And I'm back again.
Wendy didn't realize she was screaming until David tripped and fell into her.
They landed beside their father and David looked up.
"Father!" He said relieved but got quiet when the man didn't move.
Wendy managed to turn around under David and hug him, so he couldn't look at their father. There was something sticky on her hand, but she didn't pay it any mind.
Suddenly her eyes fell on the lamp lying next to her. It had fallen in the dirt and went out before her eyes. She also heard the sound of Temper neighing and kicking.
She hugged David tighter.
Now they were alone in the dark forest without a lamp with a scared, dangerous horse and their father lying lifeless next to them.
What had she done...
David's little hands gripped at her dress and he cried.
Suddenly Wendy heard something in the distance and little twinkles appeared in the darkness.
She breathed heavily.
"We're here!" She screamed as loud, as she could.
The sound grew louder and turned into the yells of the villagers and the twinkles grew into lights.
Wendy smiled, as she continued to tightly hug David. It really was the villagers.
Then there was the sound of fast hooves and Temper neighed loudly.
A horse with a rider appeared out of the darkness and stopped right before the branch on the ground.
The rider lifted a lamp that had been tied to his saddle and shoon light on both his face and the scene in front of him.
"I found them!" He yelled into the forest and climbed down from his horse.
He pulled down his hood, revealing his face. His blue eyes shined in the light and Wendy recognized him as the guest.
"Don't worry," he said gently and kneeled down to the frightened children. "Everything is going to be fine now."
Then he looked at their father and moved to the man's side with the lamp and started touching him.
Wendy and David watched him closely in silence, as he felt their father's wrist and neck and finally put an ear to his mouth.
"He's alive." He smiled at the children.
Wendy felt like her body collapsed onto David.
It was fine … everything was going to be fine now...
The lights in the distance became torches and the men from the village came into view.
Their father groaned.
"Father!" David said happily, and the man beside their father smiled and pulled out a flask from somewhere in his cloak.
"Can you hear me, Sir?" He asked and shook the other man's shoulder.
Their father groaned again. "Temper..."
The man smiled reassuringly at the children.
"Yes, drink this." He held the flask to their father's mouth.
He drank.
Some of the villagers had gotten hold of Temper and calmed him down.
But they stopped when they saw the crying children and the man lying motionless on the ground.
"He's alive," the man sitting next to the lifeless innkeeper assured them. "Though I don't think, he can take being carried back on horseback.
A young man from the village stepped forward. "Do not worry, Sir. My father is the doctor in the village, and I brought this just in case." He held up a stretcher.
"Good," the stranger said and stood up. "I don't know if anything is broken, but he is in bad shape, so we should be careful."
"Could you go back and tell them that we found him, so they will be ready for us?" One of the villagers asked. "You are the only one with a horse."
The man smiled. "Of course. The innkeeper's horse seemed spooked. It's probably best if nobody rides it."
Then his eyes fell on the two children still sitting in the dirt.
He knelt down to them and reached out his hand. "Come, I'll take you home."
Wendy reached out with the hand that wasn't sticky, and he helped them up.
Then he lead them to his horse, where he with ease hoisted both children onto the front of the saddle.
The man secured the lamp on the front of the saddle by David's leg, and Wendy hugged her little brother tightly from behind, as the man got on the horse.
David put a hand over his sister's just before the man kicked his horse into a gallop.
Wendy tighten her grip on her brother, as they sped through the forest.
It wasn't long before she could see the light from the inn in the distance, and soon she could make out the open kitchen door.
As the horse made it to the edge of the forest a woman shouted: "They have found them!"
Wendy saw her mother appear at the kitchen door, as the horse slowed to a stop.
The man smiled, as he helped the children down and the mother ran to them.
She hugged them tightly. "My children," she gasped relieved.
She pulled out of the hug and looked the children up and down. "You look so cold. Why did you two go into the forest...?"
She hugged them again.
"The other villagers will be back soon," their lone guest said with a smile. "They have found your husband, he's alive."
Their mother breathed a sigh of relief.
"Thank you," she smiled at the man.
Wendy looked over her mother's shoulder.
Their grandmother stood in the kitchen doorway with Eva and Edward clinging to the side of her skirt.
"Let's get the two of you inside and warmed up." Their mother smiled at him and rubbed the children's arms. Then she looked up at the man again.
"I'll find someone to take your horse..."
"No," the man stopped her gently. "I can take my horse to the stable myself, take care of the children first, they weren't dressed for the forest."
The two children were ushered into the kitchen by their mother and sat near the fire.
One of the women from the village put a blanket around the. Another gave each of them a mug of tea, though she froze for a moment when Wendy reached for the mug.
Eva and Edward tried to run to them and hug them, but they were held back.
Their mother cried and touched their faces.
"What about your husband?" One of the younger women asked.
Another woman shushed her, but their mother smiled and turned around. "They found him."
"Then we should prepare." The grandmother said.
She send one of the women down to the village to get the doctor and had them fetch water and boil it over the fire.
After it had boiled two women took Wendy and David to the bathhouse.
They started undressing the children.
One of them made a sound of disgust, as she pulled Wendy's muddy shawl off her and put it in a basket.
The other poured the boiled water into a tub and added soap to it.
Both Wendy and David looked at the warm water in confusion.
Unless it was a holiday they never bathed in warm water, and they never used the tubs themselves.
