Chapter Six
“What’s wrong?” I demanded as I quickly crossed the distance to my wife. “Are you okay? What happened?”
Elissa hurled, and she spewed out the remains of her dinner as her back arched. I rushed to her side, and I pulled back her fiery locks with gentle fingers.
“Bash, calm down,” Mahini instructed as she appeared by my side as if by magic.
“Getting upset will only make things worse,” Eva pointed out.
“It’s okay, my husband,” Elissa murmured in a pained voice as she swiped the back of her hand across her mouth. Her emerald-green eyes were full of tears, and her lips quivered as she met my gaze. “I’m okay.”
“You don’t look okay,” I pointed out.
Before she could respond, another wave of sickness took hold, and my wife keeled over as even more vomit poured from her petite form.
I made sure to keep her hair away from her face, and I shot Mahini a helpless look.
“What do I do?” I asked.
“You’re doing enough,” my warrior-woman assured me, but her brow furrowed with concern when her piercing blue gaze moved to Elissa. “We just have to wait it out.”
“Is everything okay?” Caelia asked with wide, worried chocolate eyes as she joined us. “I heard a commotion.”
“Please,” Elissa gasped, and she grabbed my hand. “Get me some water.”
“I’ve got it,” Mahini insisted, and she turned to leave without another word.
I sighed as I turned back to check on Elissa, but the red-haired beauty was still bent over with her hands on her knees. I pulled back her hair once more, and I stroked the back of my hand across her cheek.
“I’m sorry you’re not feeling good,” I whispered. “I wish I could make it stop.”
“What’s wrong?” Eva asked as she emerged from our tent to join us. “I heard what sounded like…”
The duke’s daughter’s gaze landed on Elissa, and she trailed off. Her smoky-gray eyes filled with sympathy, and she crossed the distance to squat in front of my wife.
“Lissy is throwing up,” I informed her in a worried tone. “Mahini went to get her some water, but I’m not sure what else to do.”
“How can this be?” Evangeline questioned as she cupped Elissa’s face in her hand. “Our Skullcrusher is sick?”
“I…” Elissa murmured, but her words were cut off when she hurled again.
“Best not to try to talk for a moment,” Eva suggested as she jumped away from the quickly growing puddle on the ground. “I need some air.”
Evangeline shot Elissa a sympathetic smile before she turned away and trotted over to the fire pit. Caelia followed after her, and the two women watched from a distance while we continued to comfort the tiny redhead. It was for the best, since I didn’t want to have multiple people throwing up all at once.
I rubbed my wife’s back affectionately as I waited for Mahini to return, and Elissa moaned as she leaned into the touch. It hurt to see her in so much pain, and I was tempted to reset back to my save point.
Maybe I could prevent this somehow.
Before I’d made up my mind, Mahini reappeared with the water skin in her hand, and she assisted Elissa in taking a long swig from the rim. My wife sighed gratefully as she handed the skin back to the warrior-woman, and then she collapsed into my arms.
“Did she faint?” I supported her petite form in my arms as Mahini rushed to my side.
“I’m okay,” Elissa said in a barely audible voice.
“She’s still conscious,” Mahini observed. “Let’s get her laid down, though.”
“Good idea.” I nodded, and then the two of us worked together to get Elissa situated comfortably in our tent.
I gazed at my tiny goddess with a worried frown as her emerald-green eyes slowly closed, but I was torn between laying down by her side or watching over her while she slept.
“Good morning, Sir Bash,” Ako greeted from behind me.
“Morning.” I turned and flashed the shapeshifter a strained smile.
“What’s wrong?” The cat-wizard frowned. “What happened?”
“Am I that obvious?” I shook my head. “Lissy is sick, or something… We woke up to the sound of her throwing up.”
“Oh, no.” Ako’s frown deepened. “We all ate the same food, so I doubt it was something she ate.”
“Maybe her body can’t handle the Arboreals,” I suggested. “I’m not sure. I don’t know what made her sick, and I don’t know how to help her. I’m at a complete loss.”
“That must feel very strange for a god,” the shapeshifter said, and his tail twitched almost as though to emphasize his words. “But I’m sure there are things even you cannot foresee.”
“Bash, here, eat something,” Eva said as she crossed the distance between us. Then the duke’s daughter handed me a bowl full of food with a soft smile stretched across her face, and her gray eyes flicked to the entrance of the tent behind me. “She needs some rest, but you need to keep your strength up. No point in standing here waiting all day, after all. Might as well eat something.”
“Fine,” I sighed, and I followed her back to the fire pit to sit down. I ate quickly, but my mind was on Elissa the entire time, so I barely registered the food passing my lips.
