Chapter 12

Raimi the dragoness spent the rest of the morning dragging old fallen trees and large pieces of wood then gathered arm loads of small and medium size pieces for the stove and to use as kindling to put behind her cottage. It was still damp from the day before but at least the sun had come out so hopefully it would dry she told herself. Strut snorted "you make me tired just watching you, what are you doing?" Raimi turned and looked at Strut "I'm trying to get ready for the cold weather, you should be doing the same, did the blankets and other things get to Shelaw' all right?" Strut his hands on his hips nodded "you should of checked with Shelaw first, Bitsy the fairy woman was by yesterday afternoon and left us all sorts of warm blankets and more food, she even gave me a nice fuzzy scarf to wrap around my neck to stay warm, and one for Toledoes and Ailysh too, so we don't need the stuff you sent." Raimi just nodded and went back to sawing the branches off an old dead tree, Strut snorted "why don't you use your magic to do that, you sure kept that magic hidden when everyone else was losing theirs, we probably could have used it a time or two in tight spots." Raimi sighed and sent Strut popping off to Shelaw's, in anger, fury and pain the dragoness Raimi ripped at the tree with her talons, roaring in frustration, she hacked at it until she finally lay down in exhaustion, tiredly the woman Raimi went inside and fixed herself something hot to drink, then started carrying in the small dry pieces of wood she had found. Raimi worked all day sawing and cutting wood when it started to get dark she covered everything with the canvas and went back inside. Collin sat in the library listening to Bitsy telling Kat and Natalie about the scarves she had given the small dragons, commenting she had an ulterior motive, it would give her something to strangle Strut with. Natalie laughed "at least tie his snout shut with it." Kat not being all that familiar with Strut just smiled. Collin asked quietly "did Raimi enjoy her scarf as well?" Bitsy looked at him in surprise "I didn't go over to Raimi's, she more than likely all ready has winter things, she appears very self sufficient." Collin arched an eyebrow "and how was Raimi to get her winter clothes?" Natalie frowned "she has an account at the store I heard." Collin looked at Natalie "have you stopped by to give her an idea of the things she would be needing for winter?" Kat looked at Collin "what are you getting at?" Collin looked at the three women "what I'm getting at is this, I think you, Natalie and Bitsy, are making Raimi pay for Revanche having gone back to London for all those weeks, I think you're making her pay for his confusion and disquiet. I think the two of you are in your womanly way giving Raimi a stay away from Revanche message. I seem to remember a young woman who came here as a bride, who found herself feeling unwelcome and unwanted thinking we didn't like her because our son was unhappy and I remember his mother upset at her son being unhappy stayed away from that young bride, I also remember her friend Bitsy doing the same thing, I recall little tea parties and other get together's that excluded that young bride and the pain it caused her. While Raimi is not a bride, she is still a stranger here. Natalie, Bitsy when Raimi first came here you both befriended her, now you turn your backs on her, I am very disappointed in the two of you." Natalie and Bitsy gave each other guilty looks, Bitsy sighed "perhaps I was doing that but not intentionally." Natalie nodded "I have been avoiding Raimi not wanting to say something inadvertently about Revanche that might make things worse." Collin stood up "think about how Raimi must feel at this point, had I realized what you women were doing sooner I would have checked on Raimi myself" then left the room.

In frustration Raimi tugged the large log in the front door, jerking and pulling on it she inched it towards the fireplace, even though it was old, dry and brittle it was still too heavy to pick up she had tried three times, she was tempted to change form but her dragoness would barely fit in the front room of the cottage and she might break the furniture or something. Bending down she grabbed one end of the log and gave it a heave, Raimi dropped to her knees with a cry her arms wrapping around her lower belly as pain after pain swamped her body, glancing down she saw the blood all over her breeches as a terrible cramped griped her she realized in shock what was happening. She had seen it many times to the women she had been chained too, they had been unchained from the group and kicked off to the side of the road to die, desperately she tried to remember what the women who had survived had done. Unable to stand she crawled to the pool room and grabbed a handful of towels, she knew she had to stop the bleeding, getting her breeches off she pressed the towels between her legs as hard as she could. This shouldn't be happening she raged, her dragoness couldn't conceive that meant her human shouldn't be able to also, didn't it? Obviously not she cried as another cramp ripped through her lower body. Raimi kept replacing the towels and pressing them as tightly as she could. It seemed like the night had lasted a life time but at least she was still alive, pulling the blanket she had used on the beach over herself Raimi lay curled up in a tight ball on the cold pool room floor telling herself she would get up in a minute, after she was sure the bleeding had finally stopped for good.

