CHAPTER TWELVE
THIRST
Rush drifted in and out of consciousness, a strange dream-like state that was oddly comforting. He felt so tired, like he hadn’t slept in days. He’d done that before, when he was a lot younger, trying to get as many bundles ready for market as he could whilst working through the night. It hadn’t been the best idea he’d had. Most of the bundles had actually sold, but he had also ended up with a large amount left over that he had then needed to cart home again. Once they’d dried out, the reeds were still usable, but fresh always proved best. People loved the smell of the cut reeds. The scent made your home feel a little more, well, homely, he supposed.
He was probably getting cynical as he grew older, though. The smell was so familiar now that he’d forgotten how much folk liked it. It was all too easy to overlook the good things in your life and focus only on the bad. Right now, though, he did have a focus, one that made him feel warm inside. Rush smiled to himself and sighed, thinking back to those large purple eyes. How he could have gazed at them for hours; they made his heart sing like a meadow lark in spring. If he was truly honest with himself, he hadn’t felt like this since… ever, really.
Rush hated weakness, at least in himself at any rate. He’d always pushed himself and worked hard, dedicating himself to his work, regardless of whether it was practicing healing or reed-working. It was all the same to him. It was the strange dream he’d had of the girl, the one with the sleek white leg and gentle voice, the kindly… hoof? Nah! He chuckled to himself. Ah, he really had become the ‘madman of the hills’ after all, living in a delusionary world he’d conjured up in his addled mind. Still, if he could see her again, he wouldn’t mind so much being a little… unhinged.
What tickled at the back of his mind was how familiar she’d seemed, that pure white leg, or arm, or whatever. It didn’t matter particularly, but then, if he awoke and she wasn’t there, what then? The thought of her not being there… By the gods, he couldn’t bear the thought of that. Maybe, just maybe, what he had seen had actually been one of the forest spirits or even one of the gods that had come to help him in his hour of need.
He smiled. It was a foolish notion. He didn’t believe in that whole ‘spirit and god’ superstition anyway. That was the sort of nonsense those twits in the village were obsessed with, lighting their incense and saying prayers to someone or something that didn’t exist in the first place. Did they? Now he wasn’t so sure.
The needs of his body suddenly assailed him, a raging thirst grabbing him as he drifted back into a near-conscious state. He was so thirsty…
Rush was dimly aware of cooling water splashing on his face and then a gentle voice, from what felt like a mile away, caressing his ears. Try as he might, he couldn’t make out the words, but now something was lifting his head. There was a sense of warmth, like soft lips, pressing against his, water trickling into his parched mouth and throat. Rush drank it down greedily. A few moments later, the sensation was back, more water entering him, mingling together with a spicy aroma that made his heart leap. What was this?
Light, faint but alluring, filtered in through his dry eyes. He had to see, he had to know, where was she? He had to help her, she—
He coughed, his voice still painfully dry. “Snow…”
“I’m here, little one. Are you still thirsty?”
It hurt so much to speak, despite the water. “Yes…Yes, please…”
The arms carefully enveloped him once more, and he was gently lifted to what felt like a cup held to his parched lips.
“Drink, slowly now… That’s right, like that.”
He took in the water carefully as she instructed. His body cried out to gulp it down, but she had commanded and he would obey her. For some reason, he couldn’t think of doing anything else when he heard that beautiful voice.
Rush felt a cloth wiping his face, recognising the herb-infused water that he’d used to help wash Snow when he’d first tended her. All thoughts of his own problems began to seem like dust in the wind when he thought of that beautiful creature. She had filled his heart, but…
“Sleep now. Rest. I will be here beside you through the night, my brave one.”
The warm arms lowered him carefully back down onto a pillow of the softest down, a warm blanket tucked in around him. Vaguely, Rush was aware of something, or someone, laying down beside him. He knew it was her. He could smell her scent, hear her breathing, in and out… in and out. She was stroking his hair and humming a tune he knew, but had never heard before. He sighed, drifting off peacefully into the world or dreams.