Silver Rose

The Healer

She heard the sound of water trickling into a pool. A quiet voice hummed an unfamiliar tune. Sweet smells lingered in the air, but she didn't know what they were. Blazing light forced Tara to open her eyes.

Everything was blurry and blindingly bright. She closed her eyes. The water stopped trickling. She moved a little and pain surged through her body. With a gasp, she remembered: Queen Renata had stabbed her over and over! And then what? Was she dead? She flung her eyes open. She looked up at a white ceiling. She felt very warm, but she didn't see a fireplace. The room was small and white. All the furniture which included the bed, two tables, and two chairs were brown. The room was filled with light, but she didn't see one window.

Painfully, Tara sat up. She gasped when she looked down at the floor. Instead of wooden boards, stone, or carpet, it was covered in tiny plants with yellow fuzzy balls hanging from them.

She saw no one. The humming she heard had stopped. Where was she? Her heart pounded. She remembered something large had grabbed her. Was this the monster's lair? She had to get out of here. Pulling the blankets back, she slowly moved her legs over edge of the bed. Every move made her cry out in pain, but she was able to get out of the bed. She stood there, trembling and exhausted, on the surprisingly soft plants. Looking down she discovered she was completely nude.

"Where are my clothes?" She asked outloud.

"They were burned," a voice said.

"What?!" She exclaimed at the voice which seemed to come from no where.

"They were covered in blood, we did not think you would want them." The voice said.

"We?!"

"My wife and I." Suddenly, a man walked through the wall.

Tara screamed. She tried to back away and fell onto the bed. That's when she remembered she was naked. Screaming again, she pulled a blanket around her body.

"Who are you?! Get out of here! If you have raped me or try to, I will blast you to bits!" She yelled. She put up a hand and hoped her face looked intimidating.

"Why would I rape you?" He said. "I am married."

He walked over to one of the tables.

"That means nothing," she said.

"Maybe not in your world," he said picking up a cup from the table, "but here it means I have no desire for any other woman but my wife." He walked towards the bed, but stopped a few feet from it.

"Then why don't I have my clothes on?" Tara asked.

"They were burned."

"Why wasn't I given new ones?"

"It is easier to attend to your wounds without the trouble of taking clothing off and on each time."

Wounds? Tara pulled the blanket away from her body a little and looked down.

"I don't see anything!" She said recalling that she had been stabbed multiple times.

"We have healed the outside, but inside there is still much to be done. Drink this." He held the cup in his outstretched arm.

"What is it?" Tara asked.

"Water." The man answered.

Suddenly, Tara's throat and mouth felt dry and scratchy. Though still suspicous of the mans intent she took the cup. She quickly discovered it was sweet, cool water and had several more cups.

"So men don't rape women here?" She asked still wondering where "here" was.

"I did not say that," said the man. "But it is rare. First a man would actually have to be able to overpower a woman. Then if he succeeded the penalty is a slow, painful death. Few find it worth the trouble."

"Where are we?" There were no human laws so harsh toward rape; neither were any Gommoth rules. This man had gone through a wall. She must be in some other world. "Who are you?"

"I am Trevon of the Madid, a healer. We are in Raiah in Ambremose."

"Ambremose?" Ambremose was the fairy word for "the Fauye world?"

Trevon nodded.

"This is the Fauyen realm?!" Tara exclaimed. "And you're a Fauye?!" Trevon nodded. "But how did I get here? No one knows where the Fauyen world is."

"Fauyes know," he said. "A Handini named Flike brought you here. He is from Ambremose."

That's what that monster had been! A giant bird!
"What was he doing in the human world?"

"I do not know. He did not say and I did not ask."

That bird had been in Queen Renata's room. If it was the queen's, why did it save her?

"The Fauyen world!" She smiled. "I want to know everything! Where would we be on a map? Are you really powerful enough to destroy the entire world? Can you fly? Why are there plants on the floor? Where's the light coming from? Do you think you can help us be rid of our queen? Why didn't you tell the other fairies where you went when you left? Is there really some pact between the Fauyes, the elves, and the charmints? How does--" She yawned. Suddenly she felt like she could sleep for an entire year.

"That's the grory," the man said, pointing to the floor. "That's what those plants are. They are herbs. They fill the air with their scent and you breath it in. That helps to heal your insides, but it also puts you to sleep."

Tara leaned back into a pillow.
"If I have no wounds, why am I still in pain?"

"The dagger you were stabbed with was covered in poison," Trevon said. "The poison keeps you from healing entirely. In a couple weeks though, you should be well."

Trevon moved away from the bed.

"Where are you going?" She yawned.

"To another room, to let you sleep. My wife will be here the next time you awaken."

"Where will you be?" Her heavy eyelids closed.

"Where she is now. With our granddaughter."

"Oh....." Tara felt herself being pulled into a place of dreams. She forced her eyes to open once more. Trevon was gone. Her eyes closed. She slept.