'I was thinking of going in a few days. Maybe now I'll wait a while,' Ayla said. 'But yes, I do plan to go.'
'I think you should take this with you,' Jeviva said, carefully wrapping the food remains, splinters, fire-making equipment and waterbag in the cloak, and stuffing the cloak back in the carrier pouch, 'and tell Zelandoni where you found it.'
'Can you walk?' the older hunter said.
Ayla tried to stand, and felt overcome with vertigo. For a moment everything went dark and she fell back. Wolf whimpered and licked her face.
'Stay there,' the older hunter said. 'Come on, Lorigan. We need to make a litter to carry her.'
'If I rest, I think I can walk,' Ayla said.
'No, I don't think you should,' Jeviva said, then to the hunters, 'I'll wait with her until you come back with the litter.'
Ayla sat back against a stone, feeling grateful. Maybe she could have walked all the way to the Ninth Cave, but she was glad she wouldn't have to. 'Perhaps you're right, Jeviva. I seem to get a little dizzy now and then.'
'No wonder,' Jeviva said under her breath. She had noticed a fresh blood stain on the stone when Ayla tried to stand up. I think she lost a baby in there, the woman thought. What a terrible sacrifice to make to become Zelandoni, but she's not a cheat, not like that Madroman.
'Ayla? Ayla? Are you awake?'
Ayla opened her eyes and saw a blurry image of Marthona looking down at her with concern.
'How do you feel?'
Ayla thought about it. 'I hurt. All over,' she said in a hoarse whisper.
'I hope I didn't wake you. I heard you talking — maybe you were dreaming. Zelandoni warned me this might come. She didn't think it would be so soon, but she said it was possible. She told me not to stop you, and she told me not to let Wolf follow you, but she gave me some tea to fix for you when you came back.' She had a steaming cup of liquid, but put it down to help prop Ayla up.
The tea was hot, but not too hot, and Ayla was grateful when she felt it slide down her throat. She was still thirsty, but she lay back down, too tired to sit up. Her head started to clear. She was in her dwelling, in her own bed. She looked around and saw Wolf beside Marthona. He whined with concern and drew closer to her. She reached out to touch him and he licked her hand.
'How did I get here?' she asked. 'I don't remember much after I got out of the cave.'
'The hunters carried you here on a stretcher. They said you tried to walk, and then fainted. You ran down from your watching place and apparently all the way to the Deep Hollow of Fountain Rocks. You weren't yourself and went in without a fire or anything. When Forason came and told me you had come out, I couldn't get there. I've never felt so useless in my life,' Marthona said.
'I'm just glad you're here, Marthona,' Ayla said, then closed her eyes again.
The next time she opened her eyes, only Wolf was there, keeping a vigil beside her bed. She smiled at him, reached over to pat his head, and scratched under his chin. He put his paws on the bed and tried to edge closer, close enough to lick her face. She smiled again, then pushed him away and tried to sit up. The groan of pain was involuntary, but it brought Marthona in a hurry.
'Ayla! What's wrong?' she said.
'I didn't know so many parts of me could hurt at the same time,' Ayla said. The look of concern on Marthona's face was so strong, it was almost a caricature, and brought a smile to the young woman's face. 'But I think I'll live.'
'You have bruises and scrapes all over, but I don't think anything is broken,' Marthona said.
'How long have I been here?'
'More than a day. You got here yesterday, late in the afternoon. The sun went down not long ago.'
'How long was I gone?' Ayla asked.
'I don't know when you went into the cave, but from the time you left here until you got back, it was more than three days, almost four.'
Ayla nodded. 'I have no sense of the time that passed at all. I remember parts, some very clearly. It feels like something I dreamed, but different.'
'Are you hungry? Thirsty?' Marthona asked.
'I'm thirsty,' Ayla said, then felt an overwhelming dryness, as though the saying of it made her realise how dehydrated she was. 'Very thirsty.'
Marthona left and came back with a waterbag and a cup to drink from. 'Do you want to sit up, or should I just prop up your head?'
'I'd rather try to sit up.'
She rolled on her side, trying to muffle her groans, then got up on one elbow, breaking through a scab that had been forming over a bad scrape, and pushed herself up to sit on the edge of the bed platform. She felt a moment of dizziness, but it passed. She was more surprised at how much she hurt inside. Marthona poured water in the cup and Ayla took it in both hands. She drank it down without stopping, then held it out for more. She seemed to remember gulping down water from a waterbag when she first came into the light. She finished the second cup only a little more slowly.
'Are you hungry yet? You haven't had anything to eat,' Marthona said.
'My stomach hurts,' Ayla said.
'I imagine it does,' Marthona said, looking away.
Ayla frowned. 'Why should my stomach hurt?'
'You're bleeding, Ayla. You probably have cramps, and more.'
'Bleeding? How can I be bleeding? I've missed three moontimes, I'm pregnant … Oh, no!' Ayla cried. 'I've lost the baby, haven't I?'
'I think so, Ayla. I'm not expert in those things, but every woman knows you can't be pregnant and bleed at the same time, at least not as much as you have. You were bleeding when you came out, and a lot since then. I think it may take a while for you to gain your strength. I'm sorry, Ayla. I know you wanted this baby,' Marthona said.
'The Mother wanted her more,' Ayla said in a dry monotone of grief-stricken shock. She lay back down and stared up at the underside of the limestone overhang. She didn't even realise when she fell asleep again.
The next time she woke, Ayla had a strong urge to pass water. It was obviously nighttime, dark, but several lamps were burning. She looked around and saw Marthona asleep on some cushions beside the bed platform. Wolf was beside the old woman with his head up, looking at her. He's got two of us to worry and watch over now, she thought. She rolled to her side and pulled herself up again, sitting on the bed platform for a while before she tried to get up. She was stiff, and still sore and achy, but she felt stronger. Carefully, she eased herself to her feet. Wolf stood up, too. She signalled him down again, then took a step toward the night basket near the entrance.
She wished she had thought to take some changes of absorbent padding with her. She had been bleeding quite heavily. As she started back to her sleeping place, Marthona approached, bringing her a change.
'I didn't mean to wake you,' Ayla said.
'You didn't. Wolf did, but you should have. Would you like some water? I also have some stew, if you're ready to eat,' Marthona said.
'Water would be nice, and maybe a little stew,' Ayla said, returning to the night basket to change to clean padding. Movement had eased her soreness.
'Where do you want to eat? In bed?' the woman asked as she limped to the cooking area. She, too, was stiff and sore. Her sleeping place and position had not been good for her arthritis.
'No, I'd rather sit at the table.' Ayla went into the cooking area and poured a little water into a small basin bowl, then rinsed her hands and using a small absorbent leather scrap wiped off her face. She was sure Marthona had cleaned her up a little, but she wanted to take a nice, refreshing swim with some soaproot. Maybe in the morning, she thought.
The stew was cold, but tasty. Ayla thought she'd be able to eat several bowls of it when she took the first few bites, but she filled up sooner than she thought. Marthona made them both some hot tea and joined Ayla at the table. Wolf slipped outside while the two women were up, but was back before very long.
'Did you say Zelandoni expected that I would do something?' Ayla asked.
'She didn't really expect it. She just thought it was possible.'
