Escape from the Witch Hunters
Chapter 22

Ryia heard someone yell. "He’s out cold!"

She stood up from where she had been sitting and ran out the door, into the night where Gillian lay.

She glanced and his bloody arm and head. "Somebody go get help! I need clean bandages, hot water and an cyote salve. And hurry!"

Some men were dragging the crazed, fat man away, after an man instigated it.

She looked around at the dispersing crowd. "Can someone please help me carry him inside?"

The older man who instigated the arrest of the fat man, who had graying hair and kind blue eyes walked over to where Gillian lay. "Need help you say?"

Ryia nodded and sniffed.

The elderly man picked up Gillian with ease and carried him inside, all the time muttering something about how he knew that Crimer would someday blow up.

She assumed that Crimer was the man who had tried to kiss her and tried to kill Gillian.

"We need one room." the older looked back at Ryia. "You're married right?"

Ryia nodded.

"Put it on my tab." the man told the other man behind the counter.

"Room twelve." the man behind the counter handed them a key.

Ryia took the key, as the old man had enough trouble trying to carry Gillian’s limp body.

They walked up the stairs and she unlocked room number twelve, opening the door for the man.

“Thank you, Mister..um.” she paused, waiting for him to give her his last name.

“Clems. Johannes Clems. The village’s marshal.” he set Gillian down on the bed. “I’ll go inform the others that you’re in room twelve.”

Ryia’s eyes were wide. “Thank you Mr. Clems.”

A young girl ran into her room, bringing some hot water, and bandages with her. “Here you are missus.”

She deposited them at the end of the bed and quickly ran back out of the room, leaving Ryia alone with Gillian.

Not long after that, the girl came back with the cyote salve.

“Thank you.” Ryia called after her.

“Here goes nothing.” she rolled her sleeves up and hurried to get Gillian patched up.

Ryia felt a tap on her knee. She took a deep breath and opened her eyes.

She saw Gillian’s blue eyes staring back at her. “You look grumpy when you’re asleep.”

“You’re awake!” if she hadn’t been so glad he was awake, she would have scolded for being so rude.

“Yep I’m awake.” he used his arm to prop himself up, pain contorted his face and he collapsed back on the bed. "That hurt." he grunted and closed his eyes in pain.

"Are you alright?" she stood up and checked out his arm. "You shouldn't be using your arm. You're hurt."

"Yeah, I remember that." he groaned. "What happened to the guy? How did I get up here? And how long have I been out?"

"He got arrested and I haven't seen him since. The town's marshal carried you up. And you've been out all night." she informed him.

"I hope that guy is in a dark and cold cell." he muttered and tried to sit up using his other arm this time.

"He doesn't deserve that bad of a punishment." she sat back down on her cushiony chair and pulled her knees up to herself. "Prison cells are horrid places."

"Yes he does. He was harassing you." he wrinkled his nose.

"He..." she paused. "He was just lonely."

Gillian rolled his eyes. "I don't think that trying to kiss someone ten times younger than you could be defined as lonely! And, I might add, he tried to kill me."

He threw back his covers. "Where's my shirt?"

"I, uh." she looked around, wishing she could disappear. "I got rid of it. It was ripped and bloody."

Gillian's forehead creased. "My last shirt too!"

He sighed and got up. "What is this contraption on my head?" he gently poked his head. "I feel more bandaged than a..." he thought, "than a dead man."

"I needed to stop the bleeding somehow." Ryia looked down at the floor. "You were bleeding pretty badly."

He touched his head again. "Was it that bad?" then murmured to himself. "I didn't think he hit me that hard."

"You kind of bloodied up the bed." she glanced at the stained bedding.

Gillian glanced back at it and groaned again. "Great. Now we have that to pay for as well."

"I'm sorry I can't help you. I wish I could." she sighed and frowned.

"Well, technically, my money is your money." he shrugged.

"But since you're leaving me once we get to Carenthia, it isn't really mine to give or take." she put her feet back on the floor and stood up.

She had to remind me, he scrunched his nose. "My head isn't feeling so good."

He walked back to the bed and fell back onto it.

"I'll go get you some food." Ryia went out the bedroom door and down the stairs where she found a woman carrying a platter filled with freshly cooked food.

