AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Twelve
Rosalie
When I woke, I was in a strange, quaint cottage, packed with flowers, colorful patch worked quilts, the floral scent making me feel like I was inside a garden. A woman in a simple white dress stood by a stove oven, mixing a pot.
I sat up in the bed, blinking back the confusion. Where was I?
“You’re awake,” the woman said.
“Where am I?”
She took a ladle and scooped out the contents of the pot into a bowl. “My home. Baine brought you here after the crone attacked you.”
I shivered at the memory. “How long have I been here?”
“Just a day.” She carried the bowl over to me. “Eat.”
“Thank you.” Taking the bowl, I glanced around the cottage.
“He’s not here,” she said with a smile. “He went to the lake but should return any minute.”
The door opened and Baine walked in. When he saw me, his eyes widened, and the faint hint of a smile played on his lips. “You’re awake.”
I nodded, too busy eating the soup this gracious woman gave me.
“Good, we need to return.”
“I can take the both of you,” the woman said. “After you let her eat and have a few minutes to wake.”
“Yes, Enola, of course.” Baine placed a basket full of fish he’d been carrying on the table. “And your payment.”
“Oh.” Enola stood, smiling at the trout. “You found the rainbow ones.”
“You doubted my skill?”
“Those trout are in deep. I doubted you’d shed all that leather to get me a few fish.”
Baine’s cheeks seemed to almost shine, and I wondered if he was blushing.
“You wanted rainbow trout as payment and so you got it.” He quickly turned away from both of us and focused on the fish in the basket. “I can debone them if you like.”
“No, but now that you’re here, I can use the outhouse.” Enola left, leaving Baine and me alone.
Not knowing what to say, I continued to eat. He sat in the chair next to the bed. Water dripped off his hair and he pushed the wet strands back off his face. Normally, his shaggy silver hair blocked half of his face, but now I could see everything.
My cheeks warmed at the way he stared at me.
“How are you feeling?” he asked, crossing his legs at the ankles as he stretched out on the chair which seemed like a child’s seat under his imposing physique.
“Tired. What happened? Where’s everyone else?”
He leaned over, holding out a hand and I gave him the empty bowl. “The crone attacked, you fell, and I brought you here.”
“Where’s here?”
“Enola is a local healer. You needed to be treated, quickly. Crones are very dirty creatures, and their bites can cause terrible infections.”
I glanced at my arm. White cotton wrapped around my forearm right where that horrid thing took a bite out of me. I grabbed the bandage and began to unravel it.
