While they were being taken by the people who had rescued them on a net. While laid, Maria saw the woman called one of them and talked a little to the man, who nodded and started to run ahead of the group, to call a doctor.
Sighing, she looked back at Altair. She was laid on her side, facing him – who didn't wake up yet – to listen to his low breath, while imagining again how they had appeared on that place
The group walked for a while, until they arrived to a house.
"The doctor is coming…" A voice said.
Maria looked around and noticed they had stopped. Then, a black man appeared in her line vision.
"You're going to be fine…" He said.
Maria knew he was a moor because of his skin color and because the only black people she knew were moors, that De Sable had as prisoners.
But moors don't wear this kind of clothes… She thought. Maybe, he isn't one…
"Are you a moor?" She asked. "How come are you wearing official clothes?"ow come
The man frowned, but soon remembered what she had passed and let it go.
"After, we'll talk…" The man said gently to her before looking and talking to the others. "Let's put them in the back room…"
Maria saw they were moving again and that they were entering a big house. The little she saw inside, the house was very different from the houses she knew, from the walls to the objects.
"Put them on the bed…" The leader said.
The men entered the room, put the net on the bed and left.
"Thank you…" Maria said, sitting on the bed.
"If you need, we'll be here…" The leader said.
The man was about to leave, but her voice interrupted him.
"What's your name?" She asked.
The man turned again and said:
"You can call me Connor…"
Maria nodded.
"My name is Mary, and this is John…" she said.
Connor nodded.
"Rest while the doctor doesn't come… we'll talk later…"
With this, Connor left the room, leaving them alone.
Maria then looked around and took her time examining the room. It was big and didn't have many furniture inside: there was a table and a chair, leaning on a wall, there was a painting of a landscape, very well done, on the other wall and the bed they were. But what called her attention was the objects, she had never seen or knew their names.
Taking a deep breath, Maria looked to a lit candle in the candle holder that was beside the bed, thinking.
She was so absorbed she took a fright when she heard Altair's voice.
"John?" He asked.
Maria jumped from the bed but walked to Altair sat on the bed coughing.
"Calm down, habib…" She said trying to make him lay down. "Come on, lay down…"
As soon as Altair laid down, he stopped coughing, so he looked at her waiting for an answer.
"John is the name of my brother…" She answered, sitting beside him. "I still have the vague memory of him but it is fading away after so many years away from home…"
Altair nodded and put a hand on her face.
"It's okay Altair…" Maria said putting a hand over his on her face. "I love our life and I won't change it for nothing..."
He nodded again and looked around. They were in a room.
"Where are we?" He asked.
"With the people who saved us on the river…" She answered. "We're waiting for a doctor…"
"Doctor?" He asked again.
"Don't you remember?" She asked. "We had to jump on the river because we were attacked by wolves…"
Altair remembered then and nodded.
"It was quite a dive…" He said.
"Not to mention you're still wounded from the fight with Abbas and the others…" Maria continued.
"Please Maria, forget Abbas…" Altair said. "We wouldn't be in this situation if he had not returned…"
She agreed and was about to speak again when she was interrupted by a man's voice. The looked at two men.
"Excuse me…" Connor said. "The doctor is here…"
The doctor entered the room
"Connor told me what happened…you were luck…" The doctor said putting his briefcase on the bed.
"Connor?" Altair asked Maria, not understanding anything.
"One of the men who rescued us…" She explained.
Altair nodded.
"How did you two ends up here?" The doctor asked.
Altair e Maria looked at each other.
"Ah…" Maria started.
"We don't know…" Altair said. "We just woke up in a claring and after we were attacked by wolves…"
The doctor nodded, opening his briefcase.
"But I think it was the scent of blood…" Maria completed.
"May I see your wounds?" The doctor said, nodding.
"Sure…" Altair said.
Maria helped him to sit and take of his shirt carefully. The doctor saw he had some ugly cuts and bruised ribs.
"Your ribs are probably broken…" He said. "Let me see what I can do about these cuts…"
X ~ X ~ X
Outside the room, Connor was leaning against the wall, watching and listening to the doctor attending John and Mary. He noticed Achilles approach him and looked at the older man.
"Are they ok?" Achilles asked.
"I think so…" Connor said. "The doctor is with them…"
Achilles looked inside the room. The doctor appeared to be sewing John's wounds.
"OK, call me after he finishes…" Achilles said turning around. "We need to talk to them…"
Connor nodded.
X ~ X ~ X
"Finished…" The doctor said, after he wrapped a roll bandage on Altair. He then helped Maria to dress him back. "As the wounds are open, the curatives are daily… here is the healing remedy… you can pass it on the cuts…"
Both Maria and Altair nodded.
"Now, you'll have to be off your feet for a while…" The doctor finished.
"For how long?" Altair asked, settling himself in bed.
"For at least two weeks…" The doctor said, then turned to Maria. "Now, let me see your wounds…"
She looked to the doctor.
