Chapter 41
More than two decades ago...
Afiona stared up at the healer as he touched her forehead. His brown eyes set in a long face seemed to stare through her as if she were merely air. To be air would be good. No one saw air…
"Well child?" He asked bluntly. "What happened to you?"
Afiona stayed silent.
He frowned and she felt something inside her head, which she instinctively forced away. Whatever it was tried once more before retreating.
Afiona stared up at the Healer and waited for him to go away.
"Well sire, I fear the boy has gone too far this time." The healer said as he sat upright. "Her mind is as blank as a bowl of water."
"What of her abilities?" Her father asked coldly.
"Unusable, you need a mind to wield them." The healer pointed out.
Her father looked at her, solely at her. Something she had longed for once with all her heart, but now scared her.
Her father turned from her with a look of disgust and stormed from the room. Without another word or look the Healer followed.
Afiona had known that Healer all of her young life. He had been the one who sealed the wounds her father made, who healed the bones her brother broke, the one who always made her well for more pain.
She feared him almost as much as her father now.
What if she had been left in the calm dark…
Closing her eyes she slipped into sleep, the closest thing she had to the blessed oblivion that rescued her from the pain.
- - -
Lance pulled away from Healer Leander as Daric galloped towards them and slid to a stop shivering madly. In the light cast by the torches that ringed the square in front of the healers it was possible to see Afiona slumped forward and as limp as a rag doll with only the slender, wide-eyed boy holding her on.
Shain abandoned the former prisoner he was tending and ran forward to catch Afiona as she slid from Esrich's grip and off Daric's back.
"Afiona." Lance half limped and half staggered to her. Fear rocked him to the soul when he saw her colorless face. Reaching out he gently caressed her cheek. "Is she going to wake up?" He asked Shain.
Shain ignored him as he shouted to two of the older healers and carried Afiona towards her tent. Lance struggled to follow but Leander quickly stopped him.
"Sit down, the best thing you can do for her is let me tend you." Leander said gently as he took his arm and led the Herald back to the cot he had been seated on as Leander examined the worst of the damage.
"I can't believe she did that." One of the young healers said in disbelief. "And the Karsites didn't even try to follow her."
Mia pushed her way to Lance's side and clasped his hand wordlessly. For a long moment they simply stayed silent.
"She's alive." Mia said softly.
"I know." Lance said just as softly. "But will she come back?"
Mia sat on the ground and patted his hand. "Of course. Afiona is strong and stubborn. How else could she have survived this long? That was nothing compared to what has happened to her."
Leander ignored the exchange. "Lie down Herald, you are going nowhere for a while."
A Herald in crisp, brilliant whites hurried in. "The Karsites are retreating."
"What?" Leander stood up.
"She scared them off." He grinned. "We are sending troupes to make certain it's not a ruse but they are leaving everything and running. Men, priests, everyone."
"Does she always go overboard when she decides to do something?" Leander asked as he turned back to Lance who was looking both torn and relieved. "She decides to heal humans, then single handedly tries to patch up every wounded that came through here. Decides to rescue you, and ends up bringing back fifty odd prisoners and scares off a large chunk of the Karsite army just for the hell of it."
Lance ignored the Healer and prayed, something he nearly never did, that Afiona would be all right.
- - -
Nico ran as fast as his too long legs would carry him to the last place he felt his Mama. He could always feel her there in his mind but now she was gone and he didn't want to be alone.
Scrambling around a slow farmer's wagon he raced on even though his lungs hurt and his hooves were sore.
:Mama-afi: He called again. :Come back! I always be good, always:
:Slow up there little fella.: A Companion stallion said as he tried to move around him. :What's wrong? Where's your mother:
:Mama-afi gone: Nico wailed, stopping his head hung between his legs and large tears rolled down his cheeks.
"Afiona's gone? But the bell never rang." The Herald dismounted and used his handkerchief to dry the large tears. "I just saw her a few days ago, she was fine."
Nico raised his head. :Not fine, gone.:
:I think something happened.: His Companion said worriedly. :If Healer Afiona was hurt or killed that means they could have attacked the camp. We need to go back, the reports can wait.:
"I agree." The Herald stood. "You go back to Haven, we'll check on Mama-afi for you."
:No, I go.: Nico said and started running towards the border again. Behind him the Herald and Companion followed.
- - -
Seviot watched the Healers as closely as a hawk watches a fleeing rabbit. Inside that small tent Afiona was lying unconscious. He could barely Feel her from here.
Was it finally over? He could hardly hope that now it was finally over.
"I hear Healer Afiona is really an escaped Karsite princess." A soldier gossiped behind Seviot.
