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I hope the resolution to this arc lives up to your expectations :D
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Chapter 20: The woman who smelled of wild roses

Nova tilted her head to the side. She squinted at the man in front of her, thinking a mile an hour. The twenty-eighth. It did make sense. The differences in the courtyard. The new faces. The different mana signatures. She lowered her scalpel a bit. She knew this man, deep inside. He'd helped her in the past. Then again, so had Aristides. He'd also been quick to lend a helping hand. Offer something good, take something better.

"He's…"

"Dead," the man calling himself the Wizard King said. "He's been dead for almost two thousand years." She sighed. Then, her head fell forward and she laughed. She laughed and laughed. Her rage wasn't appeased. Her pain wasn't numbed. He had had the audacity to die?

"How?" She finally asked.

"Aristides died in battle against the Heart Kingdom," the blonde man said in a calm tone. He was too calm. How could he be so indifferent? Years of rage, and he was calm? "The Queen at the time, I forget what she was called, she killed him."

"Morana," Nova replied immediately. "The Heart Queen was Morana. The Queen of a Thousand Winters."

"Right," he nodded. "The one with the ice magic?" Nova scoffed.

"She could freeze the entire continent if she wished," she raised her eyebrow at him. "Ice magic doesn't begin to cover it." She shook her head. "I want proof."

"Proof?"

"Show me that you're telling the truth, Wizard King." Nova stepped down from the desk, landing silently onto the ground, barefoot. "If you're telling me the truth, there should be proof. Show me." He huffed. "Or the man dies." Nova jerked her head back towards the blue-haired assistant, still spread-eagle against the wall. The blonde man glanced at him, taking in the bleeding, precise gashes along his arms.

"There," he motioned with his hand towards the wall. Nova looked. In the large familiar room, to the left of the desk in front of the row of tall windows, there was a line of portraits. She hadn't noticed that before. Sure enough, twenty-eight hung there. She zeroed in on the thirteenth. Black messy hair, wavy and dark brown eyes. High cheekbones and a jawline that could cut a person. That telltale smirk he always had on. It was Aristides, alright.

"Pictures are easy to fake," she scoffed. "Try again."

"Would you like to see his body, then?" That caught her attention.

"Yes."

"Come with me, then," he turned, back wide open to her. Nova quickly realized that he didn't even see her as a threat. To turn his back to her, completely defenseless, he had to either be insanely powerful or simply insane.

"If you're attempting to trick me, just to let you know, I have much more skill with magic than you'd expect," she told him in a low voice. "We could be on the other end of the city and I could still decapitate this man." The Wizard King looked at her over his shoulder.

"Then, it's good that I'm not attempting to trick you," he said. "Good assistants are really hard to come by. I'd hate to see you decapitate Marx." She knew that he was telling the truth, somehow. She believed that he wouldn't trick her. Naïve. Young. Innocent.

"Good," Nova conceded. "Show me." She stepped forward. Then, little pieces of glass rained on them both. Nova ducked, whipping to the left where the tall windows were, scalpel at the ready. The Wizard King moved, too, extending his hand in a calming motion.

"Nova!" Two boys were there, having blown through the window into the office. The two from Nova's room. She knew them. Magna the Fire Mage and Luck the Lightning Knight. She knew them well. Their expressions were different. Magna seemed worried, but also determined. Luck, on the other hand, was ready to throw down. It was obvious, both by his swirling mana and the grin on his face.

"More incentive, good," Nova remarked in an amused tone, smirking. She raised her hand, summoning additional translucent assistants.

"Wait-" The Wizard King began, but the hands were already hurtling through the air towards the newcomers. However, they stopped halfway, vanishing into thin air, like smoke. Nova frowned, then directed the spell again. Again, it failed. "Looks like there's more Nova inside of you than it seems," the blonde man said with a smile. "That's good." She turned to him, then, grinning.

"Oh?" Then, the blue hand around the neck of his assistant tightened. "I might be attached to these two, but I have no qualms about squeezing the air out of that one." The blue-haired man wheezed.

"Don't m-mind me, sir Julius," he rasped out. "S-subdue her." Nova grinned wide at the expression on the Wizard King's face.

"Don't mind him, sir Julius," she cooed. "I don't play with my food." The blonde man glared at her. He raised one hand to the two Knights, telling them to stand down, and the other towards her.

"There's no need for this," he said. "We need to resolve the situation quickly. You've attached yourself to my healer too strongly. If this keeps going, you will become her." Nova shrugged.

