The Worlds of Katherine Kurtz

((As with most A&A scenes, I couldn't have written this one without Laurna's help with the Amyfication.))

Friday early morning
September 13, 1168
Master Collos' small safehouse
Grecotha

A gentle hand shook Amy's shoulder as she lay in the crook of Airich's arm, her head pillowed by his shoulder. 

"No need to be alarmed," Trevor breathed, "I'm just here to give you a break if you need to stretch your legs or break your fast."

No recriminations from him for taking such liberties with a man she was not married to, no disapproving glances. He'd been in deep Rapport with the rest of them, and he knew what Airich meant to Amy, and knew she didn't want to be the cause of him breaking his word to "sin no more." Of course, she was lying fully clothed above the blanket and he lay mostly clothed below it, so it was unlikely that either could have taken improper liberties.

Amy sat up, yawned, and stretched. A rumble sounded from her midsection; she'd been too full of anxiety last night to eat much, and now her stomach was making her pay.

Trevor raised his eyebrows at her and grinned. "Sounds like I'm just barely in time. Get you to Elspeth, young lady, and have a bowl of porridge before you faint from hunger."

"Amy? Trevor?"

That voice drove all thoughts of food from her head. Amy turned and saw Airich's eyes opened, lids heavy from sleep, a relaxed smile on his lips. His glance flicked from her to his brother and back to her, where it remained.

"Oh, Airich," she whispered, and was gratified to feel his essence nudge up against her, and then wrap itself around hers like a comfortable old quilt on a cool Autumn evening. The merasha no longer inhibited his Deryni abilities, and the wound on his side had been reduced to a jagged red line, ending at a soft reed that had been inserted into the wound to keep it open so that any infection might drain—Elspeth had been fascinated by this and demanded to know where to acquire such supple reeds.

Amy couldn't help it. She draped herself across his chest and held him, and she could have wept with joy to feel his arms wrap around her and hold her against him in a strong embrace. "I thought I'd lost you," she breathed into his ear.

Amy heard Father Trevor mutter something about fetching two bowls of porridge, and the sound of the front door opening, then closing again. Darius the physicker was in the other room, humming to himself as small, puttering sounds came through the cracked door. She was alone with Airich.

They held each other, and swam through each other's minds, both of them feeling it had been far too long since they'd taken joy in each other's presence. Amy couldn't help but notice how very clear Airich's psyche was, like the crystal her mother had once owned. She hadn't noticed how murky it had been previously, but now that she had a Healed Airich to compare with, it seemed surprising she hadn't realized how impaired he was before.

How did this come to pass? Airich asked. How did I go from such a wretched state to the most blessed man alive in a matter of hours?

You had a lot of help, Amy replied. Lord Collos and Darius, Sir Iain, and your brother—

No, I didn't mean that, although that's a big part of it. I mean you. You are so beautiful, inside and out, Amaryllis Aldan. You are a woman virtuous, lovely, of good report, and praiseworthy, and you have seen me inside and out, and yet you still love me. It is far more than I deserve.

No one has ever called me virtuous, quite the opposite most of the time. Amy lifted her head from his chest to look him in the eye. Airich you are teasing me. Amy blushed as the handsome knight smiled at her reassuringly.

Nay, I speak only truth. Airich propped himself up on his elbows. The past is in the past and has no bearing on who you are now. And my love for you, my Woman of Virtue, is more precious than rubies from Kibris. More pure than sapphires from Etruskia, more exquisite than emeralds from Aigyptos. And if you say the word, I will go to Rhemuth to ask the King for permission to marry. And then I will dress in my finest and put on my noblest airs and travel to Droghera to beg for your hand from your father.

Amy gasped as Airich continued professing his devotion. I will bribe your father if that's what it takes for him to grant me this boon. And if he refuses me, then I will take you before my brother and marry you anyway. And after we have saved Grecotha from the fires, I will gather you and your son and bring you both to Derry, and I will raise him as my own, for he will need training that only a Deryni can give him. And I will give you sons and daughters aplenty, and our home will be filled with love and joy and laughter all the days of our lives.

But before all that can happen, I need for you to say yes. And I truly hope you will say yes, Amy, because if you don't, then I have poured my heart out for naught and I will die of embarrassment.

