All That Glitters: 10 of ?
Playing Healer: Weaver Hall: 3400.02.05
The next afternoon, when Ria came up with her tray with their lunch, the door to Aurum's private room was shut. There was a soft grunting, almost groaning noise coming from the other side. Suddenly, Aurum's voice hissed, "just a little more..." He sounded strained.
Alarmed, she dropped the tray and flung the door open. "Aurum?" her voice thin with worry.
As soon as the door opened, he grabbed the furs with one hand and threw them over himself, covering his legs and lap. He looked flushed and his hand was covered in a milky white substance mixed with a bit of red.
Her face paled and she rushed to his side, throwing open the medicine cabinet. "What are you doing you idiot?" she snapped, throwing back the furs.
His other hand was clutching a pair of long pliers, normally used for orrus work, and he had them deeply embedded in his wounded thigh. "I was almost there, Honey." His voice was pained but defiant, and he did not look away.
"And what if you had hit an artery? Are those even sterilized you great floundering moron?" She got out the tray and her supplies, cursing under her breath. "Tell me the truth, are you just trying to kill yourself? Because if you are I'm going to be very irritated at the time I've lost trying to keep you alive."
Rolling his eyes slightly, he kept his hand steady on the instrument, not allowing her to touch it or to move his hand. "Why would I want to kill myself? There are half a dozen men waiting at the Hold to do that for me." His voice was harsh. "And, yes, I sterilized it first. Do you take me for a fool rather than foolhardy?"
"You skip over that line all day long," she answered snippishly. "Why didn't you just wait for me to come back?" she asked then, voice softer. The flash of anger had only been covering the fear underneath. "I don't even know how to get that out..."
Aurum moved his free hand back down to his leg and began once more to carefully manipulate the pliers. "It would be like trying to remove a piece of fine jewelry from a crevice in the floor, Honey. You need be careful. It's delicate work. And you are going on feel more than sight. But..." and he winced and groaned a bit, still working. "But... if you are patient, you can find the blasted thing and coax it out." He stopped moving and took a shaky breath, resting for a moment, face flushed and sweaty from his efforts.
She winced and held her breath at every small movement he made, barely able to contain a whimper. "Why can't you wait for the healer?" she asked, voice shaky. She'd done nearly as bad to him while cleaning the wounds, but watching him do it to himself twisted everything inside of her.
He took a deep breath and stayed still, turning his pain-filled eyes to her. "Because every healer wants to chop it off and save himself some time. It took them seven turns and they still haven't figured it out." He lowered his eyes and with a soft grunt began to work again. "It took a medicine crafter, not healer, to figure out something might be in there. I plan to find out just what it is."
Seeing the pain undid her, and the tears she was barely holding back started to fall. "But we know what's wrong now and Chyp has seen healers fix it. They can do it without hurting you so much!"
At the sound of her voice, he stopped, looking at her in some surprise. "Does it worry you that much, Honey?" His voice was filled with wonder.
"Of course it does, stupid," she muttered, knuckling at her eyes with her fists.
"Will wonders never cease? Next they'll tell me queens are fighting and dragons are falling from the skies!" He left his hand on the instrument but leaned back, dropping his other hand. "Then get Chyp and we'll have this ended." His voice had softened. "And please don't cry for me, Honey. You're far too beautiful to cry."
She nodded, even though she didn't stop crying. The bandages she'd brought out in hopes of fixing the problem herself she used to pad the area he had cut, careful not to touch the instrument but trying to stop some of the bleeding and pus. "Please don't move until I get back?" she asked in a tiny voice.
"I promise," his voice was solemn, "except to breathe, of course." The last was added in his playful tone.
She made a sound somewhere between a sob and a laugh, and quickly stood. "I'll be back," she promised, then left the room at a run, nearly slipping in the remains of lunch on her way out the door.
She took the steps at such a speed she was almost flying when she reached the lower floor. The momentum sent her spinning out of control, and she barely kept herself from falling. "Shirasa!" she yelled, managing to keep panic out of her voice somehow. "Shirasa! I need help!"
The woman came at as near a run as she could with her knees so bad. "What is is, Ria? Has the master fallen? Oh my flaming shells!" She lifted her skirts, heading towards the stairs.
"No!" she said, grabbing the Headwoman's arm. "He's taken a pair of pliers and is trying to remove whatever is in his leg on his own," she hissed. "I need Chyp. And a healer. Maybe. I don't know. I don't think we can do this on our own and he's already made such a mess..."
"Shell of Faranth!" she breathed. "I'll send my Brown." She turned and hurried for the kitchen.
"Wait, ask Chyp first!" she called. "He's seen this surgery done. He'll know who to contact!"
She turned and nodded. "He's from Landing and the Healer Hall. We'll need to send for one of his people." She hurried out to find the apprentice weaver.
Ria turned and went for the stairs, in a rush to get back to her- the Master. A knock on the door sounded loudly, and she spun back around. "Shardit," she muttered, running back down and going to the door hurriedly. She grabbed the handle and dragged it open with more force than necessary.