The woman pulled off Wendy's clothes one part at a time.
She was far muddier than David.
The woman didn't even realize the girl was wearing shoes until she felt her feet.
As she had her shirt pulled over her head, Wendy finally realized, that her hand was red and sticky, like blood.
She froze.
The woman, who had helped undress David gestured for him to get in the tub, but he refused.
"That's for guest." He said in a stern tone.
The two women giggled at his response.
"You are very cold, so we need to warm you up." One of them said gently and held a hand out for him.
David took it and stepped up into the tub.
He tensed for a moment but then relaxed as he slipped into the water.
One of the women smiled gently, as the boy studied the soap bubbles on top of the water.
She gestured for Wendy to join him.
Stil in shock the girl reached her bloody hand out to the woman.
The woman didn't look shocked or scared, instead, she took hold of Wendy's elbow and helped her into the tub.
The water burned her skin, but the woman made her sit down, so the water went up to her neck.
As Wendy bit her lip not to yelp at the hot water, the woman undid her braid.
"I know it hurts but bear with it for just a bit." She said gently.
"Oh, you two must have been so cold." The other woman said and put her fingers in the water.
The soapy water was slowly getting a brownish grey.
The women scrubbed children's skin until it was pink.
One of the women pulled David out of the water, and the other started scrubbing Wendy's bloody hand.
When she was finally deemed clean by the woman, Wendy was also helped out of the water and dried off.
Wendy felt warmer now, but she was confused.
Both she and David only had one set of clothes. So, were they not going to get dressed?
Just as she was about to ask, the woman started dressing them in big skirts.
They were too big for both children.
The shirt on Wendy looked like a dress, as it went down to her ankles. While the one David had on looked more like a tent.
The women tried their best to make the shirts fit by tying ropes around the children's stomachs, like makeshift belts, and rolling up the sleeves as much as possible.
The women then walked the children back inside the inn.
It was now filled with men and women from the village, sitting in silence all around the inn's dining hall.
As soon as they entered, Wendy was nearly knocked to the ground by Edward and Eva.
They hugged her from two sides and buried their heads in the oversized shirt.
"Do not ever go away again … promise..." Edward said into the shirt.
Wendy smiled tiredly and put her arms around them. "I promise."
They pulled away and looked up at her.
"They found father," Edward said.
Wendy tried to smile again, but she was too tired.
"He is hurt," Eva said.
Wendy could only nod. Remembering the blood on her own hand.
One of the women helping them bath put a hand on Wendy's shoulder.
"You are tired you should go to bed." She said and gestured to the stairs.
Wendy was really tired, but she couldn't sleep until she knew her father would be alright.
Before Wendy could argue, her grandmother spoke up.
"Let them stay," she said and got up from her rocking chair.
The woman smiled stiffly. "But they are too young..."
"Their father is gravely hurt." Their grandmother said and struggled to walk towards the children. "Even if we put them to bed, they will be standing by the staircase all night."
The woman huffed but walked away from the children and sat down at a table, next to Jacob the shepherd.
Their grandmother shook her head and mumbled something about Jacob not being as lucky as he thought.
"Come," she said and lead the way to the kitchen.
Their mother looked tired but still managed to smile when she saw them.
But it disappeared when the baby in her arms started crying.
The grandmother reached her arms out. "Let me hold him."
She gave the baby to the older woman without a fight.
"How is my son," the woman asked as she rocked her grandson.
"Willam hasn't said anything," Their mother said. "But he promised me to do his best."
"Do not worry, Mary." One of the women in the kitchen said. "Doctor William can work miracles."
Mary didn't answer but hugged her four other children.
She sat them down by the fire and hugged Wendy tightly.
"I was so scared when I couldn't find you..." she said into the little girl's hair.
Just then the door to the bedroom opened and the doctor's daughter came out with a smile.
"He's alright now. Father said he is out of danger."
Then she gestured for them to come in.
Wendy let her younger siblings go first.
Their father was lying on the bed. He had no shirt on and he had a bandage around his head.
He lifted his head and gave the children a tired smile, just like he always did after a busy day at the inn.
As the children gathered around their father, who assured them he was completely fine, the doctor pulled their mother aside.
"He hit his head pretty hard, so watch him carefully, but just let him rest for now. I'll be back tomorrow." He whispered.
"Doctor," Edward said. "Why are there not more bandages? Father was bleeding a lot."
The doctor turned around, but it was his son that answered.
"He wasn't bleeding that much." the young man smiled. "He had fallen on two rabbits, and it was their blood that was smeared on him."
Their father groaned and felt his own forehead. "I don't remember falling, but the two rabbits … I had caught them in the forest … did you take them back with you?" He looked at the doctor's son.
"Yes, but they are a squeezed mess. They are not good for human food."
Their father fell back on the bed. "Then let's hope I recover quickly."
"Yes," the doctor said, as his son and daughter packed his things. "Rest for now and I will be back tomorrow to take another look at you."
Then the doctor turned to the innkeeper's wife. "We should send the rest of the village home too and let the rest of you rest."
On his way out of the bedroom, the doctor turned around again.
"Until tomorrow then," he said with a smile before he turned and walked out.
The family of eight were so relieved, that the man of the house was alright, that none of them had noticed how stiff the doctor's smile had been.
Another chapter ended and another is on the way.
Any thought?