A secret healer

Saira

I could feel a pull, as if I was being called to another place. The scene started to change from the library that I used to study in as a child, to a round dark room. From what I could see of it I found it to be an odd room.

The walls were made up of a darkness, with wall sconces sporadically placed casting a low light through the room. In the center of the room, I saw a pedestal that had what looked like a crystal ball on top of it.

On the opposite side of it was a hooded and cloaked figure. He or she didn’t seem to notice me enter the room. I felt emboldened to walk up closer, hoping to see their face. At first the individual was flickering like the light of a candle, making it difficult to make out any features.

I tried to focus as hard as I could, hoping to clear up some of the features.

“A... Aurelia?”

As they cleared, it was the features of my best friend hidden beneath the cloak. She looked up from the ball and focused them on my face as well.

“Saira?’ She asked with a puzzled look on her face. “How are you here?”

I was wondering the same thing.

“I don’t know where here is. was dreaming of a library I used to go to, then I felt a pull of some kind. Then I was here. What is this place?” I asked I looked around the room.

“This is the room the young maid found and old us about. I dreamed about this room before she told us about it. So, I wanted to come back and see if there was anything for us to see here.”

I looked around the room once more, taking in what I could see who a new insight. There were a few books on the shelves the stood against the dark walls. Curios to see what titles could be in such a place. I was surprised to see that they were spell books from my lands!

They were in a language that was not used in a long time. When I reached out to pull it from the shelve, my hand passed through it. Why couldn’t I pick it up?

“We need to come back to this room I n the waking world.” I said to Aurelia as I turned to look at her.

“I agree. I want to see this crystal ball in person. Do you feel an odd connection to it?”

I looked at it again trying to see if I felt anything while I stared at it. There was nothing.

“I don’t notice anything here, maybe when we see it in person, we will be able to tell more. How do we get out of here?”

“I’m not sure. When I came her last, I was woken from the outside.”

“I don’t sense anything holding us here. If we think about waking up, we should just h=be able to leave. That’s how you got here after all.”

“okay, let's try it.”

We stood together focusing everything we had to wake up. It didn’t happen at first but eventually I felt the familiar sense of waking up. Aurelia began to flicker and then the room disappeared. I opened my eyes and saw that I was back in our room, in my own bed. The dream was over.

Aurelia was awake in her bed to, she looked over at me and when our eyes met, we both laughed at the same time. We noticed that it was still dark and the house was very quiet.

“I went to see your healing house. The location is perfect for now. I think we will still have to wait a few days. Theres still enough attention there to make me uncomfortable. I spoke with a maid and she wis going to help gather furniture and anything else you need. If there is something specific you should let her know today.”

“Thank you.” I was so happy that she was this involved in my plan. With her help I know it would work out.

“If a man approaches you by the name of Jaxson. He owns the area and wants to help us.”

“Thats good. The more we have on our side the better. I feel like we are running out of time but have nothing to d but wait. If we fail all of this will be for nothing.”

“Then we don’t fail. At any cost.”

She sounded so sure that I felt better about my doubts. She seemed to have changed in a way. we started to get ready for the day. We got dressed together, brushed our hair together and then went down to breakfast together. The entire time we had been here, there was always someone to cook our meals. They were still asleep so we were able to finally cook together again like we did on the road here.

Aurelia prepared her new favorite drink for us. It smelled nutty and heavenly. I made us some eggs and browned some toast with it. It smelled so good in here that my stomach started to grumble. Aurelia chatted away about Kairios and the Captain, she was bothered by how Kairos acted and how the Captain was so forthcoming in his affections. It was a lot for her to deal with along with everything else we had on our plates right now.

I talked about Massell and the way I felt for him and the way he acted around me. She acted like she already knew and was just trying to be supportive. She told me there would be better men after all this was done and to just try to forget about him.

We finished our meal as the house started to wake up. We decided to go to the back yard to enjoy the mornings fresh air. While Aurelia practiced with her bow, I threw some knives as well. She told me that she missed flying and was tired of being couped up.

