Elemental Prince by Megan Fall
Chapter 8
Emmalyn
Emmalyn sat beside Mathias, pestering the man to keep him awake. His skin was pale and she was deeply concerned. Torin had given assurances that the wounds weren’t life threatening, but until he had proper medical attention, she’d continue to worry.
“Why does this dress look like it’s from medieval times?” Emmalyn questioned as she glanced down at herself. “And why do you and the others look like you belong in a Robin Hood movie?”
Mathias snickered with tired eyes and glanced over at her. “This world is called Terrasen and differs greatly from ours. It is more primitive and contains none of our modern conveniences. You will not find anything electronic here. Think of the wild west. People here ride horses, pass messages through riders just like the pony express, cook over a wood-burning stove, wash out of a basin and use kerosene lamps.”
Emmalyn could only gawk in confusion. She didn’t understand how that was even possible. How could one world be so advanced while the other was lost in the past? She took a minute to glance around. Horses were tethered to trees, a campfire was set up in the middle of the clearing and someone had arranged bedrolls around it.
“Oh my god,” she proclaimed. “I’m living in a John Wayne movie.”
Mathias frowned and shook his head. “Maybe a western wasn’t the best analogy.” She narrowed her eyes and waited for an explanation.
“It’s more primitive than that. You were closer when you brought up the medieval time period,” Mathias admitted. “There are no modern weapons here. Warriors fight with swords and bows. This world is divided into four kingdoms, and each one is ruled by a King and Queen. There are castles surrounded by villages, each containing stone dwellings. There are markets, but most villagers trade for necessities.” Mathias would have continued, but Emmalyn raised her hand cutting him off.
“You know you’re freaking me out, right?” she groaned. “If you’re trying to convince me I’ll do fine here, you’re doing a lousy job.”
Mathias smirked and Emmalyn wanted to give him the finger. “That is why I took you camping so often Emmy. I was preparing you to return home.”
“So, you knew you would be bringing me here?” she accused. “Yet you didn’t tell me anything about this world. I would have been better prepared if I’d grown up knowing it existed.”
“They already treated you like an outsider,” Mathias gently pointed out. “If I had regaled you with tales of Terrasen, can you imagine how much worse it would have been?”
Emmalyn could see exactly what he meant. She had been labeled a freak because of her eyes, and had chosen to hide them. It didn’t help that she was raised by a giant bald man. Rumours spread that Mathias killed her parents and kidnapped her to raise as his own. She was picked on and called cruel names. It had been a lonely childhood, but without Mathias it would have been unbearable.
“Now do not go getting in your head,” Mathias growled. “My intent was not to upset you. I only wanted you to understand why I kept our world a secret.”
Emmalyn nodded to let him know she understood. Then her attention was drawn to the trees as Kell suddenly strode out, followed by one of his men and an older lady. Torin had been sitting with Emmalyn and Mathias, but moved across the clearing to give them privacy to speak. He stood now and followed behind Kell. She watched them approach, but focused her attention on the lady.
She was aged, with long, thick grey hair. It was almost as long as Emmalyn’s. The lady had wrinkles around her eyes and was heavier set. She wore a long flowery skirt, a white pheasant style blouse with a brown cotton vest over it and cute looking suede boots. A large leather pouch hung from her shoulder across her chest, and she had a red cape tied around her neck. Emmalyn instantly fell in love with her. She reminded her of a gypsy and a medicine woman all rolled into one.
“This is Beatrice,” Kell announced. “She is the local healer and will treat both of you.”
Emmalyn smiled at Beatrice. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m sorry that it’s under such awful circumstances.”
Beatrice blinked at Emmalyn at a loss for words. Emmalyn glanced at Mathias, hoping he would explain the reaction, but he simply smiled. Kell was shaking his head.
“Royalty rarely speak to people beneath them except to issue orders. Your greeting has surprised her is all,” Kell explained.
Emmalyn glared at him. “Well, that’s just ridiculous,” she huffed. “Since I’ve not been raised as royalty, you can’t expect me to act like that. It’s rude.”