“At least the food is very delicious,” Caelia said as she sat beside me, but I merely mumbled something under my breath in response.
“She will be fine, my love,” my fiancée assured me with a comforting smile. “I see you over there worrying.”
“Thanks,” I said, and I gave her a sheepish grin. “I feel so helpless.”
Then I spotted Elissa emerging from the tent entrance, so I jumped up from the log where I was sitting and quickly crossed the distance to her side. Her face was pale beneath her freckles, and her hair hung in tangled chunks. She gave me a half-hearted smile, but I could tell she was still feeling unwell, so I wrapped my arms around her.
“Why are you up so soon?” I frowned. “Do you need to throw up some more?”
“I am feeling a little better.” Elissa shook her head. “Besides, I can’t stay in bed all day. We have a mission, and I don’t want to be the reason we don’t catch the duke.”
“Fuck the duke,” I said. “I want to make sure you’re okay.”
“You know…” Elissa’s eyelashes fluttered as her gem-like eyes lifted to my face. “It could be a sign.”
“A sign of what?” I asked in a confused tone. “Of you being sick?”
“Of me being pregnant, silly.” Elissa smirked, but then her face turned stricken, and she covered her mouth with her hands.
“Go!” I urged, and I got out of her way so she could further empty her stomach.
Elissa ran over to the already large puddle of vomit before she added some more to the pile, and Mahini fetched the water skin once more.
“Did she say pregnant?” Ako asked with a coolly arched eyebrow. “Would that be good news or bad news?”
“We’ve been trying for a while now,” I admitted, and I raked my hands through my hair in a self-conscious manner. “It would be great news, but how do we know for sure? Is there some magical test we can take?”
“Test?” Ako tilted his head to the side.
“There are pregnancy tests in my world,” I explained. “All you have to do is pee on a stick and wait a few minutes, and then it will tell you if you’re pregnant or not. You can buy them pretty much anywhere.”
“I can find you a stick,” Ako suggested. “Does it have to be from a specific kind of tree?”
“No, not a stick like that,” I laughed. “I don’t think it would work the same in this world anyway. Have you ever been in this sort of situation before, Ako?”
“No, I can’t say that I have.” Ako scratched his chin thoughtfully. “I would say we should ask a medicine woman for help, but there is only one for miles still.”
“There is someone nearby who can help us?” My eyes widened as the possibility took hold. “How do you know this?”
“I have traveled through these lands before,” the shapeshifter reminded me. “A village up ahead a ways has a medicine woman who may be able to help figure out what is wrong with your wife. I do not want to make any guarantees, though, since it has been some time since I have been there. The woman could have died, or moved.”
“It’s worth a shot,” I said. “And it’s on our way. I don’t see any reason not to stop.”
“If it isn’t pregnancy, then it could be something more dangerous,” Ako pointed out. “A curse or plague of some kind. I would recommend urgency.”
“I would rather do something than nothing,” I agreed. “Let’s get ready to ride, then. We leave as soon as possible.”
“Why don’t you take your wife on ahead,” Ako suggested. “The rest of us will pack up camp and follow behind you.”
“That’s a good idea.” I flashed him a grateful smile. “Thank you, Ako. You’re a good friend.”
“I’ll mark the town on the map for you,” the cat-man continued. “And saddle Goliath, too.”
“Awesome.” My grin widened. Now, this is what I wanted. Some kind of action I could take to feel like I was doing something to help my wife. I trotted over to the tent where Elissa had returned to bed, and I dipped my head as I entered the shelter. “How are you feeling, my love?”
“Better,” Elissa breathed, and she fluttered her eyelashes over her emerald-green eyes. “Don’t worry so much. I’m not going to die.”
“Do you really think you could be pregnant?” I asked.
“Maybe.” My wife shrugged. “I hope so…”
“How would you know?” I pressed.
“Wait and see if the womb swells,” Elissa explained. “Or see a healer or medicine worker. But I missed my moon flow, Bash, and that is definitely a sign of pregnancy.”
“Ako said there is a medicine woman in the next town over,” I informed her. “I think we should ride ahead and get their help. It is less than a day’s ride if we hurry.”
“Alright.” Elissa nodded. “If it will set your mind at ease, then I will do it.”
“Good.” I grinned. “Because Ako is already getting Goliath ready. We’ll ride double since he can handle the extra weight.”
“Bash!” Elissa giggled. “You already made up your mind before coming to talk to me, didn’t you?”
“I wanted to make sure I had a plan.” I shrugged. “It’s up to you, though. I just want you to feel better.”
“Let’s go.” Elissa nodded, and she flashed me one of her brilliant smiles. “Just give me a moment to prepare.”
