The Beast and The Brain.

I woke at the call of a rooster close by, probably in the stable. I groaned and rolled over, pulling the pillow over my head with it. For a moment, I wanted to forget the world; I wanted to go back to dreaming. I had dreamed of home. My family was running around, my mom was letting her pies out to cool. My father had been out in the back ring with a new stallion he had purchased, everything had been perfect, like something out of a storybook.

I opened my eyes again. The sun was pouring through my windows; to my surprise it was a few hours past sun-up. Some rooster I thought and pulled the covers off me. I pulled on my boots, pulled a shirt over my head, and headed for J’s room. I knocked twice and waited a few moments, there was no answer. I opened the door. J was asleep under heavy blankets; I quietly walked to her and felt her forehead. She was burning up, a cold sweat covered her face and neck, and I didn’t doubt that the rest of her body was the same. I hurried from the room to find Anne, but she was nowhere to be found.

“Where is Anne?” I walked into the kitchen, her daughter looked up, “She went out to get some supplies, and she said she would be back within the hour.” However, I was already out the door as she finished her sentence, I went out the front door and paused in the street. Suddenly I felt very stupid; I had no idea which way Anne had gone. Even so, she was one woman among many; it would be wiser just to wait for her. I looked back at the Inn to the window where J was, but J was getting worse, not better, I didn’t know how much time I could waste waiting for Anne.

I stepped back into the Inn and took a seat at one of the tables, defeated. If only J were awake, she always seemed to know what to do. A plate was placed in front of me, I looked up to see Anne’s daughter. “You look starved.” She said simply, “Mom doesn’t like it when young men look starved, nor do I. I prefer men with a bit of meat on them.” She gave a knowing wink and headed back to the kitchen. I stared a moment, then I ate the plate in a hurry, guzzling the milk with it.

Once finished I bounded up the stairs to check on J once more. She was no different, so I pulled up a chair and sat next to her. I decided to wait a full hour for Anne to return, if she wasn’t back by then, then I would head for the next village to find the healer.

~ ~ ~ ~
A half hour passed, and I was getting anxious. My foot tapped impatiently against the floor and I looked out the window every minute to see if Anne was there. I kept a cool rag on J’s forehead trying to offer her as much relief as possible. Finally, fifteen minutes before the hour was up, I spotted Anne hurrying up the street with a full basket. She weaved in and out of the crowed as an experienced townsfolk and marched right up to the Inn’s door. I jumped to my feet and raced down the stairs three at a time.

I burst through the kitchen doors; Anne was taking off her cloak. She looked up at me. “Goodness gracious.” She said, “You look as if you’ve seen a ghost.”

“Please, J is worse. You must help her.” Anne nodded once.

“I know child, I know. That’s why I went out; I’ve been searching for an herb that will hold her over until you can make it to the next town.” She pulled the cloth from over the basket, pulled out a small bundle, and walked over to me.

“There are ten cubes in here dear; you must put one underneath her tongue when the other dissolves, each cube should last two hours at most.” She pulled out a cube and showed me. I nodded a few times as she handed the bundle to me, “I’m sorry I couldn’t help her, but she’s beyond my help. The healer at the next town will help her.”

I frowned as something new dawned on me, “But you said it was a day’s ride from here…” She nodded her head seriously.

“Which means you must make haste, and hope she lasts.” I looked Anne in the eye.

“What’s wrong with her?” I asked, but Anne shook her head.

“Go upstairs, pack your things and meet me in the stable yard and do it quickly. We haven’t time to waste.” I closed the pouch and nodded. I gathered our things easily enough and then carried them out the stable yard.

Anne and her older son were there, with a small cart harnessed to J’s horse. The horse was not a pulling horse, put the cart was tiny, meant for short speedy travel and the horse had a lot of endurance. The son met me half way and took the saddlebags and packs from me and placed them carefully in the cart, I saw the saddle and tack already in the back.

“My husband and I will get J from the room; you get yourself ready to go.” She said hurrying inside. I pulled myself up onto the front seat of the cart and gathered the reigns in my hand. It had been a while since I had driven a cart. The Innkeeper came out moments later carrying J in his large arms. He placed her carefully in the back on a blanket that Anne had placed. Anne was carrying more blankets in her arms and tucked J in snugly then looked up at me. “I’m going to put a cube under her tongue, remember, one every two hours.” She said taking one out. She opened J’s mouth and slid a cube under her tongue and closed her mouth then handed me the bundle.

“Keep that safe, don’t lose any of the cubes, and don’t waste any time.” She told me. Anne’s daughter came running out with a small bag and handed it to me, it was warm.

“For your journey.” She told me then stepped back.

I nodded gratefully. The innkeeper handed me a traveling cloak, “Stay safe and good luck.” He told me.

“Thank you…for everything. I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you.” I said honestly.

“No need. We are just looking out for one another, now go. Good luck.” Anne said and they all stepped back as I flicked the reigns.

The horse had obviously never pulled a cart before. It was new for him. Therefore, I could not push him as hard as I wanted to at first. I kept him at a steady trot that would eat up ground quickly enough. After forty minutes I pulled on the cloak and looked over my shoulder, J was safe under her blankets for now.

The sickness had me worried. What was so bad that had Anne so worried? I shook my head, everything had happened so fast. If only J hadn’t fallen off the blasted ship then none of this would have happened. Then again, we would have probably gone in separate directions by now. I thought sadly, I clicked my tongue to get the horse moving faster and settled in for a long day.