The Sahara Chronicles #1: The Young Foreigner (Available in full on Amazon)

PART III: A DREAM

It did not take much time for the story of Yor Castel's healing abilities to spread across the small kingdom of Aloris.

Soon, the young man was having visitors at the Hudson farmhouse.

He rather welcomed them, always happy to know everything they had to say. One even asked him for his secret in curing Alia Hudson, but he refused with his charming smile.

Another wanted her daughter to be cured of a Very Preposterous Issue.

"Oh really now? What is it?" asked Yor.

"She's in love!" exclaimed the distressed mother. "She refuses to listen to me, and when I tell her I forbid the match – he's a poor washerman's son – she tells me I have no right to say what she wants and I should let her be!" She huffed. "Since when have young people's minds been corrupted like this?!"

Yor tried not to yawn out of boredom that was born out of her never-ending yarn. At last, John, having realised that the man needed rescuing, promptly rushed to ask him for help. Yor chose this opportunity to escape!

John was very grateful that his wife was nursed back to health, quite willing to give just about anything to the healer.

"Tell me, Yor," declared the farmer as the family sat together for dinner two days later, "what do you want the most that I, a humble farmer, can give you?"

"What I want the most?" Yor spent his first item of the meal pondering this. At last, his eyes lit up at a thought and he said, "Can you be very kind as to recommend me a place to stay? I shall be here at Aloris for some time, and I need a few days for my study."

"Definitely! You can stay right here, young man!" He winked knowingly at his wife, with whom he had already discussed this with. "That was going to be the deal, anyway! Anything else that you want?" "Nothing else, sir. Just stay."

The farmer relented, "All right, but you should tell me before you leave."

The young man smiled warmly at this. "That I shall agree with. Thank you, sir."

"Please," said Alia, approaching from behind her husband, "feel free to look at this humble home as your own. Do not hesitate if you need something." In two days' time, she was already looking healthier and the colour in her face was beginning to come back.

John noticed the dramatic change, too, for he smiled brightly as soon as he saw her. He pulled her to his chest for a warm embrace, as though he was going to lose her again.

Time passed quickly on the farm. Yor observed the goings-on carefully, especially the labourers at work.

Or, the Alorian children playing about would draw him into their games. Jim and Mike loved him the best and they always made sure he was included in everything they did.

What Yor wanted to know, however, was what caused the illness in the first place.

That night at dinnertime, he prepared a list of questions to ask Alia, ones he thought were necessary.

When they began to eat, Yor cleared his throat.

"How is it that you contracted the illness, Mrs Hudson?" he asked. He put a slice of cucumber in his mouth.

Alia looked up. "Please, call me Alia," she said. "Well, that's what my husband and I have been wondering, actually." Here, she exchanged a glance with him. "That night, just before we realised I became ill, I had a regular meal of onions, tomatoes, rice, and fruit pickle. I've never had any problems with them before."

"I see. Perchance, it's something you had until about a week before you actually fell ill?"

John and Alia exchanged wide-eyed glances again.

"Maybe she developed some allergy for something?" he suggested.

Yor considered this. "It's possible. Though, unlikely, I think. Still, I think it's a matter to be taken seriously."

Yor had not planned on a definite period of stay in the Kingdom of Aloris, but he could not find the desire to leave either. There was something about the surroundings that made him feel at home. He had been to several places in the past year, but this was by far the only place that gave him such a homely feel, besides his own home country of Grant. He felt like he was waiting for something to happen – what that was, he didn't know. Maybe, solving the mystery of the illness.

When he was not observing the labourers or playing with the children, Yor would roam around the small kingdom, gaining a sense of peace and tranquillity – just as though he were back home. This feeling was novel to him. It puzzled him a little, though not necessarily disturbing. He also sought audience with Germain Ayon and his royal physicians for some scholarly discussions about herbs and alchemy of the country, trying to gather intel on Alia's illness. The germain was only too happy to set aside some time from his busy schedule for this purpose and they had had some hearty discussions. Neither was felt dissatisfied; rather, more intellectual than they started out.

What puzzled Yor the most, though, was the recurring dream he had been having for a week since entering Aloris. He didn't think it was necessarily to do with the illness, but something more aligned to his purposes.

Now, a fortnight since his arrival at Aloris, it occurred once more:

Yor was taking a walk through his home village of Selina, one of the provinces of the Kingdom of Grant. He was a little boy of nine, his parents still alive. He was dawdling around aimlessly, when, without deliberation, he chanced upon the Selina Forest at the edge of the village.

Here, young Yor decided to explore the forbidden territory, despite knowing that he would most likely get a sound talking to from his parents once he went back home. The Selina Forest was rumoured to be a place where people didn't come back from. His parents' reaction did not matter to him, though, as it happened to him all the time. Once more would not make much of a difference to the young hero.

As he walked, he kept a wary eye out for the forest beings that everybody in the village was always talking about. He could not help but feel a little nervous, although he refused to turn tail and run away. Knights didn't do that, now, did they? The little boy always dreamt of being one in the court at the Palace of Grant.

Soon, he stumbled upon a well. It was a regular-looking one, quite old, it seemed.

'The wishing well!' thought the boy, excitement building up inside his chest, for this was the first time he had ever seen something that had been, so far, only fabled. 'The soothsaying well! This has to be it!'

Yor could clearly see water inside it. It appeared just like any other well, but he was not so sure. Magical material always looked different—this he knew from his apprenticeship lessons. He peered inside once more; this time, though, the crystal-clear water changed colour and a face began forming in it: a heart-shaped face with a soft nose and a pair of soft dark eyes, red hair, and a small chin. A girl. She appeared to have golden brown skin.

Yor stared transfixed at the image in the well. He had never seen the likes of her before and wondered who she was.

Yor closed his eyes momentarily...

... When he awoke, he was back in the guest room of the Hudson family home. 

~*~

"The Young Foreigner" is out now on Amazon, Google Play Books, and Pothi.com as ebook and paperback. If you would like to support me, then please consider buying a copy from my official website!