A short while later, the two of us were mounted on Goliath’s back, and we waved goodbye to the rest of our companions before we trotted away from the campsite. I didn’t make a new save point because I could always reset to the night before if anything went wrong, but I wanted to get as much information as I could about what was happening to my wife.
“Hey, Lissy, do you think you can handle a faster pace?” I asked as I scooped her flame-colored locks away from her ear. My wife sat in front of me in the saddle, but her petite form hardly took up any room. “I don’t want to make you feel sick again…”
“Yes, it’s okay, Bash,” Elissa assured me, and she flashed me a confident smile over her shoulder. “Just keep your arm wrapped around me so I feel safe, and we can go as fast as you want.”
The subtle innuendo in her words had my blood temperature rising, but I stayed focused on the mission at hand. We needed to reach the healer as quickly as possible, so I urged Goliath into a gallop. The tall white warhorse nickered before he kicked his feet into the dirt, and we sped forward in a blur of motion. It was like my horse could sense the urgency and purity of this side quest, and he charged forward with everything he had.
We galloped down the muddy road, but I couldn’t see much of the landscape in my peripherals as we passed. I assumed it looked similar to the land around our campsite, so I was surprised to find myself surrounded by desert when my steed slowed to a trot.
“Easy, there,” I murmured as Goliath huffed from the effort it had taken to run hard. “We’ll take a break.”
“Everything already looks so different,” Elissa observed, and she huddled closer against my chest. “How much farther do we have to go?”
“Ako said it would be less than a day’s ride from our campsite,” I explained. “I’m hoping it will take less than that if we go as fast as we can. Goliath can handle it, he’s a warrior.”
The war horse nickered like he understood my words, and the two of us laughed.
“He agrees with you,” Elissa giggled. “I’m ready to run whenever he is.”
“What do you think, Goliath?” I asked in a loving voice. “Can you get my wife to the healer in a hurry?”
I half-expected the horse to nicker again in response, but he merely tossed his head, and his mane waved as he arched his neck to gather momentum. I felt his muscles bulging beneath me as he started to pick up speed, so I wrapped my arm around Elissa’s waist to hold her close to me, and I leaned forward to cause less wind resistance.
The two of us galloped on Goliath’s back off and on for hours without incident or any signs of the town, but I trusted Ako’s guidance. I’d glanced at the map where he’d made a couple of marks to indicate the path, but with the town being so close, there wasn’t much information I needed to glean in order to find it.
After what felt like forever, the structures and buildings began to come into view on the edge of the desert plain. It grew steadily in our vision until it blossomed into a medium-sized town, and I quickly scanned over the surrounding area as we approached.
The town lacked walls or any barriers to protect it from the outside, and the road led straight into the center of the businesses, so I had a feeling they received travelers often. I noticed a ramshackle inn, a general store, and a feed store, but I didn’t see anything to signify a healer.
Doubt inched into my subconsciousness, but I swallowed it down and kept looking. I would find the medicine woman, and she would be able to tell us what was wrong with Elissa. I wanted nothing more than to know my wife was safe and well, but I wasn’t a doctor, so I vowed right then and there to learn as much as I could from the healer once we found them.
I walked Goliath down the road through the center of town, and I craned my neck in all directions in an effort to find a sign for the healer. I saw several people passing by on the dirt street, but no one greeted me or even looked our way. I supposed everyone was busy with their own lives, and a couple of people on a horse didn’t make for a spectacle in these parts.
Little did they know, a god was in their midst.
I chuckled to myself at the thought, and then I returned my focus to finding a medicine woman for my wife. I wasn’t having any luck with the written advertisements, so I flagged down the closest townsperson and gave them my most charming smile.
“Hello, friend,” I said to the middle-aged man wearing a green tunic and a straw hat that blocked his eyes from the heat of the sun. “Could you point me in the direction of your medicine woman?”
“Find it yourself.” My friendly expression was met with a scowl, and the man turned away from me without another word.
If this was any other situation, I would spam resets to win him over, but my wife and I were in a hurry, and I didn’t want to start all over until I had some answers.
I wasn’t about to give up, though, so I grabbed the next person I could reach, and I asked them the same question. Apparently, I was a little too aggressive since they cowered away from me, but they pointed a quivering finger toward a side street up ahead, so I considered it a win.
I rode down the side street with only a sliver of hope that the lead would pay out, but then I was greeted with the hanging sign that read “Healing Arts.”
“That must be the place,” I said, and I clicked my tongue to urge Goliath down the street at a trot.
We pulled to a halt in front of the building, and I slid down before I helped Elissa to the ground. Once the war horse was hitched to the rail on the side of the road, the two of us mounted the steps to stand before the door.
