A Path Toward Home (The Annals of Avonea) (10 page)

I guess I'll come along,” Constance replied; as she tucked strands of lose hair behind her ear.

“Are you sure?” Woodphere asked with apprehension.

“Yes, Woodphere, like you said, this is the last time,” Constance replied, winking at Woodphere.

Once they arrived at the O’Neil’s house, they were welcomed warmly by Mr. & Mrs. O’Neil.

“Come in Your Majesty,” Mrs. O’Neil said warmly.

“Thank you very much for your invitation,” Drinian replied.

As they entered the home Constance was surprised at its elegance of polished wood floors, beautiful woven rugs and sturdy furniture.

“Hello Constance,” came Silas’ voice from across the room.

“Hello Silas,” Constance replied, trying to be civil.

“Please be seated, the food is ready,” said Mrs. O’Neil.

They all gathered around the table and were seated with Mr. O'Neil at the head of the table. On the left side sat Drinian, Constance, and unfortunately Silas. Mrs. O'Neil sat opposite her husband, with Julia and Woodphere seated facing Constance.

After a moment of silence Mr. O’Neil spoke, “Let us pray , Dear Holy Father , we thank you for the food that sits before us , and thank you that we are blessed to have Prince Drinian and his friends here. Let us have good fellowship together, in your name, Amen.”

“Here, help yourselves to the cranberry steak,” Mrs. O'Neil offered handing the platter to Drinian.

“Hmm, it looks very good,” Constance remarked as she filled her plate with meat, green beans, potatoes, and corn bread.

“So Mr. O'Neil, how is your business?” Drinian asked as he took a sip of tea.

“Not good, I'm afraid since that new trader starting coming to the village every week.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Drinian replied sympathetically.

“May I please have some salt,” Constance inquired.

Instantly Silas and Drinian grabbed for the salt shakers at opposite ends of the table.

“Here!” They both said putting the salt in front of her.

“One will be plenty, thank you,” Constance replied, taking the salt from Drinian.

“Would you like some iced tea, Constance?” Mrs. O'Neil asked.

“Yes, please.”

Drinian and Silas stood up, ready to assist. Silas quickly reached for the pitcher and poured a glass for Constance with a broad smile on his face.

Constance looked across the table as Woodphere winked, and gave him a look as if to say “Oh brother.”

As they sat down Drinian's looked sternly at Silas who responded with his chin stuck out in an unpleasant manner and one eyebrow raised as he glared back at Drinian.

Constance sat uncomfortably in the midst of the two men until Julia asked “Constance, where do you live?”

“Well...”

“She lives far from here, Julia,” Woodphere spoke quickly.

Why did he do that?
Constance wondered.

Supper was over, and they rose to leave. “Good bye, Constance, I hope I will see you again!” Silas said, as they walked outside.

“Bye, Silas,” Constance replied.

“So where do you live? I want to send you a letter,” Silas questioned, looking into Constance eyes.

“Oh, Silas it maybe a little difficult to reach me.”

“Why? Do you live high in the mountains?”

“No, it's hard for me to explain. If you want to send me a letter please give it to Drinian.”

“You can be sure I will, dear Constance.”

***************

The next morning was sunny, but cool. The decision was made to leave Arctic and Luke behind, for it would be difficult with three horses on the journey ahead. Woodphere and Drinian quickly loaded Dutch with the necessary supplies.

Constance was now glad they had visited the Kallies village, for she had made many new friends. After saying goodbye to the Monroe’s, they started off on foot. In an hour they would arrive at The Gathering of Rocks, a mysterious and treacherous place.

Dangers

The Gathering of Rocks was dense with fog. Constance could scarcely see Drinian who was directly in front of her. They stumbled over huge boulders that were scattered everywhere.
This is the most eerie place I could ever imagine
, Constance thought, observing the bare trees and deadness about her.

Woodphere walked ahead with a lantern in one hand and the reins of Dutch in the other. Drinian stopped suddenly and called, “Woodphere, where are you?”

“I am over here, Your Majesty,” Woodphere called, his voice echoing off the rocks that surrounded them.

“I can’t see you at all.”

“Stay there, Your Majesty. I will try to find you.”

