[b]Chapter 34: His people[/b]

Leofric woke up to an unfamiliar herbalistic incense. The first thing he saw was a charred wooden ceiling that seemed to be on the verge of collapsing. He tried to move but had little success, his body felt stiff and unresponsive. A cold breeze swept over his face and Leofric glanced to the side with a mildly blurry vision, his eyes still adjusting. He was inside a burnt-out cottage. Half the building had collapsed and the interior was devastated except for the hearth, which was burning strong. The next thing that struck Leofric's mind was that he was in a bed. A thick fur blanket covered him from feet to chin to shield him from the cold winds breaching into the destroyed house. He frowned in some confusion. Where was he exactly? He tried to move again, this time with some success. He groaned in effort and pulled aside the blanket a bit when a voice nearby piped up.

 [i]"You should not move yet."[/i]

Leofric stopped and turned his head to look towards the direction of the voice. Near the hearth sat a woman on her knees, occupied with picking up and clearing away some of her personal belongings from the blackened floor. She was dressed in simple garments and had fiery red hair. She glanced up at Leofric and he quickly knew who she were - the woman from the woods. Reluctantly Leofric eased down a little and halted his attempt to rise up.

 [i]"You've been out for almost a day. Had to be while I was tending to your injuries."[/i] she continued.

Leofric looked down at himself and realised that he felt nothing. No pain. He remembered getting shot.

 [i]"You will feel stiff for a while but it's nothing to be concerned about. It's just a side effect from the salve I used to mend your wounds. By now I reckon it will dissipate within a couple of hours, and you'll feel right as rain again after that."[/i]

Leofric looked back to the woman and then around the cottage again. The hearth seemed to be only part of the cottage that had been spared. He noticed a handful of wooden figures standing ontop of the hearth. The figures were carved and shaped into different animals with a beautiful craftsmanship behind it. He saw a stag, a bear, and a fox. He continued to look around. Next to the bed stood his sword against the wall, sheathed in its scabbard. Whoever the woman was, she had not been a thief. He looked back to her and nodded slightly in a show of gratitude.

 [i]"Thank you..."[/i]
 [i]"There is nothing to thank me for. I am simply doing what is right, King Leofric."[/i]

Leofric frowned and glanced to her questioningly. [i]"You know who I am?"[/i]

 [i]"Yes. I know who you are, your grace."[/i]
 [i]"How?"[/i]

She smiled thinly and rose up to her feet and approached the bed. She looked down at him with a general peaceful auro about her.

 [i]"I know much because I see much, and I see much because I am a druidess."[/i] she stated bluntly. Leofric was briefly caught off guard by her patency. He had heard of druids but never met any before. It was said that druids possessed abilities beyond that of the common man or woman. He frowned, suddenly realising that he might be in grave danger. He was in no shape to fight with his body still affected by the woman's salves. Leofric was renowned for his views on magic and those who wielded it, and here stood someone at his side, professing that she was one of those people. There was nothing stopping this woman from cutting his throat in an act of vengeance. Yet she did not, and she had saved his life...

 [i]"I know your ways, sire. I know of the resent you hold against sorcery and witchcraft, and I know the reason why. I can't say that I agree with it, but nor can I blame you for it. I may have acted in the same way perhaps. I assume you are asking yourself why I have helped you even after knowing who you are. For reasons other than those I explained to you, I want to show you that we are not all evil. We are just people, and like any people we too have both good and wicked amongst us. We are your people as much as anyone else in the Northlands."[/i]

She smiled and clasped her hands together infront of her. Leofric lingered his eyes upon her. He frowned still, but not in contempt, but in thought. He couldn't think of a reason why she would lie, and she appeared certain in her conviction. Being in her presence did not sit well with him, yet she appeared to hold no ill will against him. She had saved his life and openly admitted to being affiliated to a group of magical properties. It bothered him, but not in the ways he had anticipated. With a ever so slight nod to the druidess Leofric lowered himself back into the bed and elected to stare up into the ceiling again. Whatever he thought or felt about the present, he could do little against it while he remained bedridden. He closed his eyes, his thoughts circling around inside his head. 

While he listened to the druidess return to cleaning up inside her cottage, he started to wonder if he had been wrong.