Chapter Twenty-Two #6
Furthermore, there were practical issues that could not be ignored.
With the mercenaries constantly ogling them, the women had been unable to wash properly for days.
Though Maxi and the female clerics had washed their hair by the spring at least once every three days at Serbin Castle, bathing had become an impossible dream ever since their arrival at Eth Lene.
After a long day of labor under the sweltering summer sun, not being able to bathe was torturous.
Finally at the end of her rope, Idsilla cried out, “I can’t take it anymore! Why don’t we ask the basilica’s soldiers to keep watch while we take turns bathing? I don’t care how brief, I just want to dunk myself in cold water.”
The others looked unsure but, unable to resist the possibility, agreed to seek the male clerics’ help.
Fortunately, the high priest readily agreed to their request. Two soldiers stood guard at a distance while the female clerics took turns bathing in the spring in groups of four. Worried that someone might recognize them without their hoods, Maxi and Idsilla volunteered to go last.
It had been so long since Maxi had bathed. The mere thought of submerging her clammy, dirt-covered body in the icy water made her heart swell. She was waiting her turn with great anticipation when she heard a commotion outside.
Baffled, Maxi peered out of the tent and saw soldiers racing about the campsite.
“H-Has something happened?” she asked.
A female cleric dashed into the tent. “The men on the front have returned,” she exclaimed. “Some of them are injured.”
Maxi jolted to her feet. As if on cue, she saw soldiers carrying the wounded toward the infirmary. She hastened outside and guided the men to empty cots. There were seven injured in total, and although none were in critical condition, all of them complained of excruciating pain.
After assessing their conditions, Maxi turned to one of the soldiers who had brought the men. “A-Are the others…all right?”
“Some of the knights were injured, but they were treated with magic,” the soldier replied. “These men are the last of the wounded.”
“W-Were any lives lost?”
“None.”
With a sigh of relief, Maxi immediately set about preparing herbs and medical tools. The soldiers helped the men out of their armor as she did so.
Maxi crouched beside each of them and inspected their wounds. One appeared to have a broken rib, as his chest was darkly discolored. Another two gushed blood from what looked to be spear wounds on their legs.
Nora, who had been assessing the remaining men, called out to Maxi. “These men only have light contusions,” she reported. “I’ll apply warm compresses to their wounds, so please tend to those who are bleeding first.”
Maxi immediately fetched the coagulants and a basin of boiled water.
One of the men’s thighs was covered in stiff, blood-soaked fabric.
Maxi cut through it and washed away the blood and dirt, revealing a deep gash.
After removing clumps of blood and other contaminants from the lesion, she sprinkled the coagulant over the gash and applied the detoxicant.
The soldier thrashed from the pain, and Maxi was drenched in sweat by the time she finished.
“I have done wh-what I can for him,” she stated. “Please have the remedies for pain a-and fever ready.”
“Understood!”
The female clerics moved in perfect coordination. Despite the quickness of their actions, however, it was sunset by the time they finished treating everyone.
Maxi sat in a corner for a moment to catch her breath. Her face was flushed red from running about the stuffy tent all day with her hood drawn over her head.
As she fanned her face, she wondered if the Remdragon Knights were resting in their barracks by now. The soldier had informed her that no one else was injured, so was it safe to assume that Riftan was all right?
She was lost in her thoughts when she suddenly heard Idsilla’s urgent voice.
“Lady Ca—er, Sister Meg!”
Maxi turned to find the girl excitedly waving a towel at her.
“What are you doing over there?” Idsilla chirped. “If you’re done tending to the men, let’s hurry to the spring for a bath before it gets dark.”
Maxi hesitated. “R-Right now?”
“If we miss this opportunity, who knows when we will be able to again,” Idsilla pressed. “The soldiers should still be there. Hurry!”
Maxi hastily grabbed a bar of soap and a change of clothes. Despite the growing shadows, she was desperately longing for a bath. Determined to scrub themselves clean, the two women ran toward the darkening forest. They dashed along the forest path until they finally spotted the guards up ahead.
Turning her back to the men, Idsilla said, “I will ask them to keep watch for us while we bathe, so you go ahead first.”
She shot away like an arrow without waiting for Maxi’s answer. Although Maxi was a little uneasy about walking around the shadowy forest by herself, she hastened toward the spring, bent on washing before the sun disappeared completely.
