Chapter Fifteen – Healing Touch
"Gods, Jon, can you stop pacing already? I have a headache just from everything you've told us."
The black-haired young man paused in mid-stride before continuing again. "I don't get it," he muttered, more to himself than to his friends sprawled on the floor. "Why would a woman be trying to kill me?"
Gary rolled his eyes. "Jon, the world doesn't revolve around you and women. And how are you sure it's a woman in the first place. The description you gave us was pretty sketchy."
The largest man snorted, almost spurting out his drink. "You're one to talk, eh?" Raoul chided his friend. Gary shot him a glare, but quieted all the same, though he made a face at him when his head was turned.
Jonathan let out an exasperated sigh. "I'm not sure, that's the point. I would have passed it on as a dream, but that wouldn't explain this," he jabbed a finger at the bandages on his forearm accusingly; they were beginning to stain. "And it won't stop bleeding. If this continues, I'll have to visit Duke Baird, and he'll tell father, who'll send guards to trail my every move and whatnot." He slumped into a chair with another sigh.
"You said the woman was veiled; could there be any chance that this woman, as you claim, be a trained assassin?" asked the quiet cat-like young who had remained silent throughout most of the conversation. "And if this was a trained assassin, couldn't the moon have been playing tricks on your vision so as to make you think this was a woman? Perhaps it really was a man. After all, like you said, why would a mere woman be trying to kill you?" The three stared at him. He lifted his shoulders in a shrug. "Just voicing my thoughts, that's all," he amended.
The prince shook his head. "No, you're right, Alex. I could have been seeing things. It couldn't have been a woman."
Gary tapped his lower lip with a finger, looking thoughtfully at the window. Standing up, he walked over and peered out at the sky. "There was no moon last night," he said, wincing.
"Huh?"
He hoisted himself onto the window seat, collapsing on the cushions placed there. "I remember because George said something about it last night when he sent me home. Just thinking about yesterday brings my hangover back." He rubbed his forehead. "What I would do for some of that hangover medicine...Oh." His eyes widened.
Raoul cocked his head in a questioning manner. "'Oh' what?"
"Jon, you said that your cut wouldn't stop bleeding?" Gary asked, his tone excited.
The prince squinted at his friend. "Why are you so happy all of a sudden? Enlighten me, and it had better not involve chasing or tracking down this assassin and forcing him to give us the antidote."
"Of course not," Gary replied, feeling a bit slighted. "I was about to propose a healer that might fix up your arm without the world knowing—unless she gossips. But I'm pretty sure she doesn't."
Alex raised an eyebrow. "She?"
He nodded. "Yes. You weren't there that first time we met, but you might have seen her around."
Jon's head snapped up so fast that Gary was sure something had cracked. "You don't mean Lady Alanna, do you?" he demanded forcibly.
"I do," Gary replied evenly. "She healed that hangover I had last time—do you have something against her?"
"Healed you in the middle of the night, dressed all in black and just about killed us," he muttered. "Yes, I have something against her. Plus, didn't think it the least suspicious when she appeared in your room dressed like…that?"
Gary let out a small groan. "Jon," he protested. "We've already been through this. Gods, she's engaged to Terrin and she's Thom's sister. Isn't that good enough for you?"
His mouth was drawn into a scowl. "Thom's sister?" He scoffed. "She's as much like Thom as I resemble a-a-pig."
"Do you mean looks or personality? Because if you mean the former, you better start dressing like one," Alex murmured.
Jonathan frowned. "Weren't you supposed to be on my side?"
He shrugged. "I just found your comment amusing, that's all. It's hard to resist saying something back to that. Now can you clarify? I got a bit lost back there when you mentioned a midnight visit…"
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An hour later found the foursome walking over to the Guest Wing. "I still don't see why we have to."
Gary snorted. "You're bandages are soaked with your blood from an assassin's cut, which you refuse to let your father and Duke Baird know about, and you're asking because…?"
Jonathan shot him a look and quickened his pace. "Gary, you're tongues going to get you in trouble someday."
The chestnut eyed young man only smiled good-naturedly. "Maybe it will, but for now, I'm just looking forward to a headache-free day." He stopped and stretched.
