Realm Leaper, page 4
Gavin dragged a spare wooden chair next to Symon and sat. He leaned forward, elbows on his knees, hands clasped below. With his head dropped, eyes on the floor, Gavin asked, “You think Sage might be one of them?”
Symon passed a hand over his tight, curly hair, and grimaced slightly. “I don’t know. And that’s what worries me. She could have been abducted from the human lands, though we have no word that their defenses have dropped. As far as we know, any fae trespassing in Meropoli without permission is still a fatal mistake. Plus, we found something in her bag yesterday that suggests something else.” Symon paused, visually carefully choosing what information he shared. “There was a book in her bag. It mentioned Cerridos. And Allyra.”
That caught Raphael’s attention. “Cerridos? The realm leaper?”
“Aryael thinks the girl might be one of them. A realm leaper. They used to come to us when we were in danger.”
“So that means she isn’t a threat to us?” Gavin asked, quickly sitting taller, becoming even more invested in the conversation.
“That means we will have to wait to see. In the meantime, Raphael, you will train her. Even if she was sent here as a gift, she will destroy the city if she can’t manage her powers.”
“Hmm…agreed. And should we return the book to her?” Raphael asked.
“No. We will hold on to it a while longer. I would like for Aryael and I to compare notes on it. See what else we can learn in the meantime.”
Raphael nodded in confirmation, although he didn’t quite agree with the King. Keeping the girl’s belongings from her didn’t feel right.
“And you,” Symon finished, turning to Gavin. “You will get close to the girl. Get to know her, observe her. And when she opens up, when she shares her memories as they return, you will report them to me. Do you understand?”
“You want me to spy? I’m not a spy Symon. What does Aryael think of this plan?”
“Boy, you may be my Queen’s little pet, but I am still your King. You have pledged your fealty to me just as much as you have to her. You will report what you discover to me, or to Raphael. Raph, you can forward anything to me in the usual fashion.”
“Very well,” Raphael replied.
“Her training starts today,” Symon ordered, making his way toward the door.
“If she’s feeling better,” Raphael replied. Symon turned, ready to demand obedience. “It will do no good if we push her before her body is ready, Symon, and you know that. Let me do my job. Now, if I could make a request, maybe you could visit your sister, and remind her that Sage is still a guest under our protection. Hmm?”
“Of course. Gavin, I expect an update before supper tomorrow.” Symon disappeared into thin air before Gavin replied.
Gavin glared at Raphael. Rather than saying anything, the young male strode to the door and slammed it closed on his way out. The frame rattled in his wake, and Raphael let out an exasperated sigh.
“No need to be dramatic,” he called out, knowing the boy could hear him as he hurried towards the training ring, no doubt eager to work off his frustration. He would be back later this afternoon, most likely covered in wounds from fighting Zeke. The boy would forget his training, probably lose his head with the acknowledgment that they had caught on to his little game. Or maybe he was upset at having to spy on the girl.
Raphael pondered the interesting turn of events as he climbed the flight of stairs that led to Sage’s floor. He would fetch the girl, inspect her wounds, and take her to breakfast. The best way to spy on someone, after all, is to make them feel safe and cared for. This wouldn’t be the first time he’d been used by the royals to keep an eye on people. He’d been spying on Petra for years now.
Raphael reached Sage's door, and smartly rapped on the cream-painted wood.
✧✦✧
Sage was sitting against the window, shoulder pushed up against the glass. Miraculously, the windows had been repaired while she’d been…asleep? Sedated? She remembered vividly the scene that had played out before; Petra screaming at her, shadows lurching with menace and hate, and the arrival of the most beautiful man- no, a fae male. Tall, elegant, lithe, and commanding. His kind eyes beseeching her to let him help. He had laid one hand on her and she’d succumbed to sleep.
Suddenly, that same male voice followed the staccato knock at her door. “Sage, may I come in and check your wounds?”
“If I say no, will you go away?” Sage replied hopefully.