"A second life doesn't sound so bad," she remarked.

"Would you steal an innocent's life like that?" That got her to stop. Indeed, she wouldn't. She had never killed an innocent. She wasn't about to start.

"Nova, if you're in there, you need to fight," the Fire Mage said, making her look over to him. "You're stronger than her." She smiled at him.

"We are one, Magna," she told him. "Me and your precious Nova, we are one. I am her and she is me. We don't know anymore where one begins and the other ends. I know you, I feel for you, I love you and yet, I'm indifferent about you. There is no strength in the world which could make me fight myself. There is no we. There is only I. I am Nova Goldin, the God of Death."

"Thought you were the Surgeon of Death?" The other boy asked conversationally. Nova snorted.

"Right," she waved her hand dismissively. "Whatever Aristides named me."

"Thought you were a rather prominent healer, too," he goaded. Nova knew that he was goading her into it. Still, she bit on the second dig. "Turns out you're mediocre at best." She whipped her head towards him, hair flying as she stepped forward.

"You know nothing, boy," she hissed. "The human body is so easily dismantled and put together. The things I've seen would make you beg for death." He grinned wide at her and she felt… warm.

"Try me," he shrugged. "All I see is a rather pesky ghost whom I could totally take in a fight." She didn't hesitate. The scalpel flew from her hand at the kid. But, he didn't even flinch. It flew past his neck, embedding in the wood of the window frame. His grin grew. "Bad aim, too." Before Nova could retort, he muttered a spell, and then she was on her knees, screaming. The little bastard had electrocuted her. She glared up at him, holding onto her chest. Her fingers still shook from the violent current which rushed through her. "Just because Nova's soft, doesn't mean we all are. Bet you remember being zapped like that."

"Alright, alright," the Wizard King intervened before she managed to get her legs to cooperate so that she could strangle the Knight with her own hands. He wouldn't think her soft then. "Mr. Swing, Mr. Voltia, if you would stay here with Marx. He will be free in a moment and will need some medical attention." Then, the man turned to her. "I will take you to see Aristides now." With a wave of his hand, the room melted away and then she was in a dark space, somewhere underground. Nova struggled to her feet. It wasn't quite teleportation magic, but something different. He was skilled. Definitely above her in the pecking order. She finally stood up on her shaky legs. The boy had gotten a good hit in. She had wanted to react, her mana had flared, but all she'd felt was warm. She wouldn't've been able to harm him, even if she'd wanted to. She loved him too much to do anything to hurt him.

Torches came to life along the wall, lighting up the new room. It was an underground, wide space, like a cave. Then, as she glanced from here to there, she realized, it wasn't a cave, but a crypt. The walls were dark stone, stories of various Wizard Kings etched into them, all connected with markings in gold. The familiar six pointed star seemed to smirk at her. The symbol of the history caretakers. She turned to the Wizard King. He motioned for her to follow him. Mutely, she obeyed. It felt right to be silent, somehow. Respectful of the dead. Down the path they went, footsteps echoing the chamber. The ground was marked with golden symbols and intricate designs, amidst all the runes. This place was heavy protected, she realized. From somewhere inside, not her own memory, another memory, she recognized the runes. The girl, Nova, herself, whomever, one of them knew the runes. There were small candles on the sides of the path, lighting it up, leading them up the road. Then, the Wizard King stopped. Nova turned to the raised sarcophagus he was looking at.

"This is…"

"The remains of Aristides Potestas, the thirteenth of our name, Tamer of Great Sorrow and Unifier of the Realm," he confirmed, making her scoff at the elaborate titles. "They have been down here for over a millennium, guarded at all times." She came closer. Sure enough, there were traces of magic in the stone. She laid her hand on the carved surface, feeling it out. It was familiar, curling around her fingers almost playfully, teasingly. The coffin of Aristides was grand. It was as long as he had been tall, decorated in gold and black, showing off his great deeds in life. Telling his story. The bastard didn't deserve it. He didn't even deserve a grave. Much less to be laid with his predecessors and successors like some great man of value. He didn't deserve a name other than traitor and manipulator.

"He was a bastard," she said with a sigh. The rage she'd felt was quelled, ebbing. She'd always known that there was no use in fighting for the dead, or with them. "He was a right bastard." She released the clench of magic holding onto her hostage, adding a bit more to it before letting it vanish somewhere deep inside of her.