"Excuse me, where can I get some food?" she asked the woman with the platter.

"Just tell me what you want, and then your room number, and I'll be right up." she walked over to a table where some men were talking and set their plates down beside them, giving them each a mug of freshly brewed coffee.

She let the empty platter hang at her side and she turned back to Ryia. "So what can I get you?"

"Um, what do you have?" she questioned.

"We have fresh coffee, scrambled eggs, fried potatoes, fried ham, hot porridge, a fruit salad, and some milk." the woman listed off.

"I'll have some coffee, scrambled eggs, and fried ham, and then some porridge, the fruit mix, and milk." she told the woman.

"I'll be right up." she nodded and disappeared back into the kitchen.

Ryia walked back up the stairs and into the bedroom where she found Gillian still lying on the bed. "I ordered us some food."

"Did you get me anything good? Did they have bacon?" his eyes popped open.

"You'll see." she smiled tiredly and sat back down into the huge chair the enveloped her small body.

Gillian looked at her suspiciously but didn't say anything else.

A moment later there was a knock on their door. "Come in." Ryia answered and stood up to greet the lady at the door.

"Here's your food." she handed the platter to Ryia. "If you need anything, just ring for us."

She pointed to the ringer next to the bed.

"Thank you." Ryia smiled and closed the door behind the woman. She walked back to where the platter was and took Gillian's food over to the small table. "Here's your food."

She uncovered the plain porridge and his fruit, then set his glass of milk on the small table as well.

Gillian stared at the food. "Are you trying to starve me?"

"No, I'm trying to make sure you recover." she said pointedly.

"I can recover just as well with," he looked at her food, "eggs, ham, and coffee!"

"Porridge is better for you, and fruit will help you too." she crossed her arms. "I am not going to budge this time. You won't get your way."

Gillian frowned. "I don't like porridge."

"Well you have to eat it anyway." she stood obstinately next to the table.

"I won't!" he huffed.

"Oh yes you will!" she grabbed the spoon and scooped up some porridge and aimed it towards Gillian's mouth.

"Open up, or it'll make a mess." she instructed him.

"No-" he started, but Ryia took the opportunity to stuff the porridge in his mouth.

"Arghthithiawful." he garbled before swallowing. "That's horrible."

"No. It's good for you, and you are going to finish this." she scooped up some more porridge.

Gillian closed his mouth tight and shook his head.

"Gillian." she frowned. "Eat."

He huffed.

"Fine." she gave him a disappointed look and walked over to her food and set it on a table near her chair and started eating.

Gillian looked longfully at her food.

She took a bite of her ham.

His mouth watered at the site. "I want ham."

"Well you can't ham it. Although, if you finish your porridge, I might save you a bite." she looked indifferently at him.

Gillian frowned again. "No."

"Alright." she shrugged and continued eating her food.

Gillian scooted closer to where Ryia sat. "When will my head be better? And when will I be able to actually eat food?"

"I'm not sure." she drank a bit of her coffee. "Hopefully soon."

"I sure hope so." he got closer the edge of the bed, almost right across from the chair she was sitting in.

She brought a slice of ham up to her mouth and started to take a bit when Gillian snatched the ham from her hands and stuffing the whole thing in his mouth.

"Gillian!" she frowned. "That was my food!"

"Idoncarwe." he said with his mouth full.

"I was already biting it!" she let out a puff of air.

He swallowed. "I still don't care. And that was the best piece of ham I've had in a long time."

"That's gross." she frowned. "Now eat your porridge!"

He crossed his arms again. "I will not!"

She sighed exausperatedly and placed her head in her hands. She looked back up. "Can't you please stop being stubborn and just do this for once? It's better for your head and arm. At least eat the fruit."

He pouted. She looked tiredly at him. "Please, Gillian?" she said softly.

She had been up for a good amount of the night, tending his arm and his head, the cleaning up the mess that could be cleaned, and then finally getting a bit of rest in the big fluffy chair. Her patience had dwindled down to near nothing.

"Fine." he muttered and scooted back over to where his food awaited him.

He grimaced before stuffing a bite of porridge in his mouth. "Gross." he cringed and quickly swallowed some of his milk.

Ryia allowed herself a small smile.

"I'm fine." Gillian frowned. "My head is fine. I don't need to stay in bed!"