On the other side of the door stood two men. One was a six foot redhead with blue eyes and bronzerider cords. The other was a man with black hair, laughing brown eyes, and a worried frown. The darker man was carrying a healer's bag, and his rank denoted him a Junior Journeyman.
The redhead took off his goggles, running them through his fingers absently. His voice was gentle as he said "We got here as quickly as we could."
Ria's mouth fell open and she took a step backwards. "But..." she stuttered, turning back to the kitchens. "How... Shirisa just..." Finally she just shook her head, not caring for the moment. "The Master is upstairs," she said without any further ramblings and turned to show them the way. She didn't slow down for them as she had the master healer, taking them three at a time all the way to the top.
She burst through into Aurum's room, her heart nearly dropping from her chest when she saw he had listened to her and hadn't moved the pliers. "Thank Faranth," she murmured, rushing to his side. "Thank you, thank you," she whispered to him. "There's a healer here."
The healer moved swiftly past her but didn't seem bothered she was there. Instead, he instantly opened his bag and started washing in redwort. Glancing at Aurum, he grinned widely and said, in a light tone, "Oh, looks like you got a leg attached to your pliers."
Aurum blinked and stared at the man an unfathomable look in his eyes.
With a flick of his hands, the healer shook them dry and reached into his bag to lay out his supplies, among them was a tool very similar to the pliers Aurum had been using. He smiled at Honey. "Name's Haukaye. What do I call you... or do I just worship you in silence?"
Stiffening, Aurum's eyes narrowed, and the other man seemed to realize he'd overstepped some boundary because he laughed and added, "On second thought I'll let the master worship you while I get to work." He started humming, inspecting the wound.
"So, got sick of bed rest and decided to do a little fishing on your own, hmmm?" He nodded. "Ah ha... I see... not fishing..." He gently took the pliers in one hand and used them to push aside the flesh in his way. With his own surgical long-nosed hemostats, he slipped into the wound and probed a bit. With a small laugh, he pulled something covered in pus and blood from deep in the thigh. "I'd guess mining was more like it, yes?"
Shock filled Aurum's eyes, though the object was indistinguishable covered as it was. Instead, he paled, glancing down at the thigh. It was seeping blood.
"Uh oh... healer! We need a healer!" Haukaye signalled to the rider with a quick jerk of his head. "Catch him." His tone was a serious order.
The rider leapt forward with reflexes born of long training, and he caught Aurum just as the master's eyes rolled back in his head and he passed out. Ria let out a small cry when the hand in hers went limp, and she looked at Haukaye with horror in her eyes.
Haukaye didn't seem worried, instead grabbing a series of smaller hemostats and clenching the wound edge open with them. When finished, the wound was wide, oozing, and very angry looking. Haukaye carefully eased the master's pliers from the thigh and tossed them onto the table, next to his surgical tool, with the mystery object still clenched. His tone was once again light and playful. "Well, maybe fishing was correct after all. I've found a river." He rinsed his hands in water, letting it spill on the floor, then tossed redwort over his hands once more. "I'll need the thread and needle, beautiful one." He gave her a wink. "It's time to bring this show to a close."
The redhead was still carefully supporting Aurum's unconscious frame.
She stared at the healer for so long that he had to have begun to think something was wrong with her head then she snapped back. "Of course," she said, her voice firm and with no hint of the terror she was feeling. She'd shoved it all down for now: later she would collapse and cry herself out. She dipped her own hands in the redwort before moving to the open bag and removing the needle and thread. "What do I need to do?"
"Hand me the needle and make sure this hemostat stays still, love." His tone was softer, more serious, but held the edge of humor still.
Nodding instead of responding, she dipped the needle before handing it over, then moved again to be closer to Aurum. It took her a moment, but then she took a deep breath and moved her hands next to Haukaye's, taking over the hemostat.
"And away we go!" Haukaye started stitching the vein inside the leg, his hands moving slowly, carefully, as he worked. There was no sound of laughter or joking, but he did hum the Naming Song as he worked. Suddenly, he threw out "Megajumpeth" and went back to humming. He got to another part and called out merrily "S'exy" and kept going with his humming and ridiculous changes to the dragon and rider names he was using.
After he finished in one area, he worked in another, occasionally asking her to rinse the wound with water or to wipe his head of sweat or to have her scrape out some of the infection. The entire time the rider was supporting the fortunately unconscious weaver. It was several hours, the sun was descending, when Haukaye suddenly said "Ta da!" and began sewing the thigh wound shut, quickly removing hemostats as he went.
The healer finished stitching the last part closed, sing-songing "And he thought any master could be a healer. Ha!" He cut off the thread.
Once everything was done, Ria's shoulders slumped and she hung her head so that her hair would hide her tears. I should have been watching him, she thought angrily, this never should have happened. This panicked afternoon and evening... it all could have been prevented.
"Cry a tear for me, too, beauty." Haukaye's voice was soft. He cleaned and dried his hands then began bandaging the wound. "Or was it my singing?" He nodded. "Definitely my singing." With a soft nudge of his elbow against her, he said "I'll let you keep the bugger as a souvenir if you wish."
