Chapter 9: Healing touch
"Excuse me?"
An elderly lady with bushy brown hair and heavy make up sitting behind the counter looked up from her computer screen. "Yes, dear? How may we – Oh my! Look at you! You poor thing! It looks like someone's taken the rough end of the stick. I assume you're here to get that nasty nose bruise cleaned up?"
"Well, yes. Someone suggested I come here."
"Just as well. With a face like that it would only have been a matter of time until someone shouted "Darkspawn invasion!" and we were all forced to evacuate." she laughed heartily.
"What? Come on, I don't look that atrocious, do I? Thanks for boosting my self-esteem, lady."
"Oh, I'm just joking dear. Step through the door to your right and we'll be right with you."
"Thanks.."
Elissa stepped through into the first aid office. The room was stark white and there were many medical gadgets scattered across it. It was also very well decorated, whoever operated this space had a very fashionable taste in décor. Elissa sat herself down on a nearby leather couch.
"Oooh, so comfy." she said out loud. It was the kind of couch you could just sink into and fall asleep on. In fact, if not for the ticking of the clock on the wall, she would have.
After a few minutes of waiting, she grew bored and decided to take out her phone. It was a touch-screen phone with internet access and many other features. It had cost quite a bit of money because it was the latest in it's line, and she practically had to get on her hands and knees and beg her parents to buy it. In return, she took care of housework for them for an entire 3 weeks. This later resulted in her becoming a part-time dishwasher for a low-scale cafe in the Highever slums. She quit after only two months due to the stress being placed on her by her fellow staff members and since then has never taken up another job. Luckily when it came to school she was a lot more committed. As far as relationships went, she had held long friendships with her Highever friends since her childhood, and she hoped to also create some long term friends in the students of this school. Now romance... that was a whole 'nother ballgame. Would she be able to handle marriage when she was older or would she cave under pressure? She knew she was too young for marriage, but she couldn't help thinking into the future from time to time. What kind of wife would she be? Where would she settle down? She decided to take her mind off the subject entirely and return to her phone.
She opened up the internet and searched "AppleBeeChat", a social network site which was highly popular across Fereldan. She saw her brother was online, so she wrote "Hi. How are you?", but there was no response. Typical. Ever since he joined a highly esteemed college in Highever he had apparently been too busy to waste any time on his family. Even during the holidays he rarely spoke to them, he was too busy going on vacations to Antiva with his college sweetheart, Oriana. Unfortunately none of her Highever buddies were online. She was about to log off before she noticed she had a new friend request. "Hm, who could this be?" she wondered, and clicked on the friend icon.
It turned out the friend request was from Alistair. Elissa was surprised, as she barely knew the man, but he seemed like a very friendly guy from what she experienced in Chemistry. Why would he be interested in Elissa? Just trying to boost up his friend count? Or perhaps..? But no, Elissa tried to avoid letting her mind wander there again. It was most likely just done as a friendly gesture.
"Accept." said Elissa, touching the button, and then logged out.
The door creaked open.
"Just take a seat through there. The doctor should be here any minute now."
Elissa raised her head to see a small looking man with scrunched up facial features and messy, cinnamon coloured hair.
"Oh, hello! I didn't notice you there. My name's Herren, doctor Wade's assistant. He shouldn't be long now."
Elissa smiled and nodded.
"Elissa? What are you doing here?"
She recognised the voice almost instantly.
"Oh, hey Leliana. I was in P.E. And was trying to bend my right leg behind me. I ended up losing my balance and fell face first into the dirt. Guess I wasn't as flexible as I thought."
"Oh no!" she said, frowning. She placed her hand on Elissa's shoulder in consolation. "You poor dear! Your nose looks like it's got quite a bruise on it. I hope they fix you up."
"Thanks. So, why are you in here?"
Leliana laughed "Well, it's pretty embarrassing actually, but I tripped while walking down one of the cement steps and accidentally twisted my ankle! Oh my, you should have seen the students. I made a complete fool of myself!"
"Aww. You have my sympathies, Leliana. I can totally relate. After I tripped down I became the laughing stock of the class. In particular Cauthrien. That girl really rubs me the wrong way."
"Ah, one of the popular girls was it? Yes, I had a fashion class just before this and the petite blonde girl, "Isolde" I think her name was? Kept glancing in my direction. I could tell she was gossiping behind my back to her friends, she didn't do a very good job of concealing it."
"Isolde.. I swear, if she chews or pops gum in my maths class one more time I'm going to stick it in her hair. Maybe she was just jealous that you have a better fashion sense than her?"
Leliana laughed. "Maybe."
"Anyhow, what class do you have after this?"
"Drama."
"You've got to be kidding? Me too! This should be exciting. I think I remember the way to the drama room... vaguely."
"According to the map I looked at earlier it should be the first door down a hallway to the left of the auditorium. I swear, Elissa, this place is like a labyrinth. In my previous school in Val Royeaux, everything was much more open and easy to get to. Our school was actually built around a giant statue of Andraste."
"Seriously? Wow. Now that I think of it, this place could really use some statues."
There were a few minutes of silence between the girls as they waited patiently for the doctor to arrive. Leliana decided to pick up a magazine and flip through the pages.
Elissa filled her cheeks with air and then slowly breathed out. "How much longer?"
Out of nowhere the door swung open and a man in a bright red trench-coat made a dramatic entrance. "I'm baaaaaaack!" he cried. It was obvious this man was the doctor. About time. He was dark skinned and bald and had a very impressive brown moustache. The first image that came to Elissa's head was "flamboyant genius".
