Chapter 17
A week went by quickly, as Elah kept busy healing the kings men and working on learning how to fly. She got to know many of the men and learned that River was not only popular amongst them but also amongst the ladies. Elah was happy to learn this and tried to get to know some of the girls. Unfortunately for Elah, the girls were not as nice and found it hard to fit in. Although, that didn’t stop her from continuing to try.
When she meet with the queen, the king watched from Leif’s usual chair. Elah figured he had come to hear how his wife was going and thought nothing of it. “Well, your majesty, you are a picture of good health” Elah said, standing up.
“That’s great news” Ceawlin said, walking over to Elah. “I will be heading out to visit my men in the field tomorrow, I would like you to get ready, we will be leaving early.”
Elah nodded and left the room, wondering where they would be going. She felt excited about getting out and figured she would be more helpful to the men in the field rather than healing cuts and bruises at the castle.
As Elah packed a bag she sighed loudly and put her hand on her chest. She looked down as she was so use to wearing her necklace she had forgotten she was wearing it. She rolled her eyes and took it off and opened her hand to see the flower. She stared at it, thinking about Leif and how much she wanted to see him but dropped her hand causing the necklace to drop the floor. She could go to him, mostly because her pride got in her way but also because she wasn't ready.
She couldn’t help but think about Lavi and Leif as she stared at her necklace laying on the floor, she didn’t want to think about either of them. She wanted to running away from all her problems, she wanted to rewind time and start over, she wished she had never meet Lavi or Leif, perhaps her life would have been better.
She laid on the bed feeling sorry for herself yet excited about going on a little trip. Time away from Leif would be good. It would at least give her some time to think and not think, most of all it might give herself sometime to forgive.
As she thought about her trip, her thoughts shifted to her father, was this the place he had died? She missed him, she wanted things to be like they should be, her living with her mother, father and brothers. She turned into her pillow, burying her face as tears started to flow. Curling into a ball she cried herself to sleep.
The sun was barely up when Elah woke up. The air was cool and Elah stood near the stables watching the men get the kings carriage ready.
“The king has requested you ride with him” one of the men told her and led her to where the king would meet the carriage.
As the men assembled in the front courtyard of the castle, Elah noticed River sitting on a horse at the front of a group of men. She smiled at him as he looked over but he didn't return her smile, he was busy readying his men She was happy to be going with him because at least if something happened to him she was there to look after him, she also wished he was staying where he would be safe but at least she would be there for him.
All the men sat on their horses at attention suddenly and Elah turned around to see the king walking toward her. She corrected her posture and waited for instruction. “Elah, good to see you this morning” Ceawlin said, gesturing for her to follow him.
She followed him into the carriage and sat opposite him. She was expecting the carriage to start moving but instead the door flew open again and in stepped Leif. Elah instinctively moved across to the other side and regretted it as Leif sat next to her. She sighed under her breath and figured the space was to small to put enough space between them to satisfy her anyway. She now regretted not bring a book to keep her busy but it was too late to get one now.
“Sorry, I had to tend to an urgent matter” Leif said, as the carriage started moving.
Ceawlin smiled at his son and relaxed back in the seat. “Elah, I believe you have met my son” he said, watching her nod. “Good, now that we are all friends I have a matter that needs to be discussed.”
Elah wasn’t sure she wanted to know, since the king looked so serious. “I can take a horse if you need to discuss private business” Elah said, hoping he would agree to this.
“Don’t be silly” Ceawlin said. “Now, Elah, what would you like done with Averill?”
Elah’s eyes widened with shock. “What do you mean?” she said, wondering what the king was referring to, why would she want anything to do with him?
“I think he has been sitting in a cell for long enough, we need to move him on” Ceawlin said, watching Elah shift uncomfortably.
“Perhaps she needs some options” Leif said, looking out the window.
“Okay, we can just let him go, hang him, sent him to the front line, sent him to a more long term cell, I don’t really care” Ceawlin said, now annoyed with the subject.
“I don’t know, why do I get to decide?” Elah said, confused as to why he was even asking her.
“River requested you get a say in what happens to Averill” Leif said, not turning his head to look at either of them.
“Well send him to River and let him deal with him” Elah said angrily.
“Okay, now that’s settled, tell me what’s going on between you two?” Ceawlin said, with a cheeky grin. He waited for an answer but neither of them was willing to share. “Come on now, Elah.”
Elah swallowed hard, she didn’t want to say anything but felt she had to, he was her king after all. Did she have to obey her king, she definitely had the feeling that was why he directed his question over to her.
“He lied too me” she said, with bitterness in her voice and wishing she could jump from the carriage.
Ceawlin looked at Leif amused. “Well if that’s all it is, then I think you should apologise and move on” Ceawlin said raising his eye brows at Leif, amused with what seemed silly to him.
“I’m sorry I lied to you Elah” Leif said, annoyed to be even having this conversation.
Elah’s face hardened when Ceawlin tapped her on the knee and gestured to Leif. “Thank you for your apology, Leif” she said, emphasising his name.