Drinian held his lantern high and tried to spot Woodphere through the fog.

“Constance, maybe you should hold onto my hand so we will not get separated,” Drinian suggested.

“Alright,” Constance replied, as she put her hand into his.

They continued in awkward silence, until the sight of Woodphere’s lantern startled them.

“Woodphere! There you are, how did we ever get separated?” Drinian asked.

“I'm sorry Your Majesty, I thought you were still behind me.”

“You’re forgiven, Woodphere, but let’s make sure it does not happen again. I would hate to be stranded in a place like this,” Drinian replied holding the lantern up to see Woodphere's face.

“Let us keep moving, this is not a place to dilly dally. I don’t like it when I can’t see what's in front of me,” Woodphere murmured as he moved ahead.

Gradually, they continued on their way, with Constance holding tightly to Drinian’s hand. The eerie silence made shivers run up and down her back.

“Stop! Be quiet for a minute,” Woodphere whispered, stopping to listen.

“I don’t hear anything, Woodphere,” Drinian whispered.

“
Shh
!”

The silence was abruptly broken by a strange sound like an owl but sharper and deeper. Constance looked up into Drinian's calm face and wondered,
is he as scared as I am
?

“What was that?” Constance chirped.

“I don’t know,” Drinian replied, as he looked around them.

“You don't happen to have dragons or dinosaurs here, do you?” Constance whispered to Drinian, squeezing his hand tighter.

“Not that I know of.”

“Thank goodness,” Constance replied, giving a sigh of relief.

“I thought I told you two to be quiet?” Woodphere said looking back with a thin smile.

There was a momentary silence, as they continued leisurely on their journey. Finally they saw a little glimpse of light and noticed the fog was gently lifting. Suddenly Constance tripped and stumbled.

“Are you alright?” Drinian asked, steadying her.

“Yes, I tripped over something. Shine your light over here so we can see what it is.”

“Drinian what did I trip over?” Constance asked not wanting to look. Suddenly Drinian's eyes grew wide as Woodphere came rushing up and shone his lantern quickly over the object.

“It's a skeleton,” Woodphere murmured.

“A human skeleton?” Constance asked closing her eyes.

“I’m afraid it is,” Woodphere replied.

“What could have happened? How could he have been killed?”

“Was it from old age, Woodphere?” Drinian asked.

“No, the bones are not brittle like a person of eighty. In this place anything could have happened to the poor soul. I suspect though, that he was killed by a wild animal.”

A lump swiftly filled Constance’s throat. “What type of wild animal?”

“Like I said it could have been anything, possibly a wild tiger.”

“Can we continue on? This place is making me nervous,” Constance said, gripping Drinian's hand.

“We must at least give this man a proper burial, Woodphere,” suggested Drinian.

“We should, but first we have to get to Moolow. When we return, we will bring a shovel and bury him,” Woodphere replied as they continued walking.

**************

Constance’s feet were sore and blistered by this time. A low hanging branch had cut her face, her arms and legs had been scratched by thorns and underbrush.

“Drinian how’s your arm?” Constance asked as they walked.

“It's alright. It only hurts once in a while now.”

“Good, you should dress the wound once we …” Constance said before screaming frantically.

“Constance, what’s wrong?” Drinian shouted, as he turned to face Constance whose face was a ghastly white. A large snake was on her foot, and inching its way up her leg.

“Constance be still for a moment, then shake it off! As it fell to the ground, Drinian quietly drew his sword and cut off its head.

“Are you hurt?” Drinian asked tenderly as Constance gave a slight nod in reply.

“Woodphere, come here!” Drinian shouted as he went to Constance’s side. She was rapidly losing strength, and her leg hurt terribly. Drinian eased her onto a nearby log as Woodphere came rushing up.

“This is not good,” Woodphere said as he examined the bite closely. “Drinian bring me my knife. It’s in my satchel and start a fire as quickly as possible!” Woodphere ripped the bottom seam from his shirt, and bound the injury while Drinian retrieved the knife along with a worn blanket.

Constance was sitting very still with her head in her hands. Her leg was beginning to swell and she was chilling as Drinian started a blazing fire. Moments later he wrapped a blanket around Constance, sat down, and put his arm around her shoulders. Constance lay her head against Drinian and closed her eyes.

