Linked (On-Hold)

11: How a Tamer Heals

11: How a Tamer Heals

I stared at Variano's exposed upper body and shook my head at its appearance. It was already swollen and the skin was already covered in red and purple colors due to the bruises. There were also bumps everywhere, which were probably from his broken ribs.

I inhaled deeply before touching his chest. He would wince and grunt in pain whenever my finger presses his skin a little.

"Do you have any medicine? Will one of you go to the apothecary to get something that would help the wounds?" I asked while checking.

No one answered me. I bit my lips and made an annoyed sound. My face even crumpled when I turned my head and saw them avoiding my eyes.

"We...we are not allowed to set our feet there." Mallari answered softly.

"What? Who in Diere would do that?" I exclaimed. What is wrong with these people? Why would they ban their patients from going there? What is the use of their medicines?

I inhaled deeply again to calm myself. They remained mum. They were so silent that I had to ask another question just so I could finally start healing their friend.

"Does any of you know how to pick medicinal herbs? Or does this palace does not plant herbs at all?"

"I..have a little knowledge about it." Finally! I looked at Faustin who answered me.

"Go take some. Make sure to have it cleaned with water first." He nodded before going out. Cahmir followed him from behind without giving me a single glance.

Mallari stayed in the room and remained silent. I finished examining Variano's body, who was currently sweating profusely while sleeping. I watched him breath vigorously before I made a deep sigh at his condition.

Faustin and Cahmir came back with a handful of herbs on their hands and coats. They placed it on the table beside me neatly. I smiled after seeing the herbs they brought with them.

"Please take a step back as I am about to heal him." They looked at each other and settled themselves near the door of the bedroom.

I placed my palm inches away from Variano's chest and closed my eyes. I imagined the dusts coming out from my hands as it floats in the air to surround his body. I drew my family's symbol in my mind, and moved my other hand to let the herbs float unto the symbol.

My eyes opened and saw the sigil made by golden dusts and leaves in the air. My left hand touched his chest while my other hand touched the center of the symbol. The dusts traced a line from the symbol in the air to his body, and the leaves slowly disintegrated into powder as they traced the glowing path.

I squinted my eyes when I noticed a black mark on his back. If not for the dusts, I would not be able to notice it. I pushed back the questions in my mind tto focus myself in healing him.

It took me several minutes to heal his broken ribs and to close the wounds inside. I watched as the powdered leaves covered his outer wounds after the remaining dusts from the symbol went inside his body. The symbol of my family in the air, in pure golden light, grew brighter before it vanished.

"His condition is better now. Although the ribs were already healed and the wounds inside were closed, I still suggest to let him rest until the outer wounds disappear. It might take a few days, but rest assure that my dusts will accelerate his healing."

Relief flooded their senses. I smiled wryly at them before looking back at Variano.

"Thank you! Thank you!" Mallari wiped her cheeks as she was walking hurriedly towards him. I stood up to give her the seat.

Cahmir cleared his throat. He cleared his throat several times as if he was having trouble with cough. I was about to ask him if he was alright when I was taken aback by what he said next.

"T-thank you." He looked away. I smiled a little and nodded. Faustin laughed at him to which he returned with a glare.

"I am going back to my room. However, I will return later to check on him."

Faustin and Cahmir nodded. Mallari probably did not hear me for she was still silently sobbing beside Variano. My eyes lingered longer at them before I turned my back and headed towards the door.

I slumped my back behind the door as soon as I entered my room. I held my chest and breathed deeply several times to stabilize my breathing. My head was aching and my heart was beating rapidly as consequence of excessive use of gift without training.

It took all my strength to lock the door before I lost consciousness on the floor. I could not handle the fatigue any longer, and my gift was nearly drained, which weakened my physical state.

The sky was already dark when I woke up. It took me several minutes to open my eyes and my body jolted up when I remembered that I still have to check Variano's condition. I hurriedly readied myself to go back to them.

The smell of food reached my nose as I was walking towards the kitchen. My pace became faster with my grumbling stomach and I peeped through the door to see who were in the kitchen when I got there. When I saw that they were only cooks, I smiled secretly and stepped inside.

I was greeted by several smiles despite the smoke surrounding the room. I walked and stopped beside the cook who always gives me food whenever I visit the kitchen. The elderly woman laughed when she noticed me beside her.

"Just sit on the table. I will serve you your food in a while." I shook my head an went closer.

"Would it be alright if I bring food to my friends? They probably haven't eaten yet." She smiled and nodded understandingly.

I thanked her after packing the food and helping me get out of the kitchen unnoticed. She calmly told me to return the utensils without getting too much attention, and to avoid some people who would surely stop me from giving this to them. I listened and took note as she described those people.

I was lucky not to encounter any one of them, although I know I could stand against them. My way towards their room was peaceful, and I immediately knocked upon arriving at the doorstep of their room.

Cahmir opened the room to let me in, and nodded in an attempt to greet me. I did the same. I sighed as I felt a the improvement in his actions.

Mallari was sitting while sleeping peacefully with her head on the side of his bed. Faustin was putting the newly cut herbs on the table when he turned around and smiled at me.

"I brought food." Their eyes lightened. I heard faint sounds of grumbling stomachs and I pretended that I didn't hear a single sound. Faustin and Cahmir helped me arranged the food on the table before we settled and started eating.

Mallari was still asleep when we finished eating. Cahmir took the dishes to wash them, and I was left with Faustin and the two. I roamed my eyes around the room before I fished out a paper in my coat and handed it to him.

"Do you know what that is?" I asked Faustin while glancing at Variano's bandaged wounds.

"I...don't think I know." I saw how he knitted his eyebrows when I glanced at him. "Why?"

My lips turned into a line. "I saw that in his body when I was healing him."

"What do you mean?"

"It was inside him."

The sound of the washed dishes as it touched the ground caught our attention. Faustin and I turned at its direction and there we found Cahmir, standing like a statue, looking at the paper on Faustin's hand.

He was frozen. His eyes were dilated as if looking at a something dangerous. Then all of a sudden, his wide, frightened eyes darted to us and asked with a shaking voice and a pointer finger shaking while pointing at the paper, "Why do you have that?"