"I can't speak for his actions," the Wizard King said somberly. "I can only tell you that what we are doing now, what I'm doing now, is different." He sighed, laying his own hand onto the stone. "For so many centuries so many practices have been in place which I want to abolish. But, as always, taking one step forward brings me ten steps back." Nova grinned.

"Dealing with aristocrats who've been rooted in their privileged ways for centuries has that effect."

"Indeed," he smiled at her, letting her have a moment. Then, he turned serious. "Unless you leave her now, she will forever be lost. She's the most promising healer we've seen since your time, Viviana De Lancey. It would be a pity to lose her." Nova shivered at the mention of the name. She peered up at the man.

"You know the truth." It was a statement. He smiled at her, nodding.

"I've been privy to all the truths of the Kingdom," he said. "What happened to you cannot be corrected. I wish it were in my power to change the past, but even I cannot change something so deeply buried and rooted in history. What my predecessor did to you and your family is unforgivable. Yet, what you did is unforgivable, too." She shook her head.

"I'm not looking to change my story," Viviana sighed. "It had ended. I've lived. I've lost. I've loved. I've died. Sixty-four years was enough for me." She turned to the man fully. "I will leave the child. Give me until sunrise."

"I can only offer the dungeon?" He said with a sad look on his face. She shrugged.

"The dungeon will do," Viviana replied. "I need a pen and paper. I will make this right."

Nova was herself. It was a strange feeling, being only herself. It was somehow… less. Still, the feelings which had echoed inside of her, out of empathy or sympathy, she didn't know, were gone. The rage she'd felt wasn't hers, and for once, she knew it.

"You're here," a voice said, making her turn. "Good." In the meadow where she sat, amidst the wild roses in the greenest grass, stood a woman. She was short, much shorter than her, but she stood with some kind of strength which didn't become her. She seemed old and young at the same time. Her dark eyes seemed warm.

"You're… her aren't you?" The woman nodded, walking over to Nova.

"It's nice to finally make your official acquaintance, Nova Goldin," she stepped close, extending her hand and caressing Nova's cheek. "Now, I understand."

"Understand what?" Nova was perplexed. The woman she'd been so hell-bent on researching was standing in front of her, in the proverbial flesh. She had a thousand questions. But, the only thing she could think was that she smelled of wild roses.

"You're related to him," the Surgeon said. "Distant, but there is a blood connection."

"To the Wizard King?" The Surgeon laughed. A merry sound, ringing throughout the valley.

"Heavens, no," she finally said. "To the man I loved. To Sana." Her fingers were gentle on Nova's skin. "I can see some of his light in you," the woman seemed sad, but joyful, at the same time. A bittersweet expression. "He had a brother, I believe. Perhaps that is the connection. Isn't it ironic, that I would be able to reach the present through his blood, rather than mine?"

"Maybe it's fate."

"Maybe." The woman shrugged. "Ask." Nova huffed.

"I have too many questions," she said. "We'd be here for days." The woman laughed again, the action illuminating her wrinkly skin with life.

"Then, ask the right questions," she told her.

"Do I have what it takes?" Nova said before she thought about it. The Surgeon smiled wide.

"Your path isn't mine," she told her. "You aren't meant for blood and death. You are of his line. You walk only in the light. Don't ever forget that." A bell tolled in the distance, the sound of a children's nursery rhyme ringing out in youthful voices. Nova didn't look to seek the source. "It's time," the Surgeon said.

"I have so many more questions, though," Nova stood quickly, taking the woman's hands. "How did you know how to heal? How did you adapt your magic to it? Why did you decide to be a healer? Can I change the system? I have so many questions!" The Surgeon took her hands into one of hers, gently patting them. Nova noticed they were free of wrinkles. When she looked up, another woman was in front of her, yet, still the same one.

The Surgeon was stunning. She had her same dark eyes, still, but they were somehow wider, more innocent, void of sorrow. Her hair was loose, in gentle waves, and so red. As red as blood. And she was beautiful. Not the common kind of beauty which was noticed, like Vanessa or Lizzie had. It was a different kind of charm. Something alluring, forbidden and intoxicating.

"You will be alright," she said in a higher pitched voice, reminding Nova of a nightingale's song or the hum of the river. The Surgeon was nature, she realized. "It is when your questions are all gone, that you should worry. Keep asking. Always keep asking. And remember, you hold much more power than you presume." With a final pat to her hands, the Surgeon let go and walked past her, towards the sound of the bell and the children. "Don't look back. Only forward." And Nova didn't turn.

