Chapter Two
Secrets Unspoken and Shae's Wounds
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A woman with long blonde hair hurried Grove away with the baby- which was apparently hers, and Grove seemed to be her husband. They both ushered D and the woman he was carrying to the physician, who took one look, cursed, and began working on the poor wounded brunette- Shae, not D.
He overheard a conversation between the doctor, Grove and the blonde woman from before. The doors were not that thick, after all; not that he was intentionally eavesdropping, of course....
"She's in very bad shape, I'm sorry to say. She spent too much time in the sun without water, so she has sun-fever sapping her strength along with her older wounds. You should thank whoever it was that helped you get her here; had you come even a half hour later, she might not be alive right now. She has a sprained knee, a dislocated shoulder, bruises all over where what little armor she was wearing protected her, numerous cuts where it didn't, and she's lost a lot of blood thanks to the hole through her side that looks like it got field-doctored."
"It *did* get field doctored."
A brief intake of breath before the doctor continued.
"Grove, tell me what happened."
"I left Harakanasana with Abagail and five others. We came across Shae's campsite around sunset where she joined us at my request. You know of her reputation in these parts?"
"No, I'm afraid I don't."
"It doesn't matter. Anyway, we were attacked three days ago by a vampire and his five freakish thugs- Two others and I got away thanks to Shae and the others staying back as a decoy. Daylight came, and we doubled back as planned to the stone landmark that was the halfway point. We found Shae lying at the base of the rock where she had apparently fallen from her horse, barely breathing. When I got off my horse to check her pulse, she looked up at me and smiled. I think she said something about being glad we were safe before she blacked out. I bound her wounds as best I could- that's why her cape was so badly shredded, I had to use it as a makeshift bandage. She woke the following afternoon and insisted we move on. We took it slow for a day, then this past afternoon three of the damn vampire's mutant things attacked us, one of them was some sort of sword-demon and-"
Grove stopped, took a deep breath, and continued slowly.
"And when I was distracted by the wolf-like one, I got taken down by the blade-demon... and Shae- she took my Abagail with her because she knew I had fallen and couldn't protect my daughter... The last thing I remember is the wolf thing falling, and Shae standing alone against the other two creatures... then I opened my eyes to find her a bloody mess on my lap with my Abagail, safe and sound."
There was a long silence before the doctor spoke.
"Then she's very lucky to be alive indeed. I have never heard of someone fighting with a wound like that in them. No, not ever."
"She's a healer, doctor. She saved my life, is she going to live to see my Abagail grow up?"
A pause.
"She must mean a lot to you."
A woman's voice cut in.
"She means a lot to both of us. We owe her our lives, and the life of our baby. Please, if there's anything we can do to help..."
"She needs rest, and badly. The less time she spends on her feet the better. Like I said, she's lost too much blood too recently. You can go see her now, but she's unconscious. Take her home with you if you want but keep her in a bed for at least a week, she'll need that long to mend at a minimum."
Grove replied with a very heartfelt, "Thank you, doctor."
A long while later the doctor asked D to help him move Shae to a bed at Grove's house- where D was invited to spend the night along with her. D was about to decline, but thought better of it.
::You're curious about her, aren't you, D? You never accepted an invitation like this before. Do you even know what she is? I mean she has to be some kind of mutant to heal people like she did with Grove earlier and all.::
::Quiet.::
::Oooohhh you're more than curious, you want to know about her then? That's unlike you, D. I mean, you never stay anywhere for long, what is it that keeps your attention on her?::
Grove, on crutches, gave D a sheepish look.
"I'm sorry, but we only have one spare room, though it has two beds. Would you mind spending the night in the room with Shae?"
D nodded and Grove smiled.
"Thanks. I'll try not to wake you when I go in to check on her later."
D's eyes fluttered open in the middle of the night for no apparent reason... He immediately looked to the bed where Shae had been unconscious earlier- to see the bed empty and the woman missing. His gaze darted around the room, finally resting on the wounded brunette, standing at the nearby window, leaning against the wall looking out.
