She knelt down to pick me up. Although I was not terribly happy with this arrangement, there's no way I could have moved myself.
"You're pretty light," she commented.
I could tell she was lying, as I noticed how she kept shifting me from arm to arm to keep my weight off of one side for too long.
I lay quietly in her arms, hurting everywhere, the shifting wasn't helping. I would have to recover before I went after Bella. The thought made me angry with myself.
I would also need help.
I realized I may have just found the perfect person to ask. Based on our earlier conversation I could already tell she wanted to go after Jadyn.
She broke our silence abruptly.
"Who are you anyway?" She asked, gazing down at me. I decided I could tell her my name. She probably wouldn't recognize it. Once upon a different life, when I had a family we were well known. Not the richest but wealthy.
A cloud of sadness covered me thinking of my two parents
"Preston," I muttered.
"I'm Justine," She replied, rather proudly. "And believe it or not, I'm a professional duelist."
She looked down on me, daring me to try to top her with an achievement. I didn't even try, knowing it would never work.
"What's with the jewelry?" I said wryly. I could see the dagger hanging from her belt.
She scowled.
"Don't you know anything?" She snapped, "It's a sign of respect in the sword community. Where do you live? Under a rock?"
I laughed because I pretty much did. Bella and I had been on the run for so long that we barely knew the news of the world. We only picked up bits and pieces. And certainly, there were things much more important than who was famous in the sword community.
I chose a different angle, "If you'd just fallen off a cliff, you'd be just as together."
"But I wouldn't have fallen in the first place," she snapped.
I felt her grip on me slip.
"I think a break is called for," she remarked, putting me down not so gently.
I hissed in sudden pain.
She didn't seem to care, she sat on the ground and began to chew on something.
I looked around. We weren't in a village, or anywhere near one. Where were we going?
"Where do you live?" I asked.
She smiled at me, "You'll just have to wait and see. Beggars can't be choosers."
"But I'm not begging," I replied sharply.
"I have to carry you, so that's close enough to begging for me," She huffed, for the rest of the time she ignored me while she finished her food.
We were silent the rest of the way. Occasionally she huffed with the effort of carrying me.
Finally, on the horizon, I saw a small home. I could feel the stiffness with which she carried herself relax a little as we approached.
The building showed signs of heavy wear. Patches of the roof were missing, the holes hastily covered by mismatched materials. I even spotted some small rocks piled together to fill in some places. Beside the house was a small garden. An old chair stood nearby, all pigment washed out by the wind and rain.
She carried me inside. Light shone in shafts onto the floor, pouring in through the holes in the roof. A bed rested in the corner, covered in soft quilts. She set me on another bed, this one stripped of linens and visibly older than the first.
A cup, a couple of plates, and an old teapot were littered across the surface of a small table covered in dishes. It resembled a house that Bella and I would have lived in, before moving on. For the first time today, I felt tears run down my cheeks.
She had her back turned to me. Her hands fiddled with twigs as she began to build a small fire. I wiped my tears away while she wasn't looking. After a few moments, a small blaze flickered in the hearth. She came back to me, carrying a roll of bandages and a cloth.
"I don't have anything for pain," she warned.
I gritted my teeth as she began to work. She started by dabbing a cloth across my head. I must have torn open a gash as I fell.
"You're in a bad way, but I think I can fix you up," She said. "But I need something in return." She paused, taking a deep breath. "Take me to Jadyn."