Once Upon a Time by Hotaru Kimiko Lai

Notes Before You Start:

OK, I know some of you are wondering what in the world happened between Merlina's mom and Xellos's mom. (And I know that one of my reviewers has been bringing this point up. This Note is mainly for you, but it will help everyone see where I'm going with this...) Don't worry, it will all be revealed in due time. Until then, you will see small snippets of it here and there in Merlina's or Xellos's gaze, a small Flashback or perhaps a dream sequence. The reason is this. Merlina is a headstrong person. That's how I see her, independent and able to care for herself. But she dearly loved her mother, the only person she respected, and saw her as a self sufficient person. That is what she is trying to imitate. But when her mother is gone, Merlina is honestly left to fend for herself, and many times, we don't want to deal with it or think about it because we feel like giving up and crying. (Trust me on this, I know how that feels. I myself am very independent, and many times will just try to ignore what is happening around me and concentrate on getting my life straight. That is what Merlina is doing. You could say I'm influencing her...)

Anyway, to not deal with that, Merlina goes off into the real world, ready to take up responsibilities, which will be revealed later on. She has a plan in mind, and she has to prepare for it, which is why she tries to block out everything that can hinder her or make her weaker, including thinking and dealing with her mother's death.

Xellos, on the other hand, is shocked and can't believe what is happening. Just like when one has told their best friend their most guarded secret and found out that said friend told everyone else, he is let down, feels like he is in a dream and can't respond quickly to what is happening. So much that he reaches out and grabs hold of something that will give him direction and a purpose so as to not feel useless or 'just there'. He spent most of his childhood obeying his mother, and just recently began to show an independent streak, which had no time to mature as Merlina's mother's death occurred. How often do we, as people, grab and hold on to something that gives us meaning in life when everything, and I mean absolutely everything goes wrong? I have a plan in mind, but everything is subject to change as I myself am going through different issues in life. Not the death of parents, but other things. Anyway, this is just a small note (yeah right... sorry, I didn't mean for it to get so long...) to explain certain aspects of the story. And sorry, I didn't mean to end up preaching at all of you. Call it my inner being taking over for a few minutes and having me type this out. Take care, k? Now, on with the story!

Disclaimer: Yada, yada, yada... I don't own Slayers.

Chapter 5

The sun was beginning to rise. Soft and pale sunlit streaks of light flew through the parted window and rested softly on the face of a young boy in his teenage years. He was sleeping restlessly, as he moved a bit every once in a while. After a while, the kid woke up, his amethyst orbs staring at the ceiling. After some thought, they blinked and slowly, Xellos got up from his bed. He yawned and stretched at the same time, his eyes closing, and his mouth opening at the same time, as if getting ready to scream. But he didn't. After all, he was only stretching. He ran his fingers through his messed up hair and got up. He yawned again, and when he finished, his hands rubbed his eyes. Suddenly, his eyes widened, and he quickly woke up. He looked at the bed across the room. Like he thought... Merlina wasn't there, which meant that she had woken up, which meant that he was late!

Hurriedly, Xellos washed his face and grabbed his clothes and changed and brushed his teeth and combed his hair. After that was finished, he ran out and finally realized that he had no idea where Merlina was at the present moment.

'I'm so silly....' he thought to himself. Suddenly, something tickled his magic senses and he ran to the window. Their room, was in the back of the inn, and faced the backyard of the inn. Merlina had told him that it gave them more privacy. He hadn't questioned her. Looking out, he saw the petite redhead sitting in the grass, her cloak protecting her against the morning's cold wind, her staff and sword beside her. She had her back turned to him, and her violent red hair was flowing slowly in the wind of her aura growing. With interest, he watched her and tried to analyze the magic she was using. With a start, he realized that it wasn't like her normal magical signature. He knew how that was because of the times that Merlina had used magic during their travels. He had always thought that her magic signature was weird, since he couldn't really place it to anything he knew. It was like a mix of things. Now, it was mixed with something else. With a start, he noted that the extra in the magic aura was something that resembled white magic. But it wasn't quite. White magic had a purer quality to it, at least, purer than what Merlina was doing now.

After some time of deep concentration, Merlina spoke. She spoke so softly that for a moment, Xellos thought he was imagining things.