In the moonlight she looked as pale as D himself was... the question was, however, was what else he saw a trick of the light?
Her silvery grey eyes glimmered with what appeared to be an inner light, the ear that he could see seemed to be slightly pointed, and she seemed to have that same unearthly beauty all Dhampires and Aristocratic vampires seemed to have. Her dark brown hair fell to just below her shoulders, framing her face with delicate feathered edges.
The door opened, and D, feigning sleep, let his eyes remain open the barest of slits, as he watched what happened next.
Grove's fiancée, a woman named Rosalind, paused on the threshold before quickly and relatively quietly walking over to Shae's side.
"Shae! You should be in bed, resting!" Rosalind whispered fiercely at the pale brunette by the window.
"This one will be all right soon enough. Go back to sleep, Miss Rosalind."
She stepped around Shae to meet the enigma's grey eyes, the set of her shoulders stubborn.
"You had to be carried into town today, and you're pale as a ghost. You need to recover your strength before you leave again. The doctor said you;d need at least a week!"
Rosalind spoke in a fierce whisper, the brunette in a soft low alto voice that was an almost musical and sultry monotone- though it did have more life than the only other time D had heard her speak. Shae smiled distantly.
"You should be happy that this one is out of bed. After all, if sessha should be in bed resting, will it not take longer for her to recover?"
The blonde shook her head and sighed softly in frustration.
"Always you ignore your hurts. Humor me and go back to bed? Please?"
Shae chuckled softly, and looked out the window for a moment more before turning to face Rosalind fully.
"All right all right, it would be ill manners if this one ignored your wishes."
She moved in the direction of the bed, slowly, Rosalind shadowing her. Shae stumbled but recovered just as the blonde reached out to steady her.
"Careful! You'll rip your wounds open again."
::Again?:: Sym thought at D.
::Quiet.::
A soft barely audible chuckle.
"... go look after Grove and Abagail, they need you more than sessha anyway."
Rosalind left with a soft sigh after Shae took a seat on the bed.
"Just take it easy. This is a small sanctuary for you and you well know it. It breaks my heart to see my one time Hunting partner so weak." A dry chuckle was her answer.
"Go to sleep, Rosalind. This one will be fine."
There was several minutes of silence, then she turned to look in D's direction. Her silver gaze lingered on him for a long moment, seeming to trace his features in the darkness of the room... with an intensity no human could possess... or rather, should possess in the dim light. What little light there was reflected silver from her deep mahogany hair.
Had he not been a dhampire, he would not have heard her barely audible comment.
"So... this is what became of his son..."
She slid herself back under the blanket and sheets slowly, closing her eyes with a wince when it came to moving her left arm anywhere. A white bandage marked with a fresh deep crimson stain was briefly visible through the shoulder of the shirt she wore as she shifted to lay on her right side, facing away from the window and turning her back to D.
"...what a lonely road he must walk... though I have to wonder that it is probably not as lonely as my own..." Though she seemed to be thinking out loud, he knew that her last comment was not meant to be overheard.
Her breathing evened, then slowed... from anything D knew about people, she was weak indeed, her breathing was unusually shallow... but she *was* sleeping, now.
::What do you make of that, D? Up and walking with a wound that would have killed a lesser human. Definitely some kind of mutant or something, maybe even a barborois!::
::She may be a dhampire. Or dhampyre.::
::What?!? D, have you gone insane? She's not pale enough, and besides, don't you have a sixth sense for that sort of thing? I mean, with you being Dracula's son and all, you usually have as good a feel for this as I do! Especially for dhampyres, the ones with the mother half as a vampire!::
::That's what worries me.::
::Whaddaya mean?::
::...::
::Don't tell me you don't know either!::
::Then I won't. Quiet, let me sleep.::
::But D-::
The only response Sym got for the rest of the night was silence.
