}{-Milk and Honey-}{
~Five Days Left~
~Healing House~
The town bustled outside, full of activity and energy. Dagonet sat against the wall still, head slumped back and eyes closed as he dreamed of another place and time. Footsteps pitter-pattered down the hall in a hurry and woke him from his slumber. They stopped at the doorway to the kitchen and Dagonet fought the urge to leap up and greet the intruder. The footsteps began again, more hurried this time as the being rushed to him.
"Are you awake?" A small voice cooed softly as they looked over the sleeping knight, who sat slumped against the hard wall on the cold ground. Gentle prodding of small fingers into his shoulder caused Dagonet to open his eyes and stare at the red headed child. Cara stared back at him with big green eyes that were filled with worry and confusion. "Why are you sleeping in the kitchen? Did you get hungry and fall down? I do that sometimes."
Cara pulled her hand back from him, twisting left and right nervously. She was dressed in an oversized tan shirt that was perfect for a sleeping gown on her. Dagonet didn't respond at first to her questions. Instead, he looked about himself and tried to remember why exactly he was in the kitchen at all. He turned his head right and half expected to see Rhoswen sitting beside him, slumped over in sleep at his side where she had been the night before, but she was gone with no trace that she had ever been there to begin with.
"Are you alright?" Cara asked again, slowly becoming worried again as Dagonet pulled himself up from the floor. His shirt sat askew over his large chest, one sleeve rolled up while the other hung twisted on his arm. Cara watched the knight as he looked about the room again as though expecting Rhoswen to appear from hiding. Dagonet moved to his sword that laid against the kitchen table where he had placed it the night before and then looked back at Cara.
"Where is Rhoswen?" He asked and moved closer to the girl.
"I do not know… I thought you would know. When I woke up, she was gone from bed. I searched everywhere. Even the cellar." Cara replied in a small voice that conveyed her fear for the woman she looked up to so much. She twisted left and right again, tugging at the shirt on her and avoiding his stare. He could see he still made her nervous, but she had come to him when she could find no trace of Rhoswen. He had to be winning her over, even if just a little.
"When did you see her last?" Dagonet knelt before the girl, placing his hands on one bent knee and smiling warmly at her.
"Last night. She got up and said she was going to get a drink of water. I fell asleep again and when I woke up this morning, she wasn't there." Her eyes darted to him and away again several times, tears prickling.
"Shall we look for her together?" He asked and held out a hand to her, waiting for her to take it. Timidly, she placed her delicate hand in his large mit. He wrapped his fingers around her hand and stood up, leading them both out of the kitchen and down the hall towards the main room. People were already gathering; young, old, wounded, and sick. They all awaited their healer, who was now missing.
Dagonet searched the crowd, but he did not catch sight of a fair-haired woman bustling about. He could see that the people were doing the same; searching, questioning, worrying.
"She's not here. Sir Dagonet, where is she?" Cara whined softly from beside him and gripped his hand tighter. Her bottom lip began to quiver as tears prickled her eyes again. She began to hide behind him, peeking out from around his long, muscular leg at all the people inside the Healing House. Dagonet said nothing, but held onto her hand firmly as his eyes scanned the area in search of Rhoswen. She was supposed to be treating these people; her people. She was so duty bound, so driven, but she was nowhere in sight. It was… unsettling.
"Cara, I want you to back to Rhoswen's room and wait there for me." Dagonet ordered gently, looking down at the small girl behind him. She stared up at him with her big green eyes filled with alarm.
"Where are you going? Where is Rhoswen?" Cara asked, looking back around the room as she began to cry. Tears flooded down her cheeks and left small damp tracks on the dirt floor. "I want Rhoswen! Where is she?"
Dagonet caught the gazes of several people, who watched him and Cara in bewilderment. They questioned him with their eyes, asking where their healer was. She was always here and ready to handle their problems, but now she was nowhere in sight. There were no crates of herbs or potions resting on the table. No bedrolls had been laid out, no smell of incents, and the windows were still closed tightly by the shutters.
"You said you would protect her! You promised!" Cara was becoming nearly inconsolable and angry. She ripped her hands from his and Dagonet quickly turned to kneel before Cara. He placed his hands on her shoulders firmly as she stood crying with accusing eyes. He knew she was afraid. She feared for Rhoswen's safety, feared what was coming, feared what Marcellus would do to her. Cara's anger began to subside to grief as she continued to cry before him. "You lied…! Just like everyone else. You said you would protect her. Where is she?"
