Arielle awoke the next day in a hazy confusion. She blinked a few times, scanning the hovel, trying to remember where she was. Jittery, she tried to get up until the throbbing pains from what seemed to be every part of her body forced her back down with a small wail. The door to the hovel was open and she was alone. Disoriented, foggy, and in pain, Arielle began to grow panicked.

"Eden? Eden?" she asked into the empty hovel quietly, but no response came and her heart began to beat more rapidly.

"Eden? Eden!" Arielle nearly yelled, her voice laced with fear and a sound at the door turned her head.

"Hey, take it easy. It's alright." Eden said, leaning through the doorway after she heard her name being called.

"Where were you? What's going on?" Arielle asked with misgiving and worry as if Eden had been gone for days.

"Calm down," Eden replied quietly, slowly walking towards Arielle, observing her closely, "I'm here. I was just outside the door."

Arielle looked at her and when her brain somehow finally registered that she wasn't either alone or in danger, her breathing began to slow down and the tension in her body loosened. She began to recall where she was and what had happened the day before, staring at the ceiling and blinking constantly. After a while, she turned her head to Eden, who had quietly sat down in the chair beside her.

"It hurts." she said simply.

Eden knotted her brows and let out a short sigh, crossing her arms over her chest. She thought for a while, tossing an idea around in her head for a few moments.

"How about I take a look at you?" she asked and Arielle quietly nodded, "But first, you'll have to change. That dress probably isn't helping."

Eden turned on her heel to the wardrobe and took out some of her clothes, knowing that it wasn't exactly something a lady would wear, but right now it was better than anything else. She chose a long, sandy tunic, a pale green skirt to go with it, and a belt. She turned back to Arielle and handed her the clothes.

"Call me when you're done." she said shortly and was out the door before the blond had a chance to even think about whether she could do it herself.

Arielle, not without some hissing, groaning, and desires to curse up a storm, managed her way out of her dress and thanked her reason that she had taken her simpler, more comfortable dresses on her journey. Her breath caught when she looked down at her middle at the speckled collection of bruises and welts of different sizes and colors. She shook her head lightly and made her way gently into the tunic and skirt. She fell back on the bed exhausted with the simple task.

"Eden."

Eden walked back in and over to Arielle. Her facial expression asked how she was and Arielle replied with a weak smile and a damp forehead from exertion.

"I'm going to take a look, alright?"

Arielle nodded. Eden slowly leaned over and very gently pulled the tunic up to expose her midriff. Seeing the slew of bruises, Eden shot a glance to the blond, who was observing her reaction and caught her gaze.

"Had their fun with me, didn't they?"

Eden shot her eyes back down to the bruises and gnashed her teeth together so that the blond could see Eden's jaw muscles flexing and relaxing. This is so unfair. Eden shook her head shortly once, concentrating on the task at hand. She gently prodded, searching for any signs of internal damage, but only confirmed what she had found last night, that there were none. There were no cuts or other wounds needing attention, everything would have to heal in its own time and Eden slid the tunic back down. She moved down a little and lifted the skirt just above the knees and found bruises and welts there too, but again nothing that needed serious attention. Pulling the skirt back down, she moved up to Arielle's head. She began to unwrap the bandage from around the blond's forehead.

"Did I even thank you?" Arielle asked.

"No need."

"Naturally. All in a day's work I suppose." the blond replied with a weak chuckle as Eden replaced the bandage with a fresh one, "Eden?...Eden?"

Eden was not used to being called by her real name; it was such a long time ago. The way her name rolled off the blond's tongue seemed to evoke some very far and faint memory of something she couldn't recall.

"Hm?"

"I wish I wasn't so helpless. I wish I could have fought those guards off." Arielle said in a shy confession.

"And how would you want to do that, duchess?"

"That's just the problem, I don't know. I never learned how to wield weapons. Maybe...perhaps you could teach me?"

