STORY #3

They had not travelled far, when a donkey cart almost ran them off the road. The cart was pulled by not one or two, but four donkeys, all running as fast as their driver could make them go. She didn't have time to look at the cart. She pushed Tayir off the road and stumbled after, protecting the basket's contents as best she could. She had started to pick up the spilled dates when she noticed something had fallen off the back of the cart. Tayir was exclaiming words he wasn't supposed to know, directed at the driver, so she knew he was okay.

Anna put the basket down and approached the bundle of clothes. She realized they were clothes, and there was a flash of pale skin... and hair. Masses of bright hair, the color of her best copper pot after a vinegar rinse. She wasn't moving either. Anna bent down to take her pulse. "Tayir! Give me your shirt now!" She ordered the boy.

Tayir kicked the basket, but not hard enough to move it. "Why? That's not decent."

"She's bleeding." Anna had found the wound in her scalp and a slow steady pulse. "I need to bind the wound and cover her hair.

Tayir stared. He had never seen such hair. It was no wonder, as Anna had never seen hair that color either.

"Tayir!"

He tugged off his shirt and handed it over. He watched his sister cover the hair completely and pad the wound. He picked his nose.

"Go and do something useful. Go and fetch Varazadt, or at least fetch the donkey. We need to get her back to the house." Anna continued to tend to her, and gently moved her to the side of the road, as Tayir finally ran back they way they had come.

"I'm not going to market today," she said to the mystery woman. "The temple will have to wait for me a little longer."  ¶ 5:34 PM