Ceawlin shook his head at the two and leaned back picking up a book and started reading. Elah was glad for the silence and looked out the window. While the scenery was nice, she couldn't stop the thoughts flowing through her mind and stared blankly at the passing trees.
She told herself that Leif's apology meant nothing because it was forced but couldn't deny that she still cared about him. She was sitting so close to him that she could smell him and she started wondering what he was doing, was he thinking about her? Elah had to force herself not to look at him.
As the day wore on she found it harder and harder to not turn to see what Leif was up to. She eventually caved in and turned to see Leif reading a book. His handsome face was relaxed and she wished she could reach out and touch his soft lips. He looked up catching her eye and went back to reading, seeming uninterested.
Elah quickly turned to look out the window, feeling so embarrassed. She could feel the heat in her cheeks and scalded herself for even thinking about his lips. She was convinced he knew what she was thinking about, especially since he caught her staring at his lips.
It was mid afternoon when the carriage stopped and Elah looked out to see tents set up in a forested area. She waited for Leif to get out before she looked out the door to see him hold out his hand to help her. She refused him but he reached up and grabbed her hand anyway.
“Don’t refuse me here, Elah” he said, with anger in his eyes. “These men have been through enough they don’t need our drama added to the mix.”
She went to say something but stopped herself and let him led her. The look on his face was serious and she knew refusing to do what he told her would only cause her trouble. He showed her around and left her in a small tent next to Ceawlin's to her relief, her very own private tent.
As the day came to an end she found somewhere to watch the sun go down alone. It was beautiful, creating a specular array of warm colours that s
pread across the horizon. She hadn't watched the sunset since her time at Treriton and felt a peace in her heart as she watched the colourful display.
By the time the air started to cool and the stars started to dot the sky, Elah redundantly got up and made her way back to the camp. Her stomach started to rumble and she found the mess tent, which was not hard as that’s where most of the men were and they were not quiet.
As she entered the tent she looked around, most of the men sat in groups and she scanned the area for somewhere to sit alone but noticed River casually sitting with a small group of men. He looked happy to be surrounded by friends, even under the current circumstances of war.
She quietly walked over and grabbed a plate of food, hoping River had not noticed her. Some of the men she passed watched her, making her feel uncomfortable and causing her to regret coming into the mess tent. As she came back to the dinning area, she noticed a quiet table in a corner and figured that would be as good a place to eat as any other, she figured River would want to socialise with his friends and didn't want to get in his way.
Elah wasn’t seated long when she heard the clang of a plate setting down next to hers. She looked over and immediately rolled her eyes as Leif sat down. He looked and smelled amazing, how after a day of travelling, she was not sure but being who he was, she was sure he had help.
“What do you want?” she hissed under her breath, making sure no one heard her.
“Just making sure my fathers favourite employee is settling in” he said, with a fake smile.
“I was, until a couple of minutes ago” she said quietly with bitterness in her voice.
“Now, now, behave yourself” he said, in a commanding but quiet voice. “We don’t want a scene, now do we.”
She nodded submissively and ate a few bites in silence before standing up. “Have a pleasant evening, you majesty” she said and walked away before he could say anything.
She cleaned up her plate and made her way back through the crowded tent and was glad to be out of there once she exited. As she made her way back to her tent she walked passed a group of men sitting outside a tent playing cards.
“Hi” one of them said, waving at her.
She smiled at them and waved back but didn’t stop. She was too tired to socialise, even though she knew it would be nice to sit and chat. She also didn’t want to risk Leif joining them, she couldn’t handle playing games with him right now.
As she entered her tent she looked around, there was nothing special about it. There was a small cot only big enough for one person with standard looking blankets and a lockable wooden chest for her belongings. Like the slanting roof, the floor was a cream coloured canvas, she took her shoes off at the door and walked over to the bed, not wanting to trounce dirt through the tent as she was t sure how long she would be staying..
She laid down and watched the shadow’s of the men move about outside and for the second night in a row, she started to think about her father. Did he have a tent like hers or did he sleep outside? Even if it wasn’t this location that he spent his last nights, she knew the events of the evening would have been the same, as she was sure the men would prepare in the same way no matter where they were.
Tears started to flow again at the thought of her father spending time away from her mother and how her mother must have felt to get the news. She wanted to comfort her mother but had no idea if she even knew where she was, did River tell her?
She tried to keep her crying quiet but inadvertently let out a loud sob and noticed a shadow stop for a couple of seconds outside, she held her breath until it continued. She didn’t want anyone to see her like this, they were the ones that should be comforted, not her, she was not about to go into battle.
Elah rolled over and concentrated on controlling her breathing, she couldn’t risk letting out another sob. She had to think about others before herself, some of the men may not see the sunset tomorrow, a fact many of them already knew. She had noticed the fear in many of the faces she had seen that day but they all worked hard not to show it, she thought they were all very brave.
The next morning she made her way to the medical tent Leif had shown her the day before. As she made her way there she noticed many of the men had hardened looks on their faces and fear in their eyes. She smiled at as many as she could, while some of their faces softened, others looked away, most likely hoping she wasn’t looking at them.