"Nah, not possible. She's a Valdemaran, just look at her." Another soldier said and shook his head. "I hear she is a spy, been working against the Karsites all this time. Slipped across every night and tried to learn their plans.
"Then why was she always at the tents? I'm telling you, she's a princess." The first soldier argued.
"Actually, she's a Mavelan." A strong male voice corrected. "I should know, she's my cousin."
Seviot froze and turned slowly. There, just feet away, was his worst nightmare made flesh. Vedric in all his golden perfection turned and focused his eyes on the healer for a split second before he turned back to the soldiers.
"Your cousin, Herald?" The second soldier said in disbelief. "Are you that Herald from up north? The baron one?"
"Yes. That's the one." The Herald confirmed. "She is a Valdemaran Lady, a Healer, but not a Karsite princess."
Seviot slowly walked away wanting to put as much distance between himself and the false Herald as possible.
- - -
Leander knocked Shain's feet off the desk and woke the young healer. He was not he Healer in charge of Afiona but guilt kept him close to her.
"What time is it?" Shain asked as he shook the cobwebs from his brain and straightened in the chair.
"A couple hours until dawn." Leander sat in another chair and stared at Afiona for a long moment. "You know, I hate being in charge."
"Yeah? Heralds trying to escape again?" Shain asked dryly.
"Just Mia. The problem is I have to be the one to answer Lance's questions." Leander rested his elbows on his knees.
"Serves you right for letting her go." Shain said bluntly.
"They end their Holy days with Fires, I bet you Lance was scheduled to be the star of the show." Leander pointed out. "If he died she probably wouldn't have survived the shock. If she did she could have leveled our camp with her grief and not the Karsite one."
"So you sent her as a weapon?" Shain asked in disgust.
"No, I sent her because nothing would have stopped her." Leander corrected. "As much as you may want to ignore it, she is lifebonded."
"I know." Shain admitted with a sigh.
Leander reached out and touched Afiona's hand. "She's young, strong, and has several reasons to live, Shain."
"True." Shain stood up. "I'm surprised Seviot hasn't been telling everyone that her blatant misuse of her empathy proves she is unworthy. That was certainly some powerful material she provided him. I have never heard of a healer deliberately using their Powers offensively like that."
"She has too many supporters right now to try something that foolish. He may be a bigot, but he's not a fool." Leander pointed out. "As for what she did, who's to say it wasn't merely a bad flashback on her part. I believe she has done this before. I'd say routing the camp like that is merely an unexpected benefit of this whole mess."
Shain chuckled at the other healer's creative interpretation of what had happened. "I'm going to go grab something to eat. You going to stay and watch Afiona?"
"Yes, and don't forget you still have duty tonight." Leander reminded him. "Get some sleep this afternoon. And be careful when you answer questions."
"Yes boss." Shain said dryly as he left the small tent.
In the mess tent he found everyone talking loudly and excitedly.
"Is it true?" One of the young healers asked quickly. "Mama-afi ended the war?"
"It looks that way." Shain answered. "The other Karsites are retreating as well."
"Is it true the Lord Marshall is going to be replaced?" Another demanded.
Shain grinned crookedly. "Not sure, but apparently he is violently ill. If it keeps up for a while we will need a replacement, at least a temporary one."
There were several unsympathetic grins from the healers.
"Guilt." One said quickly. "It can often cause a physical reaction, he must have finally realized the harm he was doing to his men."
"Or his bleeding stomach has taken a turn for a worse." Another suggested.
"He should be put on bed rest immediately. Any medications we prescribe will alter his state of mind which makes him unsuitable for his position." One of the eldest present said with a slow grin.
"Afiona's his healer so I guess it falls to you to talk to him, Shain, as her second in command." One of the young ones said in all seriousness.
"After I eat." Shain said firmly. "I doubt I could face 'the Butcher' on an empty stomach."
"Why not? He'll be facing you on one." A middle-aged healer laughed.
- - -
Medren and Stef sat in the shade of the trees and watched the people greeted the morning with much more eagerness than they had the previous days. It was possible to trace who had heard the news as they moved about quicker.
"Afiona is the hero of the hour." Stef commented.
"That she is." Medren assured him. "Are you going to write a ballad?"
"I think I will." Stefen said thoughtfully. "But not until she wakes up."
"Which I hope is soon." Medren said.
"What do the Healers think?" Stefen asked.
Medren shrugged. "I can't get a straight answer out of them. She was in bad shape before and then that massive thing she did to the Karsites pushed her from bad to 'only Heralds go here' bad. I know Afiona though, she'll probably be back on her feet in a couple days."
Stefen chuckled. "I agree. The Healers aren't about to let one of their own die, even to her own foolishness."
