The Sapphire Broach

Chapter 14 (rough draft)

"Whoa, Sweetie! Whoa!" Kenric yelled over the pounding rain and raging thunder. He pulled on the reins and tried to keep her from trampling Ivy. The panicked mare did not heed his guides and instead continued to tromp and jump over and around where Ivy fell.

Ivy made it to her knees in the sloshy road, but then one of Sweetie's flying hoofs slammed against her cheek and sent her sprawling.

"Ivy!" Kenric yanked his horse away from her prostrate body.

She didn't move.

He dragged Sweetie to the nearest tree and tied her there, then raced back to Ivy's side. She had pushed herself up onto her elbows by the time he got there, but her head leaned sideways and she seemed unable to hold it straight.

"Ivy! Are you all right?" He knelt in the mud beside her. She turned her head to look at him and her head tipped the other direction. It took her eyes a moment to focus on him, but they finally did. He helped her sit up, then wiped the mud off her face with his cloak.

She cringed when he rubbed across her injury. "Ouch."

"Oh, Ivy." He looked at her cheek. The skin had split across her bone just below her eye. There wasn't much blood, but she was going to have a healthy bruise. He continued to wipe her face, but used more care when near her wound. When she looked decent enough, he helped her stand. "We should get you out of the rain."

She wobbled and leaned away from him, so he kept his arm firmly around her. He helped her to the shelter of the trees just off the road.

"Sit here." He led her to a tree stump.

"Where is Sweetie?" She squinted up at him.

Kenric stared back and marveled at her. Was she real? She had just been thrown from a horse into the mud and kicked in the face by a heavy hoof, yet she was concerned about Sweetie? "She is fine. I tied her to a tree just over there." He nodded toward the road. "She sends her apologies."

Ivy laughed, then groaned and brought her hand to her cheek.

Kenric knelt in front of her and lifted her chin to look again at her injury. "It would probably be best if you refrained from smiling for a while."

He looked into her clear blue eyes and couldn't seem to turn away. Mud caked her blond hair and mixed with the copper hues, and she still had a few scratches on her cheek from the day he met her. Then, of course, she had a split cheek from Sweetie. Despite all that, somehow he found her more beautiful than ever. In just a few days she had managed to pull nearly every imaginable emotion from him and had stirred a warmth within him that he didn't quite understand.

Her lips parted slightly and he had to turn away. "Are you sure you are all right?"

"Y-yes," she stammered. "I will be fine."

"Good. I will see if I can find you a dry blanket." He stood and went to his horse. He grabbed a blanket out of a pack, then returned to Ivy, who still looked rather pale, but sat up straight instead of tippy.

She glanced up when he returned and gave him a half-smile. He smiled back, then helped her remove her soaked cloak and wrapped the blanket around her shoulders.

She shivered and pulled it tight around her. "Once again I have slowed you down."

"It doesn't matter. When the storm dies down, if you feel well enough, we will travel again. What is a few more hours when I have already been gone two years?"