"Recovery." she whispered. He could see the power surge around her and go into her as she called up the magic in the spell. But the magic seemed to find a hindrance since it wasn't able to be absorbed by her. Instead, it flew in, and the flew out of her, swirling around her, but every time she tried to reach for it, it evaded her grasp and flew around her mental fingers and probes. With a cry of disgust, she dropped the spell and sighed. She placed her head in her hands and took calming breaths. Through the silence of the morning, Xellos heard her speak softly.

"Drats..." she said. "Why? It's there... why can't I get it? How come?" All of a sudden, in frustration, she reached beside her and grabbed her staff. With a graceful leap, she was up, and with another fling of her hands, her cloak was on the floor, leaving her in her normal black pants and white shirt and she began to play with her staff. The wooden staff twirled in her fingers as she first used both hands, and then switched to both. Her staff became an extension of herself, as imaginary foes fell under the onslaught of the twirling crystal clear orb. She flipped in the air and brought her staff around her, striking all foes in the immediate radius around her. To say that Xellos was awed was not quite right. He was downright surprised and reverent at seeing her skill. Finally, she ended, the twirling staff coming to rest against a hand with a hard 'snap' of the hard wood hitting flesh. She put that down, and picked up her sword. Now, the real skill began, as Xellos took in her fluid motions.

The sword also spun about her and its bright and sharp blade glinted in the dawn sun. She practiced parries, and katas with the sword, her arm never tiring, and her magical aura encompassing her like a cloud and aiding the strength of her attacks. She performed back flips and cartwheels. She jumped backwards and forwards, spun to the side and then ducked and jumped. All of this, she did with her sword splitting everything in its way, its blade humming as it cleaved the air. When she was done, she sheathed her sword in the scabbard at her belt, and then bowed to the rising sun. Xellos couldn't help himself and clapped. It was impossible for him not to clapped. He knew that had he tried that, he would have one arm less and most of his fingers and toes cut off by now. Besides, despite using magic, and then twirling her sword and staff, she wasn't tired. He suddenly saw why the walk from their home to Tryyad wasn't enough to cause her to get tired. Merlina's red eyes widened as her head snapped back to see who it was that interrupted her session, her guard rising in case she had to deal with an enemy. Seeing that it was Xellos, she lowered her guard and bowed sheepishly. Her hand was behind her head as she blushed awkwardly, not knowing what to do. It wasn't very often that someone saw her practicing and actually applauded. Her mother... she had watched every once in a while. But now, she would never watch her practicing again. She felt unbidden tears come to her eyes, but she immediately forced them away. She had no time for tears. She used Levitation to bring her staff over and then she floated up to the window. Xellos made way for her, and she entered their room.

"Thanks." she said. She was still embarrassed at having him see her work out, but it WAS sort of nice to have someone admire you.

"That was great!" said Xellos. He sat down on his bed, his eyes twinkling. For a moment, he forgot that he was almost a complete stranger with who he was sharing a room with. All he knew was that Merlina was surely one of the most surprising people in the world. "Since when have you learned?" he asked. He didn't mind that he seemed to look like an idiot, asking question and looking so smitten.

"Since I was four." said Merlina with a smile. She looked at Xellos in the eyes and had to smile at the eagerness in them. It was nice to meet people who were willing to drop pretenses and be honest. She had no doubt in her heart that he was honest about what he thought.

"You're really good!" said Xellos. Then he remembered who he was talking to and composed himself. "I was amazed."

"Thank you." said Merlina. They were quiet once more as Merlina washed up and then put her weapons away, the sword in its sheath dangling at her hip and her staff in her hand. "Let's go. I see you are awake already. We have things to do."

*****

They left the inn after having a breakfast. Xellos had to continuously bite his lip to keep from asking where they were going. Sure, he had a right to know.... but then, he didn't exactly want to cause trouble to Merlina. After all, she seemed to know this place very well. Finally, his curiosity got the better of him and he ventured a statement.

"You seem to know this place pretty well." he said hesitantly. Merlina looked at him, as if debating to answer him or not.

'I guess I should tell him something...' she thought to herself. 'After all, he's been very polite and quiet....' so, she spoke out loud.