Airich! Oh my sweet Airich, Amy laughed, I would hate for you to die after all the work we did to heal your mind. She held her breath, feeling dizzy with joy.  So I will say...

"Yes!" she called aloud because she wanted it heard by all in the land. She was shaking with euphoria, looking lovingly into eyes the color of the deepest oceans; she wanted to swim there for all eternity. If my father refuses us, then I will gladly speak my vows to you before your brother. And if our king refuses you, Amy smothered another giggle, let's just hope he is as reasonable a man as I have heard he is, for I would not ask you to choose between him and me.

And now, you had best kiss me before I wake from this dream.

Airich grinned and sat up with only a small grimace of pain. He ran his hand over her hair, which was messily escaping yesterday's braid, and gently brought her close to him. Their kiss started quite virtuously, but gradually became less so as the implications of their unofficial betrothal brought to mind the pleasures the future would bring.

They broke apart at the sound of a throat being cleared. The inner door opened after a few seconds to save everyone's dignity. "Pardon my interruption," Darius said, "but I am told that the Bishop has requested to see you and the physicker immediately after mass. Mistress Elspeth is near ready, but I should like to check your wound before you dress fully."

Between them, Darius and Amy got Airich standing. The knight wavered a bit, but he found his balance just as Father Trevor came through the front door, juggling two bowls of porridge in his hands. 

"Airich, the Bishop wants to see you," Trevor told Airich, handing him one bowl of porridge and placing the other near Amy, although she didn't seem to notice it. "Something about telling your side of the confrontation with Jasper before they go to trial. And I really need to get you to Rhemuth after that."

Darius stopped them at that point. "Thank you, mistress," he said to Amy. "The good Father and I will help him from here."

Amy flushed, indignant. She had changed many a man's clothing in the process of helping Mistress Elspeth. But this fluttery feeling she had about seeing Airich unclothed... She didn't want to leave him, but she also didn't want to lose that Virtue that Airich ascribed to her. Dreaming or awake, either way, know that I love you, she sent him. His eyes smiled at her in return.

She danced out of the room in a twirl of skirts and flying hair, and a prance over the door threshold. When she reached the morning dawn light, she spun in a pirouette. Then dillydallied her way to the other apartment door.

The fog had finally lifted.

The bell rang twelve times. A physical weight lay across his chest. Airich finally opened his eyes; embers glowed in the fireplace at his feet.

The weight was a head laying on his chest, with an arm draped over it as well. He reached out with his mind and touched Amy-scented Shields. Good, she was remembering to keep herself safe as she slept. It was a good habit to keep.

Of course, once he put some thought into it, he didn't truly know how long she might have been practicing this habit, for he didn't know how long he'd been unconscious. It felt like decades. So many experiences he'd lived through during the ritual. Before, the memories had simply been there, and had inserted themselves into his thoughts at random times, leaving confusion in their wake. But now, he understood them, knew who they belonged to, and could call them up at will as easily as his own, and without the disorientation.

And truly, it was more than just the memories finally being put to right. It was the entirety of his mind that felt clear for the first time in... well, who knew how many years now? Since that fateful night when he was seventeen, barely more than a boy.

He was a different man now than he would have been without making that life-changing mistake. He would never be able to regain the youthful idealism that was the lot of most young men, but he now had in his arsenal the wisdom of a man who'd experienced everything life had to offer, both bitter and sweet.

But that wisdom offered no clue as to how much time had passed, how long the ritual had lasted. Days? Weeks? Longer? He put out his left arm and flexed it. Good, he still had muscle tone, so it couldn't have been more than a few weeks at the most.

Awake so soon, Sir Airich? I expected you to sleep another six hours.

Master Collos voice sounded in his head. Airich reached out and felt Collos' presence just behind his right shoulder. 

My head is clear. It's good to be able to think without feeling like I'm struggling through molasses. I didn't even realize it had been so difficult to form thoughts.

I expect you've received additional healing from that handkerchief Mistress Amy was so determined to bring to you.

Ah, clever of her to retrieve that.

It's placed under your tunic, near the wound.

There, that answered his question: since Wash healed his wound near the end of the ritual, then that confirmed that no more than a few days had passed. What day is today?

