XXXVIII

Waking Nightmares

By the time the carriage made it into the village of Locksley Guy was lost in fever. Shy had checked the wound several times, it was not infected. It must be the pain and shock that was bringing his sickness about. That was fine. Pain she could handle, infection...better not to think of that possibility. The shivering worsened, but Shy heard no delirious ravings from Guy, indicating that he was still in his right mind.

When the carriage stopped Shy had the sickening thought that something had gone wrong, and they were stuck still in the middle of Sherwood with a broken wheel or axle and with no means of getting to Locksley and shelter in time for her to help Guy. Brennan opened the door. "We're here. Archer is chaining Isabella up in the stables. I'll help you with Gisborne."

"Thank you, Brennan," Shy sighed, practically trembling herself.

As Brennan came to help raise Guy to his feet, the injured man shoved him to the other side of the carriage with a force his companions might have thought impossible given his current state.

"Don't you come near her," Guy snarled, his voice cracking oddly. He wrapped an arm about Shy, bringing her close to him. He fixed Brennan with a cold, tunneling stare. "I'll kill you! I'll kill you if you touch her!" His hand fumbled for the hilt of a sword that was no longer with him.

"Guy it's all right," Shy told him calmly. "Brennan is a friend, he's trying to help."

"That is not Brennan!" Guy spat, his eyes fixated on the man, "That is Foster. He's trying to trick you."

Shy gave a terrified cry as Guy struggled to sit up. She wrapped both arms about him and grappled with him to get him to lie still lest he cause more damage to himself. Brennan lunged forward, pinning Guy down, which was no easy task as in a state of delirium Guy thought him to be Foster. After a round of flailing, curses, and urges from Shy that Brennan really was who he said he was, they managed to calm Guy down enough to help him from the carriage. Archer was waiting for them and he assisted Brennan in carrying Guy into the manor. Shy barely had time to register her new surroundings. She hurried into the manor house directly behind the two men.

"Clear a table!" She called out as they entered. "Lay him down carefully."

In a shower of plates, goblets, and candle-holders, Archer swept a table clean enough to place Guy down upon it. The servants were in a state of uproar. Over the last few months they had grown used to the outlaws sudden appearances, but the sight of their one-time lord and master once again in the manor, albeit in no state to terrorize anyone, set the whole household on edge. Archer and Brennan stood mutely beside the table while Shy ordered the servants about with an almost brutal energy. "You there, fetch me some clean cloths and bandages! You, get a fire started and boil some water. Fetch me a needle and thread, catgut. Don't have any? Well go and find me some and don't you dare come back until you've got it! And you, find me any poultices, herbs, and healing supplies you have. Any of it! Why are you standing around? Get out of my way!" The tirade continued until all the servants were set scurrying to complete their respective tasks. No one questioned who she was. If she was with Archer then she must be someone connected with the rest of the outlaws, and since Archer seemed not to object to any of her orders neither did they.

Satisfied that very soon she would have the proper tools with which to care for Guy, Shy set herself to examining the full extent of the damage done to Guy by the dagger along with the branding from the sword. Her eyes flickered from side to side as remedy after remedy tried to pour into her brain. First she would need to reopen the wound to assess what damage had been done inside and sew up what she could, just as she had done when Guy had been run through. With the cloth she should be able to keep control of the bleeding...she hoped. Next would be to care for the burn wound. The raw flesh could easily become infected if she could not properly clean and dress it in time. She needed help with this. "Where is Lady Thea?" she asked Archer.

"With the others in Nottingham."

"I need you to go and bring her here. You might as well bring them all here."

Archer nodded. "Suppose we could chain Lord Foster up with Isabella."

"What did you do with her?"

Archer grinned, "Chained her up in the stables. Don't worry, she won't be going anywhere."

She felt sick at the idea of that injured woman being shackled to a rough, hay-covered and cold stable. How many nights had she, herself spent shivering inside of a stable? No, she could not think of Isabella's pain. She could not afford to.

Guy reached out and caught Shy's arm. "I'm sorry," he said, a fading lucid look in his eyes.