"Hey, Gary," Alex elbowed the taller knight out of his way. "What if she doesn't want to help? From what I heard, she's pretty testy." And as if to exaggerate his point, indistinct arguing drifted down the hall from the open door ahead of them. Alex raised an eyebrow. "I'm taking a wild guess here, but that'll be her room, right?"
"Actually, I think that's Terrin's. Here's is the room adjourning his, but from the sounds, she's arguing with him." Jonathan flinched as the sound of breaking glass was heard. "And it doesn't sound very good. Let's go; maybe now's not a good time." He turned and tried to walk away.
"Hold on a sec here, Jon." Gary pushing him back towards the door. His eyes shone with a mischievous gleam. "Since you're so reluctant to meet Lady Alanna, I'd say you're scared of her, huh? Or even, you're afraid to go near her because you like her, but she's already betrothed to Terrin, and you're afraid that—"
Before he could finish the sentence, a fist impacted on his cheek, throwing him off-balance and into the wall behind him. When he opened his eyes, he saw a very annoyed Jonathan glaring at him as Raoul held him back. He gulped and touched his cheek, yelping as the pain fired darts of flames at his brain. The hall seemed very quiet, as the shouting had suddenly stopped.
Two figures emerged from the door way and goggled at the sight of the four unexpected visitors outside their door. The redheaded woman wearing an ornate white velvet gown regarded them with a scowl. "It's polite to knock, you know. But then again, men all seem to think themselves beyond that." She shot a glare pointedly at her companion before stalking back into the room.
The others remained frozen in place, surprised and a bit unnerved. Terrin cleared his throat, breaking the silence. "I'm sorry, but Alanna still hasn't calmed down from our last…disagreement. I'm sure you all heard." Everyone nodded slowly, noting the understatement. He caught sight of Gary and Jonathan and raised an eyebrow. "Looks like you two need some mending. What happened?" Alex caught Terrin's eye and an unspoken message was given. "And while we're at it, do come in."
In a few minutes, they were all inside, gathered around the small table, talking. Alanna was nowhere to be seen. They explained about the recent events as quickly as possible. When they where done, Terrin seemed less surprised than they expected. When they asked why, he merely replied, "Conspiracies are a part of the outside world's court. It's perfectly normal for assassins to appear. Tortall is very peaceful compared to, Carthak, for example.
"I'm not wholly surprised that one attacked you. But you said that you thought it was a woman at first? May I ask for an explanation?"
Jon shrugged. "The assassin was very small, and I though the figure wasn't one that you'd expect a well-toned man would have. Closer to a stableboy's, maybe. And later, when he jumped out the window, I saw that his hair was very long."
"Hmm. Did you see what color it was?"
He frowned in concentration. "I'm not really sure, but I'd say it had a reddish hue. But like I said, I only saw a bit of it. The rest was covered by a veil, like his face."
Terrin nodded and his eyes flickered over to the blood-soaked bandage and Gary's large facial bruise. "I don't know if its bothering you, but you might want to get that healed and the bandage changed. You should have when you just got it, and if my guess is correct, you got it from that assassin, no?"
Jonathan nodded slowly. "The thing is," he started haltingly. "I don't want father to know about it. He'll worry, you see, and, well…" he trailed off, hoping Terrin would understand. He was relieved when Terrin nodded again without asking for further explanation.
"What about Gary's cheek? Did the assassin get him, too?"
Gary and Jonathan both fidgeted in their seats, their faces holding faint traces of red.
It was Raoul who answered for them. "They got a bit rowdy on the way here, and Jonathan couldn't control himself," he explained.
"Ah. Then I'm guessing the main reason you're here is to ask Alanna to heal you two."
Raoul grinned sheepishly. "We were hoping she would, but she's seems rather…angry with us."
"That was my fault. She got quite upset at me earlier on." Terrin chuckled. "Come on, then, she should be cooled off by now." He stood up and led them over to the door, knocking sharply. "Alanna?"
"Hmph. So now we start knocking—why not before?" came the voice from within. "What do you want? You might as well come in."
Terrin opened the door and ushered the two patients in. "Alex and Raoul had decided it be better if they stayed out, as they were not needed inside. Now, Alanna—"
"No."
"Why? You didn't even hear them out yet."
"I heard your conversation, enough of it anyway, and I am not taking part in any of this," she replied. She pushed herself off the bed and over to the window seat, crossing her hands under her breasts. She plopped down without so much of a thought to the ruin of her expensive dress.
