Of the Fells

[heartofcourage]

"We'll try in awhile. Get some rest." Valentina said, willing to go at his own pace. "There is no rush."

He seemed to relax a little bit from the herbs, which made Sarah relax. She continued to hold his hand, even after Sarin returned to his side. She should have stood, let him have his mate back, but she simply couldn't leave the person who meant the most to her in the world.

 

[KieranSoares]

Sarin didn't mind Sarah's clinging to Shia's side. Sarin had only been in his life a short time. Sarah had been the center of his life her entire life and the idea of losing him was more than she could bear. Sarin would not step between a father and daughter.

Shia gave his mate a smile before closing his eyes to try to rest. It would be a long wait to see if he got better or worse. With such plague, it could go either way for anyone.

 

[heartofcourage]

Once Valentina had gotten some rich beef broth into Shia and some tea, she felt secure enough to leave him in the care of Sarah and Sarin. She retired to the room that she and Theo had been given, dozing when she could to get some rest. She woke briefly when Alex snuggled up against her side and she gave him a little smile, holding him close before she got a little more sleep.

"You're a good boy, bambino." She said softly, kissing his brow.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Mama, is Shia okay?" Little Alex asked quietly. "Can I help?" He'd never asked to help before, knowing to let Valentina do her job without distraction. But he'd quickly decided he liked Sarin and Shia despite having only been around them briefly.

 

[heartofcourage]

"I have hope he'll be alright." Valentina said as Alex spoke to her in that quiet voice. "If we can get him through the worst then he'll have a chance."

She was surprised when he asked if he could help. He was wise beyond his years and Valentina felt her heart break at that thought. He needed to be a carefree little boy, not a man weighed down with the problems of the world.

"You can help me right now by being the good little boy I know you are. Helping Da with those little things he does, like feeding the horses and tending to the saddles is a good start."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Can I help you when I'm older?" He asked in a voice even quieter than usual. Valentina was looking at herself as a child, hoping to help her busy father so she could be like him, make him proud, and spend more time with him.

 

[heartofcourage]

"When you can memorize all of the plants in Papa's garden, then you can help me." Valentina said with a smile as she leaned in to kiss his forehead. "That's how I learned. Your Papa made me work very, very hard for the honor of being his apprentice."

She was quiet for a long moment as they both lay there. "Would you like to be adopted by Theo and I? You would have Da's last name. I was thinking Alexander Ruari Ambrose Irons."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I thought I already was," Alex murmured. "That's why I call you Mama." He'd long since chosen her as his mother.

 

[heartofcourage]

"You are my son. This is just a piece of paper that would make it all official." Valentina said softly as she hugged him a little bit tighter. "You'll always be my bambino."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I like that name," he murmured. "But can it be Alexander? That's what Ma named me." He would still hold onto just a bit of Anna.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Absolutely." Valentina said softly as he spoke about hold on to a piece of his mother. "You know that if you ever feel sad and want to talk about her, that's alright too. Da and I can be very good listeners...although I think you might tell Anna a lot of those memories, right?"

 

[KieranSoares]

Alex shook his head slightly. "No. I don't really talk about her at all. Da asks me sometimes, but I don't have anything to say." It seemed that in such a quiet, private environment, Alex opened up much more and proved how well he really could speak after having listened for so long.

 

[heartofcourage]

"The offer is always there, bambino. You should never be afraid of thinking about her." Valentina said softly as she kissed his brow.

 

[KieranSoares]

"It's hard to think about her," Alex muttered before he fell silent and soon he was sleeping soundly beside her. Theo wasn't too far behind, returning looking absolutely exhausted.

"Village is all set fer th'night..." He muttered, laying down beside her with Alex between them.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Shia is resting. I will probably get up in a while and check on him again." Valentina said softly as she glanced down at Alex. "He said it's hard to think about his mother. That breaks my heart, amore. He should never be afraid to think about her. Surely he has good memories."

 

[KieranSoares]

"A boy tha' young doesn' 'ave a lot of memories," Theo murmured. "An' she was sick anytime 'e might remember." He reached out to ruffle Alex's hair soothingly when the boy shifted.

 

[heartofcourage]

"He simply wants to be Alexander. He said that is what his Ma named him. I suppose Alexander Irons is a good, strong name." Valentina murmured as Theo smoothed his hand through Alex's hair. "He also wants to help me. I told him when he could name all the herbs in Papa's garden, he could start assisting. Don't tell him that you never learned."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I think 'e knows anyway. He's no' the sort o' lad t'get upset tha' he can't do something when someone else can. 'E knows 'e's too young what you do jus' yet. Til then, 'e can keep helpin' me. An' 'e's good at it too. Knows what goes in yer bag, knows how t'get things ready t'hang up an' dry, an' 'e's startin' t'learn how t'make bandages too. All that, an' still doin' so well at everythin' else 'e needs t'learn."

 

[heartofcourage]

Valentina was very proud of her little boy. He was a hard worker and very smart. She saw the same pride in Theo when he was with Alex as well.

"Get some sleep, love." She said as she leaned over and kissed Theo gently. "You'll need all the rest you can get."

 

[KieranSoares]

"So'll you. This sort of outbreak ain' easy t'control. But I think we migh' have it fairly contained, an' hopefully we can prevent any casualties." With a long sigh, he relaxed and sleep was quick to find him.

 

[heartofcourage]

Soon, Valentina was up and about to check on Shia. She found Sarin slumbering at his side and Sarah gone. It seemed someone had forced her to go to bed. Valentina quietly moved about the room, brewing a tea for him to drink.

"How is your throat now?" She asked softly as she came to Shia's side and helped him to sit up enough to sip from the mug.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Worse than before," he whispered hoarsely, struggling to swallow at all. When he couldn't even drink the water, he was forced to turn on his side, coughing terribly and trying not to choke. That woke Sarin, who was quick to sit up and press a soothing hand to his back, wishing she could help.

 

[heartofcourage]

"If the swelling gets worse, I might have to perform surgery to get the sores out." Valentina said softly, explaining to them both what would happen. "There is no guarentee that it will work, but it would be the best chance you would have of beating this."

 

[KieranSoares]

"If there's a chance, I'll take it... I can't risk leaving Sarah and Sarin," Shia told her.

"I hate to be selfish... But we can't lose him," Sarin murmured, looking to Valentina.

 

[heartofcourage]

"I will make preparations." Valentina said with a nod, moving to pull out the tools that her father had set aside for her to use.

Within the hour, she had Shia sedated and she had started working on the numerous sores that he had grown in his throat. It was bloody and tedious work, made all the more disturbing as Sarin watched on, but she worked quickly and soon his neck was bandaged with a poultice of healing herbs.