"I've been here many times before." she said. "I have my own part in this town, you could say." She grinned. After all, since he was staying with her, she should at least try to make him comfortable. It was only polite.

"So, where are we going?" he asked after a while. "I mean, I don't mean to be nosy, but I'd like to know."

"You are nosy." she said. After some time, she spoke again. "This town has guilds. One of them is the Healer's Guild. If you pass their test, you will be admitted and then the guild will help you find a job. Of course, you have to pay for the admission test and then you have to pass it." She looked at him, as if trying to gauge how much he knew. "Do you think you'll be able to pass?"

"Of course!" said Xellos, feeling slightly insulted. "I was, after all, the best white mage back home in Zephyria."

"True, but this is a different place. But it's good to see you so confident. Do your best. After all, my pride is at stake." She grinned. He smiled.

"I will pass the test with flying colors." he said confidently. He was on normal ground now. He knew many white magic healing spells, small ones and big ones. He could remove curses, although that took some time. He knew the preparations of salves and poultices. He knew the human anatomy and how the bones were joined and how they worked. What more did he need to know?

"The reason I ask, is that most of the guild members are older than we are." said Merlina after a while.

"What guild do you belong to?" asked Xellos.

"Me?" asked Merlina. She had to grin at that. "Knowing the small bit you know about me, what would you think?"

"Um... If I knew the name of the guilds, I might guess." said Xellos.

"OK," she said. "Here they are. There is the Sewer's Guild, the Carpenter's Guild, the Entertainer's Guild, the Cook's Guild, the Researcher's Guild, the Mercenary's Guild, the Animal Trainer's Guild, the Writer's Guild..."

"Wait..." said Xellos. He looked at her. Yeah, he could see her in that guild. "I think I know. Is it, the Mercenary's Guild?"

"Correct." said Merlina with a smile. "Where else would I go? So, how did you know?"

"Well, back home, you were the best at black magic..." he started.

"Back home, my mother and I were the only ones who actually admitted to practicing Black Magic." said Merlina with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah... that." said Xellos a bit sheepishly. "And on our way here, it's obvious that you know how to take care of yourself. And this morning, you were really good with both staff and sword."

"Good job. You're observant. That will help you in the test." said Merlina with a nod.

"How old is the average guild member?" asked Xellos.

"Mid 20s, usually, or older. There aren't many teen Guild Members." said Merlina. "Of course, they make exceptions when they come across talent."

"Which they will see when I take the test." said Xellos. Merlina smiled. She was halfway glad that his snobby self was coming back. If he kept on acting like a meek child, the Guild would have probably laughed at him. Besides, she was more used to the snobby Xellos, than the obedient one.

"Well, here we are." said Merlina. She pressed into his hand a pouch of money. "There's enough in there for the entrance fee and all that stuff. I won't be back tonight. Perhaps tomorrow. Guild matters and all." She then knocked on the door. A burly man came out.

"Good Morning, Ms. Merlina. What would you want?" he asked as he took in the petite red head and her purple haired companion.

"Good Morning." she said. "My friend here would like to take your entrance exam to become a guild member." She pointed at Xellos, who nodded in the man's direction.

"Are you sure?" he asked to Xellos. "Most people have a bit more experience and the test is hard."

"Serje, you know that anyone I vouch for is more than adequate for your Guild." said Merlina with a raised eyebrow. "Anyway, I have to go. Xellos, have fun. I know you can do it. Serje, good day." With that, she left.

"So, you her friend or something?" asked Serje as he led Xellos into the Guild.

"Something like that." said Xellos. How to answer when he himself had no idea what was going on?

"Well, if she thinks you can do it, then you probably will make it." said Serje. "It's amazing how many times she's right."

"Oh." said Xellos. He followed the man quietly to another room.

"You have money?" he asked Xellos on reaching the door.

"Yeah." said Xellos. "How much is it?"

"200 coppers, or a silver piece and a half." said Serje. Xellos inwardly held a whistle. The price was no laughing matter.

"Here you go." he said as he counted out the right amount of money.

"The tests are inside, kid. You will be lead to various parts where you will be told to do different things to test your skills. I wish you the best." said Serje. He patted Xellos on the back and then pushed him into the room.

