The bitter cold of the winter's breeze rattled the branches of the forest's trees, the howling wind accompanying the sound of footsteps on the dirt path. The winter’s brutal cold breath chilled Ailana to her very soul, causing her to press her writhing bundle of rags closer to her chest. She looked ahead of herself, her breath smoking in the air in front of her. She ignored the snow that clung to her clothes and hair, her eyes squinting and straining through the darkness for what she had come all this way for. She let out a gasp as a freezing wind pressed in on her, squeezing the breath from her lungs as she shivered. She clutched the writhing bundle to her chest, terrified of allowing it to fall from her numb fingers. She heard an appreciative coo from the rags and she smiled bitterly as she pressed on down her lonely, cold path.
She shivered with every breath of wind nearly slipping on the snow crunching underfoot. She shielded the child in her arms from the wind as much as she could, though she found herself wishing that someone would do the same for her. Her son let out a pained gasp as she shifted his weight in her arms, as he had been doing for the few short months since his birth. She felt her heart ache as she watched the boy struggle through the cold, his little hands clutching at her clothes weakly. She steeled herself as she watched him cling onto life desperately and pushed on, her resolve growing more desperate as she felt precious seconds tick away.
Ever since her son’s birth, his health had been failing. She had watched his skin break out in welts and terrible bleeding blisters, as if he had been covered in burns. His hair had fallen out, revealing graying skin underneath. She had taken him to every single doctor in western Hospiria and ran herself ragged trying to save her son. The illness had confounded all of the doctors and healers that would see her, causing fear among the people in her village. The illness made her and her son Pariahs, shunned out of fear for his illness. She had almost been driven out of her village due to the mere sight of the baby. But, as they watched her desperately move between doctors and healers, they had finally taken pity on Ailana and her child.
The village elder, Harry, had visited her in her home, giving her the last glimmer of hope she had. He had told her of a Noble, known for her great healing magic in the northern forests, near the Beastkin. She had set out in search of this Noble a week ago, ignoring the fear all humanity had of their ancient enemy and following the paths into the snowy north in the height of winter. She prayed to all the Gods in the pantheon of both Humans and Faeries, even the souls of the former Protectors of the Nobles to save her child. She had taken the news as a message from the Gods and she had set out, her hope bundled up in the rags she carried.
A particularly stinging wind blew cold on her flesh, causing Ailana to shiver uncontrollably, disturbing her child. His hands tightened their grip on her clothes and he let out a mournful, weak moan into the night. She did her best to comfort the child as she continued on the road, the cold biting into her numb flesh. She remembered a few short months ago, when she had her healthy, strong husband and a bright, shining smile on her infant son. How she longed to hear the stories by the hearth again, to hear the giggle of her son once more. She pushed the thoughts from her mind, focusing on keeping the baby in her arms warm as she pushed through the pain and the snow.
It was then she felt her heart shatter in her frozen chest. As she came to the head of the only road north, it had split into two. She felt all her hopes succumb to the bitter cold, tears welling up in her eyes. She fell to her knees on the forked road, knowing her child would not see another sunrise. She clutched her son close to her body, the baby coughing and taking rattling breaths. She let her tears fall as she kissed her son on his bald, gray head.
“I’m sorry,” She choked out between her grieving sobs, her tears running down the baby’s scalp, “I’m so sorry.” The baby turned his proud, innocent gray eyes up to her, an odd intelligence and compassion shining in his gaze. He cooed softly as his little hands wiped the tears from her face, just as he had seen his father do before. Her heart ached as she held him closer, her tears flowing faster as her shoulders shook in her attempt to keep her sobs under control. The baby continued to try and dry her face, unaware of what was going to happen to them. Ailana cursed her hope, her foolish hope. She began sobbing out loud now, her trembling voice echoing in the cold, winter night.
“Is someone out there?” Ailana heard a feminine voice call. Her head shot up, her tears streaming down her face but her voice silent. She waited, staring down both the roads, turning about in search of the voice.
“Hello? Do you need help?” She heard again. She could see it now, a faint lantern light, shining through the snow as it came down the path to her right. She felt her longing hope jump up into her throat at the very sight of the light.
“I’m here,” She called out, loud enough to startle her child, “please help me! I have a baby!” She yelled out once more, thanking whatever God or Devil had answered her prayers. She struggled up and stood on her frozen legs, reinvigorated with her desperate hopes. She walked through the path with her son in her arms, watching the light get closer and closer. She pressed on through the cold, ignoring the pain coursing through her, her only thought on her son.
She was standing in the lantern light now, clutching her cooing child to her chest. She saw the beautiful woman behind the lantern light, approaching her fast with concern on her face. She was lithe and pale, her ears longer and slightly pointed. Her eyes were a shining, pale green in the light. A concerned frown played on her full lips, her thin eyebrows furrowed together. Ailana’s heart leapt once more. This woman was one of the Faery kindred. She was a Noble. Ailana let her hope shine in her eyes once more, her tears filling with the emotion.
