Chapter 8
Tristan rode hard, never stopping once. There was too much on the line. Tristan kept having thoughts in his head. 'What if she dies? I can't live without her!' He couldn't stop thinking about the worst. Luckily the Wall came into sight and he could never have been happier.
Tristan waited outside of the room as the village healer looked over Lyndsey. He was pacing back and forth mumbling to himself, as the knights arrived. Arthur placed his hand onto Tristan's shoulder. Tristan looked up and Arthur could see the pain and fear in his friends eyes. Tristan loved her very much.
"How is she?" inquired Arthur.
"Don't know. The healer has been in there for over an hour." Just as Tristan said those words, the door opened, and the healer stepped out.
"She has lost a lot of blood. She will live, but her recovery will be a painful one. She will have to learn to reuse her right arm. The arrow hit her in the shoulder were the arm moves. It will be slow and painful, but she will recover."
Tristan sighed. 'How could this have happened? I was supposed to protect her!' he scolded himself.
"This is not your fault Tristan. None of us could have prevented this." Arthur said softly, trying to aid his friends mind.
Tristan looked up at his brothers and nodded. "Can I see her?" Tristan asked. The healer nodded. Tristan silently entered her room. The sight before him made him want to cry.
There she lay, with her shoulder wrapped, face stitched, and deathly pale. He never saw her this bad before. She was sleeping peacefully, which was good. He walked over and sat next to her. As he looked at her face, he could clearly see the cut. It ran from the top of her left eye, all the way down, across her nose, and ended on the right side of her chin. It would definitely scar, but she would be proud of it. Her first battle scar. He then looked down to her shoulder. He could see blood seeping through the bandage. She would have to learn how to use her swords again. She would pull through. She always did. He took her left hand in his and stroked the back, silently praying that she would be okay.
Silently and unnoticed, all of the nights entered the room. They all looked at her with horror written on their face. They didn't think she was that bad, but once they saw her shoulder and her face, they knew she was. They knew she would be proud of her facial scar, but she would scold herself for her shoulder wound. She was just that way. It pained them to see their sister lying in bed, looking like death herself.
Tristan looked up to see his brother in arms standing their, looking at Lyndsey. He knew that they felt just as bad as him for letting her get hurt. They would all be hurting for this. It was at that moment that everyone vowed to get Lyndsey back to her old self as fast as they could.
They all dispersed to their rooms after telling Tristan to get them if she woke. Tristan waited by her side all night, hoping she would wake soon. She looked terrible. He just hoped that she would wake soon.
A week had gone by, and Lyndsey showed no sign of waking up. Tristan had not left her side once all week. The knights began to worry for his well being. It couldn't be healthy for him.
They decided to send him on a scouting mission. There had been rumors of woads attacking villages north of the wall. This would hopefully help clear his mind.
Tristan was gone for 3 days. When he returned, he noticed all of the knights had a little bit more bounce in their step. He didn't know why and didn't want to know why, but he would find out soon enough.
He went to see Lyndsey right when he returned. He opened the door to see her smiling and laughing with Vanora. Now he knew why everyone was happier. She had finally woken after being asleep for a week.
When Lyndsey heard the door open, she looked to see Tristan standing there with shock written all over his face. She was so excited to see him that she didn't notice Vanora sneak out of the room. As Tristan walked over, she gave him a huge smile, from ear to ear, and Tristan felt his heart melt. He reached her bed and bent down to kiss her. When he pulled apart he saw the happiness in her eyes. He grabbed her hand and held it in his. Lyndsey could see that something was wrong with him, even if he didn't show it. She had learned to read him like a book.
"What's wrong?" she asked. She noticed that he didn't look at her at all. She felt a little sad at this and wondered what ailed him so to make him ignore her. She lightly grabbed his chin and brought his face up to meet hers. What she saw in his eyes made her want to cry. For in his eyes, were unshed tears and a look of sadness.
"What's wrong?" she asked in a more quit and curious tone.
"Nothing." He replied.
"Come on. I can see it in your eyes. Something troubles you. You can tell me."
Tristan didn't know if he could relay all of these emotions onto her. Never in his life had he shown any emotion to anyone, let alone a woman. But she didn't care. He knew that he could cry in front of her and she wouldn't think of him any different.
"Please tell me." She slightly begged as she saw him lose a fighting battle.
"I was afraid that you would never wake up. You laid here for a week, not moving or showing any sign of life. You just lied here like death herself. I admit it scared the hell out of me. I didn't leave your side for a week. I couldn't. Seeing you lying there made me realize how vulnerable you were. I should have protected you. If I was paying attention none of this would have ever happened."
"Shh, don't say that. This is none of your fault. No one could have predicted this. This is not your fault, you know that. Don't start blaming yourself for something you couldn't control. I don't blame you, the knights don't blame you. If you should blame anyone it's the woads for they are the ones that did this to me." She said with a small smirk. Tristan looked up into her eyes and saw no hate. He was glad she didn't blame him for what had happened to her. He silently nodded his head and smiled.
"Now, what does my first battle scar look like!" she said with as much energy as a child in a candy store. Tristan just smiled at her eagerness and handed her a mirror.
"Wow. That is awesome!" she said. "I can't believe it. My first battle scar. I can't wait to show it off. It gives me kind of an edge don't ya think. Makes me seem vicious!"
"Believe me, you don't need a scar to be vicious." He said with a hint of humor in it. Lyndsey punched his arm and started laughing. Tristan caught on to her laughter and soon they were both laughing to the point were tears were streaming down Lyndsey's face. A knock on the door interrupted their outburst and Arthur's head poked in.
"Am I interrupting anything?"
"No, no, come on in." said Lyndsey. All 6 knights entered her room to see a smiling Tristan and laughing Lyndsey. They couldn't have been happier to see their sister finally up and laughing about what had happened.
"So what's the damage?" Lyndsey asked.
"Well, your face will heal fine, kitten, and you will need to learn how to reuse your arm." Said Tristan smirking as to her nickname that he decided to use. She looked at him with mischief in her eyes.
"Kitten, huh?" said Lyndsey. Tristan gave her a smirk and a wink.
"Well, I like it, it makes you seem cute and cuddly, which we know your not." Replied Lancelot. He then received a pillow thrown at his head. Everyone laughed at this and was glad to have her back. They all sat around her talking about stories from the past and laughing at each others expense. Lyndsey soon began to get weary and everyone noticed. They all said their goodnights and left to their separate rooms.
"O no mister, you need to get rest just like the rest of us." Said Lyndsey. She scooted over so Tristan could lay with her. He wrapped his arms around her, mindful of her hurt shoulder, kissed her goodnight, and soon fell into a deep sleep with images of an angel.
