Chapter 9

It was a half hour before Cut convinced them to let Father Pierce in. "Where's the food?" asked Bite the second he was through the window.

"Right here my son." replied the Priest.

Bite quickly divided it up evenly between all of them while Cut and the priest walked over to Lucy. "How is she Cut?"

"I don't know."

While Father Pierce started boiling herbs in a cup of water by the fire he talked to Cut. "I understand your decision out there Cut, but in the future, always value human life."

"We're not humans," replied Cut.

The Father looked over at Claw handing Silence a little extra food and back at Cut. "I don't think so my son. Lord Bryan, now that's a monster." He pulled the herbs from the water, and poured the drink down Lucy's throat while Cut held her. Cut's eyes wandered to Lucy's leg.

"Preist?"

"Yes."

"She said she talked to you. That you were going to marry us. What is that?"

"It means you would be with each other forever, and only each other."

"I thought she didn't love me."

"No. Lucy was just afraid...of change."

"What if she changes her mind again?" Cut asked, more to himself than the Priest.

"Well, it seems to me you two need each other."

"If Lucy was strong, and well, and whole, she wouldn't need me. Maybe it's best I love a broken girl. She'll stay with me forever," said Cut as he moved further away from Lucy's leg.

Father Pierce smiled a sad smile.

"Cut, I was once in love. As a young man. Her name was Clara."

"Where is she?"

"That's what I wanted to talk about Cut. Oh, she was a beautiful one that Clara. She had flaming red hair, like the sun at the end of the day. We called her our Scottish Rose. She had grown up without a father and, a woman who couldn't be called a mother. When I was 18, I picked her a bunch of nettle, made a small wooden ring, and went to ask her to marry me."

"And?"

"I lost my nerve Cut. I was shy, and scared. Scared of what she'd say. And, if I'm honest, scared of the responsibility. She wasn't a well woman Cut. She was beautiful and kind, but troubled. Deeply troubled. I never made it into her house that day. I heard her and her mother yelling at each other, and then her screaming. I was scared and dropped everything and ran. I avoided her that whole week, trying to build up the courage to talk to her by Sunday Service As it happened,..Well, they found her body on Saturday. She'd killed herself, or so it seemed. As she was dressed for her funeral, they found this clenched in her hand." Father Pierce handed his bible to Cut. There was a small wooden ring inside the binding.

"She had small fingers."

"Aye. I made it to fit them perfectly. As they prepared her for the burial, they found out she was going to have a child. We never knew who the father was."

"So? It wasn't your fault."

"I still don't know Cut. I was afraid for years that my dropped ring and flowers, might somehow have been the final step that sent her over. I fear I was her one friend, and I left her alone that week. I left her broken. I became a Priest out of that fear. The realization that people can't survive in this world broken. We have to heal. If only in part, we can't go our whole lives feeling twisted and worthless. I'm not afraid anymore now Cut. Just haunted."

Cut looked over at Silence resting in Ape's arms. Claw and Bite were talking in a corner of the room. Cut looked down at Lucy. "I don't want to broken." Reaching down, he held Lucy's upper leg with one hand, and her lower leg with the other. Gripping tightly, he pulled hard until he heard a popping/breaking sound. Claw looked up. "You shouldn't do that. She won't understand us anymore." Cut ignored her and rotated the leg until it was straight, then set it in. Father Pierce handed him wood and rags to make a stake with to hold the leg straight.

Cut sat down and looked over at Claw and Bite. "Now, I'll wait."

For the next two days, Cut and the priest kept giving Lucy the tea. Everyone got hungrier. They had run out of food. They had been too scared of Lord Bryan for months to go out and get more supplies, and now they knew he was near by waiting.

Cut had fallen asleep by Lucy's bed when he felt a stir.

"Cut?"

"Lucy!"

He just held her for a moment, but then, glancing at the priest, he swung her legs out of the bed.

"Cut, what-"

"Trust me Lucy. Stand up."

Her brow closed together, Lucy put her weight on her good leg. Gently, Cut held her hips, and shifted her weight to both legs. Lucy's eyes widened as she felt her leg hold her up. When she tried to take a few steps they were wobbly. Her leg wasn't strong, but it was straight. With a smile she took three steps to Cut and collapsed in his arms.

"I'm sorry," whispered Cut.

"For what you dolt? I've never been so happy." Hearing a movement, Lucy looked behind her and saw a slight girl with angry red scars on her throat.

"You must be Silence."

The girl gave a faint smile and nodded. She reached out slowly and touched the sleeve of Lucy's dress. A strange light shone in here eyes. As if remembering something. Lucy's eyes focused on the trembling in her fingers, but Cut was oblivious.

"Yes, that's Silence. That is Ape, Bite, and Claw. Claw was the one who took the bullet out."

"Oh it was nothing," said Claw. "And now the Lord is outside waiting to kill us, and we have no food. Welcome to our prison."

Silence rolled her eyes at Claw. That's when they heard the crack. Racing to the window, they saw the ice around the castle was cracking. The two brothers were crossing over. Tied by a rope if one of them fell. Lord Bryon took the lead.

"They' can't get in," asserted Bite. The two brothers made it safely across to the main locked up doors. Thomas handed him a flask and a small silver box. Bryon poured the contents of the flask on the door. Then, he flipped open the lid of the small silver box. A flame came out of it.

"What is that? whispered Ape.

With a smile of satisfaction, Lord Bryon set the doors on fire. The waiting, would be over soon.