Kairios, Acantha and Massell came down after a bit and joined us. We spent the rest of the morning training together. Hours passed by quickly as we enjoyed ourselves. We were sitting all together on the grass after we had finished a large lunch when a maid came rushing into the backyard.

“My lady! Theres is a letter for you, it's from Lady Lyanna!”

We all jumped to our feet at the same filled with the excitement to finally have some news. Aurelia took the letter and ripped into and read quickly with sparkling eyes. She handed the letter to me and I read it aloud.

“My dear Apprentice, I have had a great deal of success on my trip so far. I have informed the lords and land owners of the new order and they have all been willing to gather the necessary resources to be ready for my return trip to you. Be well, Lyanna.”

It was a quick letter with a clear meaning to us. She was gaining support for Aurelia and that when she returned, she would bring us an army. When I looked at Aurelia, I could see the feelings written all over her face. They wanted to support her!

I looked at the other reactions and saw that Aurelia and I were the only ones with a happy expression. Kairios had a serious look and Massell looked deep in thought. Acantha was looking at Aurelia with a worried look on her face. Her eyes darted from face to face, worried for each of us.

The rest of the night was spent in a small celebration. Everyone in the house enjoyed some good food and some drinking, the house was filled with chatter and laughter. I was too tired to keep up with the others and decided to go to bed early. Thoughts danced around my thoughts as I fell asleep hoping the next few days would be exciting.

And they were, for me at least. Massell came with me every day while I set up my healing house. When it was ready, he would go with me to find people to take there to help them. At first no one wanted my help, they seemed to fear that I would place a curse on them.

It all changed with a fight in the alley one night. Two men had been seriously beaten but the guards and were left to die in the streets. A small crowd had gathered around them, no one was trying to help them, they just looked down on them with fer and pity.

“I can help them.”

They all turned to look at me.

“We don’t trust your kind. Get out of here before you make this worse!”

“You would let them die for an unjustified fear? I can save them!”

“They are dead already.” A man stated with the coldest voice I had ever heard.

Time was running out and I needed them to move out of my way.

“Get out of my way. If they are dead already then what does it matter what I do to them?”

I took a confident step forward, trying to seem confident. Hey didn’t move until Massell drew his sword and moved ahead of me. I was free to move to the men on the ground. They were both in terrible condition. I tried not to think of how brutal it was and focus on what I could do.

The one man appeared to have been stabbed and severely beaten while the other had his ear and a few fingers cut off. His nose was at a strange angle with blood pouring from it. I hoped I could help them with this magnitude of blood lose.

My hand was shaking as I reached into my pocket to grab my crystal. As soon as my finger touched it, I felt warmed by its power and connection. It was the same as with Aurelia, I held the crystal in one hand and chanted a spell while I placed my other hand on their chest.

It was starting to work! The blood was beginning to slow from the stab wound and the man's breathing became lighter and more stable. The crowd behind me erupted with gasps followed by hushed chatter. I tried to keep my focus on the other man and repeated the spell. The effects were the same again.

His bleeding slowed and then stopped all together his nose made a few sickening sounds as it moved back into place. They would both need some time before they could walk home. They had lost a lot of blood. I put my crystal away before I stood up and looked at the crowd.

They were all looking at me with varying expressions. Some suspicious or nervous. And some in awe and hopeful.

“I have a safe place set up. If you know someone who is hurt, I would be happy to help them there. I will be walking the streets every day also. Let your family know. I am here to help.”

It didn’t seem like they were going to say something so I turned to walk away. We stayed out a little while longer and I helped and old woman who was badly burned by an oven. I told her the same and went on my way without waiting for another word.

The next few days were filled with the same. I would walk the streets and heal those who would let me then return to me healing house and help those that had shown up there. They came more and more often and soon we noticed that the city had started to grow stronger once more.

As they grew in strength, we drew closer to our dead line.