"Calm child." Dagonet tried to coo and then looked back at the eyes that stared at him. They awaited him to say something, to tell them what was going on or where their healer was; their problem solver.
"Oh child, stop your nonsense." A familiar face among the crowd walked closer, step after aching step and stared down at Cara. She wiped her face, closed her eyes and then cried more. The old man, whom Dagonet had conversed with only a day or so ago, rolled his eyes and looked to Dagonet. "Women, young or old, are all the same."
The old man had grumbled his jab, but it held lighthearted tone. His words had brought Dagonet peace. If only for a moment…
"Knight, where is the healer?" A woman spoke up, stepping closer to get a good look at Dagonet. "My daughter needs help. Has something happened?"
Dagonet did not know what to say. He stood up tall and looked around the room at the people. Cara held tightly to the end of his shirt as she hid behind him. The people stared at him expectantly.
"Where is Rhoswen?" A man shouted from the back of the group. "I am in need of aid. She is supposed to be here!"
"Yes, where is Elder Rhoswen? Has she fallen ill?" An older woman asked from where she sat in a chair. The people were beginning to converge on him, feeding off of each other's fears and riling one another.
"Is she alright? Has something happened?"
"Where is she? She's always here."
"I need help. She is supposed to be here. She is always here."
"We need aid. Where is the healer?"
"Friends, please. Please!" The older man chimed in with a hand raised and stepping before the group. He moved slowly, hunched slightly and wincing in pain. "I am sure Rhoswen is fine. Perhaps caught up in some business of her own at the moment. We can be patient and wait for her return."
"We cannot! We need help and she is our healer!" A middle-aged woman shouted, looking around at the people beside her. "We need her! She needs to help us. We are in pain. What is wrong with her? Doesn't she know? Doesn't she care?"
"Of course she does." Dagonet found himself speaking up. His eyes landed on the woman with a stare of near disbelief. His eyes then trailed to the others in the room. "After everything… can you not allow her one moment of peace?"
"Peace? My son is wounded!"
"My daughter is sick!"
"I need help!"
"We all need help!"
"Where is the healer?!"
"QUIET!" The old man shouted and the room fell as silent as a grave as though God, himself, had issued the order. Dagonet looked to the old man, silently intrigued at how he called attention so devoutly. The old man closed his eyes, sighed and then reopened them to look around the Healing House. "My friends, please. Rhoswen is faithful to her duty and to all of us. I am sure she was most likely heading to the gardens for new herbs, seeing as how her store room has been run ragged as of late from our constant and incessant griping."
The old man turned to Dagonet and gave him a look, conveying to him to follow exit while he could.
"Sir Dagonet, would you please take Cara and go fetch the young lady of the house? Please be sure to tell her," the old man's tone changed and Dagonet realized it was not for him, but the people who stood watching and listening, "tell her to take as much time as she needs collecting her herbs for this wretched lot of ungrateful heathens."
Dagonet heard the grumbles and scoffing from the people in the room. He gave a single nod to the old man, eyes conveying his appreciation and quickly scooped Cara up into his arms. Cara didn't resist and instead she wrapped her arms around his neck as she cried softly. He carried her out of the Healing House, grateful for the old man's help. He had been in mobs before and knew their dangerous potentials when they were not satisfied.
He held Cara firmly to him. His left arm rested beneath her rump, holding her up and letting her bare legs dangle from beneath the oversized shirt. His right arm reached up her back to support her and his hand rested on her back between her shoulder blades. She turned her face into the crook of his neck, sniffling and hiding.
"I do not understand." Cara spoke up, voice hitching and muffled. "Why are they going to hurt her?"
Dagonet walked along through town, ignoring stares and whispers that followed them. He thought about her question long and hard. He understood Marcellus' reasoning and it was unfortunate that it made sense when looking at everything from the Commander's point of view. Rhoswen was a root problem; her mother, her status, her outspoken rebellious nature, and her rejection of the man who controlled her home. For Marcellus to survive and thrive in Celtica, Rhoswen could not exist and vice versa. How do you explain that to a child though…?
"You must understand, Cara, that there are bad men in the world. Some wish to see the world burn with no care for anyone other than themselves." Dagonet explained and felt Cara turn her head so that her forehead pressed against his jawline.
"What about the white knights though?" Her small voice and question made him smile.
"Where there is bad, there is also good." Dagonet replied as he headed to the edge of town where he knew the garden to be.
"So Marcellus is just a bad man, a black knight?" Cara asked as she lifted her head from his shoulder and looked at him. "But why does he want to hurt Rhoswen? She is so nice."
