Beyond The Realms

Chapter 28

" Done" She said dangling a flask of greenish potion from her finger tips and relief spreads in my chest as I move towards her but she is quick to hide the flask behind her back ," First , my payment "

I swallow " Oh yes , A secret "

She nods.

Reluctance and unease clog my throat but I force myself to speak
" Sometimes..... " I say giving into the urge to fidget with my hands and one of it comes up to tap my temple
" I hear voice in my head "

The healer arches a dark green eyebrow
" Singular or plural? "

" Singular " I reply looking away from her intrusive eyes .

I know why she is looking like that . I'm the crazy girl she is trying to figure out.

" For how long have you been hearing the voice ?"

"For as long as I can remember" I don't feel comfortable saying this out loud .

" What does the voice say ?"

" Many things "

" Such as ?"

" Umm....sometimes it calms me down when I'm scared or angry ,sometimes it warns me about danger and recently it guided me towards safety "

" Interesting" She says never taking her eyes off me" Does the voice ever feel ominous to you ?"

" No " I say instantly feeling strangely offended " It had always helped me "

A sly smile curves her lips" You are so much more interesting than I had thought "

I frown I do not enjoy feeling like a science specimen which is how she is eying me " Now if we are done can I have the flask " I move towards her.

" In hurry are we ? " She says not resisting me and instead hands me the flask .

I don't like her much but she had made this potion for the prince and for this I'm great ful to her " Thank you " I say over my shoulder as I move towards the door

The healer chuckles
" Two sides of the same coin ,undivided yet divided.
one shall spin and one shall fall.
Only then will hush befall "

" What ?"

" The cure to your trouble " She replies tapping the side of her pink haired head.

" OK " I say my bewilderment increasing , you can't just throw random bunch of words at me and expect me to accept those as my cure .

" It's nice to see his familiar standing down my tree " She says sincerely "Seems like for the for the first time in twenty years he had made contact with them"

" It's not the first time" I inform her though I'm surprised to hear her
" He made one appear when I was too exhausted to walk " I close my mouth shut when I realise how close I'm to revealing my identity .

" You couldn't walk ?" There it comes , The questioning eyebrow again.

" Something like that " I say refusing to spill more information.

But I file away the information that he hadn't called to his familiar in the last twenty years for something to definitely think about in future.

" You are saying he summoned one before for your sake ?"

I nod.

She chortles and it is a sound of genuine joy " You are a lot more interesting than I had thought "

I don't exactly feel comfortable with the way she keeps repeating how I'm more interesting than she had thought.

" Umm....I should get going "
She is making me feel like an insect under a mad scientist's lense.

I've almost shut the door behind me when I hear the words
" Your secret is safe with me , Princess "

I freeze.She had known all along that I'm the half djinn Princess !

She had known yet she had pretended to not know me . Why ?

And what was it about her saying that Prince Ruslan had called upon his familiars after twenty years ?
There are so many questions whirling in my head but no time for getting answers.

As quickly and as carefully as I can with the potion flask in one hand I climb down the tree.

The white tiger is quick to guide me back to the cave.

The groups of tigers I've seen on my way out are still at the mouth of cave and let me pass .

The Prince has his eyes closed, his body motionless just the way I had left him before though the purple veins look more threatening and grostique and there is no change in his pulse . Faint .

" Let's hope and pray this works " I whisper to the silent tiger who stands beside me and pour a few drops of he potion over the thick purpled vein.

Instantly a hissing sound fills the cave as vapours rise from the site .

The healer had told me the potion would burn out the venom. It will be a painful but quick process and I'm thankful that the prince is unconscious through it all .

I would hate to see him in pain again.

As I keep pouring drops of potion over the veins in his body the hissing sounds become repetitive and the veins grow less and less purple until they return back to their original form.

I'm completely done pouring the potion when the tiger rubs it's head around my legs like a huge kitten .

I don't realise when during all of this I had stopped being afraid of the great feline but it turns out I have as I scratch behind it's ears.

Letting out a rumble deep from its throat it nuzzles closer to me.
I laugh but it soon changes into a yawn . I haven't slept the entire night and it is very close to dawn now .

Trying to resist the overwhelming urge to sleep I bend closer to the Prince .The sweaty sheen over his skin is gone and color seems to be returning to his face.

" I hope you will be fine soon " I whisper brushing his hair away from his forehead and a startled yelp escapes me when a pale muscular arm suddenly warps around my waist and pulls me towards his chest.

Surprised I rise my eyes towards the Prince .
His eyes are still closed , he is still out of it.

Yet , injured and out of his senses the wounded Prince still somehow knows that I need to rest.

So typical of him !

Smiling I lay my head down and close my eyes as he holds me against his chest.

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Phewww!!! Long chapter !!

Many twists and new characters await in the story ahead !!
I hope you will enjoy reading it !!

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