Lament of the Slave

Chapter 109: Tea Party

"That's pretty fucked up," Freyde grumbled as he and the others listened to my story. "I knew they treated slaves differently in Arda, but this is really sickening."

"Can't they...fix you back?" Harper asked. "Make you human again?"

"No, I asked."

"Maybe you just didn't ask the right people. Healers can work miracles."

Her concern caught me off guard and warmed my heart. Underneath the crust of the badass baker, she seemed to be a warm person, after all.

"But those miracles usually cost some hefty sum," argued the not-quite-elf. "Gold coins, dozens."

Before they started arguing or offering to help me, I had to set things straight. "It was the Imperial Chief Healer who told me."

It took them a while to process what I said. However, I expected them to be more shocked. Instead, Freyde just sighed. "Why am I not surprised?"

"Is he a good healer? I haven't heard of him." Meneur asked frankly.

"If he's any good? He's just the best healer in Sahal."

"Frey's right. He's the best." Harper nodded. "Honestly, Korra, if he's the one who told you, you're screwed."

"I know." The amount of dismay in my voice caught me off guard. To gloss over it and allay their fears, I smiled. "You don't have to worry about me, though. I've made my peace with it. In fact, that's why I was able to go so far with the change."

It was more complicated than that, but I didn't want to go into detail over the food. Recalling my time in the cellar had taken away enough of my appetite already.

"How did you manage that? Talk to him?" Freyde asked. "From what I heard, he is a pretty eccentric old guy known for turning down many invitations, including those of the Lords."

"Well..." I paused, thinking. Telling them he was here for me might be too much.

"You're talking about Lord Wigram, right?" Meneur asked. "From what I've heard, Lord Wigram is the best healer of the Sahal Empire."

Harper raised an eyebrow. "Yeah? I thought you didn't know anything about him, big guy?"

"Becoming a guardsman was not some rash decision. Before I left my clan, I made sure I knew what I was leaving it for. So I know that Lieutenant Janina used to be Lord Wigram's apprentice." He then looked at the young baker more sharply. "...and I dare you not to call me that."

"Oh, come on. What's not to like about a big guy...look at you."

"He's right, though," I said. "Lord Wigram was her mentor."

Nice save, Meneur! The rest was up to them to figure out. But I wondered how he found out. Was it such readily available information? What about Rayden and the others? Morton was surprised by her power, even horrified by who she might be. Unfortunately, he didn't get a chance to say it out loud.

As I pondered about mind mages and agents of the Empire, the thought crossed my mind. "Did you know he was watching our fight?"

"Who?" Harper asked. "You need to be more specific. There were dozens of peepers." Yeah, more than they knew. For example, Sah. But he wasn't the one I had in mind.

"Imperial Chief Healer."

"Balls!" cursed Freyde.

"Fuck me twice! You're not kidding, right?"

Their shocked reactions made me grin. "Nope."

"Fuck." she cursed again. "I should've tried harder. How do you know?"