The door opened slowly, and Raphael stuck his head around it. “I’m sorry, my dear, but no. I really must insist on checking your wounds.” He stepped in and closed the door behind him. “Healers orders.”
Sage pushed herself to stand. They stood still, quietly observing each other. He didn’t seem menacing. He didn’t seem like he meant her any harm; in fact, he seemed quite genuine.
“I’m just here to check on you, maybe make sure you get some breakfast?”
Raphael gestured to the side table, and a teapot, mugs, and a tray covered in cookies and pastries materialized.
“How’d you do that?” Sage asked.
“My power allows me to provide what my patients need. Sometimes that means water, and sometimes that means cookies. Help yourself,” Raphael inclined his chin to Sage as he leaned forward to pour the tea.
Carefully, Sage approached the chairs, and accepted a mug of tea. The warm liquid slipped down her throat like nectar from heaven. She couldn’t stop a groan of pleasure from escaping. “I guess I like tea,” she sighed. She barely stopped herself from mimicking the sound as she bit into the cookie. The cookie, dusted with spice and filled with dried fruits, flooded her senses. Spicy cinnamon, vanilla, and tangy fruits forced her body to relax despite her best efforts to stay on her guard.
“Thank you,” Sage whispered. “I suppose you are here to ask more questions?” Sage studied Raphael as he glanced at her over his tea cup. He gracefully placed the cup back on his saucer.
“I will ask you questions, when you feel up to it. In the meantime, I’m content to ensure you make a full recovery.”
“I don’t remember anything new, if you’re wondering. I’m sure Gavin filled you all in yesterday after I…well, you know.”
“He did. So did Petra. He told me that you think you might be suppressing your memories?” Sage responded with a nod. Saying it out loud was a more painful admission today, it seemed. Raphael remained quiet for a few moments, staring into the embers of the fireplace, which had once again quieted to a low crackle. “Sometimes, forgetting seems like the easy way out. But everything has a price.”
Raphael stirred, turning his body more towards Sage. “Would you like to know what I know about you so far? Would that be helpful?”
“I’m not sure what you mean. How do you know anything about me?”
“Well, when healing you, I was able to discover a few things. For starters, you are not fae. But you are not human, either. At least, not kin to the humans I’m used to encountering. Your body responded to some of my healing powers naturally, but also rejected others. In contrast, your body also didn’t entirely respond to mortal techniques of healing. This leads me to believe that you are not from here.”
Sage froze. She stared at him for a beat, then burst into a fit of laughter. “You think...I’m from somewhere else? Geeze. Get this guy a badge. He’s a regular detective!” Sage gestured towards Raphael as she rocked back in her chair, laughing in hysterics. “Of course I’m from somewhere else!” Flames crackled to life in the fireplace. “I fell—to the ground—in a fucking fireball. How many fae, how many ‘mortals’, do that?!”
Raphael waved her off. “Yes, yes, my dear. You are quite hilarious.” He sipped daintily from his tea. “If you are done with your little show, I can proceed with what else I know about you. And your powers.”
That shut her up. In mid-breath, Sage jerked to a halt. “What powers?”
“Oh, you know. Fire,” Raphael gestured at the fireplace. “Earth, powers,” again, Raphael waved his hand towards the windows. “And, if I’m not mistaken—and I rarely am— water and wind as well. Quite powerful, even by fae standards.”
Raphael continued sipping his tea, giving Sage time to absorb the information. Picking up a flaky pastry, he continued, “I also determined you are likely twenty-two, maybe twenty-three years of age. And quite underfed. I imagine you’ve been on the run for a while.” Raphael took a small bite out of a croissant. “It’s been two days since you fell to us. I’d like to take a look at your leg before taking you to breakfast for more substantial food.”
“Two days ago? How’d you heal a broken leg in two days?” Sage asked in disbelief. “Magic?”
