Author's note: I wrote this when I was still learning about proper novel writing. Please excuse the repeated words, missed punctuation, etc. I didn't want to run it through editing software and lose the original feel of it.
Abigail ran out, her bright red hair wispy in the wind. “We’re coming!” she called out to us.
I breathed a sigh of relief. It would be a better trip with her.
Warren ran up to her and nearly crushed her in a hug. She rested her head on his chest. I was a bit jealous that she was short and could actually rest her head on him. I was as tall as half of the men and had to make do with bony shoulders.
Mr. and Mrs. Gallagher exited the inn with packs on their backs and they joined our hurried jog to the Merchant Road.
My eyes glanced behind us. More villagers piled onto the road, among them the governor and his awful son Robert. I grabbed Warren’s hand.
“Robert is coming,” I said in between breaths.
He scowled and looked back. “I won’t let him touch you.”
His firm response helped my gut to settle.
Mother and the Gallaghers were a bit ahead of us on the road. Screams reverberated behind us. Startled, we stopped and turned to look.
“Saints save us,” whispered Abigail.
Swathes of men in royal blue uniforms ran to overtake us. The king's army was already here, with our Trestaine soldiers ten miles away in the city. I wanted to scream in frustration.
Soldiers barked out orders.
“Everyone stay still!”
“Where are you going?”
A soldier in an officer’s uniform approached and spoke to villagers as he passed. The officer was tall, and even from here, I noticed his broad shoulders and lean, muscular frame. He was darker than most men I'd met. He had to be from one of the southern provinces, Kerulen or Erisundu.
I wished I knew what they were saying. Darin, the sheep farmer, pointed in our direction. My throat tightened. I gripped Warren’s arm.
“Warren, the soldiers are coming to us,” I said quietly.
His face drained. “Get behind me,” he whispered.
I stepped behind him. We were the same height, so he couldn’t shield me very well, but if love was a shield, I was the safest sister in the province. Abigail stepped back to her parents while mom stepped up beside Warren. Whatever this officer wanted, we would face them together.
“Are you the apothecaries?” the officer asked as he neared us. He had a pleasant accent that I’d not heard before.
Mom nodded. “Yes, I am an apothecary,” she answered guardedly.
“I’m sorry if my men and I have caused undue stress. We mean no harm to anyone in the village or on the road, but our apothecary died unexpectedly yesterday. If you would come with us, we’d pay 20 levins a day.”
My mouth dropped. Twenty levins?! The three of us together might make twenty levins of profit at the apothecary on a good day. Mother glanced at Warren, then me. I stepped out from behind Warren.
“How long would you need the apothecary?” I asked. I wanted to take the words back as soon as they left my lips. I couldn’t go. What was I thinking?
His warm brown eyes met mine and widened. His lips parted with a breath of surprise. He was handsome, with high cheekbones, a strong jaw, and curly black hair.
Mom and Warren stared at me like I’d gone completely mad.
"For as long as we're stationed here. I don't anticipate it taking more than a few weeks."
I looked at mom and Warren, then leaned in to whisper, "What if all of us go? We'd be together and the money is good."
"I don't want to leave Abigail," said Warren.
I didn't want to leave him, but I understood.
"Why are you thinking of going?" Asked mom.
"Twenty levins a day? I could make enough to pay the governor back. We'd be free of him, mom. Free."
Mom and father had bought the apothecary when I was a child, but we had taken a loan against it from the governor to pay for father's treatments. We still owed five hundred levins with no way to pay it back. Yet another reason why I would never marry Robert. His family preyed on mine when all we wanted was to keep my father alive.
Understanding lit mom's eyes.
"You and Warren go to the city. Let me help our family this time." I said it more bravely than I felt. My insides were mushy and my legs trembled. But if I could get away from Robert and make sure Warren and I could take over the apothecary, it was worth it.
Mom caressed my cheek. "If you want to do this, I won't stop you."
I smiled. "Thank you, mom." I glanced at Warren and my heart hurt more than I’d like. "I need you to be alright with this."
He scrunched his eyebrows together, and glanced at the officer. "IF my sister agrees, how can you guarantee her safety?"
A serious expression took over the man's face. "Apothecaries and physicians are protected in the royal army. Are they not in Trestaine?"
Warren glanced at me. I had no idea.
"Of course they are!" Robert interrupted.
My heart leapt to my throat and I shied away from him. He reached out and caught my arm over my still healing bruises.
"Don't even think about going."
"You don't control me!" I pulled my arm, but Robert's grip pressed fresh bruises over the old ones.
The officer wrenched Robert's hand off of me before Warren had the chance. Robert grunted as the officer twisted his arm behind his back.
"Who do you think you are to accost my apothecary?"
Robert winced in pain. "I'm the governor's son. She is to be my wife."
"I'm not!" The passion of my response sent spittle flying. Why wouldn't he accept no for an answer?
"She hasn't agreed yet, but she will."
It took all my restraint to not scream. I clenched my jaw until my head hurt. I took a deep breath.
"I will be your apothecary." My eyes met the officer’s. If he could protect me from Robert, then I would be safe as his apothecary too.