"Yes you do!" she argued. "You still get dizzy!"

"I don't get that dizzy. And besides, we've already been here for two days, and we need to get out before," he lowered his voice, "before anyone comes looking for us. You said that the village’s marshal carried me up. The village's marshal!"

That was true. They were still in danger of being hunted down. "But I can't let you ride Red when you're feeling so poorly!"

"We'll stop at a farmhouse along the way?" he offered. "Come on, Ryia. It can't be that bad. If I get dizzy, then I promise I'll stop riding and I'll rest. We just need to get going."

"I don't know, Gillian." she racked her brain for any other idea.

"Please, Ryia?" he looked at her like a sad puppy.

"Don't look at me like that." she frowned.

"Why not?" he didn't stop.

"Because it's distracting me from the real problem!" she smacked his good arm.

"Ouch!" he cradled his good arm in his injured one. "You shouldn't smack an injured man!"

"I thought you weren't actually that ill." she smirked.

He rolled his eyes. "Can we just go? I promise that we'll stop when it starts getting dark. Or whenever we find a place to stay."

"The very first farmhouse?" she asked.

"The very first one." he confirmed.

"Fine." her mouth was pressed into a hard line and she stood up.

Gillian was grinning from ear to ear as he sat up. "What're we going to do about my shirt?"

Ryia plopped back down on the chair. "I could sew you one and maybe be done by tomorrow."

A smile appeared on her face, and a cloud of disappointment covered Gillian's.

"That'll take too long." he said while frowning.

"Gillian. You need a shirt." she folded her arms across her chest.

"So go buy me one." he tossed her his moneybag.

She raised an eyebrow.

"Please." he grinned cheekily at her.

She rolled her eyes and tried to keep a smile off of her face, failing miserably. "Alright. You wait right here."

"I'm not going anywhere." he told her and flopped back down on the bed.

She grabbed the bag of money, went out the door and down the stairs.

She opened the front door to the inn and went out looking for the variety store.

"There we are." she spotted it and walked into the store, making some bells chime.

"Hallo, how may I help you?" a young lad stood behind the counter, awaiting any customers that would come in.

"Um, can I have a men's sized shirt?" she asked cluelessly. She honestly had no idea what to call them.

"Right." the lad looked a bit confused for a minute and then walked out from behind the counter and grabbed a blue shirt off of a shelf. "Would this do? We're all out of the plain old hemp shirts."

She looked at the size of the shirt. It looked like it was Gillian's size. Although she hadn't paid much attention to how tall or wide he was.

"I think that'll do." she nodded. "How much is it?"

"Fifteen sovereigns." he told her.

She studied the dark blue shirt. It would look nice on Gillian. And it would match his eyes.

“I’ll take it.” she decided and handed over the money.

The boy wrapped up the shirt and handed it to her in exchange for the money.

“Thank you.” she held the shirt close to her. “I’ll be going now.”

She walked back out the door and ran into someone. “Oh! I’m so sorry! I wasn’t watching where I was going-”

She looked up and saw the white haired, blue eyed, marshal looking down at her.

“How do you do, ma’am.” he said politely.

Her eyes were wide. “I-I’m fine, thank you.”

“May I talk to you for a minute?” he stroked his mustache. “In my office?”

Ryia’s heart beat frantically. He knew. He was going to turn her in.

“Or we can talk right here if that suits you better.” he continued and didn’t wait for her to answer. “Look Evelyn, I know who you are so there’s no use pretending.”

Where was Gillian when she needed him?

“But there are people after you. And it’s my job to help catch you.” he looked around to make sure no one was nearby. “I don’t think that you’re actually a witch. I’ve seen several cases like these, and honestly, it’s just a bunch of hogwash from suspicious, bloodthirsty people. So I’m going to turn a blind eye. I’ll give you a few hours to get out of here, and I’ll pretend that I never saw you, and say that I never identified you.”

She stared, wide-eyed, at the man.

“There are more officers coming tomorrow, maybe even late today. You and your hubby need to get out of here.” he added.

She nodded. “Alright. I’ll tell him.”

She hurried back to the inn and scampered up the stairs and breathlessly burst into the bedroom.

There she saw Gillian in his bed, and a young lady inches away from his face.

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