Realms of Azymus: The Healer

Chapter 1: Marie

Marie sat on the ground in the middle of the convent, watching the grass move as it was blown by the soft breeze. She admired the small pink flowers in front of her and inhaled their fragrant scent. A butterfly landed on one of the flowers, not afraid of the girl in front of it. She smiled, nothing could ruin this moment, just her and the flowers. And once she thought about it, a pair of black shoes stepped on the flower with the butterfly.

"Oh, were you smelling that flower?" Came the sarcastic voice of Judy, the tallest girl in the convent. She was with two other girls.

Marie nodded slightly, but didn't answer the question. She wanted to avoid confrontation. Picking a fight with a much taller girl was not a good idea, considering that Marie was the shortest.

"Aren't you going to answer?" Judy goaded, "Get up."

Marie stood up, there was no use in arguing. Judy pushed her to the ground, "Ugly, dark-haired midget." The two other girls laughed. The three of them walked away, leaving Marie on the ground with the dead butterfly.

Marie sighed, at least they didn't injure her. She sat in an upright position and held the butterfly in her hand. She closed her eyes, mourning the life of the poor butterfly. How could those girls be so cruel? She didn't care if they tried to hurt her, but they took the life of an innocent butterfly, ending its life before it could leave its mark on the world. Marie felt a warm sensation on her palm. She opened her eyes. The butterfly was moving! It was alive! As the butterfly flew away, Marie supposed that Judy's shoe was no match for the resilient insect.

Marie felt a hand on her shoulder, "Marie, Mother Superior has requested your presence in her office." Marie turned her head and saw an older nun. She nodded and followed her to the outside of Mother Superior's office. The woman gestured for Marie to wait on the bench outside the office and walked away.

Marie looked at the ceiling that was far above her. Her legs swung back and forth beneath the bench outside Mother Superior's office without touching the floor. She fidgeted nervously, wondering why she had been called there. Was she in trouble? Maybe Judy had reported her for being short or something dumb like that. She scooted towards the door trying to listen to what was going on. Nothing but muffled sounds. Getting up slowly she tiptoed to the door and pressed her ear to it, trying to figure out what was taking Mother Superior so long.

"Why do you want to take Marie with you? She's perfectly fine here!" Came the shrill voice of Mother Superior. It was so loud that Marie's head shot back to avoid ear damage. She probably could have heard it from across the convent. Pressing her ear to the door once more, she tried to make out the muffled words.

"She has potential," An unfamiliar female voice replied. The voice was firm and resolute, as if the woman knew what she wanted and was not going to change her mind.

"Potential?" Mother Superior asked. Her voice quivered a little bit, as if she was fearful of what that meant. Marie had never heard Mother Superior sound scared, or even nervous before.

"Well, why should I let you take her?" Mother Superior asked suspiciously. She gasped, "You're from the palace, aren't you?" They burst into whispers and Marie strained her ears, but she couldn't hear them anymore.

Why would someone from the palace want anything to do with her? What was this "potential" they were talking about? Suddenly, the door burst open, knocking Marie onto her rear. Mother Superior walked out in a huff and a strange woman followed closely behind her.

They both paused to stare at the girl on the floor. The woman's sharp blue eyes bore into her and Marie felt her cheeks get uncomfortably warm. She had never felt so embarrassed or exposed before in her 14 years of life. The stranger's creamy blond hair hung down in the open, which was downright scandalous in the convent. Her clothing was different from anything Marie had ever seen before. A white shirt with buttons, though it had a sort of v shaped neck. She also wore a black skin tight skirt with a ruffle hem. It was forbidden to wear anything like that in the convent. Ashamed, Marie quickly scampered to her feet.