The officer smiled. "Excellent."
Robert struggled against the officer’s grip.
"You cannot interfere with my unit, Mr Robert, and I urge you to not retaliate against my apothecary. You won't like the consequences. Do you understand?"
Robert scowled, but nodded. The officer released him and Robert rubbed his shoulder.
"Please come with me, Miss."
I gave mom, Warren, and Abigail hugs, then I followed the officer.
"I appreciate your service for my men and for Laeviin," the officer said.
I was about to respond when Robert shouted over the small distance so many villagers could hear, "See the whore betraying all of you? She's going to service the entire unit! Shame on you and your family!"
The officer's eyes lit in anger and he turned, but not before Warren retorted,
"You're just sour my sister would rather join an army than marry you, you pathetic half wit!"
Robert lunged with a flash of silver. Warren recoiled and fell back with a guttural scream onto the road. Robert stood over my brother and stabbed again.
"No!" I screamed.
Abigail’s father pulled Robert off Warren and pushed him away.
"What have you done?!"
Abigail fell to her knees beside Warren just as I reached him. Mom was already holding his hand and trying to soothe his writhing.
He was dying. I could sense his soul barely clinging to his body. I lowered myself next to him, shaking. His eyes stared at me wide with shock as he gasped for air. Blood soaked his white tunic.
“Warren,” I whispered.
Abigail sobbed.
Warren groaned and I noticed bright red blood seeping from his mouth.
Tears blurred my eyes. I ripped open his tunic, dried my eyes, and assessed the damage to his body as quickly as I could.
Blood spilled from four stomach wounds and his face was already turning ashy.
There were no herbs that could heal organ and intestinal damage.
“Pity. There’s no way she can save him,” a soldier muttered to the officer.
Mom caressed Warren’s dirty, blood streaked cheek.
I couldn’t lose him. My brother, the one person I loved the most in this world.
“Mom.”
Mother’s amber eyes met mine.
“I’m going to heal him.” I needed her to understand. She needed to support this decision, because all our lives would change if I did. She blinked and tears fell down her cheeks, but she nodded.
I didn’t care about the witnesses. Curse the consequences.
“You are going to be alright, Warren,” I said softly and kissed his forehead. “You are going to live.”
He looked up at me, wide eyed. He shook his head. Abigail stared at me in confusion.
“No,” he rasped.
"I love you," I said with a sob.
“Nirel…” he gasped.
“Shhhhh,” I placed a finger over his lips, “You are worth it, Warren. You are always worth it, no matter what happens.”
Tears poured down my cheeks as I placed both of my hands over his gaping stomach and pulled up my healing light. The green and gold light swirled around my hands and I pushed it into my brother's wounds. His flesh squelched as the organs moved and healed their abrasions. Warren’s screams were muffled by my concentration to ensure everything went back to its proper place. He felt all of it. It was agony, but it was the only way.
I held the light into his body as the blood stopped spilling and his intestines sewed themselves back together. His muscles pulled the holes closed and the skin stretched back to cover the insides. The skin closed and my hearing returned. I looked at his face. Blood was smeared over his lips and he gasped as he stared at me. I looked down at my bloody hands and felt the knotted scars covered in blood on his stomach.
“You are alright,” I gasped. I sat back on my heels and a breathy laugh escaped my lips. Warren gripped his stomach and sat up. Mother muffled sobs into Warren's shoulder as she wrapped him into her arms the way only a mother can.
“Nirel, you saved me,” breathed Warren.
I threw my bloody hands around him too, all three of us huddled in a tearful mess.
“I couldn’t lose you too,” I whispered in his ear.
He clutched me back. I'd healed small injuries for him before, but we had managed to keep my secret up until now. I just cut my own life short, but he was worth every year lost.
Abigail stared, mouth open, at me and Warren. I hoped she wasn’t angry I hadn’t told her.
“By the Saints, she’s a healer,” a soldier said behind me.
The officer crouched down next to us. “Are you alright?” he asked Warren.
“Yes,” said Warren in a daze.
"You're a brave lad," his deep brown eyes turned to me, “and you’re a brave sister.”
My body began to break down from all the light I had spent. Fatigue hit like an earthquake and my body trembled uncontrollably.
“You’re a healer?” asked Robert incredulously.
I strained my neck to see him. “Yes." I looked away from his dumbstruck expression. Everything hurt. I tried to breathe deep.
Warren’s green eyes locked with mine. Mother squeezed my hand.
"You're a Saint, my love.”
"Mom," I whispered as my vision became dark around the sides and the world spun. Strong hands caught me before I hit the cold stones of the Merchant Road.
Author's note: This was originally the second or third chapter in my old draft of Nirel. This version is the only one I found, but the first one featured Robert offering Nirel to the soldiers because he was enraged that she refused his proposal. I actually rewrote this because a friend hated Robert so much, I felt like I HAD to change it. In retrospect, I won't allow one person to sway me like that again. I wish folks had more of a reason to hate this antagonist, which I couldn't really show in the current version.
I am happy with how Nirel currently opens, however, and I think her being an unwilling captive adds a lot more tension to the story.
The male POVs were not added until after the first round of beta readers.
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