It is just after midnight on Friday morning. It was just yesterday afternoon that we performed the ritual. Baron Washburn arrived when most people would be taking their evening meal.

A simple twelve hours since he'd faced Jasper, then. So much had happened since then, so many years gone by in virtually the blink of an eye. He wasn't even quite sure where he was, or why.

You're in Grecotha. You're attempting to keep the city from being destroyed by fire.

Oh, that's right. Willimites, wasn't it?

You're partially right. Collos stood and carefully stepped around Amy to the pot hanging above the embers in the fireplace and ladled out some liquid into a cup. He brought it to Airich and placed a reed into it, then set the cup next to Airich's head. Drink this while we talk. You need to regain your strength.

Airich obeyed. The beef broth was salty and tasted odd, but not bad.

Some of the medical herbs in there will encourage your body to produce blood and keep your humors level, Collos said. Darius was pleased he was able to make such a potent medicine taste pleasant. He sat cross-legged next to Airich's head. Anyway, you think the Grecotha fire is being planned by the Willimites. And it's true, a certain number of Willimites are involved, but it's actually the Custodes who are behind this plot.

The Custodes? Airich had to think back to where he knew that name from. They were forcibly disbanded centuries ago.

So they would have us think. They've actually been busy all this time, working behind the scenes. They were instrumental in keeping the Deryni out of the priesthood for centuries. They were ultimately responsible for the martyrdom of Saint Jorian, but they failed to keep Bishop Arilan from his calling, and they have been fighting an uphill battle ever since.

Collos continued, But the Custodes have a king-in-exile and are working to undermine the King of Gwynedd. And they're going to begin here in Grecotha.

Why Grecotha?

I don't have all the details from our spy within the Custodes; it's a dangerous business for him to smuggle information to us. But Grecotha has a long history with the Deryni, especially the University. Collos shrugged. Mostly I think they're trying to inspire fear, and lead to a revolt against Kelson and the Deryni. They plan to use a substance called Byzantyum fire—

Byzantyum fire? Airich lifted his head and twisted it around to see Collos. Here in Grecotha?

Yes.

Amy gave a little intake of breath and murmured something in her sleep. Airich stroked her hand and returned to his earlier position. Ai. And here I thought I could prevent the fire with a little rain.

The rain does help. A great deal, in fact. But it won't prevent the fire entirely.

How can I help?

I'm glad you asked that. Airich could feel Collos' smile through their link. We know the identity of the five Custode priests in charge of burning the city to the ground. We've surmised that it would be best to take all five at once, so that word doesn't get out to the others and they start the plan too soon or escape being taken into custody. However, I don't have enough people from my brotherhood to stop them all at once, and therefore, we don't dare move against them yet.

I need someone with the Bishop's ear, for he can authorize such a raid within the city, and loan us members of his Purple Guard for the task.

Airich almost laughed. If it's the Bishop's ear you need, then I'm afraid I cannot help you, although I am willing to lend you my sword in capturing these evil men. Wait, where—? Well, okay, you have my backup sword since I lost mine.

I believe the young archer is keeping your sword safe, although perhaps he may have taken a few liberties, playing with a knight's sword. But I'm sure he'll return it to you as soon as you request it, so I expect you will forgive him that.

It wouldn't be the first time I've left my sword in his capable hands, I trust him with it. Airich recalled giving Bede his sword to guard his back when he'd done that death reading on Leopold the Great. At any rate, you'll get much farther with the Bishop by talking with Sir—with Guardsman Jimmy Taylor, rather than me. The Bishop knows he's the King's man, and if he requests it, I have no doubt the Bishop will give him the men you need.

I would rather not use Sir Iain if I don't have to, Collos replied. Any unnecessary communication on my part risks his identity here in Grecotha, and I have too much respect for the man to do that to him.

Yes, but you know what happened the last time I spoke with the Bishop about questioning the local Willimite leaders. If I accuse five priests of such evil intent without proof, he'll likely throw me into the stocks for a few days, just to teach me manners.

Airich finished the cup, and Collos refilled it and returned it to Airich.

I do have proof, although I can't get it to you right away, not without compromising the safety of my own man within the Custodes. But I assure you that this information was acquired by purely Human means. And I tell you this because I know I can trust your discretion, but you might find it worth knowing that Baron Washburn is also involved in this operation and can verify my words himself.

