had enough for the emergency treatment Tom needed, she returned as fast as she could, trying not to trip over while protecting the potent plant. She was too concentrated on getting back to the giant and she didn't notice the pair of eyes swiftly following her moves, and the moving in the bushes that would normally alert her.
Finally, at the cabin, she washed the plant together with her muddy hands and swiftly used a clean rock to smash the leaves until a paste formed inside the bowl in which she added a bit of cold water to make it easier to mix. She took the salve and carefully applied it to the open wound on the abdomen making Tom let loose a painful cry. His groans were heartbreaking for her, but at the same time, she was happy he still had enough energy to fight for his life.
After wrapping the wound up in whatever material she still had left, she finally allowed herself to relax, now it was all up to Tom and his will to live. She took a seat on the carpet near the small fireplace and soon enough her body started to relax.
They were going to be fine, they had too, she still needed answers and she will have them.