Shy patted his hand, "It's all right. You'll be all right."

"I had to be sure...I had to protect you..."

How dare she be wasting her energy feeling remorse for Isabella! "Well, now it's my turn," she said.

Clean cloth, a basket of bandages, a kettle of hot water, and a box containing all the medical supplies to be found were placed on the edge of the table for Shy's uses. Still no needle or proper thread yet, but Lady Thea would have those, if she could wait until she arrived to help. The least Shy could do now was properly clean the wound. She rummaged about through the box of supplies first, reading each labeled jar until she found what she was looking for. She tipped the small jar over, letting some of its liquid contents drizzle out onto her fingers. Carefully, Shy spread the draught over Guy's lips, coating them lightly. "I can't give you anymore than that without poisoning you," she told him as he licked the draught off, "but it will help with the pain." And that was the worst of it for her, watching him look at her with those pain-filled eyes. After waiting a few minutes to be sure the draught had taken effect, Shy began to clean the wound.

By the time Archer returned with the rest of the gang, Lord Foster and the prisoners, Sir Gavin and his men, and Lady Thea, Shy had busied herself with making a poultice for the burn. She nearly dropped pestle and bowl when Lady Thea barged in, having been fully briefed on everything that had happened. She was carrying a small ornate chest, which Shy recognized as being Thea's medical box.

"My lady..."

Lady Thea brushed aside Shy's arms and placed the box down. She opened it swiftly and began to pull out both needle and the precious catgut thread Shy had requested. "Let me see the wound," Lady Thea said.

Shy stepped aside to allow the more experienced healer access to Guy. She felt rather like a child again when Lady Thea would have her assist in treating the sick or the injured that would come to a special ward Lady Thea had set up just outside of the manor. As a child she would stand mutely by, handing Lady Thea any supplies and fetching anything that was requested of her. Now, Shy watched in equal mute attention as Lady Thea's skilled hands examined Guy's injury. "This is neatly done, Shy," Lady Thea muttered.

Shy did not find anything she had done to be at all neat or clean. The memory of the sound Guy had made when Archer held the flat of the burning blade to his flesh still caused the ground to sway underneath her.

"I still need to reopen the wound, my lady...see what damage has been done. I needed another's hands and eyes for help, so I waited..."

"Of course, and he has already been drugged for the pain?" Lady Thea asked as she ran the blade of a knife once over the flame of a candle, prepping the weapon.

Shy nodded. She had never felt ill during times like these. She had seen men with gashes in their legs down to the bone and had not felt this wave of sickness in her. Trying her best to ignore it, Shy began to thread the needle. Lady Thea set the knife down momentarily and took Shy's hands, which were trembling so badly she could barely hold the needle in them. "No, no, I can handle this just fine on my own. You've done enough for now. Ah, I see you've already made plenty of poultices for the burn. Well done." Lady Thea stroked Shy's head. "You go get yourself cleaned up. I'll will send for you when I need you."

"I can't leave him, my lady," Shy whispered.

"Yes you can. By the time you return I will have him bandaged and resting. Now, go, leave me to it, my shy one."

"Do as she says," Guy said weakly.

Shy gave a reluctant shake of her head. Guy lacked the energy to reach out for her. Instead he managed to have his fingers brush against her arm in a feather-light touch of confidence. Shy kissed his cheek. "Be here when I get back."

"I will."

Lady Thea chuckled humorlessly as she threaded the needle herself. "For your sake you better hope so, because if you even think about leaving her I will kill you myself."

Shy had removed the torn and bloody blue dress. After methodically cleaning herself and braiding her black hair so that it hung below her shoulder she was given a change of clothes. The only change available was the simple dress of a servant girl, but Shy was not particularly mindful. She dressed and made haste to get herself back to Lady Thea and Guy.

As she came down the stairs she saw Lady Thea slowly putting her medical supplies back into her box and closing the lid slowly with a long sigh. Guy was lying very still upon the table, bandages wrapped tight about the wound, but his eyes were closed and from Shy's angle he did not appear to be breathing. Shy ran down the stairs, feeling her heart screaming inside of her chest. "Is he..? How is...? He's not..."