Secrets Unspoken and Shae's Wounds
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A woman with long blonde hair hurried Grove away with the baby- which was apparently hers, and Grove seemed to be her husband. They both ushered D and the woman he was carrying to the physician, who took one look, cursed, and began working on the poor wounded brunette- Shae, not D.
He overheard a conversation between the doctor, Grove and the blonde woman from before. The doors were not that thick, after all; not that he was intentionally eavesdropping, of course....
"She's in very bad shape, I'm sorry to say. She spent too much time in the sun without water, so she has sun-fever sapping her strength along with her older wounds. You should thank whoever it was that helped you get her here; had you come even a half hour later, she might not be alive right now. She has a sprained knee, a dislocated shoulder, bruises all over where what little armor she was wearing protected her, numerous cuts where it didn't, and she's lost a lot of blood thanks to the hole through her side that looks like it got field-doctored."
"It *did* get field doctored."
A brief intake of breath before the doctor continued.
"Grove, tell me what happened."
"I left Harakanasana with Abagail and five others. We came across Shae's campsite around sunset where she joined us at my request. You know of her reputation in these parts?"
"No, I'm afraid I don't."
"It doesn't matter. Anyway, we were attacked three days ago by a vampire and his five freakish thugs- Two others and I got away thanks to Shae and the others staying back as a decoy. Daylight came, and we doubled back as planned to the stone landmark that was the halfway point. We found Shae lying at the base of the rock where she had apparently fallen from her horse, barely breathing. When I got off my horse to check her pulse, she looked up at me and smiled. I think she said something about being glad we were safe before she blacked out. I bound her wounds as best I could- that's why her cape was so badly shredded, I had to use it as a makeshift bandage. She woke the following afternoon and insisted we move on. We took it slow for a day, then this past afternoon three of the damn vampire's mutant things attacked us, one of them was some sort of sword-demon and-"
Grove stopped, took a deep breath, and continued slowly.
"And when I was distracted by the wolf-like one, I got taken down by the blade-demon... and Shae- she took my Abagail with her because she knew I had fallen and couldn't protect my daughter... The last thing I remember is the wolf thing falling, and Shae standing alone against the other two creatures... then I opened my eyes to find her a bloody mess on my lap with my Abagail, safe and sound."
There was a long silence before the doctor spoke.
"Then she's very lucky to be alive indeed. I have never heard of someone fighting with a wound like that in them. No, not ever."
"She's a healer, doctor. She saved my life, is she going to live to see my Abagail grow up?"
A pause.
"She must mean a lot to you."
A woman's voice cut in.
"She means a lot to both of us. We owe her our lives, and the life of our baby. Please, if there's anything we can do to help..."
"She needs rest, and badly. The less time she spends on her feet the better. Like I said, she's lost too much blood too recently. You can go see her now, but she's unconscious. Take her home with you if you want but keep her in a bed for at least a week, she'll need that long to mend at a minimum."
Grove replied with a very heartfelt, "Thank you, doctor."
A long while later the doctor asked D to help him move Shae to a bed at Grove's house- where D was invited to spend the night along with her. D was about to decline, but thought better of it.
::You're curious about her, aren't you, D? You never accepted an invitation like this before. Do you even know what she is? I mean she has to be some kind of mutant to heal people like she did with Grove earlier and all.::
::Quiet.::
::Oooohhh you're more than curious, you want to know about her then? That's unlike you, D. I mean, you never stay anywhere for long, what is it that keeps your attention on her?::
Grove, on crutches, gave D a sheepish look.
"I'm sorry, but we only have one spare room, though it has two beds. Would you mind spending the night in the room with Shae?"
D nodded and Grove smiled.
"Thanks. I'll try not to wake you when I go in to check on her later."
D's eyes fluttered open in the middle of the night for no apparent reason... He immediately looked to the bed where Shae had been unconscious earlier- to see the bed empty and the woman missing. His gaze darted around the room, finally resting on the wounded brunette, standing at the nearby window, leaning against the wall looking out.