She woke up on a cot, in a small cell which could only be a dungeon, feeling exhausted, groggy and incredibly happy. She sat up, grinning wide. While she was sad to be parted from the Surgeon, she was elated to be herself again. Free of the pain and free of the anger. She was Nova. And being Nova Goldin was the best thing in the whole wide world.

"You're awake," the voice made her turn. Julius stood at the open door, watching her. "Feeling more like yourself?"

"Feeling incredibly small, completely powerless and fantastically like myself," she confirmed. He smiled and offered her his hand. Nova jumped up, rushing towards him to hug him tight. He didn't deny her, embracing her shortly. "I'm so sorry about the mess," she murmured into his chest. Then, she pulled back, realizing. "Did I kill Marx?" Julius chuckled.

"Only his pride," he shrugged. "The Surgeon did a nice thing and patched him up before she left." He stepped out of the dungeon and Nova went to follow him, but he motioned to the small desk in the corner. "You might want that. She left it for you." Nova walked to it to find a stack of parchments bound together. She flipped through them briefly, seeing lines and lines of writing and diagrams. "Her legacy, I suppose." Nova hugged it close to her chest walking out of the dungeon and into the warmth of the sunny morning. She felt like she'd awoken from a hundred years of sleep. Or maybe, a two thousand year old slumber…

Nova walked into her quiet room at the Tower, after reassuring Will and Mary who were already awake that she was fine. Owen had been waiting outside of the dungeon to do a proper onceover on her and then hugged her tight. He even told her to rush home and get a shower in a joking manner. But, entering her room made her forget all thoughts of a bath. Her two, quickly becoming, favorite people in the whole wide world were there.

Magna was sprawled out on the cot that they usually used for family of patients who didn't have anywhere to stay during the healing process of their loved ones. He was snoring softly, belly out, hair wild. She spotted the telltale bags under his eyes and smiled sadly, coming over and caressing his cheek. He didn't wake up, just muttered something about pudding. Nova planted a kiss onto his forehead and then looked at the other addition to her room.

Luck was asleep, also, quietly, though. He was in her bed, hugging her pillow, his back propped up against the headboard. The way he way lying had her thinking that he'd done his best to stay awake and failed miserably. He, too, was showing signs of fatigue. Nova huffed to herself. She would need to make this up to them. Treat them to a nice dinner. Be nice and let them mess up the Tower for like a month, at least. She recalled the moments of them talking in her room, then their expressions while facing off the Surgeon. They'd been ready to do anything to get her back. Definitely her two favorite people in the whole wide world.

She walked over to Luck, her heart thundering in her chest and betraying her. It was selfish, but she brushed his bangs up and planted a kiss on his forehead, too. Instantly, his eyes opened and he stared at her, unflinching. Nova smiled. The snoring behind her stopped.

"Nova?" Magna asked tentatively. She didn't turn, but stood straight slowly, smile turning to a smirk.

"I need you to help me," she said in a low voice, like whispering a secret.

"With what?" Magna asked, standing up groggily and walking over. Nova turned to him, still smirking and he balked.

"I will take the Wizard King's head," she said in a cold tone. Magna stepped back, but then, Luck was laughing. Nova tilted her head to the side at the Fire Mage, grinning wide now. "Too soon?" His fearful expression turned angry, but there was a widening grin on his face.

"Oh, too soon, oh, you, oh!" And he tackled her to her own bed, Luck joining in the messy hugging, or wrestling, whatever it was. Nova was just glad to be able to wrap her own, this time only her own, arms around their necks and embrace them tightly. Not even the tickling or the zap of lightning bothered her.

In the following week, Nova was extremely busy. First, she bought little tokens of thanks for all the people who had visited her, counting on Magna's recollection of events to do so. She spent all the money she'd saved up to send back home, apologizing in her head to her parents and promising to do better. She took Magna and Luck out to dinner, which they enjoyed immensely.

Something had changed between them, however. Nova had been expecting it, but not in this way. She'd expected them to be distrustful or check on her more than often, due to her recent close encounter with the Surgeon. However, they'd done the exact opposite. Luck seemed to be even louder in his desires to help her train and Magna kept jokingly pushing her, hugging her, anything to touch her, like he was afraid that she'd vanish. They hadn't really talked about the events of her… well… possession she supposed? Though possession seemed too mild of a word for her encounter with the dead. But, that was Magna and Luck. They fought, they didn't apologize, they just went right back to how they were before. Friendship was more important than silly squabbles, Magna had told her once. It was her relationship with Luck which had changed the most, though. She dared to say some kind of tension lay between them whenever they were left alone. Tension in silence which Nova didn't know how to fill with words. Then, they left on a mission mere days after her ordeal, leaving her to mull over her newfound situation and redefine their friendship in her own head.

