The Gatekeeper's Daughter

Two New Knights

www.gatekeepersdaughter.com

Now available for you in Kindle and trade paperback formats on Amazon.com

Also the sequel (book 2 of 9) has is posted here on Wattpad.  The Title is "In Darkness Deep"

Marina followed the horses and men as they led Skyla quickly through the streets. Her head was bleeding badly and Skyla was not conscious. Marina held a bandage in place to stem the flow of blood that ran across Skyla's beautiful face.

Quickly they came to a small tent near what was a stable, and had been converted to a hasty field hospital. Not yet choked with many wounded, the surgeons took Skyla immediately onto a small bed made of straw and covered with a raggedly cut white cloth. They laid her gently down, Marina checking her pulse.

The chief surgeon was a man named Thurman Wise. He was introduced very briefly by one of the soldiers, who then left Marina in the company of the surgeon and the Orderlies. The Surgeon was a middle aged man, of lean and tall build. He had a warm and calming influence from the very first moment. His art was widely known by anyone who studied healing. Marina had of course known of him, but had never met him.

"She was struck by a large stone on the head. Her helmet warded off most of the blow, but she was still struck very hard. She has a pulse, but it is weak." Marina offered quickly. "You have some skill with healing?" Dr. Wise asked as he began to examine Skyla.

"Yes, some." Marina replied before continuing. "She is Skyla Barius, daughter of the King of Argoss." She stated, knowing that such proffer would no doubt yield a positive response from the doctor in terms of the attention he gave her. Yet the doctor seemed unfazed by the information which intrigued Marina.

The doctor looked into Skyla's closed eyes by opening them gently with his fingers. He felt along her wound on her head and checked the pulse nearest her neck. He felt the back of Skyla's neck and where the lower jaw connects to the head. He looked in her mouth and briefly looked for places where there may have been a wound that was not visible in the way of blood spots or for some shaft of arrow sticking out.

He looked to Marina and said. "Her condition is serious, but I believe I can help her." The doctor said as he stood up. "She has a fracture of her skull. I will have to perform a procedure to let the blood out of her head so that she will not die."

Not knowing what Marina would make of his statement he waited for her response.

Marina looked at Skyla and at the Dr. Wise and said; "I will watch you, so that I may learn this technique." Dr. Wise said nothing, he simply motioned to his two orderlies who placed Skyla on a litter and took her hastily into the tent. The tent was small, but enough for perhaps three of four operations to be conducted at once. There was a soldier there being treated for an arrow to the meaty part of his thigh by another surgeon.

Dr. Wise had Skyla placed on a high table and had her head placed into a U shaped brace that cradled her head while leaving the top of her head exposed. With skill and speed Dr. Wise cleared Skyla's scalp of some if her hair with a very sharp knife, and did so without cutting her skin. Marina thought to herself how angry Skyla was going to be to have a bald spot on the crown of her head.

Next the doctor rinsed the wound with a clear liquid that smelled of grain alcohol. He then took a towel that had been in a bucket of ice and placed it over the wound for a brief time. Using a small chunk of ice he held in his hand against the wound, he rubbed the swollen area of the skin, he explained that it would help to reduce the swelling and the bleeding. He also explained the Marina that head wounds bleed much worse than they actually are in many cases. It was true in this case as the actual break in the ski was much smaller than Marina had supposed.