Sacrificial White Wives Club
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The Sacrificial Boy: Chapter 9 free porn video
A dozen riders, carrying the colors of Lord Kelvin, slowly walked their
horses along the banks of Loch Glas. One of their numbers, a King's
Healer, had spent most of her afternoon meeting with the elders and Wise
Woman of the village of Ursa, which stood on the other side of the long
lake.
For once since the whole nightmare began, Aislin had been able to bring
good news to one of the villages. The Black Stone Plague, which
continued to ravage the countryside, had yet to cross the Loch, instead
moving along the King's Road.
At least this visit had been peaceful. She shouldn't have been surprised
that rumors of the illness travelled faster than the malady itself. The
news panicked nobility and commoners alike, many shutting their doors to
strangers, some of them rather violently.
After having a horse killed underneath her by some nervous castle
bowmen, Sir Nevan insisted that Aislin start riding in full King's
Healer's colors with a heavily armed escort.
"You should assign this task to someone else, Aislin." Sir Miles looked
at the young healer with worry. Although she continued to work day and
night to heal the sick, Aislin had felt she needed to speak to other
villages to calm their fears.
Now garbed with the sun burst tunic, and silver chain of her mother's
old office, Aislin yawned into her hand. Unfortunately, sleep brought no
rest as her nights continued to bring more troubling dreams.
"Who do you suggest? My grandmother cannot leave the village and Macha I
need by my side. Plus most of these villages will not allow anyone else
inside their village but a King's Healer."
"Send a messenger if you need information, someone you have already
healed." It had become common knowledge that the plague did not return
after being healed by Milady Aislin.
Both Knights admired her and worried that Aislin pushed herself too
relentlessly, spending half a day in the saddle, while filling her
mornings and evenings with healing.
"Miles, I need more than information. Remember many of these Wise Women
possess years of experience that I just don't have. And don't forget
Mistress Olina of Riverwatch discovered the use for the Green Willow,
not I?"
A rare plant, usually ingested to calm the nerves, a side effect of
drinking a bitter tea made of the leaves had been to slow the progress
of the illness in the most seriously ill. Even though the plant's
supplies were limited, the tree only being found along the coast, it had
given Aislin extra time to heal those afflicted.
"By the gods of battle, woman, you're a stubborn one." The Knight
growled. Although Sir Nevan ruled the lands in his father's absence,
when it came to a plague a King's Healer word was law.
"Don't think we haven't had the same argument with her, Sir Miles."
Macha laughed, pulling her horse forward to walk alongside the pair.
Deciding to change the subject, Aislin asked. "Has Constable Sinclair
discovered anything more about the destruction of Kilrush or the missing
armsmen?"
Sadly, she hoped that the townspeople's lives had been taken by some
natural calamity. What concerned Sir Nevan, the men, who brought back
the shocking news of the town's demise, also brought the news that the
stone never reached its destination.
"Not much but he plans on sending another detachment to search the
ruins. Thanks to you, we now have men who are fit enough to travel."
"Perhaps they can arrange for a merchant to supply us with more of the
Green Willow leaf?" Macha asked.
Miles nodded. "Might be a little difficult with the Bann in place but I
will speak with Nevan."
News of the illness had finally arrived at the ducal palace. His Grace
wasted no time in placing a Bann on all of Lord Kelvin's lands. No one
could enter or leave without the permission of the Duke, which included
Lord Kelvin himself now trapped outside his own lands.
"What about the young girls that have gone missing?" Aislin hesitated to
ask. Already it had become somewhat rare to see young women in the
village streets, their families keeping them indoors.
"Beyond rumors and stories, nothing; although thankfully there have only
been a few incidents lately." Except for the fact that only Aislin had
the ability to heal the sick, if Sir Miles had his way, he would have
already placed the two women in the nearest tower for their own
protection.
"Have you heard all of the rumors?" Macha whispered noting the
uncomfortable looks of the armsmen that surrounded them.
For most, even talking about the black shadow was considered bad luck.
The plague had begun with the unearthing of a relic of the Black
Sorceress, who knew what other evils would now befall them.