"I do not know." Dagonet lied to the child and then ceased his walk. "Sometimes there is no answer as to why people act the way they do."
"You are a white knight." Cara stared at him, seeming to digest his words and then she laid her head back on his shoulder. Under her breath, Dagonet heard her words, "The white knight is supposed to defeat the black knight and save the pretty girl…"
Dagonet said nothing for a long moment. Her words burned themselves into his mind, replaying over and over again. He held the girl tighter to him and continued on his way to the garden.
"I will." He promised softly, unable to see the tired smile on Cara's face.
Rhoswen reached out towards the lavender, hands gently touching the delicate purple flowers. The scent calmed her, but only slightly. Her mind was unsteady, reeling from thoughts that came and went in such a scattered fashion that she was having trouble concentrating on anything.
When she had awoken this morning, she had found her head resting on a shoulder; Dagonet's shoulder. He was sound asleep, breathing steady and peacefully. She watched him for a long while, wondering what he dreamt of. Battle? His home? Perhaps someone awaiting his return? A beloved even?
She had snuck away, leaving him to his dreams and had gone to the store room. Her shelved were becoming bare. She had no time it seemed like anymore to gather the necessary components to treat her people. No herbs, no spices, no flower, no tonics, no salves. Her shelves held dust and empty containers. It saddened her to think about the shelves staying bare, the people having no healer. She had not had time either to find a replacement, to begin the training of an apprentice to replace her after she was gone.
She had dressed carefully so as not to wake Cara, who slept soundly in her bed. She knelt beside the bed and brushed the unruly red hair form the girl's face. She watched her sleep for a long moment with a smile on her lips. Before the sentence of death, she had planned on adopting the girl and making her an apprentice. That and every idea of marrying and having children of her own was now a distant dream out of reach. Rhoswen kissed Cara's forehead, pulled the covers up around her and left for the gardens.
Rhoswen had been there for hours picking, tending, planting, and desperately trying not to think about her impending doom. Being there, in the gardens, away from everyone and everything, was her paradise. She could relax. She could breath. She could just be without anyone needing her, talking to her, trying to force her to be something she did not wish to be. There were no rules, no laws, no harsh whispers, no accusing glances, no Romans, no soldiers, just her and her garden and the sun and the sky.
Rhoswen looked up at the sky and saw the sun was getting close to midday. She took a deep breath, sighed and looked down at the basket that held her collection of herbs and other useful ingredients. She had herbs and spices for inflammation, for pain, for nausea, for bleeding. Herbs, flower, spices, and remedies for everything. Except one thing… the one thing no one could prevent or cure: death.
Her eyes moved back to the lavender. Her fingers gently caressed the flowers as her mind wandered in off in a dark direction; a sinister direction.
How easy it would be…– she thought as she pinched the flowers off from their branch. She twirled the stem in her fingers and then placed it in her basket. Her eyes scanned her collection, fingers gently brushing each herb and plant and flower.
"Rhoswen!"
The healer was startled by the call of her name and quickly searched for the source. A flash of red shot through the garden straight for her. A smile spread across her lips as she opened her arms and caught the young girl, who launched herself at the embrace. Rhoswen held her tightly, rocking from side to side.
"We were so worried!" Cara exclaimed and pulled back so she could look up at the woman. Rhoswen knitted her eyebrows together in confusion and shook her head slightly, about to ask aloud what the girl meant. "Sir Dagonet and I looked everywhere for you."
Rhoswen noticed the tall knight standing a few yards away at the beginning of the garden. He watched from afar with hands crossed over his chest. Rhoswen noticed his disheveled appearance instantly. His shirt sat open to expose part of his chest, one sleeve pushed up his arm, no sword at his side. Their eyes met and Dagonet gave her a single nod while smiling and allowing his worry to wane. Rhoswen did not smile back though. She simply watched him for a long moment as thoughts raced through her mind. When she saw Dagonet's smile begin to disappear she looked back at the girl in her arms.
"We were worried the bad men took you away." Cara's voice had grown soft as though afraid that if she spoke the words, then they would come true. Rhoswen tucked some of the girl's unruly hair behind her ear. She did not smile. She did not speak. She only looked Cara over, fixing her hair and then letting a hand rest on the girl's cheek. Her thumb ran gently over Cara's cheekbone beneath her eye.
"Rhoswen?" Cara asked with worry in her voice. This was not like the woman she looked up to; quiet, sad, a ghost. Cara raised a hand and touched it to Rhoswen's forehead. "Are you sick?"