"I'm afraid you're already part of this my dear," Terrin told her slyly. She looked up at him with a frown. Oh, and why don't you tell them that I'm the assassin and you're a mercenary? She snapped at him sardonically in her head, even though she knew he couldn't hear. "You told me that you helped Gary with his hangover last time, so you might as well help them this time. Excuse me," he said to the too knights and walked over to her. Leaning close, he whispered in her ear. "They're suspicious about the assassin already; do you want to push them along in it?"
She glared at him, but knew he was right. "Fine," she muttered grudgingly. "but we are going to have a long talk later." And in a louder voice, "You two, go outside and sit down. You too, Terrin."
Once they were outside, she walked over to the large wardrobe and pulled open the wooden doors. Digging through the clothes, she found a large leather bag. It was filled with useful herbs and items for healing and magic, some brought from Carthak and others she had bought in Tortall with the excessive money used to pay for her dresses.
It's stupid, she thought to herself. Undoing my own work and healing the man I loathe is just plain stupid. Why am I listening to Terrin? But the thought of healing again sent shivers up her spine. Although she had found that she actually enjoyed the moments when she did heal, she kept telling herself that killing was easier. And more satisfactory. You get revenge, and what does healing do?
She picked up the bag and trotted into the room occupied by the five men. They were conversing quietly to each other, apparently oblivious to her entrance. Her eyes scanned the young men, lingering on Terrin and Jonathan. "Do you know how stupid you two look?" she asked, surprised she had voiced it aloud.
The others were just as surprised as she, if not more so. "Lady Alanna," Alex greeted her, the only one who had observed her enter.
Alanna's gaze flickered over to him, meeting his eyes. For some reason, she felt cold all of a sudden. He broke the gaze and sat down. She lifted her shoulders and approached the seated Prince. "You say the cut won't stop bleeding? Even with the bandage?"
He nodded. Gingerly, she pulled his arm into her lap, wincing inside at touching her brother's killer. Even more carefully, she unraveled the linen and mentally hit herself for not changing into something more sensible. Blood dripped onto her white gown - its sanguine hue would be near impossible to get rid of. By the time it was fully unraveled, blood had soaked a large patch of the dress. It's a dress, she consoled herself. I'm not even supposed to like dresses.
"Terrin, get the uncut linen in my bag," she instructed. He obeyed. She slid it over her dress and rested Jonathan's arm on it. She looked up at his face; it was turned away from her, but she could tell the cut pained him. Suddenly, she felt a bit of remorse for causing the wound in the first place. This is no time to be getting a conscience again, she chided herself. Hurriedly, she laid a soft hand on the wound. Purple fire visible only to her flowed into the cut, dispelling the poison her blade had inserted.
Skin merged and the bleeding lessened. A bead of sweat rolled down her cheek. She had forgotten how much it took out of her to heal large wounds like this. She packed the wound with a nasty-smelling salve and nimbly wrapped it with a long strip of bandage. "There," she stated. "It should begin healing on its own now; I got rid of the poison that was keeping it open."
She glanced down at her hand, which was now covered with his blood and swallowed hard. "I'm going to go wash my hands," she told the others, who were still watching intently as Jonathan examined his arm. She covered her mouth with her unstained hand and quickly dashed out.
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Okay, hope everyone had a happy holiday; I sure did. That's the end of this chapter, so…eh, yeah. I know, I know, I didn't answer the Gary-seeing-Alanna-juggling-knives question in the text, so I will now. Yes, he did see her, no he doesn't remember. Argument, Roger, Alex, and whatnot will all be explained in the next chapter. Hehe.
Question: Can you make this an A/A?
Answer: I don't even know what this is going to end up as, so if you want A/A…well, you may get it or you may not.
Question: Is she *really* gonna kill him?
Answer: If you wait and read, you'll find out ;)
Question: SHE'S [Alanna] IN LOVE WITH JON?
Answer: I don't know, you'll have to ask her yourself sometime…
Question: Will she end up killing her "employer"?
Answer: She needs to find him first and then maybe…wait, did you mean her first employer? Like, the one who works with Alex? Oh, then I'm not sure.
Question: How do you get your font to be italic, bold and so on?
Answer: I use FrontPage and it does it itself.
~Reaya
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