"I wish I could do something to stop it." Aislin commented to none one
in particular. Plenty of rumors circulated about a cat like shadow
hunting the villages at night. With her newfound ability to influence
the spirit, if confronted by such a creature, she would try to bind it.
"Aislin, please don't say that, you're doing enough already, any more...."
Macha, who was sick with worry for the way the woman she loved pushed
herself, had to stop herself from yelling.
Aislin looked at her beloved then nodded however, there was a fire in
the King's Healer's eyes that the young apprentice did not miss.
Throwing her hands up in disgust, Macha growled. "You're right Sir
Miles, she is stubborn."
++++++++++
Dismounting in front of her grandmother's cottage, all Aislin wanted to
do was to fall asleep in her own bed. She knew that there were still a
number of villagers, some newly sick that needed her attention but she
didn't have the strength.
"Sir Miles, I don't think you really you need all of these armsmen to
watch over one lone healer." Aislin gave the young Knight an amused
look. From what she gathered, Miles appeared to be leaving her entire
escort in the village.
"You're still planning on staying the night."
Aislin nodded, stifling a yawn. "Yes, I need to spend the morning in the
village seeing to those that are ill. Don't worry, I'll be returning to
the castle in the afternoon."
"You have a meeting with the village elders of Whiteflow tomorrow
afternoon." Macha reminded her love, as she dismounted from her own
horse.
"Evening then." Aislin looked up at the Knight and smiled.
"No chance of you sleeping in late tomorrow then?" Miles asked half-
jokingly. No matter how the King's Healer tried to hide it, Aislin
looked like she was going to fall over most days now. At least once
today the Knight had caught her sleeping in the saddle.
"Sounds lovely." Aislin had to stifle another yawn.
Sir Miles looked down at the young woman affectionately. He had grown
rather fond of Aislin the last few weeks and the thought of marriage for
social and financial gain didn't seem so interesting anymore.
Still if Sir Miles had been honest with himself from the start, there
had never been a real chance that he could have taken Aislin for his
wife. Besides his cousin's obvious interest, Milady Aislin was a King's
Healer.
Throughout the Kingdom, all knew that a King's Healers regardless of
rank were considered wards of the King. Historically those marriages
became quite a political affair often times than not, made with the sons
of the upper nobility. Nevan would be a good choice; a landless Knight
like himself had no chance at all.
"I'll be back with your escort tomorrow." Sir Miles twisted in his
saddle, ordering three of his men to remain.
Aislin didn't bother to argue about the guards, thanking them as the
armsmen gathered all of their horses, leading them to the villages
stable. "Don't you have other things to do than escort me all over Lord
Kelvin's land?"
"Actually no, right now you're my sole responsibility. I would also like
to point out, as the one responsible for you, I am not happy you're
planning on spending the night in this village." Miles leaned over in
the saddle. "That cottage of yours won't protect you from some shadow
looking for you."
Aislin shrugged, she wasn't too sure of that. So far only Macha knew she
had recently gained several new abilities including creating wards.
Although unable to repeat that particular feat, the Sprit Healer had
been able to cast a rather large circle around the entire cottage. Even
more surprising, this morning Aislin had been able to see water
elementals called Undines playing on the shores of Loch Glas.
"I'll be fine Miles. I have Macha to protect me."
Ina's young apprentice smiled at that statement, while noted a number of
villagers that seemed to be moving towards the healer's cottage. "I see
your presence, Aislin, has been noted."
The Knight stood on his stirrups to get a better look at the crowd,
half-tempted to order them back to their homes.
"We'll be fine. See, Mistress Ina is also with them" Macha started
pushing Aislin into the cottage. "Go, I'll take care of this."
Even with the King's Healer now safely inside, Sir Miles didn't like the
thought of leaving Aislin with these villagers. "Keep her safe Macha."
"With my life."
++++++++++
Ina looked up as Aislin returned from the back bedroom after removing
the King's Healer regalia. The Wise Woman couldn't believe how much her
grandchild had changed in the last couple of weeks.