“Gods,” The Noble said as she approached the mother and child, wrapping a thick spare cloak around them, “what the hell are you doing out here? You can tell me on the way, follow me.” The woman said, supporting her as they walked together. Ailana felt her hope swell in her heart once again. She turned her tired face toward the Noble, her lips trembling in the cold.
“My son,” She choked out, catching the woman’s attention, “he’s sick. A disease that took his father. No doctor could treat him. But, I was told of a healer in these forests that could. A Noble.” She said, her eyes shining with hopeful tears. The Noble looked at the woman as they walked together. She gave Ailana a gentle, warm smile, reminding her of summer even in the harsh cold they now stood in.
“You’ve found her.” She told the mother as they pushed through the snow and the darkness. Ailana felt her heart ache, all of the hard lines on her face and dark thoughts destroyed in a few words. She smiled a mournful smile, ashamed that she had given up so easily on her life and on her son.
Ailana let herself be guided through the cold by the Noble. After a half hour's walk, a cabin came into view, with a barking hound out in the front. The Noble continued to pull Ailana along, guiding her into the cabin. Ailana felt the pit of gratitude in her stomach only grow deeper as the warmth of a fire washed over her cold, aching skin.
“Sit by the fire,” The Noble instructed once they were inside, “hand me your son. I would like to inspect him first.” She ordered. Ailana found it difficult to give up her son, as she had been the only one that held him since his fathers passing. She hesitated for a moment, then gave the baby to the woman, her arms feeling lonely without his weight. Ailana sat by the fire, warming her frozen skin as she watched the Noble remove the bundle of cloth from her son. She placed the bundle of clothes, wet with melted snow, beside Ailana at the fire, carrying the few month old child in her own arms. He stared up at the Noble as he coughed, a mixture of curiosity and terror in his grey eyes. No matter how scared he was, he never cried. His father had been like that. Ailana smiled bitterly as she once again wished that her husband had been there with her, but she knew it was impossible.
The Noble examined her son thoroughly and professionally, gently poking and prodding at the blistered, tight gray skin of the boy. He whimpered and shook at the woman’s touch, flinching away as she brushed her thin fingers against his painful blisters. Ailana’s heart ached at the sight of her trembling, pained son. She wished she could take his pain away, but she knew that the Noble was the only one that could save him.
After a few minutes, the Noble woman tutted and shook her head. Ailana felt her face fall and her stomach lurch, her hope stabbed with a dagger made of ice.
“It will take a few days,” The Noble woman said, looking toward Ailana, “and he will have to be alone, but I can save him.” She said, her face full of determined confidence.
Once again, Ailana felt tears well up in her eyes, her frozen lips trembling. She nodded her head in gratitude, unable to speak without choking on her barely contained sobs. She tried her best to wipe her tears away, but no matter how often she did, she found herself unable to stop the flow. She felt the comforting hand of the Noble on her shoulder and she looked up, the tears streaming down her face freely.
“My name is Camila. You will be staying here with me until your son is healthy again. What is your name?” She asked with a kind, gentle voice. Ailana stared at her son’s savior, barely able to choke out her own name.
“Ailana,” She said between her sniffling, “thank you for this.” She finally choked out. Camila just patted her warmly on the shoulder, like a lifelong friend.
The days and nights at the cabin blended together for Ailana, as she waited for her son to be healed. She watched Camila walk into a small room in the back of the cabin, where her son was, and stay there for hours at a time. She always carried a pale of water and a basket of herbs into the room and left with both of them empty. Ailana did not eat or drink or even sleep as she waited, her worry for her son’s health refusing to allow her anything at all.
After five long days of waiting, Camila finally exited the room for the final time, smiling brightly at Ailana. Ailana instantly knew what Camila meant and shot up out of her chair, staring at the Noble with wide eyes. She looked at the open door behind Camila, her eyes brimming with eager anticipation and hope.
“Is he…?” Ailana struggled to ask, meeting the pale green eyes of the Noble. She smiled warmly at her, then nodded slowly. Ailana felt the tears come back, tears of happiness.
“Can I see him?” She asked, her heart pounding hard in her chest. Camila approached her and took her by the hand. She pulled her along, leading her to the room that held her hopes. Ailana felt her hands tremble with her anticipation, the pit in her chest filling with a powerful yearning to see her son as he had been before the illness.
The room was a small one, with a single bed and a single chair, empty baskets and buckets littering the floor. On the bed, there laid a small, swaddled form. Ailana felt her eyes tear up again as she approached the small form, Camila watching happily from the doorway.
Ailana stared down at the sleeping form, her happy tears rolling down her cheeks. There, in the cabin by the frozen forests in the barren north, laid the peaceful, smiling form of a shining miracle.
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