Promise Me

Glad you could join us for the next entreating episode of Elliot’s Adventures. If you’re new here, you can catch up by returning to the beginning, and reading really fast…

The Knights lay Randall on a moss mat in the Bower.

Barry rubbed at the blood on one of his arms. “What can we do ta help?”

Wetting a bit of sponge in a small bowl of water, Cassandra cleaned blood and dirt from one of the many gashes on Randall’s chest. “Could you bring more water?” Cassandra asked. “And silk — I don’t have enough to stitch up all these wounds.”

The Knights bounded out the door.

As Cassandra continued cleaning Randall’s cuts and punctures, Miranda brewed an herbal tea that filled the Bower with fresh scents of greenery and hope. Unconscious, Randall wouldn’t be able to drink any of it, but applied to his wounds, it would draw out much of the poison.

Barry and Trevor returned before the Princess was half done. She was using the last of her silk.

Miranda prepared the new silk. “Thank you,” she said. “That’s more than enough water if you’d like to wash up, too.”

The four of them worked in silence until Cassandra leaned back and sighed. “I’ve tried to stop the bleeding, but some of these wounds are so deep, I’m sure they’ve pierced organs. I don’t know if I can do enough to save him.” She wiped his face with cool water and he opened his eyes.

Blinking, he seemed to recognize Trevor and reached for him. “Listen…” His hoarse whisper barely carried past the Princess. “It was him… the Assassin… he’s here…”

Taking his hand, Trevor knelt beside him. “You’re gonna be fine, Randall. Princess Cassandra’s gonna take care of you.”

“No,” Randall moaned. “It’s… all right. Just… promise me you’ll take care of Teddy… promise you’ll… take care of my son.”

Tears welled in Trevor’s eyes. “I will. I promise.”

To be continued. . .

Previously, on Elliot’s Adventures ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Next time . . .

Author: Sue Ranscht

Having survived valve repair surgery and an experimental cardiac bypass at age 5, three years before it was an accepted medical procedure, Susan grew into the size of her overworked and enlarged heart. Maybe she thought she had enough to give it away -- twice. Both times, she had to retrieve the shattered pieces and puzzle them back together. She thanks her Dad for the only advice of his she ever followed to the letter: "Never get married. Learn to take care of yourself." So of course she is a writer. Susan has co-written a YA SciFi novel, and has three more novels in various stages of evolution. She's had several short stories published in other people's anthologies, some of which were contest-related. Let her tell you a story... View all posts by Sue Ranscht