CHAPTER 868: A SIMPLE REQUEST (PART ONE)

Curing Tonnis drained Ashlynn even more than curing his mother. Part of it was because she was already tired from treating Rosie, but a greater portion of it was because the venom sank its claws more deeply into the child. In Ashlynn’s mind, if there was a miracle here, it was that young Tonnis had clung to life as fiercely as he had, but fighting back against both the venom and Lennart had clearly cost the young man what little strength he still had.

"He’s safe now," Ashlynn said, mere heartbeats before she slumped onto the bed, staring up at the stone ceiling while every fiber of her body trembled in exhaustion and remembered pain from healing two people who were so deeply poisoned.

"Ashlynn!" Zedya said, dropping her knitting and appearing at Ashlynn’s side faster than human eyes could follow. "Do you need me to carry you to the forest outside? Or one of the gardens?"

If it had been Lady Nyrielle who collapsed after using an excessive amount of sorcery, Zedya would have rushed to find someone among her personal guard who could present an offering of blood, or if it was truly excessive, she would have sought out Ashlynn to offer the potent blood of a witch.

But when Ashlynn collapsed, Zedya was at a loss for what she should do. The last time Ashlynn had pushed herself too far, on the slopes of the High Pass, the thing she needed most was to surround herself with trees that she could draw strength from, so Zedya started there, but whether or not that was the best thing, she didn’t know.

"I’m fine," Ashlynn insisted though her voice revealed just how tired she felt. "Help me into a chair. Let Rosie have the bed with Tonnis," she said, stretching out a hand to Zedya and accepting the vampire’s strength to pull her out of bed and over to the chair that Zedya herself had occupied just moments ago.

"Your Dominion," Rosie said, prostrating herself on the floor before the Saintess who had given her and Tonnis a second chance at life after Owain Lothian had them poisoned. "I have nothing worthy to thank you with," she said in a trembling voice as he mind struggled to think of how she could possibly repay the debt she owed to a woman who had done so much to save her life.

"If you wish it," Rosie offered after thinking for a handful of heartbeats. "I will serve you alongside Madame Zedya, as your handmaid or attendant," she said in a rush. "And, and when he’s old enough, then Tonnis can serve you as a knight," she added quickly. "The Pyres have been loyal guards to the Lothians for generations. Tonnis can serve you as well as..."

"Enough," Ashlynn said, raising her hand and interrupting the flustered mother. "Go hold your son, he’s more important than me, and you don’t owe me anything for doing this."

"Are you, are you sure, your Dominion?" Rosie asked, trembling on the floor, caught between her desire to rush to her son’s side and her reverence toward her savior.

"Go, hold your son," Ashlynn said with a slight smile before she turned to Zedya to ask for a cup of tea to ward off the chill that had crept into her body along with the energy she pulled from the forest.

"Tonnis," Rosie cried as she half stumbled, half leaped onto the bed next to her son. His complexion had recovered a healthy hue and his breathing was calm and steady for the first time in several weeks. His body was still thinner than it should have been and there was a frailness to him that remained even after the venom had been removed, but his heartbeat in his chest was steady and strong and there wasn’t the slightest trace of fear on his face as he slept.

"He’s weaker than you are," Ashlynn explained as Rosie held her child, gently stroking his hair and cradling him to her bosom. "Right now, he needs sleep, and in the morning, a hearty breakfast. You need one too, and a snack before bed," Ashlynn added as her own stomach grumbled at her, reminding her that she’d skipped having dinner with her coven in order to come heal Rosie and Tonnis.

"I’ll have Georg prepare something for our special guests," Zedya said as she brought Ashlynn a cup of tea. "With a snack for young master Tonnis if he wakes in the night," she added with a reassuring smile at the mother who had begun to sniffle as tears flowed from her eyes. Without a word spoken, Zedya passed the woman a small handkerchief before returning to Ashlynn’s side.

"Thank you," Rosie said as she looked from the simply dressed Saintess to the elegant lady-in-waiting. Her mind struggled to accept the idea that Lady Ashlynn could be a witch and so she skipped over the thought entirely, placing her faith in what she could see with her own two eyes and feel with her heart.

Lady Ashlynn was a kind and selfless woman with the power to cleanse the most insidious of demon poisons. If that wasn’t reason enough to think of her as a Saintess then surely no one else was worthy of the title. Whatever the Church might think didn’t matter in the face of the truth before her eyes, but she still didn’t know what she should do to repay the vast kindness she’d received.

"Your Dominion," Rosie finally worked up the courage to say. "Madame Zedya told me that you would ask something of me and that you needed my help to save others," she said, though her voice lacked confidence that there was anything she could do that the Saintess couldn’t do for herself. "Just say the words and I’ll do it, whatever you require."

She realized that it had been presumptuous of her to offer up her service and Tonnis’s as well, but when she thought about it, she truly didn’t know what else she could offer. But, if she was honest with herself, there was an extra reason that she’d offered up her service and it was the same reason that she’d suggested that Tonnis could serve as Lady Ashlynn’s knight.

It was hard to admit, even to herself, but a part of her she hadn’t realized existed wished that whatever Lady Ashlynn needed of her, it would let her strike back at the man who had poisoned her and her son. Rosie knew she was small and weak, and it would be years before Tonnis could swing a real sword and ride to battle, but for the chance to hurt the people who had attacked her family, she would do anything Saintess Ashlynn asked.