The knights put Dagonet across his horse. His injuries weren't mortal in themselves, but the color of his skin spoke of skin freezing and they knew they had to get him back to the caravan so they could get him warmed up. They rode as fast as possible without causing more damage and soon caught up with the group of wagons and peasants walking beside them. Ganis stopped the caravan and the knights got Dagonet into the wagon with Fulcinia and Lucan. Lucan thought he was dead and began to weep, but Guinnevere explained the situation and he settled down to help any way he could.
Arthur and Bors stayed in the cramped wagon and got Dag out of his soaked clothes. They wrapped him in as many furs and blankets as they could find while Gawain and Lancelot went to get water on to boil. They all knew unless they got his temperature up quickly he could die, but they also had to care for his wounds before his temperature was raised too much or he could bleed to death. The cold was slowing the flow of blood coming from the holes made by the arrows. It would also stop the infection from growing and from the looks of the Saxon army they weren't very clean with any of the their equipment. But when you were trying to defeat everyone you came across you weren't too concerned with how they died.
Fulcinia and Guinnevere had left the wagon while the men were undressing the wounded knight. As soon as he was decently covered once more, they came back in and began working on the wounds. The one in his shoulder didn't seem too bad, all they had to do was clean and bandage it. Guinnevere knew something of herb healing and went in search of some of the plants that would help with the healing and the pain. While she was gone Fulcinia looked at the wound in Dag's side. It didn't appear to be in a spot that would cause permanent damage as long as they kept it clean and bandaged until it healed. Lancelot brought a pail of hot water and Fulcinia ripped some of her petticoat to make bandages once the wound was clean.
Guinnevere came back into the wagon complaining that she couldn't find all of the herbs she needed. "We're too far north, but these will do until we get closer to the wall." She spoke to no one in particular as she began crushing the leaves between her thumb and fingers and dropping them into the hot water. As she did this, Fulcinia uncovered the wound in Dag's side and began washing it with rags dipped into the mixture. Dag moaned once or twice which was a good sign, but each time it caused Fulcinia to flinch. She hated hurting the gentle man who had befriended her and the young boy, but she also knew it would be necessary for a short time.
Once the wound was clean, she took a small needle from her bag and expertly tied some of her sewing thread to it. The wound wasn't too wide and it would only take one or two stitches to close it up. After she had finished she wet a piece of her petticoat and applied it, Guinnevere had assured her it would help keep infection from setting up. Then Bors helped her roll Dag from side to side so she could wrap longer pieces around to hold everything in place. As easy as they tried to move the gentle giant, he still moaned and even reached up to fight at them once. Arthur kneeled down and held his hands while they finished.
The shoulder wound was much easier to dress and was soon finished. Arthur told everyone to leave and let Dag get some much-needed rest and they all left except Fulcinia and Bors, who flat refused to move. Fulcinia was glad for the company though, especially if Dag started to move around. There was no way she could envision herself keeping him still. She felt of his forehead again and found that his temperature had begun to go back up. He just felt a little cool now instead of cold as a man dead for hours. She had been worried that they would not be able to help him, but she realized he wanted to live as much as they wanted him to.
She and Bors kept up their vigilance throughout the rest of the evening and night. From time to time different members of the group of knights came into the wagon and offered to relieve them for a while. Bors never even looked up to turn down the offers and Fulcinia only accepted once. Guinnevere came in and told her to go sit by the fire and get a bite to eat and although she would rather have stayed, she felt she did need to check up on Alecto. He had taken the death of his father better than she had hoped, but he still felt that most of the problems they had encountered were somehow his fault because he had not stood up to his father and stopped the cruelty. Both Guinnevere and Arthur had reassured him but she knew her son, he had only played lip service to their efforts.
When she came back to the wagon she found Bors had drifted off into an uneasy sleep. She settled down to watch his friend so he could rest. After what seemed like hours he woke up with a start, cursing that he had fallen asleep. "You must have needed the rest, but your neck is probably hurting." She tried to reassure him. "Yeah, it does feel like I broke it." He replied sheepishly. "Has there been any change in Dag?" he asked. She looked into the face of the sleeping man and felt of his forehead before she replied. "His temperature seems to be normal now. He hasn't been awake yet, but I'm sure he will soon. The cold makes him sleepy and now that he is warm again be will be more likely to awake."
As if on cue, Dag indeed opened his eyes. At first he looked lost. Then the memory of what happened shone from his eyes and he looked around to find Fulcinia looking directly at his face. She saw him open his mouth to speak and realized his mouth was dry. She took a small skin of water and held it to his lips letting just enough water into his mouth to moisten the inside. Then she let him take a little more and he saw Bors move over into his line of vision. He looked at Bors and Fulcinia found she was feeling gladness and sadness all at the same time. Glad that he had looked away because he had held her gaze from the moment he had first looked at her and sad that he was no longer looking at her. She had not had these conflicting emotions for a long time. Her husband had only inspired the emotion of fear for the last 16 years. Fear she had down to a fine art.
When she came out of her own thoughts she found that Dag was again looking at her. She felt her face begin to grown warm with the blush that was creeping down her neck. She tried to give him a weak smile but his face never changed and she wasn't sure if she had managed a smile at all. She quickly began tending to his wounds to give her something else to do and saw him close his eyes once more. Until she felt the breath slowly leave her mouth she hadn't realized she had been holding her breath. "What in the name of God is wrong with me?" she thought to herself, "I'm acting like a young maiden who's never been around men before." She shook her head slightly to clear her thoughts and turned to Bors, "I'll go tell Arthur he's awake", as she moved to get up from Dag's side.
What happened next almost caused her to lose her dinner. Dag reached out and put his hand on her arm, "Let Bors" was all he said before he removed his hand. She sat back down with a thud and Bors moved to leave the wagon. After he had gone, she wiped Dag's face with a wet cloth and he opened his eyes again. "Thank you for what you've done." He spoke in a whisper. "There is no need to thank me, Guinnevere found the herbs. All I did was sit with you while you slept." She knew that sounded like a stupid answer but it was all she could think of to say. He held her gaze for a few more moments and smiled at her.
She had seen the man smile at Lucan. She knew he was not always as serious as he appeared to be at first meeting. But when that smile was directed at you it seemed the sun had suddenly come from behind a very dark cloud to shed light on your face. A light so warm and beautiful you never wanted it to leave your skin again. She caught herself before she closed her eyes as if to bask in these beautiful rays and giving a small cough she busied herself fussing over his bandages. Just then Arthur and Bors returned to the wagon taking Dag's attention from her. Once again she found herself with conflicting emotions. She made an excuse about checking on Alecto and left the wagon.