"Yeah, she is one of them now, isn't she?" Medren looked over at the bustling green clad men and women. "About time they hauled their heads out of their collective rumps and took a breath of fresh air."
"What was it like over in Karse?" Stefen asked.
Medren grinned crookedly. "You should have seen those Karsites faces when we came riding out. They look like someone had hit them all with a board. There was almost nobody on duty, and the few that Ulther and I ran into were unconscious before they had a chance to raise the alarm. The kid seemed to know where they all were and we could knock them out before they uttered a word."
"Ulther?"
"Ulther and Esrich are those Karsite boys she rescued. Not sure why they showed up but I am grateful they did." Medren explained. "Esrich was the one who rescued Afiona after she rescued Lance. Make sure you mention them in the story, those boys were heroes."
"Speaking of Lance, how is he?" Stefen asked.
"Absolute wreck." Medren said bluntly. "The Karsites were not exactly good hosts."
Stefen grimaced. "But it's over."
"Looks like it." Medren agreed.
"Wonder if having mages would have ended it faster." Stefen said thoughtfully.
"Who knows, but we can make it sound like no mage would have stood a chance. It did take a Healer to drive out the Karsites this time." Medren pointed out. "A few of the prisoners who weren't far enough away are so jumpy now that I think those that were closer to her are trying to wall themselves inside a cave somewhere. Hard to wage a war when your highest ranking men become scared of their own shadows."
Stefen chuckled. "You know, there are only two other bards here and the camp is certainly going to be celebrating. I say we are wasting time up here when there is coin to be found"
Medren laughed and got easily to his feet. "Cleavage and coin calls."
"To you maybe." Stefen said dryly. "What about Mia?"
"We aren't serious. She made it clear she still wants to play around with others." Medren explained. "Which is fine by me. She's sweet, but with a Herald you never get their full attention, unless you are lifebonded to them."
"Even then…" Stefen frowned slightly.
Medren shifted uncomfortably. He hated bringing up depressing memories for his friend.
"Where shall we set up our hats?" Stefen asked with a smile, changing the topic. "Time's awasting."
- - -
Shain stopped and straightened his robes before he entered the large tent sheltering the Lord Marshall without waiting to be announced.
"Where in the ten hells have you been?" The Lord Marshall demanded, "I asked for a healer candle marks ago."
Shain studied the man's pallor, almost green, and nodded slowly.
"Not you!" The Lord Marshall said as he finally saw who the healer was and struggled to sit up. "You're the one who caused this!"
"Actually I didn't, and you can question me under truth spell, if you can find a Herald not out checking for stray Karsites, they aren't exactly picky about the direction they run." Shain pulled a chair to the edge of the cot the Lord Marshall was sprawled on. "You should see it, your job done by a tiny little healer. Just to get Lance back. Goes to show that war can turn on a silver coin, doesn't it?"
The Lord Marshall lunged for the chamber pot next to his cot and retched violently.
Shain pulled his feet and robes out of the way. "I'm afraid none of us can cure this, at least not quickly."
"What do you mean?" The Lord demanded as soon as he could speak again.
"I mean your problem is going to need several long session with the Mindhealers." Shain leaned forward and braced his elbows on his knees. "We have some teas that can help with the bleeding stomach, but it's going to be a couple months at least before you will be capable of returning to duty."
The Lord Marshall struggled to sit up. "What nonsense is this!"
"Not nonsense." Shain corrected. "I have already arranged for you to be transported to a nice healing temple up north, near your estate, that has a mindhealer. She's not strong but she is skilled. Perhaps in a year you can return to Haven. But I wouldn't recommend it." He patted the Lord Marshall's shoulder. "It could bring up bad memories and trigger a relapse. Get some rest, your servants are already arranging the coach."
The Lord Marshall was no fool. If he claimed he felt no guilt for the deaths he'd be considered a monster. If he was in the care of a mindhealer there was no way they would ever accept him as Lord Marshall again.
Outmaneuvered by a gaggle of healers…
Shain pulled three packets of herbs from his robes and set them on the table that was used to hold maps during war meetings. "These are the teas I mentioned, mostly to relax you, but drink this one anytime you feel your stomach getting a bit rebellious. Otherwise drink this one twice a day, with breakfast and supper. Drink this one three times a day; when you wake up, midday, and just before bed. Perhaps when you had Afiona up here all those times you should have allowed her to check your bleeding stomach."
Standing up Shain frowned thoughtfully. "If she wasn't up here to keep you hale and whole, one must wonder what you needed her so often for. She wouldn't be bedding you, not with Lance in her life."