Collos loosened his Shields enough for Airich to see for himself the full truth of these statements. Wash did know that Collos had a spy in the Custodes camp. And Collos had documents confirming the identity of the Custodes priests in Grecotha. Airich also read that Collos' motivation was simply to stop the Custodes and further the cause of good Human-Deryni relations; he had no personal vendetta against any of the five priests, had never met them before, and stood to gain nothing personal by their capture.

How is it, Airich mused after some thought, that the monster in Washburn's story is the savior in mine? He caught the impression of a melancholy chuckle from Collos. 

That, Sir Airich, is a tale for another day, for it is long and honestly not very interesting. But I will say this much. Four years ago, young Lord Washburn was unaware of an intense danger he was in. Had I not intervened and taken the steps that I did, it is unlikely he would still be alive, and his death would not have been easy. At the time, it was of extreme importance that he believed himself to be hated by his family and his king: it was the best protection I could give him.

Wouldn't his best protection have been to not be drugged, chained, and unarmed in several different dungeons?

If his greatest danger had been from bored and jealous guards, then yes, that would be the case. But I did my best to ensure his safety. And at least one of those jealous guards from Chantel paid a permanent price for harming Lord Washburn after I'd left instructions that he wasn't to be touched.

Airich held his breath. Please tell me his name was Otis.

Come to think of it, I believe it was. Collos' mental voice sounded surprised. You find the death of this guard amusing?

Airich projected to Collos the knowledge of the thorn in "Ellia" Aldan's side that was Otis Turpin. You've saved me the trouble of tracking him down, cutting him open, wrapping his guts around his body and tied into a bow, then presenting him to Amy as a wedding gift.

Now Collos chuckled quietly. Inventive and slow, I like that. Otis' end was moderately quick, but extremely painful. I didn't have time for such pleasantries as you suggested. But back to our earlier topic. Are you willing to talk to the Bishop about these priests?

I may have more luck getting permission from the King. If I recall correctly, I'm supposed to report to him at my earliest opportunity.

Interesting. I wonder if my involvement will make him more or less likely to authorize such a raid.

The King knows you?

Your king knows of me. And I believe he knows that I am a man to be trusted once I have given my word. 

Airich thought about this. Very well. I will try to get permission to arrest these priests, in the name of the Bishop or of the King. Whichever one it takes.

Good. Thank you. You should sleep now.

Airich's Shields snapped shut involuntarily. "Do you still have triggers within my head?" he whispered.

"I do not."

"How do I know you're not lying?"

"Sir Airich," Collos laughed softly, "I have had full access to everything in your mind. If there was anything unsavory I'd wanted to do to you, I would have done it already and made sure you trusted me with your entire being. Obviously, I have not forced you to trust me. Nor have I drugged your cup. So perhaps I have earned a little bit of that trust by now."

Embarrassed, Airich loosened his Shields again. If Collos had wished to, he could have implanted memories of a close friendship that Airich would never question. And now that he was looking, he could find no trace of the triggers that Darius had placed in his head to make him sleep. You're right. Please forgive me, it's been a... long day.

For you, it certainly has. And the more you sleep, the faster your body can heal. Meanwhile, I have work to do. Collos stood and picked up the cup. If you need anything, your young lady will likely be anxious to help, and Darius is in the other room. I'll no doubt see you tomorrow.

Yes. And thank you. For everything. I don't think I said that yet.

It was my pleasure. And if you can help take down those Custode priests, I will consider myself well paid.