I knocked firmly three times on the door, and I waited several silent moments before I knocked again. I heard a commotion from inside, but there were no windows to peer through, so I had to wait patiently. I resisted the urge to knock again, but then the voices drew closer.
“I’m coming, I’m coming, calm yourself,” someone muttered from the other side of the portal, and a moment later the barrier was pulled open to reveal a frumpy old woman with a menacing scowl on her face. Her gray hair hung in tatters around her face so it was hard to see her clearly, but there was no denying her glaring gray eyes. “What do you want? I’m not buying anything, so you might as well not waste either of our times with your horse shit sales pitch.”
“My wife needs the help of a medicine woman,” I explained in a calm voice. “I was pointed in this direction. Can you help us?”
I gestured to Elissa, and the old lady’s eyes swept across my wife’s pale freckled face.
“Sickness?” The old woman narrowed her gray eyes as her gaze flicked between me and Elissa. “Best come in, then. Watch your head on the door. I won’t be treating bumps caused by clumsiness.”
“Yes, ma’am,” I murmured, and I held Elissa’s arm as we followed the old woman inside. “What’s your name?”
I made sure to watch my head, but the doorway was indeed built for a much smaller person. Elissa had no troubles, though, but she was just as tiny as the medicine woman.
“Phylas Briar,” the woman who I assumed was the healer we sought said, and she cracked her wrinkled knuckles. “I’m surprised you didn’t already know since you were the one looking for me?”
“We were just told the general direction,” Elissa explained. “A friend of ours said this town had a healer living in this area.”
“You are a healer, right?” I tightened my grip on my wife as I took a protective stance beside her.
I hoped Elissa didn’t pick up on the absence of my usual godly ability to already know everyone’s names, but I would probably reset back to my save point and do another run through before I considered it one-hundred percent completed anyway.
It would make me look pretty awesome if I could reset and tell my wife what was wrong with her myself, after all.
“Of course.” Phylas waved a dismissive hand. “Why else would I let you inside my house?”
“You live here?” I looked around as we stepped inside the dwelling.
Herbs and drying plants covered the walls and hung from the ceiling beams, and there were shelves filled with books and jars full of unknown substances. It looked like what I would expect of a creepy medicine woman, but I was glad I didn’t see any eyeballs or brains among the jars and containers. A large chopping block counter workbench sat in the center of the room, and the medicine woman directed Elissa to sit on top of it.
“Sit,” Phylas barked, and then she turned to pour over a counter covered in jars and vials. The medicine woman glanced over her shoulder to double-check Elissa was listening, and her voice softened. “Please.”
“Alright.” My wife obliged, but she shot me a nervous look before Phylas began to inspect her. “Is this going to hurt?”
“Not at all.” The medicine woman flashed us a toothy, over-emphasized grin that made me more uncomfortable than I had been to start with, but it was kind of her to attempt to reassure us. “I just need to take a look at you to cross a few things out. Please, describe your symptoms.”
“Well, I was throwing up this morning,” Elissa began. “And my breasts have been aching. I’ve been very hungry, and I missed my moon flow.”
“You didn’t tell me all that,” I said, and I furrowed my brow as I thought about my wife suffering in silence.
“I didn’t want to worry you,” Elissa confessed with a shrug, and her emerald-green eyes filled with concern. “Please don’t be upset.”
“I’m not,” I hurried to assure her, and I gave her a comforting smile. “I just wish you had told me sooner.”
“Lay back,” Phylas instructed in a brisque voice, and Elissa obeyed.
“Whatever happens, I’m here for you.” I clasped my wife’s hand in mine, and I rubbed my thumb against hers.
“I know,” Elissa said, but her smile didn’t reach her eyes.
Phylas began to inspect my wife, and the medicine woman poked and prodded Elissa’s throat, shoulders, breasts, and stomach. The healer muttered to herself under her breath, but it seemed wrong to interrupt her, so I held all my questions til the end.
The medicine woman scrutinized my wife closely for several minutes, and I held my breath as I waited. My heart was thudding so loudly in my chest I swore it was audible to the two women, but they didn’t comment. Elissa gripped my hand tightly, and her emerald-green eyes filled with emotion as she gazed up at me.
Phylas placed her ear against Elissa’s stomach, and her gray eyes closed like she was listening. Her face was inscrutable, and the wait was agonizing, but I reminded myself it would be over soon.
“It is just as I suspected,” the medicine woman announced after a long silent moment. “She’s pregnant.”
My jaw fell open, and I blinked in shock as I processed her words.
While we’d already had our own similar suspicions, it was entirely different to have the closest thing to a medical professional confirm it.
The medicine woman’s words echoed in my ears over and over again until a grin began to stretch across my face.
I was going to be a father.