“But Prince Kell is right,” Beatrice interrupted. “No royal one would ever address me like that, and I don’t expect it. It’s not a slight. It’s just the way things are.”
Emmalyn turned her glare into a frown as she stared back at Beatrice. “I’m no better than you, and Mathias raised me to treat others as I’d wish to be treated. I would like to thank you for taking time out of your day to come and help us. It’s very kind of you.”
Beatrice finally relaxed and smiled, and Emmalyn was grateful. She had no wish to continue this silly argument.
“No worries my princess. It is an honour to be summoned here,” Beatrice responded dropping her head slightly.
“My name is Emmalyn. I’d prefer to be called Emmalyn.”
Beatrice looked startled again, but recovered quicker this time and nodded.
“Jesus,” Kell growled as he threw up his hands in obvious annoyance. “You made friends with Behr by thanking him before we went through the portal. You have got Torin ignoring my order to stick close because he thought you needed privacy. And, you have got a guardian who acts more like an uncle. What the hell are you going to do next?”
She simply shrugged because everything he said was true. Kell started pacing so Emmalyn avoided him and turned towards Beatrice.
“Mathias has some serious injuries. I need you to see to him first,” Emmalyn pleaded. Instantly Kell stopped pacing. He spun around and gritted his teeth.
“And that will be the very next thing she is going to do,” he grunted. “Royalty always come first. I do not give a damn how you feel about it. There are only a few of us, so we must take priority.”
Emmalyn pushed off the ground with her good arm and stood up. She closed her eyes for a minute to allow the dizziness to pass. Feeling better and opening her eyes, Emmalyn let out a shriek. Kell had silently slipped in front of her and his scowling face was no more than an inch away.
“I’ve only got a cut on my arm,” Emmalyn warily tried to explain. “Please Kell. He’s worse off than me.”
His scowl remained as he peered down for another minute. He lifted his hand and ran a finger down the bridge of her nose. The tender move surprised her and she held her breath, praying that now he would listen to reason.
“I am sorry my wee warrior, but your safety is my priority. Even if I agreed with you, which I do not, Mathias would never allow it. If he cares about you, he will insist you are attended to first. You must not push this, for it will only upset him,” Kell reasoned.
Emmalyn bit her lip at the tender nickname and looked down at Mathias. His pleasing expression begged for compliance. Emmalyn acquiesced, knowing the faster Beatrice tended her wound, the faster she could move on to Mathias. Kell leaned down further, picked Emmalyn up and carried her towards one of the bed rolls. Gently laying her down, Emmalyn could only watch in stunned silence as Kell knelt by her head. Beatrice followed suit, and crouching down as well, swung the bag off and set it on the ground beside her. Torin approached the fire, removed a boiling pot and headed over. He set the pot on the ground and placed cloths beside it. Beatrice removed a metal mug from the bag, added herbs and half filled it with hot water.
“Something to dull your senses. It will make you a tad sleepy, but will help with the pain,” Beatrice explained. “It should take effect quite quickly.”
Kell moved even closer and lifted her slightly, handing her the cup. “It is hot,” he cautioned. “Take care.”
She took a tentative sip and let the bitter taste slide across her tongue. The face she made revealed the distaste, causing Kell to chuckle.
“Take your contacts out in case you fall asleep,” Mathias yelled from the edge of the clearing.
“What are contacts?” Beatrice asked as she spread out a needle and thread along with a bottle filled with a paste-like substance.
Emmalyn reached up and plucked the contact from her right eye. When she held it out, the circle of people surrounding her all leaned forward to get a better look.
“In my world, people who have trouble seeing use these to make things clearer. It acts like a magnifying glass of sorts.” She removed the other contact keeping her head down.
“So, you are unable to see?” Kell questioned with a touch of concern in his voice.
“No,” Emmalyn admitted. “That’s not the only thing we use them for. They also come in an array of colours and change the colour of your eyes.”
“Why in the world would you want to change the colour?” Kell demanded with a hint of annoyance.
With no other option, Emmalyn lifted her head. Kell uttered a sharp gasp and fell back on his ass. Emmalyn sighed at the look of shock on his face, completely used to this type of reaction.