Arthur jerked his head away, eyes wide. "What kind of sorcery is that?"
Sakura shook her head, resisting the urge to laugh. "I am no Mage, Arthur." She released the chakra from around her hands and she saw him glancing at her fingers, as if expecting something to happen.
"Bloody hell…"
She giggled, her lips lifting in a cheeky smile. "Come on, you overgrown man-child. Let me heal those bruises." She found it exceedingly amusing how his eyes kept shifting between her face and her hands. "I did mention that I know a few things about medicine, didn't I?"
He crossed his arms across his broad chest, frowning at her. "I've met healers before, woman. None of them could do that."
"I guess I'm that special then."
"Stop that. I'm serious."
She sighed. "It's a special ability of mine, you could say. Something I've been able to do ever since I was little." She knew that to this side of the world chakra was unheard of and it meant next to nothing. They would never understand. She shrugged. "In a way, you could call it magic."
"You are a Mage."
"No, I'm not."
"You just said you can do magic."
"I said you could call it magic."
He looked at her intently. "Then what are you?"
Sakura smiled. "I'm a healer." She raised a finger and the telltale green light of her healing chakra shone around it. "See? This is my power, my very essence."
He stared at the orb of light around her fingertip for a few seconds and then his eyes met hers. "You better know what you are doing, woman."
Sakura smiled cheekily. "Only one way for you to find out."
Though he was still wary – she could tell – he let her put her hands on his face. He flinched slightly when green energy engulfed her fingers, but he made no move to pull back. Like all those that experienced the warmth of healing chakra, he soon relaxed, ridding his muscles of the tension.
The yellowing bruises slowly ebbed away, and the cuts on his cheeks and forehead mended back together, leaving behind smooth skin. She prolonged the healing session a little more than was necessary, hoping that the extra chakra would alleviate some of his fatigue. He'd had a harsh couple of days, and she was most likely correct in the assumption that his stay in the King's dungeons hadn't been pleasant.
The light went out from around her hands and she patted his cheek playfully. "Now, that wasn't that bad, was it?"
The man raised his fingers to his face, pressing lightly on the areas where the swelling had been, probably expecting to feel at least a bit of soreness.
With the bruises, cuts, and dried blood no longer marring his features, Arthur was a remarkably handsome man, Sakura noted. Tall and broad-chested, he carried himself with confidence. He had the kind of face that stopped you in your tracks, with his blond hair and sharp jawline and trimmed beard. His eyes, clear and brilliant, were the color of the sky reflected on the frozen surface of a lake.
Damn…
"If this healing magic of yours makes me fall ill, I'm hunting you down."
Broken out of her thoughts and thankful for the distraction, Sakura rolled her eyes at him. "Oh, give it a rest, you big baby. We both know you're feeling better than you have in days, if not weeks."
"Irrelevant."
She chuckled, shaking her head at him. What a stubborn mule of a man…
Getting up, she dusted her knees – though her breeches were nearly unsalvageable – and clapped his shoulder. "Let's get going, old chap. The others are probably wondering where we are, and I still need to heal Percival's nose." Not waiting for him to get up, she started walking away.
"I didn't hit him that hard, did I?" he said, easily catching up with her.
"You did." She glanced at him in the corner of her eye. "What do you know, your head just might be thicker than you thought."
He glared at her. "Cork it."
The woman snickered. "Oh, I'll cork it, alright. But you're still apologizing to him."
Arthur snorted at her words. "I don't think so, princess. I regret nothing."
"You broke the man's nose. The least you can do is apologize."
"Forget it, darling. That's not how the world of men works." He crossed his arms across his chest, smirking down at her. "There is no way I'm going to apologize."
XxxOxOxOxxX
"I'm sorry for breaking your nose, my good man." he managed to grit out, struggling to say the words due to the headlock Sakura had him in.
The woman snickered, releasing her hold. "That wasn't so hard, was it?"
Arthur glared at her, dusting himself off. "You are going to pay for this."
She waved him off, smiling widely. "If I took seriously every single threat I've received over the years, I would have dug my own grave and jumped in by now, princeling."
"You –"
"Now," she clapped her hands together, effectively cutting the man off, "let me take a look at that for you, Percival."
The man said nothing, only walked up to her. She gently took hold of his chin, examining his face from different angles, though the dried blood was making it troublesome to see clearly.
"Blondie, pass me a wet cloth, will you?"
Rubio quickly followed her instructions, tearing a piece of cloth from a tattered old cloak and wetting it under the running waters of the stream. "Here you go, lass."
Mumbling her thanks, the woman carefully wiped the blood and grime off Percival's face, smiling apologetically at the way he flinched when she got closer to his injury.
"I'll fix it up in a minute, I promise." she said encouragingly, and she was grateful to see the small smile that he sent her. She cleaned his face as best she would without straining him and set the cloth aside. "Now, I want you to keep still, ok?"
She placed both hands on his face and took a deep breath. She really wasn't looking forward to the onslaught of questions she knew would follow this little display of hers, but there was no way she was leaving Percival suffer a broken nose when she could do something about it.
Her fingers glowed green, and despite his light wince, Percival made no move to pull back. It made her wonder if he had experienced anything similar in the past. She knew it was unlikely that they had come upon another chakra user, but perhaps the concept of this type of healing wasn't completely unheard of. They did have a Mage in their company after all.
She could vaguely hear gasps and hushed whispers around her, and she could feel multiple pairs of eyes burning holes in the back of her head, but she focused on the task at hand. When she was certain that the man's injury was completely healed, she stopped the chakra flow and offered him a satisfied smile.
"There, all better now."
Astonished and uncertain, Percival touched his nose lightly, then looked at her. In a show of gratitude that Sakura wasn't used to, he bowed his head. "Thank you, my lady. I am in your debt."
