The Last Healer

Chapter 54: Ariella

Chapter 54 Ariella

He sat there staring me, confusion rolling in his eyes as he studied me. My head titled to the side and I stared at him questioningly.

"What?" He finally spoke, his voice breaking slightly and I couldn't help but wonder what was wrong.

"You said that you wanted to have Powers Sealed, what did you mean by that?" I questioned, my arms wrapping themselves around my middle with a small hug. "I've never heard of it before."

"A Seal is something that we put on criminals after their trail and before their punishment." He spoke softly, his eyes studying me, searching me. "It's illegal to put on anyone except a criminal."

"But what does it do?" I questioned.

I watched as realization settled in his eyes and watched in horror as he slammed his head back into the wall.

"Damn it!" He shouted, shoving himself up into a standing position.

"Alex, be careful!" I shouted, pushing myself off the bed and jumping in front of him. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked, but you need to take it slow. You're still injured!"

"Don't you get it, Ariella?" Alexander exclaimed, his hands grabbing my shoulders, squeezing them slightly as he gave me a small shake. "The troupe abused you, they made fairly clear that they had no problem beating a child, breaking laws of our people. If what they did is what I think, then you can't use your Power tomorrow. You won't be able to use your Power ever again unless we do something."

"I don't understand." I muttered, staring up at him in fear in confusion.

"Ariella." He took a deep breath and grip loosened slightly. "Ariella, Seals stop your Power from coming out. You can't use it. However, there are instances where the Seal is so old that it loses its hold on the Power, allowing it to be used. There's a drawback though, if the Seal breaks while the Power is in use, that person dies."

"And you think-"

"Yes." He stared down at me, fear in his eyes, fear that matched what inside of me. "I believe the Troupe Sealed your Powers years ago and it's losing its hold. If you keep using it, Ariella, it'll kill you."

"But I have to Heal. That's what I was meant to do!"

"I know." He whispered as he sighed. "All we can do is find out what Seal they put on you and then get it removed."

"But how will I figure that out? I didn't even know what they were!" I exclaimed. My breath came in slow gasps and I looked down, away from him. Why? Why did this keep happening to me? Why couldn't have everything been normal?

"We will figure this out, Ariella." He pulled me towards him, his arms snaking their way around my waist, holding me tightly. "You're not alone anymore. I will always be by your side."

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"Why are we here?" I asked him, my hand squeezing Alexander's tightly as I looked around the hospital, the hundreds of beds that were crammed together, the healers walking around tending to the wounded.

"Because, there's someone here I know who might be able to help." Alex explained, giving my hand a reassuring squeeze before walking forward and all but dragging me behind him. We tiptoed around the beds, making our way further into the room, heading towards the back door. A girl a few years older than me was bending over a bed in the corner, her red hair tired up on the top of her head while a small brown belt was strapped over a basic brown dress.

"Alyse." Alexander called towards her, causing her to glance up from what she was doing and then back to the patient. "I need your help."

"I'm not surprised." She stated. My eyes wandered to the young man on the bed. His stomach was sliced open and blood continually oozed from the injury. "Make it quick, I need to cauterize."

"You can enjoy the smell of burning skin all you want." Alexander took a deep breath before continuing. "Please, I need your help with something."

Her green eyes flashed dangerously before she sighed and nodded. "Wait outside, I'll be there once I burn this close."

"Alright. Will see you soon." Alexander turned on his heel and we made our way out of the room.

"Who is she?" I demanded, unsure of what to think about what had happened. It was obvious that the two of them didn't like each other, but I wasn't sure why.

"Alyse. She's a fire who enjoys burning things. She only works in the hospital because she gets to burn skin." Alexander shook his head and sighed again. He refused to look at me, to make eye contact, but refused to remove his hand from mine. "We grew up together and she was always..." He trailed off and glanced towards the sky. "If it wasn't necessary, I wouldn't come to her. But if anyone knows enough about Seals, it would be her."

"But if she's into burning thing-"

"No." He interrupted and finally looked at me. "She has a desire to learn about anything and everything that can hurt someone. Poisons, Seals, weapons, anything you can imagine that would affect someone negatively, she had learned about it."

"Well, I feel special." Alyse's voice sounded in the silence and the girl walked towards us, her eyes dancing wildly as she looked me up and down. "I will not deny that I enjoy learning about different things, but I don't learn about it because I enjoy people suffering."

"Hard to believe after everything you used to say."

"One can easily lie." She yawned and then turned towards me, her arms crossed in front of her. "Don't let him fool you, the real reason he doesn't like me is because I slighted a friend of his."

"Played him like a fool is more like it."

"He let himself be played." She stretched and smiled at me. "I don't know you personally, Ariella Mathews, and you don't know me. So let's talk. Why is he here?"

"Why don't you just ask me?"

"Because I don't want to hear your voice." Alyse's voice was soft and pleasant, but I could see the anger in her eyes and I could tell there was more to the story on both sides.

"We wanted to know if you could help us." I told her, my voice soft as I stared at her.

"With what?"

"Answering questions about Seals."

"I can answer many things about them, but you'll have to be more specific." Her eyes softened as she looked at me before holding her hand out. "Come with me, Ariella Mathews, and I'll answer every question you ask of me."

"No." Alexander stepped forward, his arm crossing my chest to stop me from moving. "You'll answer them with me here."

"You're not the one who needs to know." Alyse gave him a cold smile before turning back towards me. "You have my word that I mean you no ill-will. But I will not speak of anything with him around. If you wish to know, you will come to the fountain this afternoon. Alone." She turned on her heel and stalked away, disappearing through the door as she made her way back to work.