A clear spring soon emerged between the dense trees, and Maxi excitedly ran toward it. She was about to cast off her clothes when she heard splashing nearby. She jerked her head toward the sound and gasped.
Not far from where she stood, a powerfully built man was half submerged in the water. She was staring at the man’s smooth back in shock when he suddenly turned his head.
Maxi hastily lowered hers. A cold sweat broke out on her back, and her heart pounded erratically. The man was none other than Riftan.
Maxi was so flustered that it did not immediately occur to her to flee. Her ears were ringing, and she teetered in place as an unbearable wave of vertigo washed over her. Was it brought on by fear or by longing? She barely managed to regain her balance by grabbing on to a rock.
Riftan’s cold voice sent an electric jolt through her veins. “Were you not told that I was not to be disturbed?”
Keeping her head down, Maxi gulped. She knew she had to say something but had a feeling he would recognize her immediately if she spoke.
After prickling with sweat in terrified silence for what felt like an eternity, Maxi finally buckled under the strange pressure emanating from him and managed to croak out, “P…Please…forgive me.”
There was a heavy silence. Maxi felt his sharp gaze boring into her head like needles.
“Raise your head,” he said, suspicious.
When she clutched her hood and began to back away, she heard splashing followed by the rustling of clothes.
Not daring to look up, Maxi’s eyes frantically searched the trees like an ambushed soldier seeking an escape route. Before she could find a way out, however, a pair of large, wet feet entered her line of vision. Riftan stalked toward her wearing nothing but his trousers.
“Did you not hear me?” he demanded.
Maxi could feel her temples pulsing. Her eyes shifted desperately, her heart pounded wildly, and her whole body dripped with cold sweat. She was trembling like a cornered beast when suddenly, Idsilla’s urgent voice called out.
“F-Forgive us, sir knight!”
The young noblewoman came bursting through the trees like the wind. She quickly positioned herself between Maxi and Riftan.
“We were busy tending to the wounded…. We did not know we weren’t supposed to approach the spring,” she rambled. “Our sincerest apologies for disturbing your rest.”
The soldiers must have told Idsilla that Riftan was here, as the girl swiftly grasped the situation and hid Maxi behind her.
“If we have your pardon, sir…we shall take our leave.”
Without waiting for his reply, Idsilla slowly pushed Maxi toward the trees. Riftan, however, was not one to give up so easily.
“I have not given you permission to leave yet,” he snapped, his voice slashing the air like a whip.
Idsilla stiffened, and Maxi edged closer to the girl’s back to hide from the dark shadow looming over them.
Riftan’s deep voice resonated close to her. “You, the one in the back. How many times must I tell you to raise your head?”
Idsilla nervously cleared her throat. “Sir knight…a female cleric cannot reveal her face to a man.”
Riftan glared at her. “I was not addressing you.”
“We are clerics under the church’s protection,” Idsilla replied, her voice surprisingly firm. “We cannot violate the doctrines of our faith, even if it is a knight who commands us. We pray for your understanding.”
Somehow, the girl remained calm in the face of Riftan’s intimidating presence. If she had not been so terrified, Maxi would have admired her for it.
After a suffocating silence, Riftan finally spoke. “Very well. You may go.”
Maxi almost sank to the ground in relief. Clutching Maxi by the arms, Idsilla turned them both around and was about to retreat when a force abruptly yanked Maxi’s hood off her head.
The ambush had come from nowhere, and Maxi was too surprised to stop it. Her hood was wrenched back, and another strong hand spun her body around.
Maxi looked up at Riftan, her eyes wide with both panic and desperation to take in the sight of him. His gaze swept over her from head to foot as though he could not believe what he was seeing. Water dripped from his wet hair and landed on her cheeks. Maxi felt a burning flush color her pale face.
While she looked no better than a beggar, Riftan was as beautiful as a water god who had just risen from a sacred lake.
His wet hair glistened like dark blue satin, and his muscular torso gleamed red in the glow of the setting sun.
Even in the nerve-racking tension, Maxi could not tear her gaze away from the face of her husband whom she had not seen in months.
Riftan seemed equally transfixed, and his eyes swept hungrily over her as he let out a choked groan.
“By God, why are you…”
His trembling fingers touched her cheek, and for a moment, Maxi foolishly thought that he might be pleased that she was here. However, his eyes soon hardened and flashed with rage.