Gone was the quiet, unassuming boy who tried to not stand out, replaced
by a blossoming young woman, who during a time of crisis had stepped
forward to take charge.
Ina wasn't sure she could have done as well, managing all of the
personalities involved. From the nobility, merchants unable to leave the
lands, to village elders, to Wise Women they now all looked to Aislin
for advice and aid. Ina wished that Aislin's parents were alive, they
would be very proud of what she had accomplished in such a short time.
"You're not getting enough rest." Ina kissed her grandchild's head while
setting down a cup of tea in front of her.
Macha gave her beloved the eye. She knew that Aislin's sleep had been
troubled but had refused to speak with her grandmother about the
problem. She needed to stop worrying about others and take care of
herself for once.
With a sigh, Aislin reached for the cup of red berry tea. "No, I keep
waking up in the middle of the night."
"Bad dreams." Macha explained.
"I don't understand. You're having nightmares?" Ina frowned, looking at
her apprentice for confirmation.
"You can call them that." Aislin said evasively.
"Aislin, if you won't tell her then I will." Macha said somewhat
testily. She knew that her love didn't want to worry her grandmother but
without sleep there was no way Aislin could continue at this pace.
Finally relenting, the raven-haired beauty explained to her grandmother
the reoccurring dreams that continue to haunt her sleep.
"The dream where all the Kingdoms end up covered in blood is the most
disturbing." Aislin looked down at her teacup, surprised to find it
empty. "You don't seem too surprised."
"No, you are touching the Spirit Realm daily now; Diviners and Dreamers
are very similar. Although Diviners normally have their visions while
awake."
"I think I'll pass on that, it's bad enough having them while asleep."
Aislin rolled her eyes at the smug look on Macha's face. "Yes, you're
right, I should have told my grandmother sooner."
"Yes, you should have. Now every night before bed, you need to drink one
cup of tea mixed with a silver sage leaf. It should help you sleep." Ina
laughed at the face her grandchild made. Silver sage had an extremely
sour taste.
The Wise Woman could still remember as a young Court Healer, another
young woman, who didn't like silver sage, who also had trouble sleeping
because of dreams. At least she remembered what that noble woman drank
to help her at night.
"Once this crisis has past, I believe you need to stand before the full
Council and speak to them about those dreams of yours."
"Mistress Ina, from what you have told me they weren't too interested in
meeting with Aislin, much less speaking with her." Macha said, concerned
for her beloved.
"True, but this time they will listen." Ina said with some satisfaction
remembering how the Council of Elder's treated her grandchild. She left
their number in disgust, as the group was more afraid of their own
positions than doing what was right. With Aislin's newfound gifts and
the rank of a King's Healer, they would have no choice but acknowledge
her.
Relieved that her grandmother wasn't too angry, Aislin decided to bring
up something that had been bother her for some time.
"Gram, I know you didn't want to ask but I spoke with Sir Nevan about
sending word to the Duke for help. Although you don't believe it to be
true, another King's Healer might possess similar skills to heal the
Spirit."
With the plague spreading to two more villages on the Kings Road, Aislin
was under no illusion that her ability to heal everyone was long past.
"I wish you would have waited but I still don't think any of them will
be able to help. My child, you have a very unique gift."
"Even so, why should we not ask for help? I wanted to do this last week
and you told me to wait."
"Because you need to prove your worth, to show that you are no threat to
the Kingdom."
Standing up, obviously annoyed at the direction the conversation was
going, the raven-haired beauty approached her grandmother. "What? How
could I be a threat to anyone, much less a Kingdom?"
"Please Aislin, listen to me this is important." Ina took the tea cup
from her granddaughter's hand and set it down on table in front of her.
"I know I have kept secrets from you..."
"All my life."
"Yes, all your life and I'm sorry but I made a promise long ago to keep
you safe."
Aislin closed her eyes. She didn't want to fight with her grandmother
but she was sickly tired of all of her secrets. "To whom...my parents?"
"No, your grandmother."
"What?"
"Please Aislin, I promise you once Lord Kelvin returns, we will all sit
down and tell you about your past. It's well beyond the time. But I
can't, at least not right now. All it will do is confuse and trouble
you."
