Calmness after a Storm

The next morning brought another somber gray day as Frans woke up from a tiring slumber. He looked over at Marigold who was still sleeping. She still looked pale and weak and her ankle still looked swollen. She briefly opened her eyes as Frans stood up. "It's morning now. I should be able to find the path to home now. I'll find your father and show him where to find you."

"Wait…I'm coming with you," she whispered. But as soon as she tried to stand, she felt dizzy from the fever and winced from the pain in her ankle.

"No, you won't. You're sick and hurt. You must stay here and we need your father's help. Kit can come with me to find him. Then, she can help him find you. I'll need your hair ribbon so she can track the scent."

"Frans…when you find him…tell him…I'm so sorry," she said sadly, before closing her eyes and falling unconscious from fever.

Frans carefully untied her hair ribbon and hurried out of the cottage and into the woods once again. Scanning for any signs of the trail that led him back to the farm. He ran as fast as his legs could carry with Kit trailing behind him. Minutes passed by until he came across the path. He tied the ribbon to a branch to help Erik find the way to the cottage.

Venturing on, he followed the pathway through the woods further. He looked around frantically for any familiar signs. When he reached the field leading out of the woods, he ran up the hill and saw the cottage. Then he saw Erik sitting under a tree with his head resting atop his knees, looking as though he had been up searching all night.

"Monsieur Erik!" called Frans.

Erik's head shot up at the sound of Frans voice as the boy ran up to him. Erik stood and he pulled Frans in a tight embrace. "Frans…you're all right," he said in relief. He looked down at him with sad, tired eyes.

"Monsieur Erik, you must go and find Marigold. She hurt her ankle and can't walk. And she's become very sick. She's very scared and upset. She was calling for you in her sleep. She told me to tell you she's so sorry. Please, you must help her," said Frans, breathlessly.

"Where is she?" Erik asked calmly. "Where has she gone?"

Frans told him about the deserted cottage and how to get to it by finding her hair ribbon on the branch. "Thank you, Frans, and don't worry. I will find her. Now get yourself inside. Christine will get you dried off and fed."

After Frans ran back to the house, Erik quickly ran in the woods, looking for the way to the cottage. "Come along, Kit. Help me find her," he told Kit, who was sniffing the ground for their scent. Not ten minutes later, they came across the hair ribbon on the branch. Erik took the ribbon down and let Kit sniff it, who then ran along a path, hot on the trail. They looked around for the cottage. Finally, he reached it and went inside. He gasped at the sight of his daughter huddled on the floor, unconscious and sickly.

He knelt down and gathered her close to him in his arms. He shuddered with relief and he sat there for a moment, just holding her, as all the fear, anger and relief he felt throughout the night came flooding out of him. He looked down at her and observed how pale and feverish she was. Quickly, he gathered her into his arms and hurried back to the trail. He knew if he didn't get her warm soon, she could take a turn for the worse.

Seeing that another rainstorm was coming, he hurried faster out of the woods and down the hill, finally reaching the cottage. As he went inside, Christine was pacing across the floor until she saw Erik carrying their unconscious, sickly and drenched daughter. She ran up to them and kissed Marigold's forehead. She also knelt down to pet Kit. "Oh, Kit. Thank goodness you're all right too."

"Warm some blankets by the fire, Christine. We need to get her warm quickly. She may have slight hypothermia. Where is Frans?"

"Dried off, fed, and asleep in his room."

"Good. Let's get Marigold in bed as well. Poor Kit must be hungry. Could you see to it that she eats?" Erik said. Christine took Kit to the kitchen to get her fed as well.

Erik carried his daughter upstairs and into her room. He gently set her on the bed and removed her wet things. After drying her off, he put her nightgown on and tucked her in bed. Christine came in with blankets and a basin full of water. They covered Marigold up and placed a cool wet cloth on her forehead.

"Frans said she hurt her ankle. Let's have a look at it," said Christine. They looked over Marigold's swollen ankle.

"I highly doubt that it's broken but I don't want to cause her pain and wake her up to find out. I'll check it again when she's awake. We'll put a cold compress on it to reduce the swelling," said Erik, carefully placing a cool cloth on her swollen ankle. She painfully whimpered a little in her sleep from the impact. Erik gently caressed her head and face to comfort her back to sleep.

"Let's leave her to rest. I'll check on her later. You, on the other hand, also need rest. You've been up all night searching for them in the rain. Please go and rest before you become sick as well," said Christine.

Erik nodded sleepily as he went downstairs to their bedroom to put on dry clothes. Then he walked to the sitting room and collapsed in his armchair by the fireplace. Kit was asleep on the rug in front of him. Christine went into the kitchen and brought a tray of tea to them. Erik rubbed his forehead, feeling utterly exhausted as Christine handed him a cup of tea.

"What on Earth am I going to say to her when she wakes up? I'm relieved she's safe but I'm still very angry at the way she spoke to me last night, running away and causing both of us a night of fretting. My heart broke when she told me to leave her alone," sighed Erik. "Maybe I have been overprotective of her as of late. I just can't bear the thought of her being in danger again. I love her so much."

"I'm quite sure she knows that. I know you feel angry with her behavior but talk with her when you feel a little calmer. You know what happens you react in anger. More importantly, you should get some rest first before you do decide to speak to her. I'll be up to check on them later. You all need some rest. Perhaps later tonight, you can speak with her then," said Christine.

Erik nodded, sipped his tea, and slowly drifted off to sleep in his armchair as the sound of rain began to fall outside once again.

A few hours later, Christine quietly walked upstairs to check on the children as Erik continued to sleep soundly in the sitting room. She opened the door to Frans' room and saw that he was still sleeping soundly. Softly closing the door, she went down the hall to Marigold's room. As she went in, she was about to change the wet cloth on Marigold's head when her daughter finally began to open her eyes slowly.

"Where am I?" she weakly whispered.

"You are home and safe in your room now," said Christine.

"How did I get here?"

"Papa found you in the abandoned cottage, carried you home and put you in bed. If he hadn't found you in time, you might have been beyond our aid."

"Papa saved me?" said Marigold, looking rather surprised. She surely thought he wouldn't have wanted to find her after the way she spoke to him last night. "W-where is he now?"

"He's sleeping downstairs in the sitting room. He was awake all night looking for you and Frans, outside in the rain. When he wakes up, he may come speak to you later tonight."

"Is he…very upset with me?"

"Yes, I'm afraid he is. You really should not have spoken to him in that manner and you most definitely should not run away like that. We were both up all night sick with worry. You should be grateful that Frans was there with you all night and helped your father find you. Perhaps now you will think about your actions affects others," Christine chided gently.

Marigold hung her head in shame. "Yes, Mama. I'm sorry."

"Yes, indeed. You should feel sorry. But the one who you should apologize to most of all is your father. You hurt his feelings very much last night and he was worried sick about you. I understand that you are growing up but being disrespectful to your father is not how a young lady behaves. You can apologize to him when he comes up to see you. Now I want you to rest some more and think about what you will say to him tonight."

As Christine quietly left the room, Marigold laid her head back down on the pillows and softly cried herself back to sleep.