The room was very well lighted and it had various partitions so it made a sort of winding trail from one end to the other end of the room. The end of the test was probably at the opposite of the room, Xellos thought. He waited for someone to come and tell him what to do. Then a man appeared, and Xellos knew that his test had started.

*****

Merlina had immediately made tracks for the outskirts of Tryyad. As part of the Mercenary's Guild, she had various duties to do, such as finish her latest assignment. Normally, she and her mother would have done it, but she was by herself today, and she would make it. She had done this twice before and they had gotten it done perfectly. She could do it. As she walked to a lake, she thought of the magic she couldn't quite cast.

'Why can't I cast white magic?' she thought to herself. 'It's not fair! I should be able to cast it!' It was annoying to her to feel the magic there, just out of reach from her fingers, but try as she would, she couldn't will it to come. It was as if every time she got close, the magic was repelled and went further back. 'Of all the things I can't do... white magic has to be one of them.' she thought angrily. Her grip on her staff tightened as she tried to get her emotions under control. She had to stay under control. After all, she had a job to do. Thinking about that made her wonder about Xellos. How was he doing in his test so far? She remembered when she had to pass the Mercenary's Guild's Test. It had taken her most of the day to finish. But she had finished with a pretty high score and a position in the Guild. No doubt Xellos would also.

*****

Xellos was presently concentrating. He was supposed to heal a dummy's foot. It was a very good model of the foot and he had to knit back together all the broken bones in the toes and in the heal.

'This is ridiculous!' he thought to himself. 'As if anybody's going to break their heel and toe bones.' Still, he concentrated on the bones. Even though they weren't real, he imagined they were and concentrated on the natural state of things. It was a philosophy of sorts, this white magic. Everything he saw, like the bones, had a perfect and natural state. Which in this case was not broken and forming the foot. Basically, the perfect foot. Now, the bones he was working on weren't in their natural state. All he had to do was to get them to match the picture of the perfect bones. White magic was a very theoretical and philosophical magic. Everything had an original state that the object wanted to form. All Xellos had to do was to push the pieces in the right place... Still, it was easier said than done. This was the second test, and it was demanding lots of concentration. Not that he couldn't do it. After all, Xellos doesn't give up.

*****

She had made it. The vast lake was before her, it's waters sparkling madly in the morning sun. It was quite beautiful, but Merlina had no time for beauty. She sat down against a tree and took her sword out of her scabbard. Today, she would use her sword. She was good with the staff, but she was even better with the sword. And she needed all the skill she could muster to get this done. After making sure that her things would be safe and that her sword was cleaned and in pristine condition, she cast a Levitation and then a Ray Wing bubble around her as she floated into the water.

Once under, she looked at her surroundings.

"Now, if I were a dragon, " she asked herself. "Where would I be?" The answer was pretty simple for her. Obviously in the deepest and darkest areas of the lake getting a mud bath. So, she went down. And when she saw slitted yellow/golden eyes looking at her bubble with interest, she knew that she had found her prey.

*****

Whoever had invented the tests, Xellos decided, was absolutely mad and had too much time on their hands. He looked at the ingredients before him. He had a few plant roots and some pure water and then some flowers. And he was supposed to construct a poultice to fight infection? Well, he knew a few. He carefully examined the roots. It was hard to figure which roots they were and to what plant they had belonged. But after spending a few moments scrutinizing everything, he knew what to do. He grabbed the necessary equipment, and began to crush the flower petals with the roots in a 3:1 ratio. This one would be easy. The hard part had been identifying the materials they gave him since there were so many formulas for making poultices that fought infection. The one he was making was for a general infection since they didn't give him any specifics as to where the poultice would be applied or what symptoms it should fight. Still, the one he was making would work on standard infections. He sighed and wondered what Merlina was doing at that moment.

*****

Merlina, at that present moment, was battling a dragon. It was the long serpentine type of dragon, with gleaming blue scales and ferocious yellow eyes. It was a water dragon, and was presently trying to bite Merlina in two.

Merlina did a back flip to avoid the dragon's jaws and then launched herself at the dragon. All her mother's lessons came to her in a rush. Half formed phrases flew through her head... The dragon's weak point... Poisoned claws, Watch out for the blood...