Rhoswen shook her head and ceased her ministrations, pulling Cara's hand away. She released Cara from her hold and then took her basket on one arm. She covered her collection with a dainty piece of cloth to protect them from the sun and then stood. She looked towards Dagonet again, no smile or emotion on her face, and then held her free hand out to Cara. Cara took it without asking another question and allowed Rhoswen to lead her towards the knight.
Dagonet had noticed the odd behavior immediately upon nearing the gardens. Rhoswen had been kneeling on the ground and staring blankly at the lavender bush as though in a trance. Her face was twisted almost in an expression of sadness and pain, mind lost somewhere Dagonet dare not question about. As she and Cara came upon him now, Rhoswen carried no expression at all. Had he not known better, he would have believed he was looking at a ghost.
"My lady?" Dagonet questioned as she passed and quickly took hold of her upper arm that carried her herbs. She stopped, looked at his hold on her and then met his stare. She said nothing and waited for him to speak again. "Something has happened."
Rhoswen said nothing once again and looked to Cara, who held tightly to her hand with a silent vow to never let go again.
"Go play with your friends. Come to the Healing House for supper when the sun begins to set. I have work to do now." Rhoswen's voice was soft, but hollow. Cara looked up at Dagonet, seeming to ask him silently if she could stay, but Dagonet nodded his head for her to follow Rhoswen's instruction. Cara hesitantly released Rhoswen's hand and headed back into town as Rhoswen had commanded.
Rhoswen did not even bat an eye as Cara departed and simply continued on her way with Dagonet following behind her. He watched her closely as they entered town. He spotted soldiers on the wall watching her with a steady gaze and whispering amongst themselves. Townspeople were talking in hushed voices as she passed. Their gazes were sad and sympathetic. Dagonet looked back to Rhoswen, who avoided all stares and all words spoken to her or about her. She was lost. Lost in her own despair. Dagonet had seen it before; had felt it before when the Romans had come to collect him and Bors from their home. The entire journey to Rome, the months of training, he had been cold and distant much like she was now. It made things easier and harder at the same time.
Rhoswen had led herself and Dagonet back to the Healing House. She stopped at the doors, hearing the chatter from within. Dagonet walked up beside her and took hold of her hand on the door knob. She said nothing and did not flinch at his touch.
"You do not have to go in there." He spoke gently to her, imaging that when she opened the door she would be instantly bombarded by people who sought her help, who demanded her attention in her time of despair.
"Yes I do." She looked up at him and took her left hand, placing it on top of his that held her right hand on the doorknob. "These are my people and they need me."
"And what do you need, Rhoswen?" He was quick to reply and took her hand in his, holding it firmly yet gently. His eyes stared into hers, searching for something more that he knew was there beneath all the pain and despair. He wanted nothing more than to pull her too him, hold her tightly to his chest and safe in his arms.
The old man was right. – he thought as his eyes scanned her delicate face. He would be a fool to try and deny his affections for this woman. She was like a shooting star; bright, beautiful, fleeting. She was caring, tender, but also strong and stubborn. She could lash you and then heal you all in the same strike. His eyes dropped to her lips; full and pink. Oh, how he wanted to seal them with his own in a promise that she would never have to worry or feel sadness or fear again; a promise to protect her, love her.
Rhoswen noticed the change in his stare as his eyes fell to her lips. His seriousness softened to tenderness as she saw the look in his eyes. She was no simple minded girl with her head in the stars. She knew what his look meant. She understood perfectly well what he was thinking, what he wanted from her, but she couldn't. Not now. It would be cruel. He was wonderful; strong, intimidating, but kind and gentle. He made her nervous and soothed her all with a single stare. He made her feel safe and unsure just by his presence alone.
Rhoswen looked down at their hands and squeezed his hand gently. She pulled away and moved to his sleeve, pulling it down and straightening it to match his other one. She then fixed the front of his shirt, tying it up so only a bit of his chest was visible.
"I could use your help tending to them all, if you please, Sir Dagonet. Other than myself, you are the only own in town who has any knowledge of herbs and tonics." She looked back up at him and offered a half smile, though not entirely feeling it reach her eyes to soothe him. Dagonet's expression fell, realizing she was pulling away from him and gave a short nod. He understood why and he even knew that it was for the best. He would never marry, never have children, never have her. He couldn't and she couldn't have him.
Unless the plan works. – he thought as the plan Sorcha and Esme devised bounced around in his head. If they could get her to join the Celestials, if they could remove the soldiers and put an end to Marcellus, then there would be hope for Rhoswen. He would never have her. He could never have her. Not as a knight under the service of Rome and he could never give her the life she deserved. If the plan succeeded, he and the other knights would leave and he would never see her again, but she would be alive and she could have a future with a husband, children, everything she dream of.