“I’m no sorcerer. I’m a healer, that is where my power lies,” said Raphael with a flourish of his hand. “I have the ability to…encourage healing in the body. Most of the time, it is a simple matter with the fae. You deary, were a different matter. But I like a good challenge, which means we will be good friends. I’ve already decided.”
“If you say so.” But Sage got the feeling he was correct. He was not unkind, and his sense of humor seemed very similar to her own.
Raphael sat in front of Sage and unwrapped her ankle to reveal a deep pink scar that ran a length of six inches, at least. The wound felt tender to the touch, but was healthy enough to walk on.
“That’s incredible. How….how did you do that?” remarked Sage.
“Powers,” winked Raphael, as if that was all the explanation needed. Raphael grabbed a pair of sandals from one of the closets and strapped them to Sage’s feet before standing and offering her his elbow. “Shall we?”
“That depends. Will there be more tea at breakfast? I can’t promise I will be good company without a nice, big pot of strong tea,” whispered Sage, suddenly feeling like she’d really, really like to crawl back into bed. The sun was just peeking over the ocean and greeting the town behind her. Apparently, she wasn’t a morning person.
“I promise, there will be tea,” grinned Raphael, and he tugged her out of the room and into the waiting hallway.
4
✧✦✧
Raphael escorted Sage to the dining room of the tower, passing Meliza, Zeke, Petra, and Gavin before they arrived at a small table set for two alongside an open window facing the sea. As promised, a steaming pot of tea sat on the table next to plates of eggs, toast, and fresh fruit. Her stomach clenched with hunger, but Sage forced herself to sit politely and wait as Raphael poured them each a mug of tea.
“Eat. You need the sustenance,” was all Raphael said, indicating the food in front of them, as if he could sense the hunger beckoning inside her.
Sage helped herself to eggs and buttered toast, and nibbled on the fruit with enthusiasm.
“I was able to determine that you are quite malnourished while I worked on your burns. It would seem you’ve gone a very long time without a proper diet, or rest for that matter. Does that information seem surprising to you?” asked Raphael.
It didn’t. Sage had noticed how visible her ribs were when she’d dressed yesterday, but hadn’t thought much about what it might say about her or the events in her past. Sage shrugged as she chewed on her toast and stared out at the sea.
“I would say our first point of business is seeing that we build up your strength and get your body strong and recovered before doing anything too drastic with your memories. They may come back on their own. We will start with a healthy diet.” The statement was rhetorical; Raphael was not consulting Sage on a plan for medical treatment. No, this was Raphael telling her what was going to happen.
Sage bristled. “I appreciate your concern, but I’d really like to know what the heck I’m doing here.”
“And I have no doubt we will figure that out,” said Raphael. “If you’ve finished your breakfast, we can go ahead and take a look at those injuries. Perhaps I can smooth out any lasting damage before the scarring becomes permanent.”
Raphael stood and offered his arm to Sage again, leading her out of the dining room and away from the fae who had been eating their own breakfasts at a separate table. They had been awfully quiet. In fact, Sage hadn’t heard a single word spoken between the four of them; she hadn’t even heard the scrape of a fork.
“They were listening to us the whole time, weren’t they?” whispered Sage once they had cleared the doorway.
“Very perceptive. Of course they were. You are the shiny new thing, full of mystery. A problem to be solved. I imagine you will be the most popular creature in the tower, well, next to me of course,” and Raphael winked at her as they entered his medical ward.
Three tables lined one wall, dressed with white linens awaiting patients. Sage wondered how many patients the fae healer could have in a tower where she had only seen five other creatures. She was sure the King resided in the castle at the center of the city, so that meant Raphael lived here with the others. Surely, they couldn’t need medical help that often.
“Go ahead and undress, Sage. There are linens on the bed there you can use to cover any areas you are uncomfortable with me viewing. Although, I may need to tend to some sensitive areas. Your burns were extensive,” Raphael waved a hand to the tables as he hung a sign on his door, informing others he was with a patient and mustn’t be disturbed.