"Oh my, I'm terribly sorry for the delay my dear patients. I promise I'll make it up to you. But you must understand that when you are under "interrogation" by that fool Greagoir it is incredibly difficult to escape. I kept telling him "I have patients to attend to" but he wouldn't have a word of it. Fisticuffs to him!"
"Oh come now, Wade, no need to be so melodramatic about it. It's Greagoir's job to ensure the safety of everyone in the school. He was just doing his routine check-up. You are the head doctor in this school, he has every right to question your methods. Communication between you two is imperative, I thought you would have realised this by now. "
"Oh shut up Herren. I'm well aware of that. He's a necessary evil, but that doesn't mean I have to enjoy him sticking his darned nose in my business."
Leliana giggled. "What a character. Certainly more interesting than any doctor I've come across in Orlais."
Doctor Wade turned to face his two patients. "Now don't you two worry. I'm a certified genius. I'll have you spiff and span in no time!"
"Thank you Doctor." said Elissa.
The two medics began preparing their instruments.
"Say, Leliana, do you happen to know anything about Alistair, Cailan's brother?"
"Only what little you've told me. You have him in a chemistry class and he is an all around nice guy. I've only ever seen him in the hallway. He is cute, no?"
"Er.. I.. Uh – I mean, I suppose so.." she blushed. "I guess I was just curious. I got a friend request from him on this social networking site called "AppleBeeChat"."
"A friend request hmm?" she said teasingly, leaning towards Elissa. "Maybe he has a crush on you!" she giggled cutely.
"What? I - Oh please, I'm sure it's nothing like that. It's just that I like to know about people before I friend them."
"Well, did you accept him then?"
"Yes, he seemed a nice enough guy. So I accepted. I've known him for so short a time though, so it does seem a little.. out of the blue. But whatever, what's done is done. It's probably just me being my paranoid self anyway."
Leliana simply smiled.
The door creaked open yet again. This time it was Wynne who walked through.
"Hello Wade, I was wondering if you had any tablets for easing headaches. One of my students is trying to write an essay but is struggling greatly due to "head pains". I told him I would get something to relieve the pain for him, so here I am."
"Hmm.." said Wade. "Even though it sounds like a made-up excuse to avoid doing work, there might be something I can do. I'll be with you in a second."
"Thank you, Wade." she responded, and made her way over to where Leliana and Elissa were sitting.
"Wynne!" Leliana shouted.
"Girls! My, what a surprise it is to see you both here. Second day at school and already both of you have winded up in first aid. You're not having too much fun I hope!" she laughed.
"Yeah, I accidentally tripped and twisted my left ankle on a step."
"Oof! And why are you here, my dear?" Wynne said, looking towards Elissa.
"I took a bit of a tumble is all. As you can see my nose is a bit worse for ware."
"I can see that. Hmm..." Wynne pondered.
"What is it?" replied Leliana.
"You know what? I think I could fix up those injuries for you. Class is only a few minutes away, after all, and we wouldn't want you to be late."
"You mean.. with magic?" replied Elissa curiously. She was always fascinated by magic, but at the same time she was wary, as she had heard stories of the many dangers that magic held.
"Yes, if you are comfortable with it."
"Oh, yes please!" chirped Leliana cheerfully.
"If it means we can get to drama in time, then sure." said Elissa.
"Alright. Just hold still for a moment.". Wynne moved her hands towards Leliana's left ankle. She closed her eyes and appeared to be focusing very hard. A small wisp of sparkling white light flowed out from Wynne's hands and began spreading over Leliana's foot. The energy sunk into her skin and disappeared.
"Wow." said both girls simultaneously.
"That was amazing." said Elissa in awe. She had never actually seen healing magic being used before.
"It actually worked!" gasped Leliana. "I can feel it already!" she shot up in glee. "Thank you so much Wynne!" she said, hugging her teacher.
"Your welcome dear. It was no trouble. Now for you, Elissa. Hold still."
"Here we go.." she thought.
Wynne placed both of her hands over Elissa's face. Both women closed their eyes. She could feel a warmth spreading across her face, and soon she could sense a bright white energy shining beyond her eyelids. She felt the pain from her nose sore fading away at a rapid pace, and when the light finally disappeared and Wynne removed her hands, she opened her eyes.
She smiled. "Thank you. It feels... so much better."
Wynne smiled back "You look good as new."
Doctor Wade spoke up "I was watching that, Wynne.". He was standing behind Wynne along with Herren, his left eyebrow raised. "Impressive, I must say. We so rarely get to witness your powers at play. Keep that up and we'll be out of a job!"
"Don't worry Wade. I scarcely use my magic any more, but I felt it was my duty to help these girls out. I am their English teacher, after all."
"We'll let you off the hook this time." he laughed. "But I'd keep the spell casting to a minimum. Although you are a certified mage and were released from the circle tower, it wouldn't fair well for you if someone like Greagoir found out. You know how paranoid he gets about magic."
"Believe me, I'm aware of that, which is why I keep my magical talents to a minimum in this school. Thank you anyway though. Forewarned is forearmed."
"Indeed." smiled Wade.
Wynne turned around to face the girls. "Well, what are you waiting for? The bell is about to sound any second now. Get going!"
Leliana bounced around energetically. "Come on, let's get going!" she walked out the door.
Elissa turned to face Wynne "Thanks again." she smiled. And got up and walked away.
Leliana was waiting outside. "How amazing was that? I feel a thousand times better! Come on, let's skedaddle. I'll lead the way."
They were all cleaned up and ready to go. Elissa still felt stunned after having witnessed Wynne's magic. None of the books she had read could accurately describe the sensation. It was mesmerising.
Next stop: Drama. "Oh boy. There should be a few interesting characters here." Elissa thought.
