Journeying with a baby by horseback presents more challenges for Edvard, Yuila, and especially Mina.
If you’re just joining this story, you may want to start from the beginning. Read into the world of shadows and mirrors.
♫♪Suggested Music: from Peaceful Journey on AudioNetwork
Traveling with the baby added a few new twists to Mina's day. Edvard helped her devise a sling to hold the child in front of her, and he now sat behind her on Neito's back. It provided enough awkward moments, especially when Mina was trying to situate the child in front of her while in the saddle, and more so when the baby decided she was offering him dinner. Mina quickly accommodated the baby to her waist, but not before Edvard and Yuila both had the chance to witness the incident.
And so Mina began their travel for the day with a wet, dark spot on her lilac dress. One which, she noticed, did not completely disappear when dried in the sun. She blamed it on the baby's tea diet. Fortunately the sling the baby lay in covered the spot effectively, as well as keeping the infant close as it slept, the action of the horse walking lending a rocking motion. It also added another layer of heat to Mina's day.
They had to stop three hours into their travel to feed the baby the mild bergamot tea and some pheasant broth, and then again after noon for another meal. This time Mina boiled a potato until it was soft enough to fall apart and added a little warm water to make a soupy, cereal-like meal for him. This seemed to go down well, and most of it stayed down—until they were back on the trail and Mina found herself with a new stain, this one a thick white. She repositioned the sling and decided this would be the first of many, so she may as well get used to it.
They stopped for the night a little sooner than usual, and Mina was thankful. She knew Edvard wanted to keep to his schedule for time, so she didn't say anything, but the constant jostling of the baby seemed too agitating to her. She decided to walk the next day, but knew it would also slow their progress.
Actually, she thought the baby was doing quite well, having survived for maybe two days without nourishment or any other attention. She dipped her finger in the water warming over the fire and deemed it of a good temperature to bathe the child. He had had one stunted semi-bath with a soft, damp cloth, but was so weak she had limited a full submerging. She removed the copper pot and poured half of the water in a bucket and soaked a thick cloth. She looked to where Yuila was hugging Sova's neck and petting the mare's long mane.
Mina squeezed the excess water out of the soft cloth and unwrapped the baby's wrappings. "Well, little boy, what shall we call you?" The child wiggled, waving his arms as she wiped his face with the cloth. "And where are we going to take you?"
There was more to her conversation as she bathed the child, but it was mostly one-sided, with him only adding faces and murmurs, happier with a full belly and constant human warmth. She wrapped him in another clean cloth and held him close, smiling at him. His face had lost some of the red rash and his cheeks were a little fuller. She sighed. "It's potatoes again, and it will be until we can think of something else, buddy."
"We will," Edvard said as he met her at the fire. He added a few twigs to the flames and looked in the copper pot. He leaned closer to see the child and nodded. "He looks cleaner."
"He is. Any ideas on what to do with him?" She shook her head. She hadn't meant it to sound so harsh. "He needs proper feeding."
He nodded in agreement. "There are gypsies ahead of us on the road. They may take him."
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Claire’s Fiction Updates to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.