As I left my room Aiska was by my side almost instantaneously, jogging to catch up with my anxiety fueled strides. I begrudgingly slowed down to allow her to catch-up.
"Is there anything you need Myr?" She asked as she matched my now slightly slower pace, staying just behind me so I was only seeing her face out of my peripherals.
"I understand that this is your job, but I really don't need...or want to be waited on like this," I let out a sigh, slowed to a more comfortable speed, and turned to look at her, "I get that there are decorum and rules that must be adhered to in a position like this...but seriously cut it out." I realized that the last bit had come out harsher than I had intended.
"If you-" she started, but I cut her off.
"I'm sorry, that was so rude," I said, "I just...I just need at least one person treating me like a person right now..." my voice trailed off as memories of being nothing more than a puppet for weeks came flooding back into my head, that tingling on my skin came back to. Aiska smiled kindly at me, but there was something else in her eyes...a sadness that wasn't pity per say, more of an understanding.
"Of course," she said as she fell into step beside me, "but in all seriousness, I'm gonna be asking you that whenever I see you for a while. Force of habit and all that." She lightly punched my shoulder. I laughed a little at the stark contrast between her earlier attitude and the current one.
"If I ever do need anything you'll be the first to know," I replied, feigning pain in the shoulder where she punched it.
"Well I think I should let you know something since we're dispensing with formalities..." She started to say but hesitated.
"What?"
"Your face...is kinda fucked up...like I should take you to a healer to help with the swelling." I reached up and gingerly touched where Yen had punched me. It had been throbbing slightly but I hadn't really been focused on it since my side ached more and the tingling kept coming back randomly.
"You're probably right," I said through a wince, "plus my side is still killing me to...Yen is really strong." I hesitantly lifted my shirt and saw the bruise had gotten a bit darker. Aiska gasped when her eyes locked on to the large black and purple mark on my ribs.
"Yeah...I'm taking you to the healer's chamber now," Aiska grabbed my arm and dragged me through the castle, down three levels, and into a room that smelled of herbs that were distinctly not for cooking. When we entered the surprisingly well lit room the smell became much stronger. I glanced around for the source but all I saw in this room was a large fireplace, complete with a roaring fire, a wooden...bed or table that was angled as if to be sat upon or in, and another door that led deeper into the castle.
"Hello?" An elderly male voice called out from the back of the room, "I'll be right there!" There was a crash followed by some cursing, another crash, more cursing, and then the elderly gentleman who was the last face I saw before passing out in the cart after being rescued shuffled out with a scowl on his face. I heard him mutter something about storage space and a lack of organization before he looked over at myself and Aiska.
"Healer Asharn, you remember Myr?" Aiska asked, the old man, Asharn, nodded and made his way over to us.
"Mmmm yes, the captive of Lord Coran," he mumbled, "well let's get to it. Take off your clothes and any glamorous you are maintaining. Go stand by the fire so I can examine you, Aiska you may wait outside."
"Are you sure..."Aiska started today but Asharn lifted his wrinkled hand and made a shooing motion towards her.
"I need to do this privately, my dear," Asharn said with a grouchy tone that contrasted with his smiling face, "I have found that patients are much more likely to be honest with me about such things if we are alone." Aiska hesitated but walked out of the room and closed the door.
"Do you use Magic to heal people?" I asked as I began stripping, attempting to avoid touching my bruises.
"No no dear boy," Asharn chuckled and began collecting things from around the room, "Magical healers are rare. Being able to manipulate Magic with such fine precision as to facilitate healing is a rare gift. Just because I look like an old wizard does not mean I am one."
"Ah, I see," I replied even though I already knew this, I had just assumed that the Royals would have the best of the best in their employ. I had removed all but my small-clothes at this point and moved towards the fire.
"Those too," Asharn waved at my undergarments, "no need for modesty here, nothing i haven't already seen anyway."
"You've seen me-" I started, but the old man waved his hand as if to swat the question out of the air even as he gathered more items.
"Of course," he sounded exasperated but his voice became kind and soft, "when an individual is brought to me after enduring what you have gone through I examine all areas that have been treated poorly." He walked over and nodded at the remaining clothes and I acquiesced, dropping them to my ankles. Asharn looked me up and down, his eyes narrowing when this gaze was on my face.
"What?" I asked, moving my hands to my hips defensively...before quickly removing them as I had forgotten about my bruises.
"Glamour. Off," Asharn stared very pointedly at my eyes. I was confused for a few moments before remembering that he would've seen my eyes after the...fight. I sighed and let the Magic fall away from my face.
"Better?" I asked, having my eyes on display made me feel more exposed than being naked.
"For me, yes," he began examining my face closely, bringing up magnifying glasses of various sizes to get closer looks, "that eye trick was masking the extent of some of the bruise. Does this hurt?" He gently tapped what must've been the edge of the bruise because I sucked in air through my teeth, making a hissing sound.
"Yes," I almost growled.
"And here?" Asharn poked another spot on my face and I made a similar noise, and this repeated for a few more spots until the healer was satisfied, "alright now the ribs." The process repeated with many pokes and prods and pained noises escaping my mouth.