"Shall we, Sir Dagonet?" Rhoswen asked as she headed into the Healing House. Dagonet followed behind her, close at her heels.
"Healer, please!" A woman shouted, ushering her daughter towards Rhoswen. A man pushed passed them, trying to earn attention from the healer first. The elder sat or stood if they could, waiting patiently for their turn.
"Friends please, be patient." Rhoswen spoke up and headed towards the table at the back by the entrance to the hallway. She set the basket on the table and turned around to face the townspeople. "I will tend to the old, then the sick, then the wounded."
Rhoswen rolled up her sleeves and moved to the old man, the one who had rescued Dagonet earlier that day, and knelt before him as he sat in a chair. Dagonet stood back by the table and looked from Rhoswen to the basket. He saw the lavender poking out from beneath the cloth and tossed the cloth back to look at her collection. He looked back at Rhoswen and caught the eyes of the old man, who watched him carefully as though knowing exactly what Dagonet had been looking for; yew or hemlock. There was neither.
Dagonet looked away and then headed for another elderly man, who stood against the far wall for support. He felt a twinge in his chest as he looked over the wounds on the man's hands, but the twinge was in response to something else. Dagonet looked back at Rhoswen, watching her as she questioned the old man in the chair before her. Dagonet tried to remember what exactly he had seen in the store room. Had he seen anything resembling the poisonous plants there? He remembered several shelves with something on them, but could not draw to mind their shape or color.
He suddenly realized that a pair of deep blue eyes stared back at him. Rhoswen met his gaze with an emotionless look, eyes open and examining. Dagonet turned back to the wounds on the elderly man's hands.
"A salve and some bandages is all this will need." Dagonet explained and placed the man's hands back in his lap. He smiled at him and the elderly man nodded his head, eyes then traveling to look beyond the knight.
"I will grab a yarrow salve for that." Rhoswen's voice caught Dagonet off guard. She stood behind him, looking at the wounds on the elderly man's hands with her hands laced before her. Dagonet looked to her and nodded his head, getting to his feet. Rhoswen turned her gaze from the elderly man to Dagonet and smiled genuinely.
"I am glad to have met a man like you before the end." Rhoswen spoke softly so no one except Dagonet could hear. She looked away from his stare and towards people around the main room of the Healing House; her people. She felt tears prickle her eyes. She licked her lips and looked back up at Dagonet. "Gives me hope for this town once I am gone. Perhaps there will be more men like you to help it survive."
Rhoswen placed a hand gently in his and gave it a squeeze before walking away. She took her basket from the table and headed down the hall towards the store room. She didn't bother to close the door for she knew neither Dagonet nor any of the townspeople would follow her. She set the basket on the chair in the corner and moved about the room, pulling down salves and tonics, spices and herbs. She packed a crate and moved towards the door, intent on exiting.
However, she halted. She stared at the wall across the hallway and then looked to her right at the shelves nearest her. She closed the door slightly and looked behind at a shelf. A crate sat there with a cloth hung over top of it to hide its contents. She hesitantly drew the cloth back and stared down at the contents; roots shaped like white carrots, bright red berries, and a vial of liquid as green as fresh grass.
Hearing footsteps she quickly recovered the crate and opened the door to hide the shelf. As she headed out into the hallway, she nearly collided with Dagonet. She gave a small gasp, not having realized how close he had been and slapped a hand over her heart.
"You scared the daylight out of me." She breathed, her heart pounding in her chest. Dagonet looked into the store room and then back at her.
"I apologize. I came to see if you needed help." He explained and reached for the crate in her arms and she willingly gave it to him. It was fully stocked, but he knew that it was the last the store room had to offer. "Perhaps after we have seen to all the sick and wounded, I could help you prepare more items for your storeroom?"
"Yes, I would very much appreciate that." Rhoswen smiled at him, nerves on edge. "Shall we return?"
She began walking away down the hall and found that Dagonet took another moment to consider the storeroom's content. He stared long and hard as Rhoswen worried, but continued onwards. As they entered the room, she went straight back to work. She moved to the mother and daughter, who had approached her earlier and questioned the ailments.
She looked back at Dagonet, who searched the crate for the yarrow salve and pulled it out from within. Rhoswen's nerves sparked and tingled as her hands became clammy. He had been so close to seeing her dark secret. Would he have known what it was? Would he have figured out what she was planning on doing?