A journey of peace - GOU book 1

Chapter 12

Nicole quickly found the healer's building and knocked on the door. She was getting stared at more than she would have liked, but she knew most of it was due to the fact that she was an outsider. The door opened interrupting her thoughts and the lady on the other side invited her in. She just then realized that she had no means of paying for a checkup.

"Never mind, I have to go now."

"There is no need to pay" the lady at the door smiled gently. "The doctor will see you." The situation was weird but Nicole was getting used to seers, having spent the past few months constantly living with one.

"I just have a few questions. Nothing physical to check" she said still opting to leave. She was the princess but she didn't want to get things freely. Not after two months in the forest working for every meal.

"Come on in. We might be able to provide you with answers."

Nicole entered and stood awkwardly behind the lady. She went into another room telling Nicole to wait. When she came out she was followed by a shapeshifter. She had a cat-like tail and her arms, though more human-like, was covered in fur completely. Her ears were similar to Nicole's and her eyes, a bright golden color, had slit pupils. As she entered the room her eyes closed and she took a deep breath. Her surprised glance turned into a more professional one quickly, although Nicole still noticed it.

Nicole stood awkwardly in the small waiting area. She was about to give up and leave when the young seer came back with an elderly shapeshifter. The shapeshifter looked as if she has just woken up with her grey fur ruffled on her face. Her slit pupils were very thin which didn't surprise Nicole as she saw the lack of light coming from the room the two women just exited. The shapeshifter gave the air a small sniff and wrinkled her nose before her eyes widened.

"Princess Nicole. I can't believe it. Evelyn told me I would see you again but I gave up hope."

"I'm sorry," Nicole looked down. "I don't know you."

"Of course not." The shapeshifter chuckled. "But where are my manners? I am Lelani. What brings you here at this early hour?"

Nicole looked out the window, registering it was past noon before speaking. "I... I need some answers." s didn't like talking about what happened but there was no going back. "I lost my shapeshifting a few months back." This was the easy part. "But today... I felt the start of a transformation."

"Evelyn dear why don't you bring us a cup of tea?" Lelani asked. "Come. Let's sit down and walk me through what happened. Starting with how you lost your shapeshifter abilities." She led Nicole into the darker room. She went to the far side and pulled the blackout curtains away to let sunlight in. When she finished Evelyn poked her head in and brought the tea to the table close to the door. The two shapeshifters sat down while Evelyn set everything up.

"So. How did you lose your shapeshifting?" Lelani asked.

As Nicole finished her story, the two looked to be deep in thought. Nicole knew this had to be the first time they heard of a shapeshifter getting sick like this. It was also hard for her to wrap her head around what happened just a few hours before her visit and it happened to her. She was a little uncomfortable with the silence but being the guest she said nothing. Lelani and Evelyn looked at each other before Lelani spoke with a soft chuckle.

"Well, Evelyn did say you'd come here for answers but I did not think it would be this."

"Is it that bad?" Nicole asked

"No, not at all. While I don't think you will get your power back it is not bad at any rate. The loss of one power seemed to have brought forth another in you."

"Seeing the future, I know. But I can't control it."

"Maybe but that does not mean it wasn't miraculous. Considering your lineage, I am not surprised you got sick at all. However, I would have expected the future abilities to be wiped out not the shapeshifter ones. May I?" When Nicole nodded Lelani went closer to inspect her physically.

She looked at her ears and eyes mostly and checked how fit Nicole was by having her do some exercises. She excelled in all of them, although she knew it wasn't due to magic powers. That thought made her feel accomplished in a way while also saddening her. She wanted to have her powers but she also didn't want them at the same time. She was torn about it from the moment Zarah broke the news to her.

"Well, your physical attributes don't show signs of deformation, which was to be expected. I suppose you still hear better?" Lelani said as she finished the examination.

"And see a little better at night, although nothing like when I had my powers," Nicole answered. Now that the Sun was approaching the horizon she felt a bit more awake. Since she spent all day moving around, she was also tired but her mind seemed to prefer nighttime to daylight.

"Yes, that was to be expected. The physical manifestations only use a very small amount of magic, which can be taken up from the environment. Your eyes and ears aren't fully human so they will stay slightly different." Lelani stood up to look at a chart o the wall. "We are expecting Errasen to return this week. If you'd like we can see if dragon fire can heal you."

Nicole was at a loss for words. From what Zahra said she expected Dragons to be completely gone. Even without Lelani's last comment, she could have guessed that the name belonged to a dragon. What it meant was beyond her, even though her mother thought her some of the dragon language. Lelani seemed to be expecting her wide-eyed reaction as she smiled and sat back down in front of Nicole.

"Not all dragons agreed with the retreat you know."

"But..." Nicole's anger toward the creatures was rekindled this time burning with a more furious blaze than before. "If they didn't agree why leave in the first place?" she whispered through gritted teeth.

"That is not for me to answer," Lelani said. "I don't know how dragons view society, all I know is what they are doing now. And you can not associate the ones who left and still live in the mountains with the ones who chose a nomadic life to help other creatures."

Nicole heard enough. She didn't want to be healed by a dragon, since her brother and sister couldn't be and her mother was straight up killed by one. She stood up and walked toward the door.

"Thank you, for your examination. I expect you have no answers to my question?" Her diplomatic side resurfaced as she was letting the slow rage consume her again.

"Unfortunately not. All I can speculate is that your body lost its ability to create enough magic. Maybe your adrenalin was enough to increase production to a level that you could feel it."

"In that case, thank you for your time. I will return with payment as soon as I can." With that, she left the building and stormed out of town, toward Zahra's little shack.

Lelani and Evelyn looked at each other with grief and concern. They knew why Nicole was acting the way she was. After all, they both saw what happened to queen Maya. All they could do was hope Nicole found it in her to forgive and re-evaluate her relationship with dragons. Her kingdom needed them and the nomadic dragons needed her kingdom. Neither of them was going to survive without the other.