A Healer's Destiny

by Katherine J. Sinclair

  Chapter 19

  Elah looked around and didn’t recognise anyone except the queen and Leif who sat at the queens 9 O’Clock position. Elah looked at her shaking hands not wanting to stare at anyone and to try and calm herself. “You can sit now Elah” Milkah said, glaring at her from across the room.

  Elah felt exposed and was glad to have the cover of the table but didn’t take her eyes from her hands until she was addressed. “Elah, you have broken our law and we have deliberated to decide your punishment” Milkah said, watching Elah carefully. “The council feels that it is the duty of the most superior officer to know who they are leading and you Leaf should have known. Saying that, Elah should never have deceived you and gone to that battlefield in the first place. The council has decided that Leif will place this anklet on Elah.”

  Elah looked at milkah confused as she held up a beautiful golden chain. The links looked like leafs with small stones in some of the leaves. “I won’t do it” Leif hissed, looking at his mother hard.

  “You don’t have a choice” Milkah replied sternly. “You do realise that the punishment for what Elah did is death, since she was so ready to give it on the battlefield but she has helped many, including your father and I, and her gift is too valuable for that. So both of you count yourselves lucky.”

  Leaf’s reaction told Elah that the anklet was not a good thing and she started to breath hard and fast as panic over took her. Perhaps death would be better, she was not even sure what she was looking at. Her hands and feet started to tingle and the blood started to leave her now cold limbs. Her head started to feel light and her vision started to blur when the council member sitting next to her put their hand on her shoulder and sent a calming energy through her body.

  Elah looked up to see the entire room staring at her. She could feel the heat rise in her cheeks as embarrassment took over.

  “I’m sorry” she said, looking at a glass of water in front of her.

  “Perhaps and explanation as to what that is” another council member said, pointing to the anklet.

  “Fair enough” Milkah said, calmly taking a drink of water. “This is a piece of obedience jewellery. Who ever puts it on you, you must obey and is the only one who can remove it. Perhaps Leif could learn to control you a little better.”

  “And exactly why, I will not put it on her” Leif growled.

  “Leif this is not up for discussion” Milkah growled, to Leif through gritted teeth. “Elah, stand before Leif.”

  “Perhaps the council might take pity on me and give me the death penalty I deserve” Elah said, getting up.

  “You were not permitted to speak” Milkah roared, causing several council members to jump. “It has already been decided, now move.”

  Elah nodded and slowly walked over to stand behind Leif. “It’s okay, just do it” she whispered, just wanting to get out of the room.

  He turned to look at her, her entire body reacted to him. She looked into his eyes and knew he didn’t want to do it. He snatched up the anklet and kneeled before her. She lifted her dress to expose her ankles and she watched as he gently placed the anklet on and stood.

  Elah went back to her chair and stood behind it. “You will wear that until you marry” Milkah said, looking uninterested. “Now Leif you must now command her to never go to another battlefield again.”

  “Are you kidding me” Leif snarled, at his mother but Milkah gave him a hard look.

  “Well, it's either that or you both can spend some time in a cell until you do it” Milkah said harshly.

  Leif looked at Elah, who was watching him without expression. He sighed, “Elah you are to never go onto a battle field again” he ordered and narrowed his eyes at his mother.

  “See that wasn’t so hard was it” Milkah said standing.

  The rest of the council stood and left, leaving Elah alone in the room, Leif looked like he couldn’t get out fast enough. A guard opened the door she came in through and said “You are free to go.”

  Elah walked slowly through the door, shocked by what had happened. She walked through the castle in a daze and wondered what Leif was doing. Was the queen giving him orders or was he just as confused as she was? She guessed that he was most likely wanting to get as far from her and his mother as possible.

  She laid on her bed and wondered what she was going to do. If she was not around to hear an order, she would not have to obey but how was she going to get out of here when the place was so heavily guarded and the trouble she would be in if she succeeded, she couldn’t imagine what the punishment for that would be if they found her.

