BMT belongs to Trudi
In a haze of pain and confusion Sonea let herself be shepherded out of Akkarin's room for the first time in days. Black tiles swam beneath her wobbly feet, as if she walked through a corridor constructed from pieces of warm chocolate. She remembered a desert of vanilla ice-cream coated in warm chocolate from Lonmar, served by Takan the day of her triumph over Regin in the Arena. It probably cost more than the whole North Quarter, and she had devoured six goblets full of the delicious stuff, watched in amused consternation by the cold gaze of her guardian.
Sonea waded through a thickening white cloud swirling before her face. That was very odd, she thought. They were inside a guild building, weren't they? Clouds were supposed to hang in the sky, not break into people's houses. Thieves did that, Ceryni was one of them unfortunately! At least her hand wasn't hurting anymore. A pleasant numbness took her pain away. Except, she was getting cold, unpleasantly so. She swayed, and would have fallen, but the cloud caught her in strong arms. Did clouds have arms? She didn't know that before, she would tell Akkarin about it, but he was angry with her, wasn't he? She probably got bad marks on a test, she should apologize... It was important to give no cause to doubt the High Lord's choice...
Sonea's mouth moved, but no sound came out.
'Fools!' a Healer on duty snarled at the three warriors who had just carried in the unconscious girl. She was so pale that her skin was almost translucent. 'Haven't you noticed the blood pouring out of her?'
A brachial artery was torn by the worst open fracture of the humerus bone she had seen in her fifty years of work, and the idiot muscle-but-no-brains warriors didn't even think to stem the bleeding or pinch the artery. The close second was probably that racing horse of the Denkyn family, the poor beast had almost torn its leg off in a fall. Thandra couldn't save the horse, but she wouldn't lose the girl today. She placed her wrinkled palm on the mangled flesh and concentrated.
'You!' she snapped, glaring at the youngest of the three warriors.
The young man jumped in alarm, his eyes widening in panic. Lady Thandra had been his teacher and she relished pointing out his stupidity in almost every lecture. It was supposed to have changed now that he was a fully qualified magician, but of course it didn't work, not with her.
'M-my Lady?' he stammered.
'Your power, Emar,' she said with awful impatience. 'Or did you graduate without learning that, too?'
She didn't know what the point of teaching men to Heal was. Admittedly, there were some few competent male healers, but the majority of men were too accustomed to thinking with the wrong brain to be of any use to anybody. As Emar hastened to assist her, one of his colleagues snickered derisively.
'The amused one,' she snapped. 'Run along and fetch the director of this ward,' the warrior gaped at her, his mouth falling open. Thandra waited for him to start drooling onto his chin before she specified. 'Lord Atten!'
The big simpleton ran, probably eager to escape her piercing scrutiny. She shot a glance at a silent one, who stood with a bowed head, showing proper deference to a superior mind. She nodded in approval, and went back to her task.
She started by mending the artery and encouraging the patient's body to produce more blood, and quickly! She estimated the girl had lost around two litres of blood, and it was a real miracle that she was still breathing. A strong girl and smart, she would make an excellent Healer if she didn't get involved with that arrogant Delvon boy! She smiled, he was arrogant all right, but at least he was a rare one with brains!
The door banged open, and she looked up. Lord Atten shot a wild look at the red stains on the floor, it was clear by his flowery nightgown that he wasted no time answering her call.
'Heavens above!' the youngling exclaimed, hurrying to her side. He was just in time as Emar was already used up.
'Make yourself scarce!' she snapped at the sagging youth. He tottered on unsteady feet before bowing like a perfect gentleman and staggering away. Thandra was very pleased that retirement hadn't blunted her wits one bit. 'Help me with that bone, child! Look, it's smashed into splinters!'
'Of course, my Lady,' he said with a warm smile she so adored. 'It will be an honour to assist you.'
Atten was a sweet child, so charming that he almost was excuse enough for the existence of his entire useless breed. She sighed contentedly, and eased her delicate magical senses into the ravaged hand, while the boy affixed the bits she found to a larger piece of bone. The area they operated on resembled a poorly designed jigsaw puzzle.
They worked in companionable silence for a long moment, but good things seldom last. Soon, a clatter of excited voices rose in the background, in tempo with Thandra's blood pressure. She gritted her teeth, and tried with all her considerable willpower to ignore the distraction. Unfortunately, Lady Thandra Verengetti had never been known for her patience, especially when she encountered idiotic behaviour in members of the opposite sex.
'Vinara darling, shut up your esteemed companion,' her ringing teacher's voice tore easily through a loud argument. 'Otherwise, my old classmate shall have to remind himself all the vital details of levitation as I chuck him out the window. One, two-,'
Oh, the magic of threats that had never been empty. She hadn't reached the count of three in decades, which was a shame, really. Sarin the buffoon fell silent, his eyes bulged in indignation, making his resemblance to a toad greater than usual. Thandra smiled to her memories of younger days, and continued.
Lady Vinara glanced at Sarin's apoplectic visage, he was mouthing something noiselessly. She narrowed her eyes and looked more closely. It was one word, she realised. Retirement. Vinara shrugged apologetically. Lady Thandra was as retired as she could be persuaded to be, and no more. She took Sarin by the arm and pulled him out of the surgery room, and away from any nearby windows before he found his voice.
Author's note: Turns out you didn't have to wait. A bit short, but I hope you enjoy it, and a short break from the scrambled mind of our favourite character :D