Page 8

Post	Writer	Date	Events
105	Nezz	Sept 8	Airich is finishing up a day of fasting, prayer, and meditation. He is concerned because he'd nearly lost himself the night before, but Amy had returned him to reality. He considers how she's done similar things for other patients of hers, and thinks about how he's been looking for Wash to turn Airich Human, or researching ways to do it himself: to no avail. He thinks about bringing Amy to Rhemuth for proper Deryni training, and how satisfying their Rapport had been, but it shouldn't ever be repeated because all this Deryni stuff is messing with his mind. As he decides to go to sleep, he thinks about preparing Morgan's horses in the morning.
106	Laurna	Sept 9	Amy stops at Airich's room before dawn to check on him and reminds him of who he is while he sleeps.
107	Bynw	Sept 9	A man dies at the stake in a fire and lets out a psychic scream as he dies.
108	Laurna	Sept 9	Amy and Edwin are both awakened by the psychic cry and both are alarmed, for neither understands it. They share the scream with Airich (who'd been sleeping with Shields up). He and Bede go out to scout around.
109	Marc	Sept 9	Bede and Airich find the bonfire and help put it out. Bede gets the body down and brings it to Airich.
110	Jerusha	Sept 9	Amy links with Edwin and sends him to follow the other men so that she can see what's going on and report to Elspeth and Muirea.
111	Nezz	Sept 9	Airich does a Death Reading on the man, and fiinds out his name is Lucas Whittington, aka "Leopold the Great."
112	Revanne9	Sept 9	Edwin approaches the fire and someone call out a threat to all Deryni.
113	Marc	Sept 9	BEdwin goads the man into identifying himself within the crowd and Bede nabs him.
114	Nezz	Sept 9	Airich intimidates the man into giving them his name and the name of his contact with the Willimites: Pietre de Guerra.
115	Revanne10	Sept 9	Bede argues with some of the men in the crowd. Edwin sees some of his peers and professors in the crowd and is stunned by this, and gives a rousing speech.
116	Laurna	Sept 9	Amy, seeing through Edwin's eyes, sees two students homing in on Edwin and calls on Airich to assist. Edwin recognizes the student as a fraternity brother, and takes the other men to talk to their leader.
117	Revanne11	Sept 9	As they're walking, Edwin tells them that the fraternity leader had summoned some students to be questioned by the investigators. He also tells what he knows about Pietre de Guerra, the son of the magistrate and the university's fencing master.
118	Jerusha12	Sept 9	Amy watches the men interrogate two students, and relays what she sees and hears to the other women.
119	Marc13	Sept 9	Bede leads the interrogation of Eddard de Nore. Eddard misunderstands one of Bede's statements and thinks he's Deryni, and goes after him with a knife. He is properly subdued by the men.

⁹ posted by Marc
¹⁰ a collaboration with Bede and Nezz
¹¹ a collaboration with Laurna, Marc, and Nezz
¹² a collaboration with Laurna and Nezz
¹³ a collaboration with Nezz

Page 6

Post	Writer	Date	Events
75	Nezz	Sept 7	Airich, Bede, and Edwin arrive at the windmill and search. Airich casts about to read for psychic impressions and witnesses the attack on Robert and Alfie. On their way to their next stop, Airich realizes that Edwin is Deryni and lets Edwin know that he is also Deryni. Bede guesses the truth of this as well.
76	Jerusha	Sept 7	Amy thinks about her home and where her heart lay while Elspeth went with the novice to gather their gear and check out from the King's Arm Inn. Amy is concerned about Robert's shattered hand and tries to heal it, but fails.
77	Nezz	Sept 7	Elspeth and Amy go to the University library, where their warrants now allow them to go. Elspeth is impressed. The begin researching the Willimites as well and reviewing medical texts. The rector informs them that a novice has been reading about the Willimites. They find the full recipe for talicil.
78	Marc	Sept 7	A page comes to "Master Feyd," insisting the council demanded he be notified immediately. He reads that "they" have crowned a king, and tells the page to inform the council that he will deal with this personally.
79	Marc	Sept 7	The three men are led to the place where Alfie was found. Bede finds a pair a green eyeglasses. Edwin thinks he knows who owns such a distinctive air.
80	Revanne	Sept 7	Once back in the infirmary, Edwin is playing with his dice and Airich recognizes them as Wards Major. Airich teaches Edwin how to use them properly, and, after several failures, Edwin is finally able to successfully create a protective ward.
81	Laurna	Sept 7	Amy is pleased that the two women were able to go into the library but Elspeth is still concerned by the time it might take to create the talicil, and how little they had left before Robert's hand would have to be removed due to its infection.
82	Nezz	Sept 7	Airich is Mind-speaking with Robert when Elspeth comes to inspect the boy while Amy feeds him soup. Elspeth and Edwin go in search of the herbalist. Airich has an idea for saving Robert's hand.
83	Nezz	Sept 7	Bede guards the door. Edwin sets wards.
84	Laurna7	Sept 7	Airich and Amy go into Deep Rapport and really bond with each other. They use their Deryni powers to move the bones in Robert's hand into the correct position so that his hand will heal properly. They show Elspeth where to lance the hand and drain the infection.
85	Jerusha	Sept 7	Elspeth stays at the infirmary late into the night, watching over Robert. She relfects back on the procedures the Deryni had performed, and the fact that she hadn't been alarmed when Airich Mind-spoke with her. She considered how to use Deryni in the future with her medical practice, but reconsidered, considering how much she's been avoiding the very hint of witchcraft in her life.
86	Marc	Sept 7	Eustace is hanging out at the Drunken Parchment tavern. He speaks with Muirea, who he learns has taken a second job at this tavern. She mentions his green eyeglasses. Eustace makes an unpleasant reference to Deryni.
87	Nezz8	Sept 7	Amy wakes up from a horrible nightmare and realizes that it was Airich's dream she'd picked up on. She rushes to his room to try to wake him up, but he still seems incoherent and a little bit lost. He doesn't seem to know who he is. He hugs her, almost without realizing what he's doing or with who.
88	Laurna7	Sept 7	Amy is afraid that Airich senses some danger that no one else can detect, but she can find nothing when she casts out. She kisses him to wake him up, and it works, but the kiss gets intense very quickly. Amy disengages and asks him about the dream, but changes the subject. She stays to ase his headache and help him back to sleep.
89	Laurna	Sept 7	Washburn Morgan and his pregnant wife Fiona come to the Arx Fidei Abbey with a small escort, led by his friend Kevin McLain. He references a danger to the kingdom. He will be meeting with Collos Feyd d'Chameaux, a Master of the Black Order of Death.