  Tears started to roll down her face as she got more and more frustrated with not being able to come up with a solution. As she started to drift off to sleep she noticed her necklace sitting on the bedside table, it softly glistened in the filtered sun light, grabbing her attention. 

  She woke in the dark screaming and wet with sweat. Her body shook as the memory of her dream played over in her mind. The boy’s image and the events of that day played in her dreams with frightening twists. She curled into a ball and cried until she couldn’t cry anymore. She wanted to go home and away from the mess she now lived in.

  Once she wiped her wet cheeks, she sat up and turned on a light and started reading to try and take her mind off the boy. She couldn't help but wonder why, when he died a burst of energy shot through her body. She vowed to search the public library for answers the next time she got the opportunity, if she would get a chance since she was pretty sure she was going to be watched a little more closely now. 

  As the sun came up, Elah decided she had been laying in bed long enough and went for a shower. She came out to find River sitting in her room. She ran into his arms and started crying. She told him about the events of the council meeting and then explained the anklet and how it worked.

  River explained to her that there were far worse punishments and it sounded like she had gotten off light. Nonetheless they both tried to take the anklet off. They even tried to cut it off and not even a mark was found on it. As River gave up, he told her to bide her time and get married. She didn’t think this was the best answer for her problem but didn’t want to push the subject since River thought she had gotten off so lightly.

  As the days rolled on, the lack of sleep started to weaken her. More often than not she would catch herself staring off into space, which in her opinion was better than the dreams sleeping brought. She continued to heal the kings men but that was becoming more difficult, which frustrated her. 

  Most of the men she healed had heard of time on the battlefield and would tell her of their own experiences. While she listened at first, after a while she stopped listening to even the most mundane conversations. Chatter of food and free time activities seemed irrelevant, she even stop listening for conversations about Leif, who she hadn't seen for quite some time. She figured that he wanted nothing to with her anymore and it was probably for the best.

  When she did sleep her dreams were violent and River was becoming very worried. She refused his and everyone else's help but her mental and physical health was degrading quickly and River called on the only one that could truly help her, whether she liked it or not, Leif. 

  Leif walked in to see River and Nissa talking in the seating area, while Elah was standing by the window, watching the rain fall. He glanced at River and Nissa as he walked across the room to Elah. He stood beside her and watched her for a moment, she didn't move.  

  River stood and walked over to Elah. He put his hands on her shoulders and whispered in her ear. “If I was in Leif’s shoes, I would have done exactly what he did to protect myself and you. So don’t be mad for too long, you might lose him.”

  She spun around to look at him with realisation written all over her face. She didn’t want to lose him, although she thought she had lost him already. She looked between River and Leif and River could see she understood.

  “Okay Nissa, lets go” River said walking to the door a
nd leaving.

  Elah looked at Leif, wondering what he was thinking about and what he was going to do. “I’m only going to ask you once, Elah” Leif said sternly. “Are you going to let me help you?”

  Elah’s eyes widened as he took a step closer. She panicked and nodded, not wanting him to start ordering her around, she worried he would like it. “Good. Now, why don’t you sit down” Leif said, gesturing for her to sit.

  She sat down and waited for him to sit next to her. “River tells me you are having nightmares. I wish you would have never gone out there” he said, looking into her eyes.

  She looked at him confused. How did River know she was having nightmares, she didn’t tell him. Maybe it was just a good guess or he knew because he was having the same problem.

  “Look, I’m sorry. I’m sorry I have troubled you so much and I’m sorry you have been called here” Elah said, annoyed to hear she shouldn’t have gone into battle again. She couldn't take back what she had done and didn't need to be reminded of it.

  “Elah, don’t be like that, you know there are good reasons why you shouldn’t go into battle” he told her, looking defeated. He didn't have the energy to deal with someone who didn't want his help.

  “So I’ve been told” Elah said sarcastically.

  “I give up. Come and find me when you are ready to except my help” Leif said, walking to the door.