"More than I already am?" Aislin turned away, she knew she needed to go
to bed but there was little chance she was going to sleep, silver sage
or not. "I'm going for a walk."
Before exiting the cottage, she stopped. "Gram, I don't regret asking
for help. No one deserves to die just because you want to play
politics."
"Aislin." Ina called out to her granddaughter, but she had already left
disappearing into oncoming night.
++++++++++
As she left the cottage, the King's Healer felt three large forms walk
up next to her matching her pace. "Good evening armsmen, Seamus, Kirk
and Argyle am I right?"
The three men grinned, pleased that the Milady had remembered their
names.
"A little late to be walking around." Seamus, the largest of the three
guards voiced his concern.
Like the rest of the escort, he had overheard the discussion this
afternoon about women who had vanished. No coward, the armsman just
didn't believe that his spear would be any use against a creature from
the Spirit Realm.
"Don't worry, I'm visiting a friend. I'll be returning home before it
gets too dark."
The main reason she returned to the village had been to visit her friend
Renn, who had come down with the illness the day before. Aislin had
already healed Renn's mother, Mistress Aoife, late last week and she
thought that Renn might not catch the illness. Unfortunately, Aislin
didn't have the strength to heal her friend tonight but planned on it
first thing in the morning.
As she made her way to Renn's cottage, Aislin noted that for the most
part people remained indoors, especially young women. Still, a number of
villagers came up to her either to thank her for her healing, or to ask
when one of their loved ones would be healed.
"Milady Aislin, it's nice to see you up and about."
Lost in thought, Aislin didn't even see the village headman's wife Seara
approach, followed by small group of other village wives.
"Good evening, Mistress Seara." Aislin turned around; putting on the
best smile, she could at the moment. She had not seen Rowena's mother in
quite some time, which for her was no great loss. Still, Aislin didn't
know why but something odd was going on.
"May I ask where are you going tonight?"
Aislin wondered why the concern. "I'm off to visit Renn."
"I'm sorry, we cannot permit that."
"Excuse me?" There was a fire in the King's Healers voice that the women
in the village had not heard before. Her escorts on the other hand, made
a note of it becoming instantly on guard.
"She is not that ill. We have more deserving people to be taken care of
first."
"That's right." One of the other women stepped forward giving the three
guards a look of contempt. "No worse than what our good lords have been
doing right. Letting us villagers suffer while they take care of their
own first."
Another woman stepped forward. "Right, so now we will decide who will be
healed."
"Or not." The village headman's wife gave a half smile, looking at the
rest of the women for support. "None of us wish the child harm, but
right now, she is nothing but a burden on her family and really the
entire village. In fact, if she died from this illness it would be best
for everyone."
Something inside Aislin snapped. Too tired to care, too tired seeing the
dead of those she didn't have the strength to heal, too tired hearing
from those who put themselves before others, Aislin stepped forward and
slapped Mistress Seara across the face.
"How dare you say such things, Renn has nothing but love to give to
those around her and you find it a burden. She has always been my friend
even when all of you lashed out at both of us with scorn; she always has
never spoken an ill word to anyone least of all me."
"That's because she doesn't know any better." Seara looked at the King's
Healer with nothing but hatred in her eyes.
Leaning forward, Aislin got into the woman's face and spoke in a fierce
whisper. "I don't know what problem you had with my mother, nor do I
care. Even with how you have treated my family, I was more than happy to
take care of yours. So don't tell me who I can or cannot heal."
Aislin stepped back looking into the eyes of every other women. "Know
this; I will heal who I will, when I will. No one in this village has
any say about it." And with that, the King's Healer turned on her heals,
walking away towards her friend's home.
"How dare you..." Seara started but stopped. Looking down she found the
sharp end of a spear pointing directly towards her chest.
"Mind your betters." The armsmen named Liam dropped his spear as he
looked at Seara and the rest of the group of women in disgust.
"My better, she is nothing but...
Liam raided his spear again. "I would be careful what you say next."
The King's Healer had saved his life and that of his children; the guard
was not allowing these women to speak to her in any tone of voice but
respect.