Alex, Raimi's jacket in his hand stood at her open door frowning, he had walked all around the cottage but couldn't find her, with a shrug he walked into the small living room and laid the jacket over the back of a chair. Bending down he dipped a finger into the drying brown stain on the floor, with a frown he looked at the blood on his fingers. "Geeesuuuss Raimi" Alex groaned as he strode into the pool room, Alex picked up a corner of the blanket and looked underneath, quickly he dropped the blanket and turned her over. Raimi moaned then bite her lower lip "go away please." Alex shook his head "I need to get you in bed Raimi and get you some help." Raimi with a trembling hand tried to push him away "no, just let me be, please." Alex reached under her to pick her up and quickly laid her back down when she cried out in pain. Collin came rushing in the pool room "what the hell happened?" Alex looked up "she's having a miscarriage or already had one, I don't know yet, geeessuuss, Collin there's blood everywhere." With a fierce frown Collin knelt down next to Raimi "Raimi when did this happen?" Raimi trying to scoot away from the two men moaned "last night, please just go away, I can take care of myself, you don't like me so just leave me be." Alex told Collin that he had tried to pick her up and she had screamed in pain. Collin nodded pressing his hand to her forehead he sent her into a deep sleep, then picked her up and carried her out of the pool room, laying her on her bed he groaned as he took the bloody blanket off her, taking a towel from the stack that had appeared on the bed Collin put a clean towel between her legs, then rubbed his hand over her lower abdomen "she's lost a hell of a lot of blood Alex, but at least the bleeding is stopped now and the pain should be gone." Alex stood staring down at Raimi "why didn't she call for help? geessuus she could have bled to death, what did she mean we don't like her?" Collin sighed and shook his head but thought, maybe because she was afraid no one would come help her. Collin silently sent Marti'en a message asking her if she could come stay with Raimi for a short while, Marti'en appeared a moment later, in shock she looked at Raimi laying on the bed, Collin told her what they thought had happened. Alex still shaken to his toes said he would go clean up the pool room, Collin shook his head "not yet, don't touch it until I get back" then was gone.

Collin strode into the study "I want you two to come with me!" he told Revanche and Natalie, Rav walked in "what's going on, why are you so angry?" Collin snarled "I'll show you why I'm so angry!" Collin took the three to Raimi's pool room. Natalie gasped her hand over her mouth staring at all the bloody towels and blood on the floor "that's what's left of your child, your grandchild and my great grand child. Raimi lay in her own blood all night long as she lost that child and didn't once call for help because she thought WE didn't like her anymore!" Collin snarled. Collin turned to Revanche "you left a woman pregnant then walked away and got busy with your own life and your own confusions, what about hers? What do you think she thought of us last night, how frightened and alone do you think she felt last night as she lost your child!" Turning to Natalie he snapped "she asked you to help Renlock but wouldn't ask you for help when she herself desperately needed it, you lost a child and had us all there to care for you, imagine what it would have been like to have been all alone then, think about that!"

Raimi woke up for a moment as Marti'en pulled the covers over her. Alex frowned "what did she say?" Marti'en brushed her hand over Raimi's forehead "she kept saying she didn't know, that the dragons were all sterile, she just hadn't known." Alex shook his head "I don't think she's going to be jumping out of trees for quite a long time." He looked up to see Revanche and Natalie standing in the doorway. Alex left the room and went into the living room, staring down at the log on the floor, with an angry heave he tossed it outside, picked up Raimi's axe and started chopping it into pieces for the fireplace. With each arm load he carried into the house he got angrier, turning he snapped "I imagine it gets damn cold in here at night, she should have a fireplace in that bedroom." Rav could only nod. Alex went around to the back of the house and stood staring at the wood under the canvas, no wonder she's in such bad shape he thought, if she had done all that herself. Alex filled the wood box near the stove in the kitchen, got a fire burning and put a kettle of water on to heat. Alex saw the coat from the store and the blankets, walking back into her bedroom ignoring everyone he opened her closet and looked at the light summer clothes except for the heavy velvet dressing gown, quietly he shut the door and left the room.

Revanche brushed the tangled mat of hair off Raimi's cheek "I'm so sorry, I got so busy trying to finish everything up so I could be home for good, I just thought you would be sitting waiting here for me, why didn't you come tell me?" Marti'en touched Revanche's shoulder "Raimi can't hear you, she didn't know, she had no idea she was pregnant, she said something about all the dragons being sterile, she must of thought if her dragoness was then so was her human." Raimi moaned still caught in the sleep Collin had sent her into, rolling up on her side she pulled up her knees with another moan. Marti'en frowned "why don't you men go take a walk or something while I take care of Raimi." Raimi woke up trying to push Marti'en away from her "please, I can do it, you don't need to stay, I'll be fine in a little while." Marti'en took a hold of Raimi's wrists "listen to me Raimi, you can't do this yourself, like it or not we're here to help you, now just lay back down." Raimi laid down not looking at anyone embarrassed to her core to have this old woman washing her like she was a baby in diapers. Raimi woke up shivering, she tried to huddle under her blankets but couldn't seem to get warm. "I'm glad Strut has his fuzzy scarf it's gotten terribly cold" she said to no one in particular, Marti'en frowned as Natalie with a sob ran out of the room. Revanche sitting next to the bed frowned "she's shivering so badly but doesn't feel feverish" Marti'en nodded "it's from the loss of blood, her body is in shock from it, that's what I'm trying to take care of now, why don't you go get a drink or something Revanche you look sheet white." Revanche went into the kitchen, then into the living room "has anyone seen Hellhound?" Alex pulling on his jacket told Revanche that Hellhound was with Zara and perhaps it was better if the puppy stayed with them for a few days, then said if either he or Laurel could help in anyway just to let them know, that he would be back later to check on Raimi and bring her some warm nightgowns and a couple sweaters. Natalie came out of the kitchen "I've all ready taken care of warm clothes for her but thank you Alex" with a nod Alex left.