Astrid turned to leave, but then stopped and remained still for a moment before turning around again and staring at her as if she struggled with a thought.
Vevina stepped over to her and instinctively offered concern and comfort with a gentle hand to her armored arm.
"Are you alright?"
She thought she heard Astrid growl deep down in her chest before she pressed her cheek to hers and whispered, "I like your scent."
Then she left abruptly, with such haste that she stirred the hay that littered the stable floor. As if through a hazy cloud Vevina watched Astrid disappear. It took her a few moments to regain her composure, though her flesh continued to tingle and shock wiped her smile away.
She pressed hesitant fingers to her lips. Where had the smile come from? Her fingers drifted to her cheek and she closed her eyes to linger in the heat that tingle her fingertips. Was the head from her or from Astrid?
I like your scent.
She thought Astrid hadn't noticed her at all, and had begun to wonder if she was wasting time beautify herself in any way. But Astrid had noticed, and she liked it.
Her shock didn't chase the smile, which lingered. It came from too deep insider her to dismiss easily, and had been a long time in coming. She couldn't recall when she had smiled with such pleasure before.
"What are you doing here? You were ordered to remain in the keep."
The familiar harsh voice spoke, and sent fear racing through her. But she was quick with an explanation, keeping her distance as she walked past her stepfather. "I wished to bid my wife a safe and successful battle," she told him.
"Finally, you do something right," her stepfather said, but it sounded more like an accusation.
"I must see to my chores," Vevina said, hurrying her steps to get away from him before he could say or ask anything more, or before he found a reason to raise his hand to her.
"See that you do," her stepfather shouted as she left the stable.
Normally, Vevina would worry over her stepfather's accusations or actions, but today was different. Today she thought about Astrid, especially in the early afternoon when the rain began to fall gently, and she sat in the sewing room stitching a shirt for her.
It was then her words grew strong in her head.
Good, then I will not worry over you.
Her supposed wife worried over her. Her mother had been the last person to truly worry over her, and she'd forgotten what it felt like to have someone care. Astrid might only have worried over her because she thought Vevina was her twin brother's wife, of course, and that was her duty, but she did worry, and that made her feel cared for and , in a way, loved.
Not that she was foolish enough to believe Astrid loved her. She did not. But she knew that Astrid was an honorable woman who did the honorable thing, which was to care for his family whether she chose her or not.
And for that alone she cared for Astrid.
~*~
Astrid dragged a wounded Lancer off the battlefield and secured him behind the protection of a large boulder.
"If you dare move, God, I will finish you off myself."
Her brother snickered. "Not likely."
Astrid shoved a protesting Lancer back against the boulder. "Your leg took a severe blow."
"I can still fight."
"The hell you can." Astrid grabbed Lancer's sword and stood. "Fair warning, brother, move and I will promise you, you will be sorry."
"My big sister warning me?" Lancer laughed with a grimace.
"Your big sister promising you." Astrid squeezed his shoulder.
Lancer laughed again. "Go win the battle for us. I will be waiting for you."
Astrid reentered the battle with an eye on the enemy. Her father had warned them all to return safely, and with her leading the battle, it was her responsibility to do as her father commanded.
She had lost one brother, she would not lose another.
Astrid fought like a beast enraged, and when the battle was done, stood on the battlefield gripping her blood-soaked sword, her warriors staring wide-eyed at her. She had taken down more barbarians than all her warriors combined, and it wasn't admiration she saw in their faces, but pure fear.
"Lady Astrid!"
She turned to look at her second man.
"Lord Lancer needs help."
Astrid carried Lancer into the keep, Arthur came and followed behind. Elaine came running, and Scott preceding her, and servants hurried to assist. Lancer was laid on a table before the hearth, his garments dampened by the rain that had turned heavy just as they entered the keep.
Lancer was barely conscious. Family hovered around him, Elaine examined the wound, shaking her head.
"It is deep."
Astrid spewed oaths beneath her breath. She should have protected Lancer, she told herself. She should have been there to deflect the sword. It was her responsibility and she was the older sibling.
"This wound is bad, very bad," Elaine said, brushing her tears away. "It is deep and I do not know if stitches will hold it together." Her eyes sprung wide.
"What is it, Mother?" Astrid asked anxiously.
"Your wife, Vevnina. She is very good with a needle."
"Where is she?" Astrid asked.
"The sewing room," her mother said.
Astrid took the stairs two at a time and shoved the sewing room door open with such force that it crashed into the wall.
Vevina jumped out of her seat, her stitching falling to the floor, and stared her Astrid.
"I have need of you," Astrid said.
"Need?" she barely whispered.
"Lancer has been injured and needs stitches. Mother says you are good with a needle." She grabbed her hand.
"I have only stitched garments, never people!" she objected.
"There is a first time for everything."
Vevina hurried alongside her, then stopped abruptly. "My needle and threads, I will need them."
"Hurry," Astrid urged, and released her hand.
Astrid waited with little patience, and when she reappeared, snatched her by the hand again and rushed her down the stairs and into the hall.
"Stitch him," she ordered when they stopped at the table where Lancer lay sprawled.
Astrid feared she would protest and run in fright from the sight of the blood, or worst, fainted on the spot, but suprisingly, she remained calm, examining her brother's wounded leg while people talked around her.
"I think it will take many stitches to hold the flesh," Eliane said.
Astrid watched as her wife reached out, placed a comforting hand on her mother's bloody one and calmed her with reassuring words.
"We can do this. We can mend his leg."
In no time the two women worked together, mostly in silence, Astrid mother following her wife's instructions without hesitation. Astrid watched in amazement as Vevina's fingers deftly stitched Lancer's leg as if it were a delicate piece of embroidery. Her stitches were precise and evenly woven, and she was glad that Lancer had remained unconscious since it took many stitches to close the wound.
"The stitches must be kept dry and the bandages clean," Vevina said with a glance at Elaine. "I recall my mother stitching a wound for a neighbor's lad and she was insistent about both. And Lancer must remain in bed for a few weeks so the wound can begin to heal and the stitches can take hold."
"He'll stay put," Astrid and Arthur said in unison, bringing a smile to all in the hall.
"Fever could set in," Elaine said as they bandaged Lancer's leg.
"No need to worry about that unless it happens," Vevina cautioned. "We can only do what we can at this moment."
Astrid admired the way her wife handled her mother's concerns, forcing her to concentrate on the moment and not worry too far ahead. She had learned the wisdom of paying heed to the moment at hand while captured. If she'd thought in the future even only an hour or two, she would have lived in anticipation of the beatings she knew would come and linger in the thought of never seeing her homeland or family again.
Instead she had lived for each moment, each day growing strong in mind and purpose, and was thus ready when the opportunity came to claim her freedom.
She and Arthur carried Lancer to their father's solar, where a bed had been prepared for him. It would make it easier for the women to tend him, since it was closer to the kitchen and the herbs and the brews he would need to help his recovery.
Lancer finally regained consciousness after he was settled, though only for a moment, and after his mother fed him a special brew, he slipped into a comfortable slumber.
Astrid had no intention of leaving her brother's side, though she was exhausted from battle, and her wife seemed to understand her concern.
"I have had the servants prepare a bath for you," Vevina said, her voice low in consideration for the sleeping Lancer. "Go bathe, then sleep, and after you are rested you can come relieve your mother and me, for your brother will need looking after throughout the night."
Astrid leaned down and pressed her cool cheek next to her flushed one. The heat seared her like a branding iron, though she didn't mind being marked by her.
"Thank you, Vevina."