The woman chuckled. "Please don't. I'm a healer, it's what I do." Mentally preparing herself for what was to come, she turned around and, flashed the rest of their peculiar party a wide grin. "So, what's for dinner?"
XxxOxOxOxxX
Arthur snorted at Percival's words. Lady…Give me a break…You poor old sap…
"I hate to interrupt your exchange of useless pleasantries," started Bill, "but what the hell was that?"
"Are you too an acolyte of Merlin?" added Bedivere. "Has he sent another Mage to aid us?"
Arthur resisted the urge to rub it in her face that he wasn't the only one to think that. Even the other woman, the dark-haired one, seemed surprised. He didn't know a whole lot about Mages and their kin, but it appeared that what she had done was rare even by their own standards.
The woman sighed, rubbing her temples. "Alright, let's be clear. I am no Mage," she said pointedly, "and no, I was not sent by this Merlin you speak of."
"Do you take us for fools?"
"For the love of all the Gods, Bill, listen to me just this once." Her green eyes bore into the older man's, and for the first time since meeting her, Bill chose to step back.
"Now," she continued, "what you just saw is my gift. I was born with it; I've been a healer all my life. Nothing more, nothing less. This," she raised her hand and they all saw the green glow around it, "is what I'm offering to your cause."
Arthur observed her, looking for cracks in her resolve, searching for lies in her determined gaze. He found none. He'd never take anyone's words at face value, especially someone as clever as her, but he was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. If anything, she'd proven herself an asset, despite being one of the most closely-guarded people he had ever met.
And that bothered him.
He wasn't used to not being able to read people. His ability to recognize intentions a mile way had always been the ace up his sleeve in his line of work.
Not being able to see through her was…unsettling.
"This is exactly the kind of ability you should have told us about." Bedivere frowned. "We can't afford to be caught unawares. Do you even realize how important this is?"
She turned her gaze to him and crossed her arms across her chest. "Let me stop you right there. I may have come to you willingly, I may have chosen to put my life on the line to help you because I do have a moral compass, but I believe I am entitled to guarding at least a few of my secrets until the time is right."
Bedivere furrowed his brow. "The future of the Realm depends-"
"The future of the Realm," she cut him off, her eyes hard, "depends on your ability to choose the right allies."
Bill snickered mockingly. "Is that what you are? The right ally?"
Despite the gravity of the situation, Sakura sent him a grin. "If me saving your necks twice in a mere couple of days doesn't assure you of that, then I don't know what will, Billie."
"The lass is right." All eyes turned to Percival. "She's proven herself a worthy healer and an even worthier ally. We're all in this now."
Arthur raised an eyebrow at that. What do we have here? Earned yourself a champion, lassie? He snorted mockingly at the thought.
"Why, thank you, Percival. One of you has some common sense, at least."
Huh, Arthur smirked, that sarcasm of yours is gonna be the death of you, woman.
"Merlin help us, we are doomed."
"Oh, poor Billie, who got your breeches in a twist?"
The man glared at her, "You are-"
"Amazing, a genius, immensely talented-"
"A pain in the ass."
Sakura, in all her insolent glory, sent him a disarming smile. "One of these days I'm gonna get you to call me My Lady."
"Good luck with that."
And as unlikely as that seemed, something inside Arthur told him that she would.
XxxOxOxOxxX
Kneeling beside the hearth and making sure that no one was watching, Sakura used a quick jutsu to light a fire beneath the cooking pot. The sun was close to setting, and the others were busy preparing for nightfall. Arthur, Bedivere and Bill were in the woods, covering up their tracks while Rubio and Percival were out hunting. They had more than two dozen mouths to feed, so she could guess that they wouldn't be returning until well after sundown.
She'd wanted to go with them, but that'd leave the cave and the rest of its inhabitants unprotected, and that was a chance no one was willing to take.
You stay here, princess. Someone needs to keep an eye on this lot. The woods are dangerous after dark, she could still hear Arthur's words in her mind, and she chuckled to herself at the irony. If you only knew, princeling, if you only knew…
Feeling a presence near her, she looked over her shoulder to see the dark-haired woman, the Mage, staring at her intently from a few feet away. Sakura held her gaze, wondering what she could possibly want. The woman had an unnerving stare, as if she could see right through her. It felt…invasive, in a way. As if the Mage had access to her deepest, darkest secrets. It was a foolish notion, but she had never met anyone with eyes as empty as hers.
"Follow me," the Mage said flatly, and not waiting for a response, made her way out of the cave.
Sakura raised an eyebrow at that, curiosity peaked, and followed the shorter woman, flashing a smile at little Georgie as she went. The sun hadn't set yet, but its waning light could barely pierce through the thick foliage of the trees. Had the situation been different, she would have spared a few minutes to enjoy the scenery.
Standing opposite the Mage, Sakura waited for the other woman to speak, though the prolonged silence and the penetrating stare were making her nervous. She could tell that the Mage was observing her carefully, though she couldn't be sure what it was that she aimed to find. Sakura could swear that for a moment, the woman's eyes flashed completely black.
When the Mage finally spoke, Sakura felt the air leave her lungs.
"If you stay, you are not going to survive this war."
TBC
Alrighty! Here's chapter 5 and I hope you enjoy it!
I just love writing dialogue between Arthur, Bill and Sakura. It's always so much fun! Also, dear Saki has Percival on her side now.
What do you guys think? How's Arthur going to take that? :P
Anyway, I'm not gonna ramble…this time. Making no promises for the next! But I sure hope you liked the chapter!
I always enjoy reading your thoughts, so if it's not too much to ask, drop me a review to tell me your opinion.
Until next time,
Lots of love!