  He put his hand on the handle when Elah said “Leif, wait.” She knew she had to choose and didn't want to live a life of regret, nor did she want to have to find him for help when he was willing to help her now.  

  He turned to look at her. She looked defeated as she stood next to the bed. “I’m sorry, please don’t go” she pleaded.    

  "Okay, I'll stay" he said softly. 

  He sat on the bed next to where she stood and waited for her to sit. She glanced at him, not sure what he was actually going to and sat down.

  "I can't do this anymore" she said, putting her head in her hands. "I can't be mad at you. You have been caring and kind to me and the worse thing is all you did was tell me a different name to your own, that's really not that bad. I hope you can forgive me because I have done nothing but cause you trouble."

  He looked at her surprised. He wasn't expecting her to say that. He put his hand on her back and gently rubbed. "I should never have lied in the first place so it's me that needs forgiving."

  Elah looked at him surprised, she had done far worse than he had ever done. She could have caused so much harm, just because she was crazy enough to walk on to a battlefield, thinking she could help but didn't take so many factors into consideration.

  "I forgive you, do you forgive me?" she said meekly, not wanting to cause more hassle, especially since he didn't need her forgiveness.

  "Of course I do" he said, smiling at her.

  She turned and hugged him, his body was warm but she didn't want to make herself too comfortable because she still wasn't sure of how he really felt about her. He held her in place as he sent his energy through her body. She gasped in surprise as she felt the energy flow around her body. As she tried to move he held her tighter and whispered in her ear "Not yet, just relax."

  "Your the flora healer" she whispered back. 

  "Yes but it's a secret"

  “Does River know?”

  “No”

  “Then why did he bring you to help me?”

  “Because I told him I might be able to help”

  She gasped again as he pushed his energy into her mind. He pulled her closer, causing her lose the little balance she had and completely fell against his warm body. A body she wished she could have rested against for support when she needed it the most.

  He looked down at her and moved her to sit in a more comfortable position. She looked into his eyes as he worked on helping her. She loved his eyes, the colour was deep and unusual and she loved how she could loose herself in the heavily turquoise sea. She wished she never had to look away.

  She felt his energy die down and stop. Although she felt more energetic from his energy, she was still so tired, all she wanted to do was sleep but sleep was something that scared her and she tried her best to stay awake. She looked up at him and saw that he looked weakened from helping her. He obviously didn’t get many opportunities to strengthen his gift and now looked like he needed to rest.

  “You can sleep now, your dreams will be sweet” he said softly, brushing her hair back off her face. “I have blocked those memories from your subconscious.”

  “Oh, thank you Leif” Elah said, relieved but still was not sure about sleeping. She smiled up at him not sure if he would reject her, after how she had treated him but reached up and kissed him on the cheek anyway.

  He smiled at her and gently stroked her cheek, to her relief. Her skin was soft and he wondered what it would feel like to kiss her. He could still feel the warmth from her lips on his cheek as he thought about it. Although, he wanted to kiss her, he didn’t want to push their relationship and risk her pushing him away further than before.

  “You should get some sleep” he said disappointed because he wanted to stay but she needed to rest and he knew she wasn't going to with him in the room.

  She sat up, leaving his warmth behind and moved to the head of the bed, resting her head on the soft pillows. She wanted him to stay so they could continue to mend their broken relationship but she also didn't want to push him, it was going to take time but after the heart break of she had just been through she figured that it wouldn't hurt to try.

  He got up to leave and was about to open the door when she asked him to stay. He turned to look at her shocked. “But you need to get some sleep” he said.

  “Just until I fall asleep, please” she said, trying to stop herself from drifting off. She didn’t want to be alone just in case her dreams turned on her.

  He nodded and sat next to her on the bed and watched as she curled up next to him, soaking in the warmth his body provided. It didn’t take long before she drifted off to sleep but he waited until he was satisfied she was in a deep enough sleep and left her to sleep.