Lochan does not know what to do
Just a quick warning guys. This one’s a bit upsetting and a bit gruesome… I found it upsetting to write but maybe I’m just wussy. Just in case anyone doesn’t want to read… the usual… you’ll find out what happened in the next post anyway.
“Here she is! I think I’ve found her here!!!”, Arran shouted, “bring the torches! I’ve found her”.
Lochan and the other men ran to the spot they heard the young man’s desperate voice coming from.
When they arrived he was already on the ground cradling her limp body in his arms. Lochan couldn’t help noticing the glistening blood spattered on her dress and face, her blue eyes open and staring, her once-pretty mouth set in a dreadful grimace. He shuddered, imagining that it could be his Isaura, lying dead before him, her and the baby she was carrying inside her lost to him forever. He could not take it, and he had to turn away for a moment as Arran chattered in terror.
“You’ll be bein’ arright then my lovely Nellie… don’t yew be worryin’ that pretty head of yers… we’ll get yew inside where it’s warm and safe in no time”.
He was stroking her damp hair absent mindly, rocking back and forth her head lolling like a doll’s on his lap.
“She’ll be arright won’t she Sir… won’t she… she’s just a little bit frightened… cause… cause… she’s been bein’ lost all this time an’ it’s a very cold night… won’t she”.
He looked up at Lochan his innocent face pleading, shining a sickly white in the glow of the full moon. Lochan could not take it, he wanted to escape, to flee this dreadful scene and curl up somewhere dark and warm and bury his face in Isaura’s hair. But Isaura’s hair was no longer warm and soft, but lank and plastered to her face as she tossed and turned in the clutches of a fever. There was nowhere he could go.
“Now lad… how about you come over here and let me take a look at her”, he said in a firm voice desperately trying to hide the shake in it.
“Yer arright my beautiful, beautiful Nellie… I’m sorry for makin’ you cry and run off in the dark… I don’t mind if yew can’t have babies… I still love yew… I do. We can be happy anyway… Nellie… Nell why won’t you answer me… I said I was sorry… Nell…”
His hand was desperately stroking her rigid stomach and Lochan thought he would be sick as he saw the blood smearing on the young man’s pallid hands.
“Yew have to help me! Help me! It’s sick my Nellie’s bein’… we have to take her someplace warm and safe so we can fix her till she’s better… she’ll be arright if we just take her inside”.
He had pulled the woman’s body up into a sitting position and was desperately pawing at her, shaking her by the shoulders.
“Yew’ll be arright old girl… yer Arran will take care of yew just like I always done… won’t you help me”, he said imploringly to the men.
He began to drag at the corpse, trying to get his shoulder under her weight but Lochan could see the young man’s trembling knees buckling under him. Lochan did not know what to do, he was frozen to the spot in horror, his stomach churning, bile rising in his throat. He could hear Sigurd whimpering softly somewhere behind him.
Then he heard a strong, gentle voice beside him.
“Come on then lad, let her go… we’ll be helpin’ her if we can… you need to move yerself so we can see if there’s anythin’ to be done”.
The young man suddenly realising that there was nothing that could be done, fell to his knees the body falling from his arms and sliding to the ground. He began to sob, the terrible abandoned crying of a child, pressing his hands against his eyes. Lochan couldn’t bear to watch his shoulders shaking with sorrow, to listen to the animal noises of grief. He wanted to put his hands over his eyes, to block up his ears and make it all go away.
“Let me give you a hand up then lad, yew’ll be arright”, Noah reached down with his strong arms and hauled Arran to his feet, holding him steady as he swayed in place.
“She’s gone then hasn’t she”, he gave a heartrending sob and almost collapsed, but Noah had his hand firmly on Arran’s arm and he held him there, speaking kindly to him with his calm, deep voice as the young man quietly wept against his shoulder.
Lochan bent down to feel the young woman’s neck for a pulse. She was definitely dead, her heart still and cold, her skin so pale it looked like all the warmth had been sucked out of her. She must have been attacked by wolves, he thought. If only the poor silly girl had not run outside alone. They had warned all the people of the danger. He reached out to close her staring open eyes, he could not bear to see them any longer. He was surprised to see blood on his fingers when her did.