The dragon wove out of the way of her slash and one of his own claws came out of the water and swatted her, sending her into the water. Merlina quickly swam towards the surface and Levitated out of the way of another claw. Her shoulder stung, but she didn't dare look at it.

'Concentrate, Merlina!' she thought to herself. She summoned up a fireball in her one hand and threw it at the dragon. While the dragon was preoccupied with the fireball, she flew at the dragon, making a beeline for the tender flesh at the throat of the dragon. Her shoulder burned, but she tried to ignore it.

*****

"Good job, boy." said the man as Xellos presented the poultice. "Very nicely done. Now, follow me to your next test."

Xellos followed. After a while, the man spoke to him again.

"Here's your next test." Xellos looked around him. They were in a woods type of area, which didn't make sense, considering he was inside a building. "You will be given a salve to make. Your duty is to find the ingredients." Xellos nodded. It seemed simple enough. "Get to it, then." The man vanished again. Xellos sighed. He was doing a lot of that. The man would come, give him orders and then leave. How annoying. Especially since he knew it was an illusion... He looked at the instructions nailed to a tree and immediately went looking for the necessary herbs.

*****

She had hit him, but it was a small cut, since her shoulder had acted up and she hadn't been able to make the huge swish she was planning to use to finish the dragon. She gritted her teeth as she finally looked at her shoulder. Immediately, she looked away. It was worse than what she had thought.

The dragon was getting ready to attack. Merlina saw herself with no other choice. She had to kill him today. So, ignoring her bad shoulder or the fact that the dragon was very ticked off at her, she concentrated on her favorite spell. The ball of orange/reddish light grew at her hands. She wasn't going for overkill, but she did need a bigger spell. As it grew, the dragon made a dash for her. Merlina opened her eyes and shouted.

"FIREBALL!"

The ball of searing hot flames erupted from her hands and hit the dragon squarely in the face. Merlina knew that the dragon's scales would protect it from being harmed too much, but all she needed was a big enough distraction to occupy his thoughts for a bit. Seeing that there was still smoke and assuming that the dragon wouldn't be able to see her, she flew in, and with her sword, stabbed at the neck and then with a mighty heave, cut a huge gash downwards as she pulled the sword out. She heard the dragon dying, and she felt its hot searing blood fall on her shoulder and arms, but she ignored it for now. She flew out of the way, and as the dragon fell, she cast one last spell to make sure that it would be fresh and wouldn't rot on the way home. She made motions as if she were holding a bow in her hands and pulled the string back. A thin line of bluish white magic appeared where the arrow would have been had she been using a real bow. She concentrated and her arrow became even bigger than before.

"FREEZE ARROW!" she shouted. With that, her right fingers let go and an arrow of ice flew towards the dragon and upon hitting it, encapsulated it in a block of ice. Knowing that the dragon would be safe and that no one else could take off her spell, Merlina slowly floated to the ground, and fell into a deep faint.

*****

"I must say that I am most amazed." said the man once more. Xellos yawned and pretended to be bored. "Pay attention lad. It's not every teenager in town that gets admitted to the Healer's Guild. So far, you and Ms. Merlina from the Mercenary's Guild are the youngest Guild Members on the register."

"Of course." said Xellos. "What else is to be expected?"

"Well, we were astonished when Merlina came yesterday and told us about you." said the man.

"Wait, Merlina spoke to you? Yesterday? And one thing, can I speak to the real you instead of an illusion? It's a bit awkward." said Xellos. The man laughed.

"You are indeed very good." said the man. "Go out the door, and I will be there."

"Thanks." said Xellos. He walked to the door. Truth be told, the tests had taken a lot of concentration, and he was very tired at the present moment. He opened the door and looked in. The same man was there, sitting on a chair. There was another chair across from him and a small table with tea and some small cupcakes.

"Have a seat, son." said the man. Xellos did. "Go ahead, have some. No doubt the tests left you a bit weak."

"Thank you." said Xellos as he took a bite. It was pretty good.

"Apple and Cinnamon." said the man, noticing the expression of delight. "My wife makes them."

"Tell her from my part that she is a very good baker." said Xellos.