“What kind of snake was it, Woodphere? I didn’t notice, I was so intent on killing it.”

“It was a copperhead, one of the most poisonous snakes in Avonea,” Woodphere replied.

Drinian's eyes grew large with concern, “What are we going to do?”

“I'm going to try to remove as much poison as possible, which is really all we can do.”

Drinian looked down into Constance’s pale face that rested on his shoulder, lightly patting her cheek trying to awaken her, but she did not respond.

“She must have passed out because of the pain. At least she will not feel when I remove the poison,” Woodphere said, as he heated the knife over the fire.

Drinian closed his eyes in prayer as Woodphere carefully began to work on the bite.
Please God let Constance be alright. I do not know what I would do if she died. Please God, you have to heal her. I feel responsible for this happening. If I only would have picked the other trail, maybe things would have turned out better
!

“I think I got all I can, let’s get her to Moolow quickly. I'm sure he has something to help her.” Woodphere said as he finished bandaging her leg.

“What if we get there too late?” Drinian pointed out.

“We have to hope for the best.”

“How long will it take to get there?” Drinian asked.

“Since we are walking, it take at least an hour.” Woodphere replied.

“We don’t have that much time,” Drinian whispered, his eyes full of concern.

“Your right Your Majesty, we need help for her now!”

“Woodphere, do you have any medical herbs with you?”

“No Your Majesty, Why?”

“I remember from one of my lessons about plants and herbs that can be used to treat animal bites. I remember that forget-me-not is supposed to help venomous animal bites. Do you happen to have any?”

“No, I only have cooking herbs. But wait, I remember Elaine packed something for blisters or cuts,” Woodphere exclaimed as he ran to look in his satchel.

“Did you find anything Woodphere?” Drinian asked, laying Constance gently on the ground.

“Yes, I only have a little. What do I do with it?” Woodphere replied, struggling to remain calm.

“You put it in hot water, boil it, and apply it directly to the wound.”

“Yes, Your Majesty, I'll grab one of our kettles to boil the water.”

Constance remained still as Drinian looked upon her delicate face with a worried expression. “Woodphere, please hurry!”

It seemed like hours passed while remedy finished boiling. Finally Woodphere unwrapped the cloth from the wound, poured on the mixture, and quickly rebound it.

“How long until it starts working?” Woodphere asked Drinian.

“I cannot remember,” Drinian sighed in despair. “What shall we do now? Should we keep going to Moolow’s?”

“No, we should keep her still, and hopefully she begin improving,” Woodphere replied.

“What if it doesn’t work, and she gets worse?”

“Let’s not even think of that! Pray and have faith that she will get better.”

**************

An hour had passed Constance was beginning to regain color, and the swelling in her leg was subsiding. Slowly she opened and closed her eyes for everything was terribly blurry.

“Constance!” Drinian exclaimed in a relieved voice as Woodphere rushed over to her side.

“Oh .., I'm sorry did I doze off?”

“It was a little more than that,” Woodphere replied.

“Oh, now I remember! I got a snake bite didn't I?”

“Indeed you did, and if it were not for Drinian's quick thinking…

“How does your leg feel?” Drinian asked.

“It’s still sore, but it’s feeling much better.”

“As long as it feels better, that is a good sign,” Woodphere replied.

“What kind of snake was it?” Constance asked as she sat up.

“A copperhead snake, which is very poisonous,” Drinian answered.

“Do you think that's what killed that man?” Constance asked.

“Possibly. If you do not get help for a snake bite right away, it can be fatal. You are a most fortunate young lady,” Woodphere said as he stood.”

“Yes, I am truly grateful. Can we get going now? I've delayed us long enough.”

“You should rest a little, until you regain some strength,” Woodphere cautioned.

“It’s alright Woodphere, I feel much stronger,” Constance replied.

“Are you positive?”

“Yes I will be fine, and besides we aren’t far from Moolow now.”

“Here is a walking stick Constance. See if this helps,” Woodphere said, handing her a sturdy looking limb.

“That is perfect, thank you. Now, when I get home, how am I ever going to explain this snake bite to my uncle?”

“Tell him the truth,” Drinian suggested.