"Dear God, where are my clothes? How did I come to be here?" she thought frantically.
It all came back to her in a rush; the soldiers, her wild ride through the forest to warn her father, her flight from the battle, the storm. Beyond that, she knew nothing. Tears started to trickle down her cheeks at all she had lost. This would not do. She had to get out of here, find help, reach Frederick.
Dashing the tears from her eyes with the back of her hand, Ariana rolled over and made it to her hands and knees. She saw her clothes by the fire, hanging from sticks thrust into the ground. She remembered being carefully wrapped in the blanket and tenderly laid on the straw. Someone had cared for her, well. Perhaps she could enlist this stranger's aid in finding her way to Frederick.
But it would not do for the stranger to find her naked and weak. He must find her fully dressed and standing on her feet as Lady Ariana, daughter of the great Earl William. She would then be in a position to demand his help. After all, he was probably one of her father's peasants and, thus, owed his allegiance to her as well.
Ariana crawled over to her clothes and pulled them toward her. She managed to draw on her pantalets and chemise before having to rest against the wall. She closed her eyes and sat there, trying to catch her breath.
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