"I don't think I have many…" She said. "Just this one in my head…"
The doctor looked at her left forehead.
"Did you pass out?" He asked her.
"Yes…" Altair said. "But I don't know for how long…"
The doctor nodded and said:
"I guess a small bandage will resolve…"
Maria nodded. The doctor cleaned the wound and made a small curative.
"And we're finished…" The doctor said, guarding his supplies on his case. "Rest now… I'll order something for you to eat…"
Altair and Maria nodded and thanked the doctor before he left the room.
"Now what?" Maria asked when they were alone.
"We have to discover where we are…" Altair said. "And how we return home…"
Maria nodded.
At the moment, a voice interrupted them. It was Connor.
"I brought you some clothes… it was donated to you by the people here…" He said. "Unfortunately we couldn't find a dress for you, Mary…"
"It's okay… I don't wear dresses…" Maria said.
Connor nodded and changed the subject.
"Achilles want to talk to you afterwards…"
"Achilles?" Altair asked.
"The black man…" Connor answered.
"Oh, yeah…" Maria said and turned to Altair "I'll explain later…"
With this, Connor left the room, leaving they alone.
"Who is Achilles?" Altair asked again.
Maria sat beside him on the bed and explained to him how she met Achilles and thought he was a moor. Altair nodded.
"Now we have to change clothes…" Maria said after a few seconds while picking up a male shirt.
"I'll have to wear this?" Altair asked making a face when he saw the ruffle on the front of the shirt. "This is ridiculous… I can't wear this…"
Maria laughed at his expression.
"Look for the bright side, habib…" She said. "Except me, no one knows us here… so nobody will judge you… besides it can't be worse than mine…"
Reluctantly, Altair only nodded.
X ~ X ~ X
Maria finished adjusting Altair's shirt.
"Let me see…" She said. "You're handsome"
Altair didn't say anything, just kept his face closed.
"Cheer up, Altair…" Maria said. "Shall we go?"
Altair just nodded.
They walked to the other side of the corridor and entered on the kitchen, where they found Achilles and Connor, waiting for them.
"Achilles, I presume…" said Altair.
Achilles nodded slowly.
"Are you alright?" Achilles asked them after Maria helped Altair sit on the chair.
"Just broken ribs and a few cuts…" Altair said.
Achilles nodded.
"You must be hungry" Connor said. "Ann…"
Ann came and put two plates in front of them. Maria and Altair thanked them and looked at the plates before start eating eagerly.
"This is good…" Maria said. Altair beside her, nodded. She asked: "What's it?"
"Moose meat and bread we normally do on the village…" Connor said.
Maria and Altair nodded. Usually, they didn't eat meat they knew nothing about, but they were starving…
Minutes later, they finished eating.
"So…" Connor said. "Where are you from?"
Maria looked at Altair. He knew a questioning was about to start.
"Mary is English…" He said finally.
"From where?" Achilles asked.
"A city near London…" Maria said.
"And how about you, John?" Connor asked. "You don't have British accent…"
Altair nodded.
"My family is from Syria, but I'm English too…" He lied. "My parents were taken by force to England before I was born… my accent is because I learned to speak their language before I learned English…"
"Fair enough…" Achilles said.
Maria looked from him to Connor, who had his arms crossed on his chest.
"Ok, do you know how you came here?" Achilles asked again.
Both of them denied, but then Maria said:
"I only remember that John and I had run away from England by ship because our parents didn't want us together…"
Altair nodded.
"Ok…" Achilles said, getting up.
"Wait, we too have some questions…" Altair asked. "Where are we?"
"On my parents' estate…" Achilles answered. "If you mean the region we are is Massachussetts province…'
"Mass what?" Altair asked.
"Massachussetts…" Connor said.
Maria tuned to Altair.
"Honey, do you remember that we were told the name of the region we would come after we entered the ship?" She asked
Altair shook his head denying it.
"Sorry, I think I was beaten hard…"
"It's ok…" Connor said. "Sorry too about our questioning, but we have to be careful about what we are facing now…"
Altair and Maria nodded.
"We are going to let you rest now… Tomorrow Connor will show you the estate and his village…" Achilles said.
"Ok…" Maria said.
With this Achilles and Connor left the room, letting Altair and Maria alone.
X ~ X ~ X
As they arrived on the corridor, Achilles turned to Connor and asked lowering his voice:
"What did you think about their story?
"They are hiding something… we need to know what…" Connor said.
"I agree…" Achilles said turning away. "See if you discover something, Connor…"
Connor nodded.
X ~ X ~ X
At the same time, in the kitchen, Maria breathed alleviated, then turned to Altair.
"Do you think they bought our story?"
"I'm sure they didn't…" He said. "I saw their expressions…"
Maria nodded.
"But we have to keep it, until we discover what's going on…" He finished.
She nodded again.
"Let's go to the room…" She said instead. 'We can't do much more now… besides, I'm tired and I want to rest a little…"
Altair nodded.