Leaving the Lord Marshall to fume- which he was currently doing furiously- Shain went searching for the King and his King's own. Both were young and inexperienced with battle, but thanks to Afiona there was little more than to push their border back through empty lands. Maybe rout a few bands that had yet to follow their leaders in running for the hills.
Shain waited to be announced by the Herald on duty at the Royal tent rather than just barging in like he had at the Lord Marshall's tent.
When he was allowed inside he was surprised to find the Royal couple's tent as Spartan as any of the soldiers' tents.
"Thought you might like to know that The Lord Marshall has been forced to leave active duty due to medical problems." Shain said as he tried to hide a grin.
"What happened to him?" Jisa asked seriously.
"His bleeding stomach took a nasty turn. And his being ill hasn't helped any. But it's nothing we can cure here, guilt does funny things to people." Shain shrugged.
"What about Afiona, has she improved any?" Jisa asked worriedly.
Shain frowned and shook his head. "Not yet, but it is early yet, and she hasn't taken a turn for the worse so I am hopeful. She has a Companion to anchor her, not to mention Lance. But she is going back to Haven just as soon as we can get her on her feet and is not going to be doing anything more difficult than perhaps some limited mind speech for months."
"Who is in charge of the Healers now?" King Treven asked.
"Leander, I still have night shift so I have to go find a bed to occupy for the next few candle marks." Shain turned to leave.
"Healer, thank you for bringing us this news so promptly." Treven said regally.
Shain grinned. "Well, in about a quarter candle mark it will be all over the camp. We Healers are rather pleased with ourselves. I figured you'd like to know ahead of the rumor."
Treven laughed.
Shain bowed and left the royal couple feeling rather pleased with himself.
- - -
Lance had been given the cot at the doorway, which allowed him a clear view of the office tent. So far no one had gone rushing to Afiona in a panic. One young Healer, and fellow patient named Olgi, assured him that it was merely a matter time before she woke up.
Leander emerged and didn't look any more worried than before and spoke to an elderly healer quickly before returning to the tent.
As the Healer passed him Lace grabbed hold of his arm. "What did he say?" Lance asked, desperate for any information.
"He asked for an extra couple blankets for her, that's all." The old Healer explained. "We are sending you both to Haven as soon as she wakes up."
"Wakes up? So you expect her to regain consciousness?" Lance asked eagerly.
"Aye, we do. If only because she has yet to finish pummeling the Lord Marshall." The Healer grinned. "Get some rest and I'll see if you can visit her tomorrow."
"Why not today?" Lance asked.
"She is very weak, we don't want to risk any illness or infection. When we are certain you harbor no disease you can visit her." The Healer pulled his hand free. "It may take a few days but she will wake up."
"Thank you." Lance said as the Healer left.
In retrospect he should have truth spelled the Healer.
Mia snuck down to sit on the edge of his cot. "What did he say?"
"You could have asked me by mindspeech." Lance pointed out.
"I could have. But as soon as the Healers are looking the other way I am heading back to my tent." Mia admitted. "Glad to see you back by the way. She missed you dreadfully."
"I missed her too." Lance admitted.
"What did he say?" Mia prodded again.
"He said she will probably wake up in a few days. And they will try and let me see her tomorrow." Lance explained quickly.
"Oh thank all the mother blessed gods!" Mia said fervently. "Now, I was thinking, as soon as she's up and about you should propose."
"Propose what?" Lance asked in confusion.
Mia rolled her eyes. "Marriage, please keep up. So, you should propose as soon as she's up and about. It would make a perfect end to the song."
"What song?" Lance said, still confused.
"Well, there are four bards in camp, about twenty minstrels and at least one musically inclined Herald." Mia pointed out. "You think there isn't going to be a few songs about this little adventure? There's probably going to be one from every imaginable angle, maybe even a farce. Stefen is damn good with his pen, I bet his will be sung for a thousand years where as mine will be lucky to be recorded in the Chronicles."
"You are going to write one?" Lance asked.
"Yes, I was thinking romantic one, I am good at those. So you can see why I think you should propose." Mia explained.
Lance smiled slightly.
"Ah, here's my chance. Talk to you later." Mia stood slowly and hurried from the tent.
"Herald Mia!" A Healer called and quickly went in pursuit.
Lance shook his head when the Healer returned with his arm around Mia's waist and guided her back to her cot. As she passed she winked at Lance.
:Moving on: Lance asked.
:Medren is a darling, he'll probably be fun when he's in Haven, but I want to try a Healer. I hear they can be great in bed, knowing the body as they do.: Mia explained. Lance shook his head but wasn't surprised.
Lance folded his pillow so he was propped up higher and resumed the watch on the office tent. :Wake up Afiona.: He called. :We can talk about giving Mia her happy ending.:
There was no answer.