The Healer
The Sleeping Princess never wanted anything more than her cottage with her three fairy friends. It was a quiet life, and she knew her woods well. The day the prince came, she couldn’t help but feel her life had inexplicably changed forever.
-Tales from Meridea, Volume I
The castle infirmary was a dream come true. It had a similar golden dome as the library, but instead of books, white shelf after white shelf held ingredients, tonics, different glasses for brewing, and vases of flowers and roots. A large section of theeast wall was dedicated to books on healing and herbology that Luci would have loved to spend time with. There was a large white table at the center where several concoctions bubbled and brewed over the heat. It smelled like a symphony of herbs and flowers.
Ginger, garlic, rose, lavender, turmeric, all of it and more, layered upon layer. With this, Luci could make sure Brielle never went without. Maybe she could even find something that would increase her body’s ability to fight off simple infections.
In fact, so lost in the possibilities, Luci forgot exactly why she was there.
“Luci! You are bleeding!” Brielle’s voice cut through her imaginings.
Oh, right. They were here because Prince Ira was courting death by cat.
Luci turned to find a small gathering on the west corner where a blue couch sat against a window at least twenty feet tall, inlaid with gold and white. It overlooked a large gathering of trees that swayed with the afternoon wind. Prince Ira sat at the center of the couch, scratching at his eyes.
“Do not scratch, your highness, it makes it worse. It’s been about ten minutes, you can take the next dose.”
A tall man with striking red hair stood in front of Ira, handing him a vial with a sickly green color. Prince Ira took it without question and downed it in one gulp, though his mouth twisted with distaste like he was forcing it down.
“You couldn’t make it taste any better than that, Hartrich?” Prince Ira asked.
Master Hartrich, the castle’s healer. For some reason, Luci assumed he would be old with wrinkles and a long, graying beard.
“Luci, can you hear me? Master Hartrich, please— “
Luci was so enraptured by the scene before her that she forgot Brielle was fussing over her, except when Prince Ira spoke; his voice was entirely clear. She understood every word, and it was with the same annoying, charming lilt that got under her skin. She met his gaze from across the room, and sure enough, those were his eyes. Still red and puffy, but he could open them.
Ignoring Brielle, Luci strode over to the prince and took the vial from him, bringing it to her nose. Peppermint, Turmeric, butterbur, but there was another smell, something earthy that she couldn’t name.
“What is in this?” she asked, turning to the healer.
Piercing green eyes met hers, set against red hair, but more striking was the scar that ran over his right eye, down past his cheek, and over his lips. It was pale silver, well-healed but jagged and uneven, as it grew with him.
“Turmeric, Peppermint, Butterbur, but the main ingredient in stinging nettle, which is a potent antihistamine,” he said, as he edged closer and gently removed Luci’s hands from her neck.
His eyes ran over her neck, but she was more concerned with the stinging nettle he mentioned. It wasn't a common ingredient at Blythe, and everything she read about it said it wasn’t particularly useful in illness. Yet there was no denying that Prince Ira’s recovery was dramatic; even now, his eyes were bright as he watched her, considering.
“I assume these are from the cat in question?” Master Hartrich said.
“Yes, he’s currently under my desk in the library with his hair standing up,” Max said from beside Prince Ira. “Why did you not tell them you were allergic?”
“My question exactly,” Hartrich agreed, stepping away from Luci.
“We would have left him behind.” Brielle fretted, wringing her hands together.
“It’s fine, I knew Hartrich would fix me up as soon as we got back,” he said.
Stupid man.
“Idiot,” Max said, shaking his head.
“May I?” Hartrich appeared in front of Luci, holding a cloth and a small vial.
“What is it? She asked.
The side of his mouth pulled up. “Lavender and clove.”