Rescue

{Ponderosa's POV}

Guasha Forest felt unnaturally still for the dead of winter. Ponderosa proceeded with extreme caution. It bothered her not to hear or see any sparrows or other small tree dwellers amid the branches. It troubled her further to notice how pristine the thick snow was. Gone were the many trails that typically marred the frozen earth below her. Ponderosa perched on a branch and shuddered uncontrollably. The lack of animals was more than enough to tell her that something was very wrong. That something dangerous was in the area, but she couldn't bring herself to leave. Not yet.

Something pulled at her heart. Pulled on it in a way that overrode her fears of this place. Overrode every excuse she could come up with to continue to avoid this place. Looking around, Ponderosa dropped from the tree and continued to fly toward the center of the forest. She continued to keep her eyes and ears open for anything that might explain why she felt a desperation to be here. For anything that would justify the risk she was taking by being so close to the ruins of Mediocre Village. A village that had fallen to ruin with the Kingdom of Abundare because of the king's greed.

A furious yell and a loud thump startled Ponderosa. She banked hard and found a well covered branch to land on. Her head bobbed as she searched for the location of the sound. She very slowly sidled toward the tree's trunk as she continued to watch and listen. Once she felt sufficiently camouflaged, she held still. She did her best to calm her wildly beating heart and regulate her breathing. Ponderosa waited for, what felt like, a long time. She was gearing herself up to move when a pitch black man stalked through the trees.

Her eyes followed the man until he was long out of sight. She dry heaved as memories of her time in Mediocre Village surfaced. She tried to take a deeper, calming, breath. She needed to get out of here. She needed to find whatever still pulled at her heart then flee. She knew the black man and his master better than she cared to admit. The last thing she wanted was to be subject to more torment. Torment she doubted she could escape from, should she be captured again. Ponderosa exhaled and allowed a shiver to vibrate down her spine and out her tail feathers.

She made one final check to make sure the black man hadn't circled back around before she took to the sky once more. She flew less than a hundred meters before a body caught her attention. The tug on her heart shifted. Ponderosa perched in a nearby tree. She observed the body and its surroundings. The body was Human and severely damaged. From what she could see of the body, there were no parts that seemed unnaturally black. An unnatural discoloration caused by a sweet, earthy, putrid concoction that man favored to force upon his victims in order to control them.

The only blackness Ponderosa could see came from a multitude of bruises. Bruises that indicated how much this person had been beaten. Ponderosa observed a while longer. She took in the silence, the deep set of footprints left by the black man. She felt a slight tug on her heart when her eyes returned to the body. Was this really the reason she felt called here? Ponderosa left the tree. She transformed into a Griffin as she landed near the body.

She cautiously used her talons to roll the body over. The face had been mangled, making the woman nigh unrecognizable. Patches of her hair had been ripped out of her skull. Her flesh had been cut and burned. Burned a multitude of times on her upper chest. Several stab wounds decorated her abdomen, but no blood had come from the flesh. Her right arm had been broken as well as her left leg. Ponderosa was a little surprised to find the woman's virtue intact. Knowing what she did of that man's methods, she was sure that would have been one of the first things to go.

Ponderosa turned her attention to the woman's face. A glint of something in the burns across her chest caught her attention. She was just about to bend her head to take a closer look when a tree branch snapped behind her. Turning, Ponderosa saw a small broken branch swaying on a nearby pine. The branch barely held on, broken by the snow that was now in a pile beneath it. She was relieved that it was not the black man or his master returning. But it didn't mean she would remain undetected here for much longer.

Digging her talons into the snow, Ponderosa lifted the dead woman out of the snow. She tucked the woman against her chest as she jumped into the air. She flew through the trees to make sure they would not be seen by the black man or his master. Once she felt she was far enough from the village, Ponderosa flew higher. She flew for several hours. Grateful that the sun set fully, giving her the cover of darkness she desired, as she neared her home in Pride Town. A small town on the Southeastern most edge of Greywolf Kingdom.

Ponderosa landed in the trees behind her house. She gently placed the dead woman's body on the ground. She transformed back to her Human self. The cold of the winter night nipped at her bare flesh while she donned the clothes she had hidden in a nearby hollow. The clothes provided little warmth, but it did provide better protection against the elements. She then used her traveling cloak to wrap the woman's body in. It only seemed right to wash her body before laying her to rest.

Once she had the body firmly wrapped, Ponderosa shifted her arms under the woman's neck and knees before she lifted her. She was surprised and disheartened by how light she was, even in death. She had thought nothing of the woman's weight while a Griffin because something heavy to her Human form always felt lighter when she held another. She blinked back the tears that surfaced as she thought, 'What all had he done to her to make…?'

Shaking her head, Ponderosa exhaled sharply then headed for her house. She was grateful to see none of the town drunks out this night. She didn't want or need their attention. Especially now that she was carrying a dead body. She used her hip to nudge the door open. She used her foot to close it firmly. She crossed the dark room and lay the body on her cot. She lit a candle and carried it over to the hearth so she could light a fire. She filled a pot with water and hung it over the growing flames.