Once she arrived at the medical tent she noticed a couple of young men, not much older then her, rolling bandages in preparation for the day ahead of them. She scanned the large tent and also noticed another couple of older men setting up surgical plates, they stopped and looked at her. She weakly smiled at them and started walking around looking at the rows of cots, she wondered where they would want her to work since she didn’t need anything.
Elah gasped as a soldier helped another injured into the tent and laid him down on a cot. She wasn't expecting anyone to come in so soon and she started to fear for River’s safety.
One of the two older men rushed over and arrived at the cot at the same time Elah did. One of the older men frowned at her as she tried to touch the injured soldier. He started to assess the man and pushed Elah out of the way. She looked at him hard and confused.
“What are you doing?” she yelled at him, trying to push him aside.
“Get out of the way girl” he shouted back looking angry.
“No, you get out of my way” she roared, as she send energy through him, to both show him her gift and because of the emotions building in her.
He stumbled back, looking at her shocked, “I…I had no idea” he barely managed to say.
She glared at him and stepped toward the cot and placed her hands on the injured man’s chest. Her hands lit up and she quickly turned her head to look at the soldier. The had blunt force trauma to several parts of his body and was lucky to still be breathing. She healed the worse of it first and moved onto the rest, leaving the soldier in better condition than what he would have been before he even stepped foot on the battle field.
The injured soldiers eyes popped open and looked at Elah in surprise, then looked at his fellow soldier questioningly. The other soldier looked just as surprised. Elah didn’t recognise either of the men’s faces from when she had been healing the soldiers at the castle. She figured they had not heard about her gift and tried to ease their emotional response by smiling at them. “Your free to go” she said, breaking the silence.
Both men’s eyes widened and Elah’s patient sat up. “How did you do that, I feel better then I ever have” her patient said staring at her.
“I have a healing gift” Elah said, as if it was no big deal.
“Thank you” was all the men could say before getting up and leaving still shocked. Elah watched them leave, then looked at the still shocked medical staff. She smiled at them and tried to carry on as if nothing had happened but could feel them staring at her.
Elah healed more men then she would have ever wanted to, not that she want to see them injured, she just didn’t want to see that many men coming back with the injuries they had. She wanted to see the men return safe and healthy.
Elah left the tent once a soldier came and let them know that they were done for the night and everyone was coming back. She was determined to find River and even though she didn’t want to admit it, she wanted to see Leif to make sure he was okay as well.
Once she cleaned up, she went straight to the mess tent in hopes that they would both eventually come for their evening meal. She watched dozens of groups enter and sit down. A couple of men she had healed came over and thanked her again, they invited her to dine with them but she declined, telling them she was waiting for her brother.
Both of the men knew who River was and let her know he would be coming soon. One of them even offered to retrieve him for her but knowing the fact that they knew he was around, told her he was okay and she declined his offer. She figured River had to work
and didn’t want to bother him.
She waited for about an hour before River walked through the door. She breathed a loud sigh of relief and got up. She watched him sit down and walked over, hugging him from behind before sitting down next to him. He smiled at her and kissed her on the head.
“Please make sure you come by the medical tent whenever you return, I need to know you are okay” she whispered, still worried about his safety.
“I will” he said, knowing she had been worrying about him. “Don’t worry, I will do everything I can to keep us all as safe as possible.”
Elah didn’t feel any better hearing his words but smiled at him anyway. As the men at the table started to eat, Elah focused more on the door then anything else. She was waiting to see him but he never came.
As River and his friends left she followed them out and went to her tent. She walked as slow as she could hoping to see him but it was too dark and no matter how hard she tried to scan the area, all she saw was shadows.
She went into her tent and took her shoes off. She then slowly walked to her cot and sat down, she stared at the floor for some time before clasping on her pillow. Was he okay? Surely, she would have heard something if he wasn’t but she should have paid more attention to the discussions at the table instead of focusing on the door, anyone could have said something and she wouldn’t have heard. She scalded herself for not listening.
As she was drifting off to sleep, she heard a familiar voice outside her tent. She got up and went to the door, peeking through a gap in the cloth door, she could see Leif standing outside his fathers tent in the dim light. Relieved she went back to bed and fell asleep knowing that the ones she cared about most were safe.
Over the following days Elah healed the men coming in from the battlefield and she found herself worrying more and more about River’s safety, even though he would come in every afternoon to see her, like he said he would. That didn’t stop her from worrying about both River and Leif. She even took to peeking out the gaps in her door to see if Leif was okay but would go to sleep some nights worried about him because she didn’t get to see him.
During her free time she would take a bow from the armoury and practice in private. She loved the feeling of the bow in her hand and vowed to find a place to practice at the castle. This also took her mind off her brother and Leif, making her feel slightly more normal. Although, she had to admit part of that was because she was able to get away and be alone with her thoughts.
One evening during dinner, Elah heard the men talk about how the dark fae were starting to hit them harder. She thought of nothing else that night as she laid in bed and wondered if there was something she could do, especially to protect River and Leif.
A Healer's Destiny Page 17