Her healer family was very accommodating, and a little too careful around her. Will still walked on eggshells whenever she was about, careful not to mention the Surgeon or anything concerning the number of books about curses he'd read in order to try and help her. Mary cooked too much and fed her like she was a prized pig. It was nice, but it would definitely get her fat. She didn't have the heart to deny the woman, though. Even Elizabeth often came out of her room, asking Nova to help her with this and that. Fetching supplies, testing out gadgets, preparing usual potions and salves, Elizabeth asked Nova to lend her a hand, despite not needing one. It was nice, but a little odd. Her way of caring, Nova supposed.

Julius summoned her to his office near the end of the week. She came, dutifully, apologizing to Marx elaborately and bringing him a basket of goodies as a get well and sorry I attempted to murder you and held you hostage package. He waved her off, but still, Nova saw the bandages along his arms and the way he moved slowly as to not agitate his wounds.

"There is going to be a cover story," Julius said almost immediately when she came over to his desk. He motioned for her to sit. "We can't expose what happened to you without risking a trial, so, the best way to go about it is to insinuate that an intruder from a neighboring Kingdom using Transformation Magic broke in and impersonated you." Nova nodded.

"That seems the best possible solution," she agreed. Julius gave her a contemplative look.

"This means that the way history remembers the Surgeon will stay the same," he said. Nova nodded again.

"Viviana wasn't looking to change that," she told him with a shrug. "She didn't really care about how she went down in history. She just wanted to be buried next to her family. I'd like to submit a request for leave to do so." Julius waved his hand.

"Just submit one for material gathering and we'll cover it up," he told her. "It's the least we could do for a great woman who was wronged so much by the system which was there to protect her."

"Do you know, maybe, where she-"

"Was buried?" Julius completed her sentence with a smile. "I've been looking into it, hence the late summons. I believe she lies in an unmarked grave in the Capital. I will assign someone to help you relocate her remains." Nova shook her head.

"I think I'd like to do this one alone," she told him. He nodded, then grabbed a paper from his desk and signed it, sliding it over to her. It was a permission form for a gathering mission, which Nova was familiar with. The details were blank.

"Fill in whatever covers the time and places you will need to finish the task," Julius told her. "And, when you get back, I think it's time that we talked." Nova froze in the process of taking the paper.

"Talked?"

"About the curses you've been attempting to study," he smiled at her, a little mischief there. "There hasn't been anyone skilled or trustworthy enough in my tenure to assign to that task, but I believe you would be perfect for it." Then, Julius leaned in over his desk. "There is a room dedicated only to studying curses at the Royal Library, called the Forbidden Vault. I'd like you to take lead in examining the books kept there and apply the knowledge practically through healing." Nova was only aware of the fact that her cheeks hurt from the size of her smile. She couldn't wait to tell Magna and Luck all about it.

"I'd like that very much!"

That's all folks!

Reviews:

AmericanNidiot:
Thanks so much for the reviews!
Let me go from the first one, chronologically xD Yes, The Surgeon was a woman! I thought that would be an interesting twist to the story, especially with her background :)
I'm glad that you were able to sympathize with her life, though, you need to keep in mind that while she might have good reasons, no reason is ever a good enough one for murder :P

I hope this new chapter offers more of a resolution to the Surgeon and Nova situation? While having the Surgeon remain there, as a ghost, would've been interesting, she was blending too much with Nova, more than possessing her. Hence, it would've been one or the other. And, the Surgeon never went after innocent people… so, she wouldn't want to erase Nova in the end :D
Hope it was an interesting ending!
Best!

Kalecream:
Thanks so much for the reviews! Let me start from the beginning xD
I'm glad that you enjoyed my artistic, fragmented chapter :P I had a blast writing it and finally flexing a bit of experience through emotions, rather than the other way around. Writing dialogue without explanation was a lot of fun, too :)
Nova, fortunately, wasn't a criminal in her previous life, just the Surgeon. I hope that the new chapters cleared up a bit of that :D The Surgeon definitely wanted to kill the Wizard King, but missed him by a few centuries xD In the end, she found peace somehow :)
Hope you'll enjoy the new chapter, too!
Best!