"Of course." said the man. "My name is Kitsuo. I'm the headmaster, you could say, of the Healer's Guild. Welcome."

"Um, thanks." said Xellos.

"You are free the rest of the day. Merlina already gave us your information. By tonight, you will be officially registered. Come by tomorrow morning to get your identification and by then, we will have found for you a job. How does that sound?" asked Kitsuo.

"Thanks." said Xellos. "That is very nice of you."

"It is the duty of the Guild to ensure the well-being of its members." said Kitsuo. "Now, go. Come tomorrow. And have a nice afternoon."

*****

Merlina woke up with a dreadful headache. Her eyes smarted and there was a throbbing sensation in her brain, followed by a vertigo type of feeling when she tried to get up. She decided that it was wiser to stay down and to readjust her body before getting up. From her position, lying on the floor of the wood, the frozen dragon a few meters away from her, she could tell it was evening. How late it was presently was too hard to figure out. All she knew was that it was night. And her shoulder hurt, as did her head, as did her back, as did her legs, as did absolutely every part of her body. She groaned weekly. After a while, she hesitantly got up, using the tree trunk to lean against and support herself. She opened her eyes slowly and blinked owlishly. She tried to use some magic and with satisfaction found that she could access her magic, even though it hurt a bit. She concentrated slightly and her staff and sword levitated to where she was, where they dropped on her lap. She immediately leaned against the trunk, gasping for breath.

'If summoning my weapons took so much out of me...' she thought to herself. 'How am I going to get back to town?' But she was too tired to ponder it. After resting a bit, she levitated her cloak and arranged on herself. With that, she fell into a deep and fitful feverish sleep. She'd make it back to town tomorrow, she was sure....

*****

The next day, Xellos woke up. He was feeling pretty good. Last night, he had been able to sleep, due to a well placed sleep spell on himself.

"Should have thought of that earlier.' he thought to himself as he stared at the white ceiling of their room. Thinking about Merlina.... 'I wonder if she's back yet?' He turned over and looked at Merlina's bed. It wasn't slept in. She hadn't come back last night. He was starting to get worried. Where could she be? He stood up and stretched.

While he was changing his clothes, someone knocked rapidly on the door.

"Coming!" he shouted. He quickly donned on a pair of pants and passed a brush through his hair to look presentable. He rushed to the door and opened it. There was a young girl with brown hair there.

"Sir, you must come quickly." she said hurriedly. "Sir Kitsuo requests your presence in the Guild of Healers immediately."

"Tell him I'll be there." said Xellos. The girl nodded and ran off. Xellos quickly grabbed his cloak and keys and after locking the door, flew out the window with a Levitation to get to the Guild quickly. Once he got there, he entered the Guild. There were many healers there, crowded around a room. They parted for him on seeing who he was. There were various whispers in the air.

"Look. It's him."

"Yeah, the new Guild Member."

"A bit young."

"I can't imagine how he passed."

"I don't know why he was called."

"He's cute!"

"He's too young for the Guild."

"What's the Guild coming to?"

Xellos did his best to ignore them, but still blushed at some of the comments.

"What happened, Kitsuo?" he asked as he came into the room. One look at the bed in the middle of the room told him all he needed to know. "Merlina???" He rushed over to the bed. "What happened?"

"A fisherman found her beside the lake on the outskirts of Tryyad with a frozen dragon near her. He immediately brought her here." said Kitsuo. "She's been badly poisoned from her shoulder wound due to Dragon's blood seeping into her system. She is badly bruised, and has a high fever." He motioned for Xellos to sit on a chair beside the bed. "This is your first job. The owner of the Mercenary's Guild hired the best to heal Merlina. You are that person. Get to it. Anything you need, ask one of the interns around here."

Xellos nodded. He had to quickly get to work. He pressed his palm to her head, noting her high temperature as he quickly slapped on her a quick Recovery spell.

"I'll need some hot water, clean towels and some herbs. Oh, and bring some cold water." he said. "I need my ruck sack. It's in my room at the Rat's Nest." he said seriously. "Get to it!"