Lady Thea placed a hand atop Shy's shoulder. "He's merely sleeping, Shy. He's fine."

"Is he?" Shy questioned. "Is he really?"

When Lady Thea did not meet Shy's eyes Shy felt the strength go out from under her. Lady Thea managed to steady her from fainting. "These kinds of wounds can be very tricky, Shy, you know that. The knife penetrated deeper than I thought. But Guy is far from a weak man, the odds of his surviving are very good, Shy."

Shy was not looking at Lady Thea as she spoke to her. She was staring at Guy's prone body, a feeling of helplessness washing over her. She took his hand in hers. "We should move him to a bed," she said numbly, "...make him comfortable so he can rest properly."

"That is a good idea," Lady Thea said, "I'll get Archer and Tuck to help me move him."

Shy followed Lady Thea like a shadow. She stood awkwardly off to the side as Lady Thea fetched Archer and Tuck who were in the foyer with the rest of the outlaws and Sir Gavin. Gavin was seated in a chair closest to the entrance hall and when Shy came to stand aside he managed to give the sleeve of Shy's dress a gentle tug. Shy stared down at him, at first not registering who was staring up at her with a kind smile. When recognition dawned it was with a grateful expression and swift grasp of the hand. This look of animation died as soon as Lady Thea, along with Archer and Tuck, left the foyer. Shy trailed behind, her eyes dimming once again.

As soon as Guy had been laid upon the bed, Shy pulled up a chair from the corner of the bedchamber and brought it to his side. "Lady Thea," she called, her voice strangely distant. "Have the servants send up a pitcher of water and a bowl. And as soon as more bandages are clean have them brought up to me as well. And the medicine."

"Shy, you should come away now and get some rest. I'll see to it that Guy is well looked after."

There was no response from the woman who was sitting half off of the chair. Her hand holding Guy's. Her eyes were still wide, disbelief pooling heavily in the turbulent gray. When she spoke next it was in a persuasive whisper. "Please have the servants send up the water and the bandages."

"Shy..."

Lady Thea gripped Archer's arm, stopping him from arguing with the woman. She shook her head and led both Archer and Tuck from the room, shutting the door behind them. All three started in surprise as they saw Sir Brennan coming half-way up the stairs. He must have been following them.

"Will you excuse me for a moment?" Lady Thea asked Archer and Tuck, who nodded and departed down the staircase to update the somber party below.

"I came to see how Shy was..." Brennan told Lady Thea. "Is she in there?"

"Yes, and you are to come back downstairs with me," Lady Thea insisted.

"My lady, how is she?"

Lady Thea sighed, running a hand through her hair, uncoiling a braid and letting the loose strands hang about her forehead in a tangled clump. "Truthfully, Brennan? I have never seen her like this before. It is like watching her move about while in one of her waking nightmares."

"But, Shy has had moments like that before. She has always woken from them in time."

"This is different."

"No. I have always brought her back. If anything should happen to Gisborne, I will be there. I will make sure she is restored to herself," Brennan said.

Lady Thea gave his arm a swift tug as she led him down the stairs in a hurry to get away from the door to the bedchamber. "You must not wish that, Brennan, you of all people. Shy could be restored because she did not want to live in those dreams. She wanted to come home. If she loses Guy we will lose her too. I can see the signs. I know her best, I know when she is thinking of running and she is scared now. She is running away in the only way she knows how. If you love her Brennan, you will think of nothing but ways to make sure Gisborne survives!"

"Ask me to do anything else," Brennan said, his voice constricted.

"Oh, men and your stubborn pride!" Lady Thea cursed. "I will need you to watch Shy. Don't let her exhaust herself and do herself a harm. She will listen to you."

Brennan nodded, accepting his duties. Lady Thea thanked him and together they entered the foyer. Blankets and pallets had been set up around the room, circling about the lit hearth. It was clear no one had any intention of going anywhere that night. Lady Thea sighed, addressing people eager to hear of any news. "Now for the long wait."