As Raphael walked across the room to appraise his medical carts and the trappings laid atop it, Sage did as she was told, laying a wide strip of linen across her breasts and another strip over her hips, and waited for the healer to approach.
Raphael inspected the marks on the side of Sage’s head and face, gently prodding the tissue to determine tenderness and the status of her healing before repeating the process along her body. Raphael stooped, prodded, felt, and even sniffed each mark and bruise on her body before arriving at her ankle.
He took care to examine the facility of her ankle joint, pausing to inspect the deep pink scar that had formed higher above where the bone had once jutted through her skin. He rubbed his thumb across the line and a faint glow emitted beneath the pad of his digit. He passed over the scar again, and Sage snatched her leg away, choking on a giggle.
Grinning, and biting her teeth together, Sage cried out, “Sorry! That was just…that tickled.” She grinned sheepishly at the healer.
“Not to worry. I forgot the sensation would be new to you. The others are here often enough, I don’t even have to tell them how to sit or to prepare themselves. May I?” asked Raphael, gesturing back to the leg Sage still held curled up near her torso.
“Sure. I’m ready. I’ll be still.”
“Good,” smiled Raphael. “It may help to talk while we do this. To keep your mind occupied. This is simple enough work, I should be able to keep up while I see to this mark.”
They sat in silence for just a moment, Sage trying hard not to yank her leg out of the healer’s hand as the soft glow seemed to erase the scar from her skin. “Most of you guys are super old. How come no one looks ancient?”
“Well, I suppose it’s just the way we age. Humans age faster because they live faster. We age slower because we live slower. How old do you think the others look?” asked Raphael.
“Well, if I didn’t already know better, I would have guessed King Symon, Meliza, and Zeke to be somewhere in their forties. Petra doesn’t look older than thirty-five, you too. But I know they are all over one-hundred. Except you, how old are you?” Sage asked.
Raphael finished working on her ankle and turned to his cart, preparing a tonic of some sort. “Would you believe me if I told you I was older than all of them?” Raphael teased.
Sage gaped. “But you definitely look younger than Symon, and Meliza for that fact. How?!”
Raphael hummed to himself, smiling a bit, clearly enjoying this conversation. “Well, lifestyle likely has something to do with it. I’m no warrior and have no intention to learn how to bang a sword around or smash rocks apart. And, my healing powers might have some other, self-serving purposes. Why bother with these powers if I can’t at least maintain this gorgeous complexion of mine,” Raphael was positively beaming at Sage now, and she grinned widely back.
Sage giggled, “You have an excellent point. I think I’d rather like a power that could make me an everlasting radiant beauty.”
The two continued joking about Raphael’s so-called “vanity routine” for the next several minutes while he finished the tonic he was preparing before he commanded she “Drink up.” It was bitter, but filled her with warmth and ease. She could feel knots of tension held in various parts of her body relax as she finished the glass.
Sage began dressing as Raphael wheeled his cart back to where it had been when they arrived. “Can you tell me more about the others? More than just…how old they are?'' she asked. “I get the feeling they aren’t necessarily thrilled I’m here.”
“You worry the others feel the same as Petra?” Raphael asked with his lilting voice. Sage nodded her response.
“Yes, well, it has not been that long since they were all separated and fighting desperately to get back to one another. You had us all quite scared when you arrived; I don’t know that the others aren’t fully convinced you haven’t come to attack us.”
“But you don’t think that?” asked Sage.
Raphael paused, staring at her, “No. No, I do not. I think you tried very hard to get away from something—or someone—and ended up here by accident.”
Raphael gestured to a pair of chairs facing a desk on the opposite side of the room. The ward was large enough to house the three medical beds, a large desk, and three chairs, plus an entire wall of shelves stocked with the various accoutrements of his vocation.
“Symon, Meliza, and Petra are siblings, all fifteen years apart. Zeke was the son of their father’s hand, and their best friend. When we were conquered, our enemies were clever enough to split them apart, send them to different parts of the continent-”
