Quickly, Liliann pulled up the covers to her chin and, peeking beneath them, saw her gown was once more covering her body. At once, a sensation of warmth rushed over her, since she realized it must have been First Rider who had redressed her after he had inspected the rest of her body for injuries.
She sat up and stretched her right arm only, her left arm being too raw and painful to be moved. However, lowering the neckline of her gown and looking down, she saw the knife wound was neatly bound with soft deerskin. It smelled of herbs and mud.
She moved the arm slightly and felt the injury to be less painful. She smiled. Indeed, she would heal.
Grabbing hold of a mirror where it lay upon her bedside table, she lifted up the looking glass and glanced at her image there. She gasped. All of the cuts and bruises upon her face were covered in herb-scented mud. This explained the scent she had been aware of since she had awakened.
But, the effect of the mud made her features look distorted and strange. Indeed, she might have been a naughty child who had been caught playing in the mud.
She set the mirror back onto the table and, looking up, saw her father had come into her room. Dragging a chair next to the side of her bed, he sat down upon the bench and smiled at her, saying, "Did thou call for me own self?"
"I…I… No, Father of me, I be callin' out for First Rider. Where be he?"
"Doesn't thou know? He be gone from here now; left in the early mornin' after bringing me own self a parfleche bag full of plants and instructions on usin' them on thee."
Looking up at her father, Liliann winced before saying, "Father of me, I fear I need thou to help me, then, if First Rider be gone from here. I beg thee not to become alarmed at what me own self is about to say and to do, but I must go to him. I'll beneedin' thee to assist me, and no mistake. I must dress. I cannot seek him out lookin' as I am. He might change his mind about becomin' my husband."
Her father tsked, tsked. "Now, be thou not sayin' such things about thine own self. Since he be the one puttin' the mud all over thee, I be thinkin' he loves thee true, and t'would not be matterin' how thou looks."
Liliann sighed before muttering, "It always be matterin' to a man how a woman looks."
"I think thou is doin' this soon-to-be-husband of thine a disfavor. Not always does it affect a man in the way thou be thinkin', no mistake. If he be lovin' thee, he loves thee."
"Father mine, ‘tis kind of thee to say so, and I thank thee for your words. But, where is he?"
"Why, the man has left to find tha' scoundrel's trail, right enough," answered her father. "And, he will be bringin' justice to the man."
"Father! Thou let him go?"
"Of course, me own daughter. I couldna have stopped the man, even had meself tried."
"But, I be not wishin' him to go after Ernest. One of them might get killed. And, I be prayin' it will not be First Rider. Father of me, I awakened feelin' scared, though I could not be puttin' a reason to it. But, now I remember me own dream. I cannot tell it to thee, Father mine. But, I fear First Rider be in great danger from Ernest. I feel it in me own bones."
"A dream? Now, now, calm thine own self. Surely thou hast only had a nightmare. After all, he has his friends Stands Strong and Red Fox to help him."
"I be glad about that. Now, I ask thee to please come and help me to dress. I must go to him at once."
"Go to him? Daughter of me, thou cannot."
"Thou will not be stoppin' me, Father."
"Nay! Listen to me, Daughter!" exclaimed her father, sitting forward on his chair. "I cannot be allowin' it. Surely thou knows the best manner to help thy soon-to-be-husband be to remain here and get well."
"I am determined to go to him now, Father."
"And, I will not be allowin' it."
"I be nineteen."
Liliann's father stared at her for what must have been several minutes, until at last he said, "Then, me own self must go with thee. But, how can I, with meself still bein' a manservant. And, today, Master Fehér requires me. Delay this, Daughter, until I can go with thee."
"I cannot wait."
"But, thou can. Delay here, if only a wheen bit, and be allowin' me to ask Master Fehér to let me own self go with thee."
Liliann frowned. She could not wait. Hadn't her dream shown her there was trouble ahead of First Rider? And, soon? Trouble that could take his life?
Though she didn't really believe in dreams in the same manner as did the Indians—as though they were premonitions—this particular vision seemed as though it were a forewarning. And, although she would like to think it meant nothing, she had been close enough to the Indians these past several years to observe that these "medicine dreams" sometimes foretold the future.