In the moonlight she looked as pale as D himself was... the question was, however, was what else he saw a trick of the light?
Her silvery grey eyes glimmered with what appeared to be an inner light, the ear that he could see seemed to be slightly pointed, and she seemed to have that same unearthly beauty all Dhampires and Aristocratic vampires seemed to have. Her dark brown hair fell to just below her shoulders, framing her face with delicate feathered edges.
The door opened, and D, feigning sleep, let his eyes remain open the barest of slits, as he watched what happened next.
Grove's fiancée, a woman named Rosalind, paused on the threshold before quickly and relatively quietly walking over to Shae's side.
"Shae! You should be in bed, resting!" Rosalind whispered fiercely at the pale brunette by the window.
"This one will be all right soon enough. Go back to sleep, Miss Rosalind."
She stepped around Shae to meet the enigma's grey eyes, the set of her shoulders stubborn.
"You had to be carried into town today, and you're pale as a ghost. You need to recover your strength before you leave again. The doctor said you;d need at least a week!"
Rosalind spoke in a fierce whisper, the brunette in a soft low alto voice that was an almost musical and sultry monotone- though it did have more life than the only other time D had heard her speak. Shae smiled distantly.
"You should be happy that this one is out of bed. After all, if sessha should be in bed resting, will it not take longer for her to recover?"
The blonde shook her head and sighed softly in frustration.
"Always you ignore your hurts. Humor me and go back to bed? Please?"
Shae chuckled softly, and looked out the window for a moment more before turning to face Rosalind fully.
"All right all right, it would be ill manners if this one ignored your wishes."
She moved in the direction of the bed, slowly, Rosalind shadowing her. Shae stumbled but recovered just as the blonde reached out to steady her.
"Careful! You'll rip your wounds open again."
::Again?:: Sym thought at D.
::Quiet.::
A soft barely audible chuckle.
"... go look after Grove and Abagail, they need you more than sessha anyway."
Rosalind left with a soft sigh after Shae took a seat on the bed.
"Just take it easy. This is a small sanctuary for you and you well know it. It breaks my heart to see my one time Hunting partner so weak." A dry chuckle was her answer.
"Go to sleep, Rosalind. This one will be fine."
There was several minutes of silence, then she turned to look in D's direction. Her silver gaze lingered on him for a long moment, seeming to trace his features in the darkness of the room... with an intensity no human could possess... or rather, should possess in the dim light. What little light there was reflected silver from her deep mahogany hair.
Had he not been a dhampire, he would not have heard her barely audible comment.
"So... this is what became of his son..."
She slid herself back under the blanket and sheets slowly, closing her eyes with a wince when it came to moving her left arm anywhere. A white bandage marked with a fresh deep crimson stain was briefly visible through the shoulder of the shirt she wore as she shifted to lay on her right side, facing away from the window and turning her back to D.
"...what a lonely road he must walk... though I have to wonder that it is probably not as lonely as my own..." Though she seemed to be thinking out loud, he knew that her last comment was not meant to be overheard.
Her breathing evened, then slowed... from anything D knew about people, she was weak indeed, her breathing was unusually shallow... but she *was* sleeping, now.
::What do you make of that, D? Up and walking with a wound that would have killed a lesser human. Definitely some kind of mutant or something, maybe even a barborois!::
::She may be a dhampire. Or dhampyre.::
::What?!? D, have you gone insane? She's not pale enough, and besides, don't you have a sixth sense for that sort of thing? I mean, with you being Dracula's son and all, you usually have as good a feel for this as I do! Especially for dhampyres, the ones with the mother half as a vampire!::
::That's what worries me.::
::Whaddaya mean?::
::...::
::Don't tell me you don't know either!::
::Then I won't. Quiet, let me sleep.::
::But D-::
The only response Sym got for the rest of the night was silence.