Ponderosa picked up her lit candle and carried it over to her shelves to find the herbs she wanted to infuse into the water. She added them to the pot then turned to the woman. To try and figure out who she might be. She opened the cloak so she could see her face and upper chest. The woman had been burned at least seven times. The combination of which formed a shallow arch just beneath her protruding collarbones. The glint that had caught her attention in Guasha Forest caught her attention again.

'Peridot. Alexandrite. Jet,' she started to list in her head. '…Diamond.' Ponderosa paused. Her throat felt tight and her heart on the verge of breaking. 'Please. Not her! Please, not her.' She drew in a shaky breath before looking at the other three stones. 'Ruby. Emerald. …Aquamarine.'

Seven semi-precious stones. The very semi-precious stones that Lady Iredys of Abundare wore around her neck. Ponderosa struggled to breathe. Her chest felt tight as overwhelming disbelief filled her mind. She looked over the stones embedded in the black and lumpy flesh once more before fresh tears spilled from her eyes. She collapsed against the side of the cot and wept. She was too late. She had waited too long! Why hadn't she gone when the voice called to her several days ago?! Why hadn't she…?

Ponderosa continued to weep. She cursed herself for her indecision. The world had become a darker place when Lady Iredys went missing over a year ago. A darkness that would only grow heavier now that she was dead. A darkness that might have been pushed back again had she not delayed in responding to her call. Lady Iredys had brought a light with her when she arrived at Greywolf Castle nearly three years ago. A light that she spread throughout the kingdom because she refused to use her title as an excuse to not walk among the people.

Sniffling and wiping her eyes, Ponderosa forced herself to stand on her shaking legs. The pot over the fire had started to rattle. Using a hook, she swung the pot out so it could cool some. She mentally berated herself for letting it get too hot. Ponderosa sat in front of the fire. She hung her head and rubbed her arms. She needed to write to Prince Kelton. Let him know his betrothed had been found. But… more tears filled her eyes as she shook her head. She really didn't want the Prince to see her like this. But what other choice did she have?

Ponderosa stood slowly. She grabbed a cloth then used it to carry the, still hot, pot closer to the cot. She set it on the floor. Taking and letting out a deep breath, Ponderosa dipped the cloth in the steaming water and slowly and methodically started to wash Lady Iredys body. She started with her head, face, and neck. Her slowed when she saw the black thread looped through Lady Iredys' eyelids. There was no way that man would have taken the time to sew them shut before dumping her body in the forest. No. He was sadistic enough to have sewn them shut while she was still alive. Bile rose in her throat and Ponderosa had to press her lips together to keep herself from throwing up.

She did her best to get her thoughts to shift. To let her mind return to the task at hand instead of picturing the horrors that man enjoyed inflicting on others. She wet the cloth once more then continued. Her shoulders soon followed as well as the burned skin around the stones. As Ponderosa dabbed the cloth around each of the stones, she could only lament how much she didn't know about them. She understood they had some helpful properties to them since a midwife she was acquainted with used them. She didn't even know what runes that man would have forced on her for his gain and pleasure.

The burned skin hid any sign of the runes. Just as the burned flesh in the center of her own chest did. Subconsciously, Ponderosa paused and brought her hand up to where the pearl was embedded in her chest. To the place where the Dagaz rune lay hidden in the hideously bubbled and blackened flesh between her breasts. She fisted her hand and forced herself to resume her task. She finished washing Iredys' chest. She washed each arm, being sure to realign the one that was broken.

Ponderosa washed her hands and fingers. She washed her abdomen, unaware that her fingers did not register the lack of unevenness, caused by the knife wounds, in Iredys' flesh. Then she washed her hips. She took her time washing her legs and realigning the bones in the leg that was broken. She sat on the edge of the cot, squeezing her eyes shut and pressing her lips together. She struggled with the urge to treat and bind the wounds before her. Yes, she might feel a little better. Yes, it would allow her to hide more of the wounds Lady Iredys had sustained from Prince Kelton. But it would only be a waste of resources.

Dipping the cloth in the warm water, Ponderosa washed Lady Iredys' feet and toes. She set the cloth in the pot then carefully rolled Iredys over so she could wash her back. Once that was done, Ponderosa set the pot of dirty water aside. She grabbed the only other dress she owned and maneuvered Lady Iredys' limp body so she could wear it. She was glad, yet saddened further, that the dress was a little too big for her. At least she was covered and Prince Kelton would not have to see the depravity she experienced.

Ponderosa took the pot outside and dumped it out. She filled it with snow and brought it back inside. She set the pot close to the fire. She dried her hands on the skirt of her dress before pulling out her writing kit. No sooner had she opened the lid then she heard a loud audible inhale come from the direction of the cot. Ponderosa turned to see Lady Iredys' chest lower with the sound of her exhale. Her chest did not rise right away and Ponderosa almost thought the sound and motion a trick her mind was playing because of her grief. But, as she kept her attention on Lady Iredys, she watched her chest and belly rise and fall with deep, rhythmic, breaths.