“My Lady!” Lilian cried out when she caught sight of Karissa through the crowd of sweaty and bloodied men. “Oh, thank the stars you’re alright!” Karissa rushed to her lady’s maid, relief flooding through her. Lilian looked to be unhurt, which was all she had hoped for. “I’m so sorry, I thought you were right behind me, but then-”

“No apologies,” Karissa commanded, though gently. She hugged Lilian tightly. “I’m just glad you’re safe.” She saw in her peripherals the Duke walk past them to speak with one of his knights.

Releasing her lady’s maid, Karissa gazed around her, taking in the wounds her guards and the knights had sustained. Some men had come out of the attack unscathed, while others were bleeding profusely from claw marks or bites. Those that were too badly injured were laid out in the grass beside the road. Thankfully, it seemed they had all made it out of the attack alive, although some of her guards did not look too good.

Karissa shuddered when the image of the Duke’s horse, laying on his side on the road, came again to her mind. She would not let that happen to anyone else, man or animal. Not if she could help it.

“Lilian, where is my luggage?”

“My lady?” Lilian asked, confused.

“My lady, your luggage is secure, here,” Dalvo said, obviously having heard what she had asked for. He pointed to one of the horses from the carriage, the three suitcases lashed to its back. It was still wide eyed and snorting from the shock of the attack.

“Bring down the smallest suitcase, please.” 

Dalvo looked confused as well, but moved to do as he was asked. Karissa followed, and immediately unbuckled and opened the suitcase as soon as it was on the ground. She hesitated only a moment when she realized her hands were still smeared with green wyvern blood, but then took out one of her neatly-folded white underskirts.

“What are you-” Lilian’s question ended in a gasp as Karissa brought the hem of the underskirt to her mouth and, starting a tear with her teeth, ripped a section from the bottom. 

“My lady!” Dalvo exclaimed.

“We have nothing else to use for bandages,” Karissa explained, making another rip and tearing the underskirt again. “Help me, Lillian. We must stop these men from losing too much blood. Here,” she said, handing the ripped sections to Dalvo. “Do what you can with these.” Dalvo looked dumbfounded, but then went to one of the men laying on the grass and began dressing a long gash on his leg.

Lilian got out another underskirt and held it carefully in her hands. “But… your clothes…” she said softly.

“I can get new clothes in Hallel,” Karissa replied, continuing to tear the first underskirt. Lilian nodded, then made her own tear in the white fabric in her hands. At Karissa’s command, a couple of other guards took out their daggers and began slicing up her remaining underskirts and distributed them to be used on the wounded. 

Karissa finished her work and handed off the last strips of torn fabric to one of her guards, then closed up the now almost-empty suitcase and sat down on the ground next to it. Lilian ripped the last of her strips and walked over to where the guards were busy helping the wounded. 

Meanwhile, the Duke’s knights had organized into groups of three or four and were dragging the bodies of the dead wyvern into a pile off of the road. Karissa saw the Duke himself wrestle with one of the scaled beasts alongside a couple of his knights, sweat dripping from his brow. 

“My lady,” Dalvo said, approaching her from the side of the road where the severely wounded still lay. “We’ve finished with the wounded. Some might be able to walk, but most will need to be carried. I’ve started some of the men making litters for them.”

“Very good, Captain.” Dalvo bobbed his head and turned back the way he had come.

“Lady Karissa.” She snapped her head up, surprised to find the Duke standing in front of her, still breathing hard from the exertion of clearing the road of wyvern carcasses. She moved to get up, but he held out his hand to stop her. “There’s no need to stand, you ought to rest while you can,” he said. “I know it is not ideal, but we must continue on as soon as possible. Wyvern can smell blood on the wind. More will be coming soon. I’m hopeful they’ll be satisfied with the carrion left behind, but we may not be so lucky.”

“I understand, Your Grace,” Karissa said. “We’ve already patched up the wounded, and my guards are making litters for those that will not be able to walk on their own.” The Duke nodded, looking weary but determined.

“My men’s horses can also be used to carry the wounded,” he said.

Karissa nodded. He raised a hand to his forehead to wipe away some of the sweat, and Karissa spotted a single droplet of red blood drip from the greave strapped to his forearm.

“Your arm!” Karissa exclaimed, realizing that she had forgotten about the wound he had received from the wyvern earlier. I should have tended to him first! She looked over to her guards, but could not see any unused scraps of cloth that she could gather for her new husband. 

“It is nothing, my lady,” the Duke said quickly. “I will-”

“You will sit while I dress your wound,” Karissa said firmly, standing this time despite his protests.

“I- what are you doing?!” the Duke exclaimed as Karissa pulled up the skirt of her maroon dress and, taking the underskirt she was currently wearing in her teeth, made a rip and tore off the entire bottom section.

“Where did you think we got the bandages from?” Karissa asked, then tore off yet another piece, letting her skirt fall down again to hide the ripped cloth. Hopefully that will be enough. She looked up into the Duke’s bewildered face, then pointed at the ground where she had just been. “Sit.” The Duke opened his mouth to protest, but Karissa raised an eyebrow and he quickly shut his mouth and did as she commanded.

She knelt down next to him as he unbuckled the greave and removed it as well as the padding underneath. Karissa winced in sympathy as she saw the extent of the damage, then began winding the makeshift bandage around his still-bleeding forearm. 

The wyvern’s teeth had left distinct marks in the skin. Some shallow, others deep. The blood made her again think of the Duke’s warhorse laying on the road in a puddle of red. While she was glad the Duke had decided to end the animal’s suffering as quickly as possible, she wondered if it had affected him in any way. Karissa recalled his expression as he had stood after the horse was gone, and couldn’t decide if it was cold or just resigned. 

Perhaps that was something she could ask when she got to know him better.

“You surprise me, Lady Karissa,” the Duke said suddenly. She paused and looked up, finding that he was staring right back at her with his dark brown eyes.

“What?” she asked dumbly. Surprise? How could I surprise him?

“When you went for my dagger…” he continued. Karissa thought back to the fight with the wyvern. Seeing him go for the dagger, but it was just out of reach. She had to do something or he would be killed. “Well… I thought you might have decided to take the opportunity to get rid of me.”