They fell into the cold water, a few seconds later, and struggled to emerge. They tried to swim, but the current was powerful and for several times, pulled them under.
Desperate, they tried to stay together while trying to fight the current. So, they screamed:
"Help…"
The chances of being heard were slim, but they tried again and again.
"Help…"
At one time, Maria had emerged and she could hold Altair's hand for a few seconds because she felt him losing his senses.
"Al…" She tried to say, swallowing a small amount of water. "Help…."
Suddenly, with the corner of her eye, she saw some people jumping into the water to save them. When the people approached her and started to pull her out, she said:
"My fiancé is there…"
Other people swim to retrieve Altair from the river, already a few meters away, as the others carried Maria to the margin. Once there, she coughed a lot.
"Breath…" a man said, as the people laid her on the ground.
At least they speak my language… she thought.
Maria closed her eyes and tried to breathe slowly. Her body ached all over and her lungs were almost exploding.
"You are safe now…" a woman said.
Maria continued with her eyes closed and breathe deeply. Only when she heard voices asking for help, she resolved to open them. She also thanked the heavens for Altair's rescue…
Still coughing a little, Maria tried to approach when they laid Altair on the ground, but it was difficult. She noticed he was unconscious and saw the men laying him on his side and hit him on the back, so he could release the water he had swollen. Minutes later, he came back coughing and scared.
"It's ok…" Another man said. "It's okay…"
Altair looked at the man.
"Maria…" He said and seconds later fell unconscious again.
Maria remembered a conversation she had with Altair not to call his real name when they were unfamiliar and distant places.
"John…" She said, instead.
"He's ok…" The first man said. "We're going to give you some space…"
Maria nodded and still coughing a little, started to look at them: the people who helped them weren't white. They were dark-skinned, had dark straight hair and their clothes were different from those she knew, with animal skin and colored ornaments.
"Better?" The woman asked again.
Maria looked at the woman… she looked old than her, but not so much.
"Yes… thank you for rescue us…"
The woman nodded.
"What happened?" The first man asked.
Maria noticed his clothes were different from the others, so he should be the leader of those people.
"A pack of wolves attacked us… they picked the smell of blood from our wounds…" She explained. "So, we decided to jump on the river…."
She looked to Altair, who was laid on his back, passed a hand on his face, and then put a hand over his heart. She heard the woman talking in another language with the man and looked at them. The man nodded.
'We're going to call a doctor to you…" the leader said. "But first, we have to get you out of here…"
X ~ X ~ X
While they were being taken by the people who had rescued them on a net, Maria saw the woman called one of them and talked a little to the man. He nodded and started to run ahead of the group to get 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 at 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 of 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 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 place 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 much furniture inside: there were 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 that she didn't expect to hear Altair's voice.
"John?" He asked.
Maria jumped from the bed and seconds later, walked to Altair, who 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. 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 wolves attacked us…"
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. They 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 ended 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 clearing and after, wolves attacked us…"
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 off 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 leaned 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. He noticed the tattoo on John's back but didn't say anything…
"OK, call me after he finishes…" Achilles said, turning around. "We need to talk to them…"
Connor nodded.