⁷ a collaboration with Nezz
⁸ a collaboration with Laurna

Holding the auburn lass tightly in his arms, Bede whispered to her something she did not expect to hear. "Let's give the Deryni some space, Muirea. Stay out here with me a little while, please."

Outside in the lantern light, he appraised her with giddiness unusual for himself, but natural for his age. There she was: the woman he should have pledged himself to all along. Yet the air was pregnant with the unspoken. He knew her well enough to know that look. "What concerns yer heart?" he asked.

"If we were reunited under any other circumstances, would we hold each other the same?" she asked, putting aside the countless other concerns of the day. "It was na me, but ma cousin ye pledged yerself to, those four long years ago."

"I was but a boy, then," he protested, unable to change the past at all.

"And I, merely a girl," she retorted, pursing her lips. "To yer credit, Eustace said that ye told him ta tell me that even when ye lie, ye speak the truth fer me. And that ye'll fight the world for me." She blushed at her own misremembrance, and Bede chose not to correct her.

"Yeah, and I'd prove it, if ye asked me."

She took a moment, but not too long. Long enough for Bede to see her apart from the past, apart from any identifiers like "Mearan" or "Barmaid" or "Dream." Not the old friend, not the future or fancy, but just the ever-changing, tangible present. Someone real to fight for. When she looked at him again, she could have asked anything of him any number of times. She had the grace to only ask twelve times. "That many times would prove that you are mine."

Remembering himself, he gathered his wits. He cupped her hands and gazed teasingly into her eyes. "Make it eleven for the time I saved ye in the Byzantyne tunnels."

"Very well," she rolled her eyes but smiled.

"And take another away, for eleven is the number of kingdoms if ye count Meara among them, and I ha yet to pledge such," he jutted his chin with joking bravado.

"Fine," she blew air in his face.

"Halve it," he dared.

That made her truly cross. "Am I to be earned so cheaply?"

"Na at all," he soothed. "But be sure that yer five tasks are great enough to be remembered by more than just the two of us, yeah?"

"Well, yer the player upon the stages, na me. Ye would know drama more," she sighed. "Let it be so, and the angels be our witness."

"Amen," he kissed her hands, then let her go. Standing attentively like in his brief time as a soldier, he asked, "What is my first task?"

She leaned forward to whisper in his ear, and he shook his head. He told her, "We're already trying to save this accursed city. Something fer ye yerself, I beg of ye."

"Then a gift that proves ye ha always known me well," she decided, shrugging as if to say This is what you asked for.

