Medieval 01 - Untamed

disliked seeing his helpless brother pummeled, he had no better idea of how to rouse him.
    â€œDominic,” she said loudly, slapping him again. “Hear me. You must awaken! Simon has his back to the wall! He needs you!”
    For a moment Meg thought Dominic might have responded, but the motion was too small for her to be certain. With tears running down her face, she raised her hand and slapped him soundly once more.
    â€œLord! Your brother is wounded! The keep is under siege! Awaken now or you will never have a son!”
    Dominic’s hand twitched as though reaching for a sword, but after that single, futile movement, he lay motionless. Holding her breath, Meg waited for any further sign of response.
    There was none.
    â€œâ€™Tis no use,” she whispered. “He is too deep for mere words to reach him.”
    Simon hissed a blasphemous phrase.
    â€œQuickly,” Meg ordered without looking away from Dominic. “Lift him so that he might drink.”
    Simon pulled his brother upright. Meg held the bowl to his lips and tipped it. Liquid ran from the corners of Dominic’s mouth. His head lolled to one side, further wasting the precious medicine. Desperately, Meg tried again, but to no better effect. The metal bowl clanged against Dominic’s teeth.
    â€œNo more,” Simon said roughly, easing his brother back onto the bed. “He’s as slack as a dead eel.”
    Meg didn’t bother to answer. She put her fingertip between Dominic’s lips, slid along his teeth to the corner of his mouth, and from there behind his molars as though she were getting a horse to accept a bit.
    Dominic’s mouth opened slightly. Meg tipped in a bit of the potion, but more ran out the corner of his mouth than went behind his teeth.
    â€œHe swallowed!” Simon said eagerly.
    â€œYes, but too much is wasted. I haven’t enough to do him any good if so much is lost each time.”
    â€œHow long will it take to make more?”
    â€œA fortnight. The plants must grow. I left only enough leaves to keep the roots alive.”
    â€œGod’s eyes,” Simon hissed. “Are you certain?”
    Meg’s only answer was the slow, relentless glide of tears down her cheeks. Beneath her outward calm, the knowledge that Blackthorne Keep lived or died with Dominic was like an acid eating into her soul.
    War again. Yet God promised man that there was a time for all things under the sun. We have seen the time of hatred, of plucking up that which was sown, of battle and disease and death .
    Surely there must be a time for harvest, for babes, for love and renewal, for peace .
    More medicine trickled into Dominic’s mouth…and trickled right out again.
    With an oath, Simon stripped off his gauntlets, threw them to the floor, and began pacing like a caged wolf.
    â€œThink,” he said urgently. “There must be a way to get it down him. A spoon?”
    â€œSend for one,” Meg said.
    But there was no real hope in her voice. Dominic needed more medicine, and more quickly, than dripping in with a spoon would allow. Then she remembered another way to take—and give—liquid.
    Small falcon. Drink from my lips .
    A shudder went over Meg. The amber medicine was very potent. Even holding it in her mouth was a terrible risk. If she swallowed, she would likely die.
    And Dominic would surely die if something weren’t done. Quickly.
    â€œStay with me, Simon,” she commanded.
    Startled, he spun toward Meg.
    â€œHelp me lift Dominic just a bit,” she said.
    With Simon’s help, Meg eased one arm beneath Dominic’s head and shoulders. The coolness of his hair slid against her wrist and his head settled heavily in the crook of her arm.
    â€œHold his head tilted back,” Meg said. “No, not that much. As though he were looking up at the horizon. Aye! Hold there.”
    Any lingering uneasiness Simon might have had about the nature of the medicine Meg wanted to administer vanished when she took a mouthful of the liquid herself. She didn’t swallow. She simply opened Dominic’s mouth again and gave him a small bit of the medicine from between her ownlips, sending a few drops of liquid over his tongue so that he must swallow or choke.
    Dominic swallowed.
    â€œAye!” Simon said excitedly. “Well done!”
    Quickly Meg gave Dominic another few drops to drink from her lips. Again the drops slid over his tongue, triggering a need