Missy gives a sigh of relief when she walks outside to see not only Bellisama but several other dragons finding spots to land. She walks out from the cover of the trees and starts waving to get their attention to indicate where everyone is.
"Missy, how did you end up here?" Mama Bell says in my head as she lands and Mother dismounts to walk towards me.
"We were on our way back home when we noticed all the extra smoke over the village. We landed and saw the destruction for ourselves." Missy replies. "It was the Gregorians, though how they crossed the river safely, I can only imagine."
This area of the river had steep cliffs that were dangerous to climb. And at this time of year, the river was a torrent as the snow-capped mountains nearby were melting with the summer heat. But it also meant that the area had easy access to fresh clean water.
"Well thank the mother that you were not caught up by the meelee had you made to come home yesterday." Mother comments as she gets a good look at the destruction for herself. I then lead her into the meeting house where the wounded were being treated and the young were being kept for their safety.
Mother sends some of the warriors to take care of the dead bodies and to give them a proper burial. She also sends me to go to the other dragons with her and start unpacking the medical supplies that they had brought with them to help the wounded.
I approach Mama Bell and start digging through her satchel when she slowly lifts her head slightly.
"And who is this?" She asks in a motherly tone.
I turn around and see that Timmy had followed me outside like a lost puppy. I don't blame him, for I am sure that he feels safer near the dragons than anywhere else.
"Mama Bell, this is Timothy, aprentice leather maker who was under his father's tutaledge until his untimely death in trying to protect Timothy's mother and older sister." I reply making the introductions. "Timothy, this is Bellisama, dragon partner to General Julie Berkshire, who is also my mother. Bellisama is also the mother of my dragon partner, Lilasia."
Timothy gave a courtly bow to the motherly dragon, and thanked her for coming to their rescue.
I start getting the supplies out of the satchel around her neck and ask Timothy to start taking it inside for me. He seemed happy to be given a task to do. I also start going around to the other dragons in the clearing, and with their permission, started relieving them of their burden. Most of the dragons were ones that I grew up around, so I introduced Timothy to each and every one of them in turn. It makes me feel as if this would have been something I would have done if my parents had been blessed with a second child.
"Too bad, his family is gone. Do you know if he has any relatives nearby?" Bellisama asked.
"He has not mentioned any extended family but I can ask around." I reply. "But I was thinking. If Father approves, we might be able to bring him back with us, if Timothy is interested in continuing his training to be a leather maker. But it should be up to the child. And that's if there are no relatives that can take him in."
"That is a sound idea, Missy." Bellisama enthused. "I believe Solvon is coming tomorrow. I shall ask him to bring Mark with him. The child should be given the chance to continue what his father has taught him."
"I will ask the village elders and see if they know anything about him having any extended family." I add. "If anyone would know, it would be them."
Slowly, other children make their way out of the meeting house, so I introduce them to the dragons, and have them help bring the supplies inside. Giving them a purpose seems to lighten their spirits, Many of the older dragons get down to their level to talk to them and make themselves less frightening. They blow warm air around them in a comforting gesture and a couple of them let a few of the youngsters climb all over them.
The journey for many of these youngsters will be a long and hard one. The crown will first determine if they have any relatives in nearby villages through word of mouth and a little bit of dragon magic. Dragons have the ability to determine who is related to who by taste. One swipe of their long tongues along a human's skin, and they can compare one human to another.
If no family can be found, or the family is unable to care for the children, they may be put up for adoption or fostering in the same town where they have family so that they can maintain a relationship with them. Some of the older youngsters may be put through a program to determine if they are interested in a trade or apprenticeship sponsered by the crown. The program has been successful for generations and gives hope to those that feel that they may be forgotten.
I walk back into the meeting house with the last of the supplies and spot Mother talking with some of the elders, probabkly gathering information about what is needed doing and what their current supplies look like. She will likely wait until the children have been put to bed for the night before asking tougher questions about the attack. The children don't need to relive their experiences if it wasn't needed.
I head over to the wounded and start assessing the injuries before me. Several broken bones that will take time to heal, others seem to only have scrapes and cuts but nothing too serious. I wonder up to a young man with his arm in a sling.
"Hello, I am Missy. May I take a look at your arm?" I ask.
He presents his arm and I assist him in taking off the sling. It looks like someone successfully got a splint on the arm and it was wrapped up tight. His face shows signs of fatigue and pain. I prepare some herbal medicine that was in some of the satchels that will lessen his pain levels and also give him a more restful sleep.
I repeat this process well into the night while my mother softly talks to the elders and the wounded about the attack. It sounds like there was no warning when the Gregorians descended upon the village in the deep of night, taking out the village guard and ransaking home after home. Timothy's house was the first and he was able to sound the alarm by running to the schoolhouse and ringing the bell. I doubt I would have been so brave at his young age. But it was with his warning that not more people were killed or injured.
"Por lad." Lilasia says as I prepare my bedroll in the meeting house. "He was so brave."
"I have to agree with you there, Lili." I reply with a yawn. "We will have to wait and see what tomorrow brings for the lad."