Eden's eyes shot up at her and she gave her a startled expression for a split second as if she was just asked to build a castle before sunset. Eden couldn't think of a single reason why the blond should even think of learning to use a weapon and why Eden should be the one to teach her. Arielle was young, reckless, soft, naïve, and well, puny; she looked like a cough could knock her over.

"Rest first. Heal." Eden replied simply and Arielle gave up that fight for the moment.

Eden reapplied salve or other ointments where needed and noticed the blond carefully observing her almost every move. Arielle made a mental note to ask about all the treatments Eden had used, where they came from, how they were made, and what they were used for. She unearthed some bizarre fascination in all this medicine; she simply had to know what it was and how to use it.

"Hungry?" Eden asked simply, standing up when she was finished.

"Rhetorical question, isn't it?" Arielle said lightly.

Eden had to agree with a ghost of a smirk. She walked to the other side of the hovel and crouched near the hearth where she already had one pot hanging over the fire and an iron pot standing near the edge.

"Broth is a good idea."

"Sounds good. I'm a little cold."

Eden turned her head back and frowned. And before Arielle could say a word, Eden got up and began to bustle about the room. In an amazing whirl of taking, moving, shifting, and adjusting, Arielle noticed a fur rug on the ground in front of the fireplace and a chest dragged over with some sacks of hay put up against it and then covered with a thick though somewhat tattered blanket.

"Sit here. You'll be warmer." Eden suggested, pointing to the spot she had arranged for the blond.

Arielle sat up and winced in pain that was enough to make her still and grimace. Eden frowned. And then suddenly Arielle felt herself being scooped up from the bed.

"Oh dear me." she whispered, not knowing at all what to do with herself.

Eden placed her down on the rug and let her recline against the chest. Arielle shifted until she was comfortable and Eden covered her with her blanket.

"Oh my." Arielle commented with some astonishment.

"Here." Eden said, handing her a bowl of broth and a spoon.

She turned to the iron pot, pouring the hot water into a cup and then sprinkling in herbs from a small, leather pouch. She set the cup aside and then poured some broth for herself. They ate in silence, Eden lost in her thoughts, Arielle appreciating the broth as it warmed her from the inside, causing her aches and pains to fade a little.

"Thank you." Arielle said quietly when she had finished and put the bowl down near the hearth.

Eden shifted and leaned against the fireplace wall, across from Arielle, drawing up one knee and resting her forearm on it. The other hand idly fiddled with the fur rug. The blond observed her for a little, but naturally Eden's expression was unreadable and her stance on the verge of hostile. Yet she noted the bandages, the salves, the meals that said something different than Eden's demeanor.

"That was nice. You're not a bad cook." Arielle said, a noticeable return of some cheeriness in her voice.

"Oh, it's nothing really." Eden said to the rug, "Went to the market early this morning. But I didn't get much since I had to get back before you woke up. Didn't want you hysterically dropping dead because I was gone again."

Arielle gave a faint chuckle and slightly blushed, noticing that there was no blatant animosity in the comment. She shifted a little, folded her arms over her chest, and took a deep breath.

"Where do you come from?"

"I was born in Florentia." Eden replied after some silence.

"Really? That isn't all that far from Avignon." Arielle remarked.

"No, it isn't."

"Did you grow up there?"

"Yes. I left somewhere around the age of 15."

"That's the same as me. Except I got around to really leaving Avignon just now. I liked living there though, I have many good memories and I don't think I could ever just leave it for good. It just began to feel a little too, I don't know,... confined. So now I'm on this pilgrimage."

"And how is that turning out for you?" Eden asked suddenly with a flash in her eyes that startled the blond a little.

"It's not exactly what I expected, but I knew it might be hard. Like I said, God's path isn't an easy one."

Eden snorted loudly and the blond could sense the anger in Eden rising up almost uncontrollably and began to tense.

"Do you have something against pilgrimages?" she asked curiously.

"Not really. Just seem a little sentimental to me."