For the first three days of Guy's recovery Shy was rarely seen outside of Guy's bedchamber. Her perch was the little chair at his bedside, ready to assist in whatever function Lady Thea needed. She was still too frightened to do anything independently and did not trust her own shaking hands to any tasks other than redressing his wound, or occasionally making up new poultices and draughts for the pain.

Guy hardly woke, and if he did it was only for a few minutes at a time before he was reclaimed into unconsciousness due to exhaustion or pain. Lady Thea did not like these sudden bouts of endless sleep, but it was not until the fourth night that things began to take a turn for the worse.

Lady Thea had managed to coax Shy away from Guy's side for a few minutes in order to see to it that she was properly fed. She did not trust that Shy was getting the right amount of food, even under Brennan's watchful care, and the dark circles under her eyes were a testament to how much sleep she was managing to get. Lady Thea ladled a helping of soup into Shy's bowl herself, such was her determination to see her eat. When Shy had been a child Shy had been shocked at the idea of the noblewoman serving her and in her gratitude she had eaten. Since then, whenever Shy had had one of her days when she seemed to trapped in a nightmare only she could see, this was how Lady Thea managed to bring her round for a moment or two. Only now Shy remained staring out past the kitchen table and down the hall, her frail arms in her lap looking as useless as kindling.

"Eat!" Lady Thea barked causing Shy to jump.

Shy reached for the spoon out of instinct and slowly began to scoop small mouthfuls of the warm soup into her mouth. Lady Thea was beginning to think she had broken through some of Shy's shock when an ear-splitting roar echoed down the hall, causing Shy to forget the food before her and any returning color in her cheeks to drain.

"Wait!" Lady Thea pleaded, sensing that Shy was about to bolt down the hall and back towards Guy's chambers.

Shy did as she was told, staring at Lady Thea, unable to disobey her. Her eyes shifted waiting for another scream, a sign she was needed so desperately she could think of ignoring an order from her old mistress.

"SHY!"

Guy's scream was enough of a cue.

Shy went tearing out of the kitchen and back towards the bedchambers, Lady Thea following hard on her heels. Shy pushed open the doors and saw Guy thrashing about in the bed, tangled in the sheets, eyes open, staring. Sweat covered his face and his hair was matted to his head. He turned his head when he saw the door open. He relaxed, shaking. He struggled to right himself so he could sit up.

Shy gently pushed Guy back down, hushing him.

"Shy! I thought you left...I thought you were gone..."

"No. No I'm right here. Where would I go?"

As she spoke to him, Lady Thea managed to check to make sure Guy hadn't torn any of his stitches in his attempt to raise himself from the bed.

"Don't. Don't go..." Guy clutched at her arm in a panic as Shy shifted her weight from one leg to the other. Shy reached for the chair and pulled it up closer, sitting down in it, assuring Guy that she wasn't going anywhere.

"No. I'm here." It was the most lucid Shy had been in the past few days. She seemed calm and controlled. Her eyes no longer swimming in some distant haze. She held onto Guy with as much fervor as he clung to her.

Carefully, Shy snuck her hand over to the vial of the sleeping draught she had left on the drawer. She raised it to Guy's lips, having him drink some of it down. He did so in a furious gulp, not understanding what it was he was drinking. He was soothed to stillness at Shy's caress, her hand upon his cheek, her fingers tracing over his brow.

"Don't leave."

"I won't."

When Shy had gotten Guy back to sleep she seemed to revert back to her former dazed state, only this time far more shaken then before. Lady Thea was dabbing at the wound with one of the vials of medicine. Shy had not paid attention to which, although now she did. Vaguely she thought she recognized the herb. Lady Thea redressed the wound and smoothed out the quilts over Guy's body. "He needs rest."

Something was wrong in her speech.

"If he wakes again give him more of the sleeping draught."

She was avoiding eye-contact.

"My lady?" Shy asked softly, "what is going on?"

Lady Thea was already at the door, she turned to her friend as she opened it, tears brimming in her eyes. She did not want the already fragile woman to see them. "The wound is infected. He is already burning with the fever." Lady Thea's voice broke as she spoke. "Pray very hard, Shy. Guy may not survive the night."

A/N: *Flees again* XD