Winter Blossom

Healing the Healer

  Somewhere in the depths of her mind, the sound of birds and the sweet scent of Peach Blossoms registered as something vaguely familiar. Her trial had been horrendous, but even as she lay unmoving, her trial continued to pound against the back of her head. It hurt to breath and opening her eyes was impossible, but the scent of the Grove and where she was exactly had not quite sunk in but she knew she was somewhere and it was not where she had last been.

Not even the birds registered as being familiar, but the roaring sound of her own energy that was blocking everything familiar was she could really hear.  It was the most oddest sensation, she could hear it as a distinct substance, something tangible and very real, but it felt so unreal.

She felt unreal.  As if she were stuck between worlds and it a very real sense, she was.  Her inner essence and even her soul had yet to realign itself with her body and mind, so for a few minutes she had not tried to think of anything or even acclimatise herself to where she was or even what she was.

Her trial was still fresh on her mind.  And it was this that she began to focus on.  It had seemed so real to her, as if she had been a very real part of it, yet at that moment, she no longer did, it was as if she was now a mere spectator watching the final scenes taking place while being unaffected by the outcome.

She had been a healer.  A highly accomplished one who had made a name for herself.  However, her fame had reached the ears of an Emperor whose son was sickly and near death.  After hearing of her magical ability to heal and the many miracles she had achieved, he sent for her.

It was a difficult case, because the child had been poisoned and not understanding the intrigues that whispered off the Palace walls, she immediately made it known, while at the same time healing the boy after a three month battle against forces that tried their best to prevent it, which eventually saw the downfall of the Emperors only brother who was blamed for it.

Whether he was guilty or not was irrelevant, because those behind the scenes who did not want the child to live, soon moved their attention to her.  And from there, life had become a torture for her.  Eventually, her ability to heal was turned against her.  Tried and sentenced for witchcraft, she not only had her clothing sliced from her body and her hair ripped from her scalp, she was then burned at the stake.

These final moments were what her mind was dwelling on when she had felt herself being lifted.  Too weak to open her eyes or even make it known that she was still alive, she succumbed to the gentle way he held her while thinking she had perhaps died and was being taken to the vast void where the dead eventually go.   She knew death to be a place of peace, so she did not fight it as the pair of arms enveloped her body and held her against them before her mind drifted off into a deep sleep.

Time had obviously moved, because she was aware of her self again, and this time she was lying on a bed.  The scent of her surroundings were unfamiliar but also familiar in an odd kind of way. Images of Peach Blossoms, the taste of wine and familiar voices flew through her mind as the gentle presence of someone she was unfamiliar with began to gently bring back her memories as he tentatively cleaned her.  She felt the warmth of the water and the almost hesitant way he touched her.

But even in her foggy mind, she could feel by his movements and the way the cloth barely touched her skin, that he was no healer.  She had learned much from her trial, but as she lay unmoving and enjoying the calmness that his presence gave her, her true identity slowly began to come back to her.

It began in small snippets.  A face.  A conversation.   A place.  And then memories which attached themselves to her one after the other.  Zhe Yan, Bai Zhen, her parents, the den and her people.  They all came back to her as his healing energy slowly moved up and down her body.  It was as gentle as he was, and she knew he was male, the essence was masculine.