"There's nothing foolish in looking for God."

"Why look for God?" Eden countered, her voice rising a little, "Isn't God an omnipresence? He's everywhere in everything. So why drag yourself down here?"

"These lands are where it all happened. The things described in the Bible, the life and death of Christ. It's a source."

"God's source isn't found the rivers, hills, and sands here. It's just... geography."

"What is so wrong in trying to search for and understand God, in whatever way?"

"Understand God?" Eden scoffed, "Find me a pilgrim amongst all those in Antioch that really understands God."

"And you do?" Arielle challenged, becoming a little irritated.

Eden's gaze met Arielle's and she saw a lightning strike of anger in the stormy blue eyes only to then be covered over with a cloud of secrecy.

"Rest." Eden said flatly, getting up to her feet and grabbing her sword. "Drink the tea. It's for your fever."

Eden walked briskly out of the hovel before Arielle could say a word.

Arielle picked up the cup and held it between her hands, staring at it sadly for a while. Arielle was a person who liked other people, enjoyed meeting new people and got along with most. She saw the good in them and always tried to be understanding; she wanted everyone to get along. Yet, it seemed no matter what she tried with the raider, she ended up right where she had started and it frustrated her to no end. She is so stubborn...and angry.

She drank the tea and then shortly afterwards fell asleep. The sun had filled the hovel when she awoke and she stretched slightly, feeling better than she had earlier. She carefully tried to stand up and after seeing that she was able to stand without great pain, she decided to go outside. She found an old staff propped up against the entrance, so she took it and leaned on it, making her walking a little easier. Eden still hadn't returned, so Arielle decided to go out on a small expedition to find her.

The massive walls of Antioch could be seen in the distance, yet other than that, the hovel was quite secluded. There were trees here and there, offering pleasant shade and a place to rest whenever the blond became tired. The sound of water nearby caught her attention and she directed herself to it. Not far from the river, she spotted a black figure hacking away at an unfortunate, dead tree with a sword. Arielle didn't move any closer, but simply watched the black-haired woman with a great curiosity from a distance. The noise of the blade ramming into the wood filled the air. And words.

"Stupid. Foolish. Dim-witted. Weak. Weak. Weak. Sentimental. You idiot! Pathetic! You pathetic excuse for a human being!" Eden yelled with each swipe of her sword, "I can't stand you! Madness. All senseless madness! ...You all expect too much from me!"

The words stung Arielle and she pulled her tunic tighter around her as if she wanted to protect herself from them. She let out a heavy sigh. She watched Eden finally exhaust herself. Eden's head hung low and she then dropped her sword, sliding slowly to the ground and breathing heavily as if she had just been vanquished in the battle she was fighting. And then Arielle realized that the words weren't meant for her, but for Eden.

Arielle doubled back a little so that Eden wouldn't catch her watching and then turned back to the river, widening the distance between her and Eden. She reached the bank and decided to sit down against a rock, under the half shade of a battered tree. The rushing sound of water was relaxing and the warm day soothed her aching muscles.

"Feeling better?"

Arielle turned her head to the side to find Eden crouching a small distance off from her, playing with a stone in her hands and looking out onto the water.

"Yes. I decided to take a walk, stretch my legs. It's such a nice day." she answered, wondering how the woman had approached so close without making a sound.

They said nothing for a while and just stared out onto the water, wondering where it went and what it carried with it.

"Eden, I'm so-"

"Do you like fish?" Eden interrupted, turning to meet her face.

"Well, yes, yes I do." Arielle replied, caught off guard.

"Have you ever tried fishing?"

"Once. I fell in the river, of course. My father pulled me out, half-drowned and a crying mess."

"Want to try now?" Eden asked quietly and Arielle looked at her a little hesitantly, "I'll pull you out if you fall in. All in a day's work after all."

Arielle almost felt as if a burden had been lifted off her chest.

"Absolutely." she answered with a smile.