The Healer Queen - Anthology

I Didn't Mean to Stab Him, a Very Interesting First Meeting

Eira was used to spending most of her time in the organized mess that was her mother's infirmary. She practically lived in the large room containing cabinets overflowing with vials of poison and medicine alike, herbs hanging on the walls, stacks of aprons and blankets stuffed in the corner.

"Keep stirring, Eira," her mother scolded.

Huffing, Eira turned to the large pot over the fireplace. Making soup was her least favorite chore. She would much rather be sorting through the piles of metal, wood, and iron writings and transcribing them onto the holodisks. At least then she could read about how the body worked, various diseases, and the matching treatment.

Looking longingly at the half finished pile of writings, Eira still stirred her mother's soup. This was stupid. There was only one person currently in the infirmary, being treated for a broken arm, but enough soup in this pot to feed the entire castle.

"Ma," she whined. "Why are we making this much food?"

"It does the patients good to have sustenance." That was something she heard almost daily from her mother. Eira was still too young to stay home while her father worked in the forges and her mother in the infirmary, so she joined her mother in the twenty minute journey to the castle each morning.

And then she stirred the soup until it was time to go home.

Huffing again, Eira poked at a floating piece of meat in the pot. "Can I at least sort the medicines?"

"You broke one last time, darling." Ma paid her no attention, instead focusing on wrapping the bandages around the man's arm and stuffing a vial of what Eira assumed was pain meds into his mouth.

Laughter coming from outside the window distracted Eira from arguing back that the vial had been unfairly slippery.

She stepped away from the fireplace to peek through the window. It had just started to snow and the green grass outside looked like someone had sprinkled it with flour.

"It's starting to snow, Ma," Eira said.

Ma said something to the man as he left and then she walked towards Eira. "It was supposed to, darling. Ullur wanted to start winter today. That is why I told you to bring your warm coat."

Looking out the window, Eira wondered why the snow god would only give them a thin dusting of snow instead of something interesting.

"Okay," Eira said. Outside, two boys ran past the window while laughing. The first had chin length blond hair and the second had shoulder length black hair.

Ma looked down at Eira. "If you want to go outside, you can. I don't need any help right now."

She watched the boys slip and slide on the grass. They looked about her age. "I'm alright, Ma."

Still cackling, the two boys pulled knives out of their sleeves.

Eira turned away from the window. Her ma was frowning on her, seeming upset about something.

"What is it, Ma?"

"It is nothing, darling. I just want you to have fun."

"Then can I help you make elixirs?"

Her ma laughed, and patted Eira's head. "Certainly."

~~~

Eira found herself stirring once more, but she didn't mind it as much this time as she was standing over a bowl of headache-away-tonic instead of a pot of meat and potato soup.

"Carefully transfer it to the vial," her mother instructed.

Squinting her eyes for better concentration, Eira carefully poured the tonic into the vial.