"Do as the boy tells you." said Kitsuo. He glared at the people around him. "If I hear anything about not obeying, you will deal with me." Everyone nodded their head. "Good, now, bring his things!" Immediately, action took over the room. A boy quickly brought a pitcher with hot water and clean towels. After a few moments, a small tub of cold water was also brought in. While still concentrating on the Recovery spell, he carefully cleaned the shoulder wound. He couldn't help but hiss on seeing the poisoning that had occurred. He would have to make a poultice quickly. "You." said Xellos to one of the men standing around there. "Can you cast Recovery and maintain it?"

"Yes, sir." said the man, even though Xellos was younger.

"Good." said Xellos . "Cast it on her, and don't let it go." While the man seated himself beside Merlina, Xellos rummaged in his bag for a few herbs and then began to grind them. Another person came and seeing what he was doing, lit a fire for him. Xellos nodded his thanks and kept on, grinding the dry herbs to an even finer powder. He added certain solutions he had and brought it to a quick boil. It made a thick, creamy, white mixture. He spread it on a broad leaf and used that as a poultice which he applied to Merlina's shoulder. Merlina gave a small cry as the searing heat touched her shoulder, but Xellos cast another healing spell on her.

"Thank you." he said to the other man. "You can go now." The man left the room, but stood near the door, lest Xellos need anything else. Xellos firmly sent a Diem Wing over to the door, shutting it.

He then got the cold water and made compresses to put on her forehead to cool the raging fever. He took off her head band to apply the compress and softly brushed her hair aside. He realized that she had very soft and silky hair. Funny how one notices small things like that when there are more important things to worry about.

After several hours of watching over her and changing poultices, the fever had come down, and the shoulder was starting to heal a bit better. He had flushed most of the poison out of her body with magic and making her ingest an antidote he had made. The fever had lessened, so that it was a more controllable condition. He wiped his forehead. So much healing really took it out of you.

'What the heck did you do to yourself?' he asked himself as he watched her sleep. She was in a deep slumber, which was good. It gave the body time to heal itself. He went out and called for a female healer. A woman came into the room.

"Yes?" she asked.

"I would like you to changer her into some clean clothes and clean he up a bit. Give her a bath. I will have her pajamas brought over. After the bath, tell me where there is bruising." said Xellos. The lady nodded and cast Levitation on Merlina to take her to the bath tub, where she commanded someone to fill with hot water. Xellos had someone else bring Merlina's pajamas over.

After the bath was over and Merlina was dressed in her pajamas and in the bed, Xellos applied a fresh poultice and saw about to fix any bruises. He cast several small Recovery spells around her body, healing the bruises on her face, the twist of her ankle, the cut in her arms and legs..., wherever it was that the other healer told him about.

He drew into his bag and took out another salve and while putting the leg of her pajama pants up, he spread the lotion on her legs with magic to avoid touching her. He knew deep down inside of him that if Merlina knew he had touched her, she would hit him with the biggest fireball she could conjure up. And then, she'd probably cut off his head. And so he spent the rest of the afternoon massaging her legs and arms and back via magic, so that when she would wake up, she wouldn't feel sore.

*****

That night, Kitsuo came by, with two men.

"How is she doing, Xellos?" asked Kitsuo.

"She is fine." said Xellos. "I flushed her system of the poison, and her fever's gone down. Her bruises are gone and her ankle isn't twisted anymore. She just needs to rest for some time to recuperate."

"And the poultice?" asked one of the men beside Kitsuo.

"Oh, this is Mejire," said Kitsuo. "He's the leader of the Mercenary's Guild. And the other one is Hakuma. He's the one who hired Merlina."

"Pleased to meet you." said Xellos. So, this was the idiot who gave Merlina such a dangerous job... "The poultice is to keep the shoulder clean and uninfected. It also cleans up the burns in the shoulder, speeding up the healing process. That, combined with a Recovery spell, will have her up in no time." He sounded very confident. "Hopefully." said Mejire. "If she is awake by tomorrow, you will get a bonus." "She will." said Xellos in a bored and snobby tone. He then looked at Merlina. Hopefully, she would be OK by tomorrow.

End of Chapter 5

Well, there ya go. This chapter came out quicker. Yeah! Anyway, C and C very welcome. Please read and review. Thank you, all, for sticking with this story. Hopefully, the notes at the beginning helped. Take care! Thank you for all who reviewed! Hotaru