Seamus nodded to Liam in approval. "You women should know better,
besides being of noble birth Milady Aislin carries the golden disk of
the King's Healer. So watch your tongues least you lose them. Now be off
with you, before I turn you over to the Constable."
What the guards missed was the satisfied smile on Seara face as she
walked away.
Moments later, the third guard came running back, intercepting the two
approaching the cottage. "Go find Mistress Ina."
With the guardsmen right behind them, Ina and her apprentice ran to the
small cottage of Mistress Aoife, who stood outside looking worried.
"Hurry." She turned running inside.
Macha's chest filled with panic, almost screamed as the group entered
the back bedroom to find Aislin collapsed on the bed.
"What happened?" Ina quickly walked up to her grandchild, her healing
senses looking to see what was wrong.
Renn, holding the King's Healer in her arms, looked up with a concerned
look. Sounding much younger than her fourteen years, she said in a
whisper. "Don't be so loud you'll wake her."
"What happened?" Macha too started to look over the unconscious healer.
"I wasn't feeling well..." Renn said with a frown.
"I had hoped Renn had escaped the illness but as you know, last night
she wasn't feeling well. Then this morning Ina when you visited, she
appeared a little worse but not that bad. But during dinner, she fell
asleep while eating. She hadn't eaten anything and her color was so bad.
Ina, I was afraid she wouldn't wake in the morning."
The Wise Women looked over to Mistress Aoife with concern "Why didn't
you send word to us?"
Looking surprised, Renn's mother answered. "I did, I spoke with Mistress
Seara. With Niles away with Lord Kelvin, I couldn't leave my daughter
alone. She said that it would be taken care of. So when Aislin came
running into the house, I thought she came to heal Renn."
"Thank the goddess, she's only sleeping." Macha looked unhappy but
relived at the same time.
"That's what I said, silly." Renn giggled.
Ina smiled while stroking her grandchild's head. "She must have been
very concerned for you."
"I'm sorry Mistress Ina. I believed that Milady Aislin's argument with
some of the village women might also have brought this on." Liam stood
off to the side of the room, not looking very happy. He then quickly
explained exactly what transpired before Aislin's collapse.
"You don't think that Seara didn't tell you of Renn's condition on
purpose?" Aoife looked at the others in shock. She understood many in
the village didn't have use for someone who would never be more than a
child but to think that they would allow her die.
"I wouldn't be so sure." Macha spoke while holding Aislin hand.
"That's enough, Macha." Ina said. "I don't know what went on, Aoife, but
I assure you, I will be speaking with the village elders in the morning.
" Turning, the Wise Women motioned for the guards. "Seamus, be a good
boy and pick up my grandchild. We will take her back to the cottage to
sleep."
"Aislin can sleep in my bed. I don't feel sick anymore." Renn happily
moved over to make room for her friend.
"I'm sure she would like that Renn, but I think she needs to sleep in
her own bed tonight." Macha gave a small laugh.
++++++++++
Aislin had not moved even in her sleep, her body utterly exhausted.
However even in that state, a part of the young healer remained aware.
She could feel a dark presence approaching, a presence that had taken a
familiar form. At that moment, Aislin understood she was in terrible
danger.
Crawling out of a deep sleep, she slowly opened her eyes to find a thin
smoky haze filling the room. From outside the bedroom, she could hear
shouts of anger and pain. Crawling out of bed, Aislin painfully stumbled
forward to open the door to find a scene of utter confusion.
Villagers, she had known all her life stood in the center of the front
room screaming at one another. On the ground in front of her, lay one of
the guards, Kirk with an arrow sticking out of his throat. Another
armsman, Seamus, grappled with four men right outside the front door.
With her mind befuddled with lack of sleep, she failed to understand the
danger she now faced. Only upon discovering her beloved Macha lying face
down in a pool of blood, did Aislin become awake.
Ignoring the chaos around her, the King's Healer ran forward to help her
friend. However, so intent on helping Macha, she didn't see the blow
that connected with the side of her head, sending her once again into
darkness.
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