Healer

The first thing that you are aware of is a sharp pain in your cheek. You gasp and your eyes fly open, consciousness quickly taking over. You are in a bed, you can feel that much, feel the cotton sheets beneath you. The room smells... odd. Herby, almost. As though you were in Avalon's or Elizabeth's cottage.

Elizabeth

The memory of what happened suddenly slices into you, and you feel hot tears spill over your cheeks. You let out a cry, pulling the covers over yourself as you try your best to curl into a ball. But then, you feel a hand on your shoulder, a gentle hand. It smells... not herbal. Almost like horses and sweet things. Immediately, you open your eyes, moving to face the owner of the hand.

"Hey, it's okay," says a soft, Texan-accented voice that you know so well. And yet, you can't believe Lisa's words. Not after what just happened.

"No it's not," you say, squeezing your eyes shut. Your voice has a whine in it, but you can't help it. Elizabeth is dead. Sure, Anne might be home now, and she might at least look okay, but that doesn't mean that things are remotely okay.

"Well, okay, maybe not," Lisa says. "But it's going to be okay. I'm here."

"I know," you say. And you are grateful for Lisa being here. Without her, you don't know what you'd do. She has been your rock through all of this, and at first, you were certain that she was simply repaying you for saving her life that night with the tree. It took months for her to convince you that, yes, she did really like you, and no, she wasn't just taking pity on you.

"How are you feeling? Physically, I mean," Lisa asks, her hand stroking over your hair.

"My cheek hurts," you say. Now that you are awake, you are aware of a pink glow suffusing the room, mostly coming from your right eye. Your heart threatens to stutter to a stop in your chest- did Pandoria hurt you as it had hurt Evergray? Surely not, you were only there for a few moments when the world was falling apart around you.

"Can you see?" Lisa asks. At your nod, she sags in relief.

"Oh, thank Aideen," Lisa says. "I was worried that I didn't get to it in time or heal it properly."

"What happened?" you ask. All you can remember is the explosion and then trying to comfort Alex while also trying to find your way out of Pandoria. There might be some pain there, too, but the last thing you can remember is Lisa taking you into her arms as the ground had rushed up to meet you.

"Alex tried to explain it," Lisa says. "As much as she could, anyway. She's a wreck."

"I can imagine why," you say. Because you hadn't known Elizabeth for as long as Alex, and even you are falling apart. "I remember the explosion, and then..." You close your eyes for a moment, opening them again as the memory comes back to you. "I followed your song out."

"Oh, so you got that," Lisa says, her sigh of relief almost a laugh. "I was worried that it wouldn't get through." You put your hand on Lisa's, the touch sending a jolt of warmth through you.

"It got through," you say, smiling at her. Lisa smiles back at you, leaning in to press a gentle kiss to your lips.

"So you remember the explosion and finding a way out?" Lisa asks. You nod.

"And then I collapsed in your arms and I'm guessing you brought me here," you say.

"Exactly," Lisa says, nodding. But her smile belies the seriousness in her eyes. "I was so worried about you. I thought I'd lost my girlfriend."

"No," you say, shaking your head. "Not yet. I'm still around."

"And thank Aideen for that," Lisa says.