Using possibly the only part of her dress still free of redwort and blood, she patted at her eyes and shook her head. "No, if he'd been awake he'd probably have joined in," she said in a wobbly voice. "And it would be just like him to want the damned thing to stare at every day." She gave a bitter bark of laughter. "What was it?"
A chuckle escaped the rider as he finally eased the Master back onto the bed then stood and stretched his aching back and shoulders. He removed his riding gloves and tucked them into his belt. "Let's see, shall we?" He asked in a soft voice. He smiled and took some more water, spilling it over the object and using some used cloth to wipe it. When he finished a few minutes later, he held up a bit of blackened, pitted metal.
Haukaye looked at it and grunted, "Sword tip." He started gathering his supplies, unconcerned about how the Master Weaver of Pern had gotten himself stabbed in the leg with a sword. "Those things can bite hard. Good thing he got it out."
Suppressing a shudder at the length of metal, she turned her attention back to cleaning her hands. "I... I don't know how to say thank you enough," she said humbly, bowing her head to both the rider and healer.
With a saucy grin, the healer leaned forward "I would normally say pay my assistant, but from you, I can take a kiss in payment." His tone was suggestive and he wiggled his eyebrows.
The rider shook his head and pulled the healer's shoulder, interrupting the moment. "Not now. I need to get you back to Landing. I've got a clutch waiting to hatching on the sands." He smiled at Ria. "I don't want to take too much time, after all." With that, he dropped the bit of metal on the table and retrieved his riding goggles from the floor where he'd dropped them when he rushed to help.
Heaving a lusty sigh, the healer nodded, bowed to Ria, and grinned widely. "Call me back any time, beauty. And don't let the man do any more mine fishing. He needs those bandages changed thrice a day, kept clean and as dry as possible, and call a healer if he develops a fever." The man offered a small canister of dark green tablets. "Here's an antibiotic... made of seagrass so it tastes and smells nastier than that wound, but they work wonders."
"I will," she said, clasping his hands momentarily. "Thank you," she whispered, close to tears once again. "I never even introduced myself. I'm Honoria."
"And I'm in love," he grinned back.
"And I'm H'ratio. Send for me again if you need someone... quick." The redhead bowed, smiled a sweet smile, and tugged at the healer's arm.
The healer added, almost wistfully, "If he refuses to make you his lady, I'm available..."
"Come, man!" H'ratio laughed.
Her face flaming red as H'ratio's hair, she quickly turned back to the bedding and the Master's clothing. She'd have to figure out someway to clean him up without hurting him further, but that was her problem.
The sound of the two men trotting down the stairs faded before a soft clearing of a throat came from the door to the large room. Chyp stood there, eyes wide. "Uh... that was a bronzerider! How'd he know? We only just sent the firelizard. No one could find him. Shirisa wanted me to tell you."
"But... he's been here since this afternoon," Ria said, putting a hand to her head to stop the pounding of stress and confusion. "He spent all afternoon and evening saving Master Aurum," her voice broke and she wavered where she stood.
Chyp whistled through the gap in his teeth and jumped forward, putting an arm around her. "Easy, Ria... come sit down. I'll clean up this mess... then we can clean the bed up after you've rested." He guided her to a chair then frowned. "Hey, have you eaten anything?"
Her eyes went to the broken plates and trampled food: all that remained from the lunch hours earlier. "Not since breakfast," she said, but she tried to force herself up out of the chair anyway. "I need to get him and his bed clean before I do anything," she said firmly.
"Oh, no you don't!" Chyp revealed his strength by pushing her right back into the chair. "Shards and Shells, woman! Shirisa will skin me if she finds you haven't eaten. You stay there or I'll tell her you moved!" He grabbed the water glass off the nightstand and slopped first water than liquid fellis into it, blocking her sight with his frame. Swirling the liquids in the glass, he turned and brought it to her lips. "Drink this now!"
At first she struggled, but then she sat back down, the tears she had promised herself to hold for later finally arriving. She clutched at Chyp's arm and sobbed, just shaking her head.
"C'mon, Ria, you're no good to him like this. If he wakes in the night he'll be wanting you. You need to rest." He let her hold him, his voice worried but he held the glass to her lips any way. "It's not much. I promise. Won't even make you sleep, just take the edge off, as my mother would say. Enough so you can feel your heart slow and you can breathe."
She finally took her hand off his arm and took the glass, obediently drinking it. She made a sour face and glared at him. "Fellis in water," she said, voice still slightly hysterical. "You're a bigger bastard than he is."
The apprentice winced, but nodded. "Well, he is my master, Ria." He finally let her go and reached for the bell pull to summon help from Shirisa.
Ria remained in the chair, feeling the numbness from the fellis blunt the edges of her shattered emotions. The entire time she stared at the man unconscious on the bed. He almost died today, she thought. The debt was useless to a dead man, and then she could have gone home to her father and her life.
And instead she'd helped save his life. It really made no sense. Perhaps I'm just as insane as he is, she thought. That made her giggle and before she knew it she was full out laughing.
Chyp gave her a strange look but started cleaning up the waste from the surgery without mentioning her odd behavior. Finally, he sighed. "Why is it a healer never cleans up after himself?"
Continued in Chapter Eleven