Shoving the boy she held into the arms of the woman weeping beside her, Yvaine shot to her feet and hurried to kneel next to Lady Sabine. Panic was rising up in her chest but she fought it back down.
Think. Think, girl, think, no time for fear.
Stupid, stupid Ronald. Why couldn't he have just kept his mouth shut? Letting out a sharp breath, Yvaine said sharply to another of the women- she thought this one was actually an older house keeper- "Hold her steady, and put pressure around the shaft." She didn't know enough about healing to risk pulling the arrow out herself.
Getting to her feet again, she ignored the way her knees shook and turned to face the man again, eyes darting around wildly as she calculated, planned.
This is idiotic. This is suicide. I'm going to die...
Shoving the thought away, she suddenly lunged forward. Slight she may be, but Yvaine was fast. She used the element of surprise and managed to snatch a rapier from one of their "guards" belts.
Falling back in front of the other hostages, she brandished the blade and tried to look much more confident than she really was. A few months of lessons with her older brother when she was a girl hardly made her a decent swordswoman.