Vale

Chapter Two: Tag

        “Who is this?” Maggie asked from across the room. She had a book in her hand, like usual, and was lounging on her bed. The great thing about Maggie was that she sacrificed half of her room as a sick bay. The half that her bed was on looked exactly like a normal bedroom, save for the copious amounts of books. The half that Tag was on had rows and rows of cots lining the floor. There was a wardrobe full of medicines and oils and wound dressings. A wooden box pushed against the wall housed extra blankets and pillows. She even set up curtains strung from the walls to hide contagious people or exceptionally wounded people.

        “I don’t know.”  Tag found the box with bedding and brought Rain a pillow. The second he had placed her on one of the cots, she had fallen asleep. She looked pale and weak and Tag was afraid for her. Maggie would heal her, sure, but what was Arreon going to do with her? The Prince was a ruthless person.

        “Where did she come from?” Maggie was beside him, staring down at her. “She’s very pretty.”

        “I don’t know; I found her like this in Shadow. She said her name was Rain.” Tag reached down and brushed a red curl from the girl’s face. “She is pretty,” he agreed.

        Maggie sat on the side of the cot and examined Rain. Tag flinched and had to look away when she picked up Rain’s broken arm. “I think she’s dying.”

        A jolt of fear hit him. “Can you heal her?”

        Maggie nodded. “Of course. She’s a small girl; it should be fairly easy.” She reached around her neck and pulled a necklace from her bosom. It was a simple piece of jewelry that the Princess always wore. Hanging at the end of a thin silver chain was a thick piece of worn leather about four inches long. Maggie gingerly placed the leather between her teeth and bit down. She placed one hand on Rain’s head and the other on her mangled arm. Then the Princess closed her eyes and started to shake.

        Tag looked away, always hating what healing did to Maggie. She was feeling every ping of pain that Rain had felt. Every bruise, broken bone, cut. The Princess had to feel it all in order to heal. Nine times out of ten, when she was finished, the Princess would fall backwards and shake uncontrollably for a good minute. The first time Tag had seen Maggie do this, when she was maybe six years old, he had felt so sorry for her. But Maggie had sat right back up after the shaking stopped. She had smiled, examined her work, and moved on to the next person that needed healing.

        “Well, she was an easy one,” Maggie admitted.

        Tag turned back towards the cot and smiled. Rain looked so much better and the Princess hadn’t lost consciousness.

        “She should be on her feet in a few hours.” Maggie reached into a bucket of water and cleaned her hands. Tag noticed the leather piece swinging from her neck. There as a small indentation of her teeth on it. Healing Rain must have been painful.

        Maggie dried her hands and picked up Rain’s arm. It was no longer broken and had full rotation at the elbow and wrist. She smiled, satisfied with her work and Rain made a soft moaning sound.

        “Arreon is going to take her once she’s awake.” Tag sat down on a cot near Rain. “I don’t think I want to let him.”

        “Why don’t you clean her up?” Maggie threw a rag at him and slid the bucket she had cleaned her hands in over to Rain’s cot. “I don’t think we can afford to disobey any type of direct orders from my brother like that.”

        He dunked the rag and carefully dabbed at Rain’s forehead. He really didn’t want to wake her up. She looked so peaceful. “You’re the Princess; can’t you override him?”

        “Ha!” Maggie sat back down on her bed. “My brother is the heir. I can’t override him or any other man in the Diamond. You know that as well as I do.” She picked her book back up and flipped through until she found the page she was on. “Why would you protect a girl you don’t even know anyway?”

        As the blood was mopped away, Tag got to see Rain’s clean face for the first time. She was even prettier than he thought. So different from everyone who lived Burn. “I don’t know.”

        “Just do me and the twins a favor and don’t stir things with Arreon. We aren’t ready to leave yet and neither are you.”

        “But she looks so fragile. Arreon is going to rip her apart.”

        “Why do you care?”                                  

        “I think I like her,” he blurted out.

        Maggie sat up straighter and gave Tag a confused look. “You don’t know her. Has she even said one word to you?”

        “Yes,” he said defensively. He liked the sound of her soft voice and her strange, curly red hair. It was so short and so different. Even her name made him smile.

        “Tag, I am your biggest supporter when it comes to women; I truly am. Ellette was a wonderful girl and I was just as heartbroken as you were when she passed.”

        “I don’t want to have this conversation.” Tag dabbed the last of the blood off of Rain’s neck and dropped the pink rag into the bucket.

        “I don’t believe a day has gone by that you haven’t thought about her.”

        “You would be right,” he said reluctantly.

        “Do you really think you’re ready to move on?”

        Tag sighed. “Maybe after this war.” He paused and rephrased. “Maybe if I’m still alive after this war.”

        Maggie nodded. “It’s looking more and more doubtful every day.”

        Tag put a blanket over Rain’s stiff body and went to sit next to Maggie on her bed. “Do you think we’re doing the right thing?” he asked solemnly. “Do you really believe that you can just walk away? From everything?

        Maggie looked confused for a moment. “Can you? You’re leaving your home as well, Tag.”

        “No,” he shook his head. “This place isn’t my home anymore. And the only people I would miss are you and the twins. I’m not losing anything with this decision.”

        “Neither am I,” Maggie said stubbornly. “I made my decisions the second I found out exactly what happened to my mother. And Tag, I know you may not be leaving behind a home, but you are leaving behind your family.”

        Tag got up and left the room without saying a word.