Lora of Two Worlds

In the stall, only Leon, Lyle, and the Lohenheim stable master. Golden Lion calmed. Even lowered his head to eat.

But he kept lifting and setting the fractured leg, easing the pain.

The stable master whispered: ”My lord, the young lady...”

”Whatever she wants to do, do it. You’ve already advised me to kill him. What could be harder than that?”

The stable master withdrew. Leon sat beside Golden Lion, quiet.

Lora had requested one material: gypsum. Not hard to find in the Empire, salt lakes yielded it as a byproduct.

The gypsum-curdling craft had been known since the old kingdom days.

Now, physicians distinguished between raw and calcined gypsum, different medicinal properties.

”Calcined gypsum, five pounds...”

”Five pounds”, the vets jumped: ”Impossible! Gypsum isn’t indicated for this condition. And that dose, the horse will die without needing to be killed!”

Lora ignored them. Continued:

”Large-mesh, unbleached linen, one bolt.”

What was that for? Too much for a splint.

”Also, I need a frame built. Like this. With a windlass. It must support the horse’s weight.”

She drew as she spoke. Simple: two A-frame timber posts, a crossbar. The key, a height-adjustable sling on the crossbar.

In the army, not difficult. Siege equipment used windlasses. Similar enough.

When Roland saw the drawing: ”No problem. All of it, ready within a day.”

”Stable master, can you give the horse a private room? Other horses’ voices disturb him.”

”Of course, of course. The feed store, I’ll clear it.”

Lora smiled: ”The frame goes in the feed store. Golden Lion will recover there for the next few months. Once I’ve stabilized him, I’ll have the vets set the bone.”

Norton, following Lora, watched her sketch, the same way she’d drawn the tuning fork for him.

As if her mind held everything. A simple drawing, and a miracle would follow.

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When Lora returned to the stall, Golden Lion had his head in Leon’s hands. The horse nuzzled his face, snorting softly. A picture of kindred spirits.

Lora watched them quietly. A peaceful moment...

”Ah!” Lora grabbed her hair and yelped. Margaret and Shawn, three paces behind, rushed forward.

So much for peace. The horse in the next stall had reached over and tasted Lora’s braids. Apparently, it smelled like flowers.

Leon turned, saw the scene, and laughed out loud. Then barked at Lyle: ”What are you laughing at? Go help her!”

The mood lightened. Margaret tidied Lora’s hair. Lora glared at the chestnut horse that had committed the crime and bolted:

”See if I don’t teach you a lesson. Norton, check if it’s a mare. I’ll take I!”

She pushed open the next stall door. Leon was still watching Golden Lion. She thought he was sad, comforted him:

”It’s fine. Everything’s arranged. Luckily, it’s a hind leg. A horse carries only forty percent of its weight on the hind legs.

The forelegs are better suited for standing, that’s why horses rest a hind leg, not a foreleg...”

He turned the wheelchair. His face was all smiles:

”You really did learn from a veterinarian. That’s more than I knew, and I ride.”

”You didn’t know that? But when you want the horse to gallop, you lean forward, matching the shoulder movement. That’s your brilliance.”

Leon looked at Lora. After a long moment:

”I’d like to ask, when can we move to the next step of our courtship?”

What? That was a fast pivot. He was over his worry! Lora didn’t bother answering. Rolled her eyes. Turned to inspect the hair-eating mare.

Green hills, green grass. A girl in a pine-green jacket and rose-pink pleated skirt, patiently riding a little mare that stopped every few steps to nibble something.

In the open space beside them, freshly felled trees. Soldiers sawed off branches, under Roland’s watchful eye.

By the stables, Norton and Shawn cut coarse linen into strips, spreading crushed gypsum powder evenly.

Golden Lion wasn’t happy about the leather straps around his body.

He stomped, restless. Then, his body went light. The straps pulled him upward. This wouldn’t do! He kicked.

Golden Lion wasn’t happy about the leather straps around his body. He stomped, restless. Then, his body went light. The straps pulled him upward. This wouldn’t do! He kicked.

”Stop, don’t lift him fully. Let his hooves feel the ground.”

Golden Lion settled. Safe again.

Lora turned to the older vet: ”Please, apply the splint. Then I’ll stabilize.”

The vets had confidence now. The frame solved the weight-bearing problem. It would need regular adjustments, but it was controllable.

The vet splinted the leg. Lora took the gypsum-coated linen strips, soaked them, and wound them around the splint, layer by layer.

After a while, the vet touched the wrapping. Rock hard.

The frame bore part of the horse’s weight. The cast held the splint and the set bone in place.

”Making the cast isn’t difficult. Use calcined gypsum. There’s some left, take it and experiment.

Human limb injuries can be treated the same way. The downsides, it’s warm, and changing dressings is harder.”

”Making the cast isn’t difficult. Use calcined gypsum. There’s some left, take it and experiment. Human limb injuries can be treated the same way. The downsides, it’s warm, and changing dressings is harder.”

”My lady, this method is wonderful! Especially for children and animals, patients who can’t hold still.”

This vet had started as a human physician. He knew the value.

A full day’s work. Golden Lion was finally stable.

In the carriage home, Leon held Lora in his arms:

”I wish this moment would stop. Never pass.”

”Fool! If time didn’t pass, how would Golden Lion’s bone heal? And, prepare yourself. Even when he’s healed, he may not return to his former peak.”

”I only care that he lives. Let him graze in a sunlit field every day. Until he’s old.”