"What might that be?"

"Bede Archer! If ye dinna ken!" She chided him with smiling eyes. Soon after, they rejoined the others.

For Auld Lang Syne, and Grecothan wine! We've come quite far 

"Edwin, I think there is a caring heart under that roughness that you like to display." Amy teased the scholar, whom she considered to be a friend. "I am going to agree with you; you should stay with Aidan. I would stay too, but Speth would worry if I don't return soon. And I really want to get this to Airich." Amy pulled out a familiar white handkerchief with embroidered edges and a faint smudged spot on one corner.

The Scholar nodded, recognizing the Healing properties that lay within the fabric. Airich had taught him how to sense it, even if he had been stubborn about learning. "I get that you have to go, but you can not go alone, it is too late for you to be out. I could send Charlie Duggan with you?"

Amy thought about that for a second, but then she thought about just where they had been hiding out and with whom. "I don't know. Our benefactor might not like someone else learning where he stays. I can make it back before Bede is sent out to find us."

Muirea, who had just been bringing down Bede's bag of personal items, appeared to overhear the last part of Amy's conversation. "If I am not needed to watch your sleepy-head there, then I'd rather go too; you can't carry this alone. I really need to talk to Bede. Waiting 'tell morning would kill me."

That seemed to settle the matter. At least to the best that the three of them could arrange. All three helped make a bed for Aidan by the kitchen hearth, and Edwin pulled up the cook's comfortable chair to watch the boy. Promises were made that at the very least, Bede and Muirea would return in the morning. Amy hoped, feverishly, that she and Airich also would return to help unravel the novices troubles. But she could not make that promise. She would not leave Airich again until he was up and moving on his own accord, however long that might take.

With this half-promise, Amy and Muirea found their way out of the Duggan's, using the tunnels and Amy's very pale handfire. Muirea did not seem to mind this little magic, in fact she said she wished she could do that much herself. They came out onto the streets near the Cathedral, put their hoods up, and stuck to the shadows skirting the sides of the buildings until they found the street they were looking for. Bede was standing watch in the door alcove. When Muirea saw him she rushed forward and to Amy's pleasure, saw Bede crush the barmaid to his burly chest. His anxiety had been that high. Amy slipped past them, dropped the bags she carried on the floor,  and then pulled Elspeth aside.

"I was getting worried," Speth said.

"I know, we ran into an oddity. Canon Damian's assistant, you know, that nice young novice Aidan, he was lost and acting strangely. Give me your hand and let me show you what the novice said." Amy was glad when Elspeth didn't hesitate. Even though this mind-speech and sharing of images was new for them both, their trust in one another made it feel like they had always known how to use Rapport. In a manner they had never understood before, they likely had. 

"I wish you could have brought Aidan back with you," Speth said.

"That would have been impossible, Edwin will watch over him at the Duggan's tonight and I am hoping we all can go back and help the youth in the morning. But just now, I need to get this to Airich. Is he still well?"


"No one has told us otherwise," Elspeth said, wishing Amy would stay and get some sleep. But she saw the handkerchief that Amy brought forth, and she nodded. "Go to him, we are fine here."

Elspeth looked up at the older lord, who was bent over his parchments. "Lord Collos, Mistress Amy would like to go to Airich. Will you take her?"

"Yes, I think so," he said, rolling up his parchment and slipping it into his tunic robe.

#

When Amy saw the sleeping knight, she rushed to his side, bent to her knees and wrapped the kerchief around his hand. Embarrassed that Father Trevor and the older lord watched what she did, she cringed a little and stammered, "This needs to be near his wound against his skin."

"I believe you are correct," Trevor replied with a side quirk and turned his back to add a log to the fire. Lord Collos followed his lead and the two men spoke quietly, looking away.

Not knowing why she felt so shy about it, Amy lifted the blanket, lifted the knight's loose tunic and laid the white square carefully over the young man's abdomen, then she patted tunic and blanket back into place. She said a prayer. Not much after, she blissfully found that sleep overcame her stamina.

The team currently, plus a couple of friends.

WOW! Wonderful Nezz, Jersha, Marc, Revanne and Bynw ( and me).  Passing around a full plate of Cookies to every one.  HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!