Prologue Part 2 – Treatment
Jeremy ran into the village and barged into the doctor's house.
"Doctor Rodri?" he called. A tall, tanned man came from another room. "What's the matter?" he said as he entered. He then noticed the girl in Jeremy's arms.
"Lay her on the table."
Jeremy did as the doctor said. Rodri quickly draped a blanket around her while Jeremy lit a fire in the fireplace, then started examining her wound. The bleeding hadn't stopped, but it was significantly slower than before.
Rodri carefully pulled out the arrow, then sewed it closed, put an antibiotic over it and wrapped her arm in gauze.
"The wound should heal in a few weeks. She passed out due to hypothermia and should wake up by tomorrow afternoon. I would like to keep her here until then." Rodri said.
He rubbed his hand over her scalp and felt several small wounds.
"She seems to have suffered head trauma as well. She might not be able to remember anything once she has woken up, depending on how much her brain was affected. Where did you find her?"
"In the forest. A skeleton was attacking her."
"Was there any bodies around?"
"No."
"Strange."
"Well, I need to go drop off the materials I found. I hope she's okay."
"She'll be fine."
Jeremy walked out the door, and headed toward the blacksmith to give him the ores from the mine.
The next day…
Jeremy went back to Rodri's house. Rodri's wife, Scarlet had said Rodri wanted him there as soon as possible. Jeremy opened the door, and was glad to see the girl awake, sitting up on the table. Rodri was standing in front of her talking. They both turned toward Jeremy when he came in.
"I'm so glad you could get here. You can probably understand why I called you here." Rodri motioned toward the girl. "This is Katlyn."
"Who are you?" she asked.
"This is Jeremy. The one who saved you." He turned back toward Jeremy. "I've already caught her up on what happened."
"Hi." Jeremy said. Katlyn remained silent, but smiled at Jeremy.
"As I suspected, she has no memory of who she was and why she was out in the forest alone. All she knows is her name and the scene just before fell unconscious. This is actually why I wanted to talk to you."
"What about?" Jeremy asked.
"Well, she can't remember where she came from, and Scarlet and I can't really take care of a third person right now. So would you maybe take care of her? I know you've been somewhat lonely since May died."
Katlyn got up and ran toward Jeremy. "Please." she said. "The only other person I know here."
Jeremy was silent for a moment. He was lonely. May, his wife, had died a year before. A hurricane had hit all of a sudden, and she was hit by debris caught in the wind.
"Okay." he finally said.
Katlyn hugged him. "Thank you." she said.
Jeremy picked her up in his arms, and walked back home.
By that time, everybody had learned about the girl on the brink of death found in the woods the night before. They were all concerned. When they saw Jeremy walking out of Rodri's house with her, they knew immediately what had happened. Everyone knew Jeremy well, and knew he needed another sort of person in his life, so they didn't bother hounding him with questions.
They got to Jeremy's house. Just before going inside, he went to the farm and introduced her to his two horses, Buck and Nuzzle.
"These are yours?" Katlyn asked.
"Yep. Nuzzle is pregnant too. So you just might have a horse yourself one day."
Katlyn smiled.
Jeremy took her inside and put her down. He immediately went over and pulled some wood and cobblestone out of a chest.
"Until I finish up your room, you'll be sleeping with me."
He guided her over to the bedroom. He set up a bed on the opposite wall from his.
"There you go."
Katlyn ran and sat on the bed.
"I like your house."
"Thanks." Jeremy said. He left the room to start building Katlyn's bedroom.