“Sigurd! Bring the torch closer… yes here… over by her neck”.
“That’s strange, it looks like something has bitten her here”, he said quietly, pointing to the ragged flesh just beneath her chin where he had just been searching for a sign of life, “but it doesn’t look like a wolves bite… it’s too neat for that”.
What Lochan did not add, what he did not want to admit to the others was something about the wound that disturbed him greatly. The teethmarks looked almost human.
So there you go… some of the extras. Poor extras *sniffle* I have already grown attached to them just in this post
. Maybe you’ll see more of Arran… I quite like him. Poor guy though… I unthinkly named him Arran Barran. Urk… he’ll be getting a new last name. I always do this to my sims by accident… I don’t really look at their whole names before I click okay which always ends in strife (I have lost of families in my neighbourhoods with very similar names lie Stranton and Branton… I’m just not good at coming up with last names).
Oh and if anyone is confused about Isaura. Yes she did have a miscarriage that day in the church when Mella was acting all strange. I alluded to this fact when Hepsie went to visit Valeriya. She said that she had, had practice speaking well because of the Duchess losing her baby… the Duchess is Isaura. But yes anyway enough reminiscing
… she is pregnant again and that’s what Lochan is talking about.
Hmm, good job, Verity. You succeeded in forcing me to put my apple down in mid-chapter. Funny thing was, it wasn’t the bloody gruesomeness, but the way poor Arran kept talking her and trying to wake her, where it was becoming obvious that she was already dead. So sad… it was getting hard to swallow there. Especially when you consider the reason why she ran out. He is going to feel guilty about that for the rest of his life.
It was a great idea to tell this chapter from Lochan’s POV. It was quite affecting to see how affected he was, especially since he could not help imagining his own wife in Nellie’s place.
And Noah! I just want to hug — no, BE hugged by Noah. He is the sweetest, most compassionate guy ever. Plus I love guys with beards.
I love Noah! I wasn’t sure what to do at the end of this chapter with Sigurd and Lochan being entirely useless but then I just thought Noah! He is so strong and quiet and compassionate. Love him! You just know you would feel safe wrapped up in his big strong arms. And I love guys with beards too.
Oh that’s so awful! The first death on Mhalwae? I wonder if this is just the beginning now that Mella is a vampire. And I wonder if this girl will rise from the dead too? Uh oh, soon there will be a whole slew of vampires on Mhalwae!
Verity, you are a wussy, but I am too. You’re killing off and making trouble left and right. *sob* The curse of the land! The curse of the land! Gah! Ohh, poor, poor, Isaura! A happy couple gone already. The poor lady. Her husband will have to live with the guilt forever. Don’t make him accidentally think it was his fault!
Incidentally, can Mella be rebaptized? Or soaked in holy water? It only makes sense . . . or what about silver? Silver bullets in myths always kill vamps . . . perhaps a workaround can be found sans bullets to get Mella back to normal? Is chain mail made of silver? Not even the decorative kinds?
Sorry Aithne. I can’t help it… trouble-making is in my nature
. I don’t know about this whole vampire silver bullet thing… I always thought that was more werewolf killy. I like your ideas though 
. But since Mella isn’t exactly a vampire this silver thing probably wouldn’t work anyway.
It’s . . . werewolves? What about Van Helsing? *blink* Aaah, well, might be insane. But even if I’m not it won’t work?
*sulks* Noo. You need to beg Lothere to borrow Aelfden or something.
But Harndall is supposed to do that.
I thought that a stake through the heart is to vampires as silver bullet is to werewolves. But I know less about vampires and monsters than your average 8-year-old.
However, I can say on some authority (Aelfden’s, that is) that rebaptism isn’t possible, nor even desirable. What that girl needs is an exorcism. Vade retro satana, and so forth. Barring that, “a book of summoning of angels”. I think Father Harndall is out of his league, anyway.