Chapter Fourteen #2
She nods. “Yes. I know that maybe the wedding is a subject you do not want to talk about because you do everything you can, well, not to talk about it.”
I shoot her a sideways glance.
“But we must get your wedding dress soon. Tomorrow actually. We have an appointment at noon.”
“Tomorrow?” I choke out.
I start to feel a heat flash take over. I grab the handle of the bench next to me and sit down. Ivorie sits down next to me, turning her body so she is fully facing me.
“Yes, tomorrow. I will go with you and we can pick out whatever you want.”
I turn to her and nod my head stiffly.
She squeezes my shoulder and gives me a small smile in return. We sit in silence for a few moments until I snap out of the state of shock I am currently in. The state of shock being the fact that I will have to pick out a wedding dress for my wedding.
Whoever would have thought.
I stand up quickly. “Um… I need to go the healer’s wing. I am supposed to meet Elora. I told her I would come again today and I almost forgot.”
Ivorie stands up. “Okay, how about I meet you back in your room tonight for dinner. We can discuss some different styles and fabrics you may want. Hopefully it will make tomorrow less stressful for you.”
I give her a forced smile that probably looks more like a grimace. “Sounds perfect.”
We walk back into the castle, going our separate ways as I start my walk to the healer’s wing.
It seems that no matter how hard I try to ignore the fact I am getting married, the reality of it ruins my efforts. Hearing her say that it is two months away sends a wave of dread through me.
As I walk, I notice my lack of sleep from last night catching up to me. Fatigue settles heavy on my shoulders. Hopefully last night was just a one-time occurrence triggered from all the stress I am under.
I reach the healers wing and give the door a soft knock.
“Come in,” Elora says.
I walk in and notice there is a patient lying down in one of the cots.
“Good afternoon, Solene. How are you?”
“I am good, how are you?”
“Great. We have a patient today.” She nods her head in the direction of the cots.
We head over to her desk, sitting down as she fills me in on why the patient is here.
Apparently, this vampire ate a sour piece of meat and has had intense stomach pain and vomiting for the past twelve hours. She walks me through different treatment measures we can use. We decide on treating with ginger and peppermint for nausea, as well as wolves’ breath for the abdominal pain.
After treatment, the man makes a quick recovery. We send him on his way with doses to take for the next few days.
The past few hours have calmed my nerves, grounding me once more.
“Well, that felt really good,” I say.
Elora smiles broadly. “Oh, I am so glad. I want you to know you can come up here anytime you want.”
“I really appreciate it. Losing my identity as a nurse has really taken a toll on me. More than I thought I would. To be honest, it was pretty much my entire personality. My entire world.”
We sip on our peppermint tea at her desk, sitting across from each other.
“I understand that. I am sure it is very hard to cope with. Going from doing something all the time then having it suddenly stop, can be jarring.”
I smile at her words. Her understanding of my feelings filling me with reassurance.
We spend the next hour going over more treatment measures, this time for more emergent situations. It seems that there is an herb or flower for everything. They do not use any medications here. If there is something wrong, there is a plant or a spell to fix it.
Elora also informed me that most healers are incantors. Spellwork is a very important aspect of healing.
“Spellwork is very fascinating to me. I wish I could do it,” I say.
“Yes, it is a very interesting form of magic. Even though you cannot perform it, you can still learn about. Knowledge is power.”
I nod. “It is.”
“You can always watch me here as I do spellwork, or even Ivorie. You are around her more than you are around me. You can always ask her to teach you.”
I go to take a sip of tea and pause at her words.
“Wait, Ivorie is an incantor?”
Elora laughs. “Why yes. Ivorie will eventually be one of the most powerful incantors we have in Vryko. I am very lucky to have her assistance here.”
How have I never thought to ask Ivorie what she is?
When I first met her, I felt a powerful presence about her, but never thought to even ask what that presence was. She has never once talked about herself.
In fact, we talk about everything but her.
She has told me all kinds of stories about her family and her time in the castle. She knows all of the latest gossip that she very frequently fills me in on. But she has never mentioned that she is an incantor.
Surely not because she was trying to hide it from me.
Elora is still speaking about all the ways that Ivorie has helped her throughout her time here, but I am not listening. I am busy spiraling into my own thoughts.
I pause and take a deep breath. I need to stop. I have nothing to worry about with her. I am just overreacting right now.
I nod mindlessly at Elora’s words. I try to listen to her, but I cannot ignore the sense of panic that floods my stomach over the thought of Ivorie hiding something.
Why would she be hiding something?
I snap my head up as I miss her words. “I am sorry, say that again.”
“Have you been sleeping okay? You look very tired.”
I sit with the question for a minute. Now is my time to be honest with how I am doing. I am sitting in front of her with thoughts that my five-foot-tall lady’s maid is kidnapping people. I think I need some help.
She has made me feel validated within our time together so I think that I could trust her.
“Actually, I am not sleeping well at all.”
She nods for me to keep going.
“You see, I have these episodes where I do not feel right. They happen quite frequently actually. It is almost like a feeling of impending doom. Like a wave of panic that washes over me, but nothing is actually wrong. My heart rate quickens, then I get dizzy, sometimes even numb. During it, breathing becomes hard, like there’s a weight on my chest. My own thoughts become weapons against me.
It can happen anytime, anywhere. I took medicine back at home for the episodes, but obviously you guys do not have that here. ”
Elora nods. “You have anxiety,” she says simply.
“Yes. I do.”
The admission feeling heavier now that it is spoken out loud.
“It is very common, even in immortal creatures. It is nothing you should ever be ashamed of. I am glad you told me. I can give you an herbal tonic to help. You take a small amount once daily and you should start to feel relief in a few weeks. It takes a while to take effect, but I believe you will see a difference.”
I release a breath of relief at her words.
“Thank you so much.”
She nods with a smile. “I will make it and have it sent down to your room. I will not be here tomorrow if you were planning on coming again, but I will send word when I am back.”
“Okay,” I say with a smile as anxiety settles deep in my stomach again. “I actually have a question before we end for the day.”
“Let’s hear it.”
“Can an incantor, I don’t know, overpower a vampire if they are strong enough?”
Elora looks at me confused, then shakes her head. “No, it is not possible. Even if we are strong beyond measure, Vryko supplies us our magic. The land was made to favor the vampires, never giving a single incantor too much power.”
I slowly nod my head up and down, taking in her words.
“Why do you ask?”
“Oh, I am just curious. Like I said, you all really interest me.”
She smiles. “Well, please ask me anything you would like to know. I am here to give you answers.”
“Good to know,” I say.
I look up at the clock, seeing that I have a few more hours until dinner. I stand up from the desk and say goodbye to Elora before leaving the healer’s wing for the evening.
Elora’s words helped, but the feeling in my stomach about Ivorie has not gone away. It is stuck there screaming at me that something is wrong.
I do not plan on ignoring it this time.