Chapter 31 #2
I immediately felt embarrassed. Why hadn’t I thought of that before bringing them? I turned around and proclaimed, “They’re friendly, I promise!”
The crowd continued to give us a wide berth as the people all went about their business.
I looked at the girls and made a sad, pouty face. “You both are just too menacing for your own good.”
Astra nudged up against me and gave me her goofy, toothy grin, while Nocturna stood stoic and expressionless. All right, so maybe it was only believable that one of them was friendly.
Trailing at a safe distance so as not to scare anyone further, Nocturna, Astra, and I watched Thea stop by shop after shop, buying up almost all the breads, buns, fruits, and cheeses.
I looked at her arms, loaded with baskets of goods. “Are you planning on eating that all yourself?” I joked.
Thea stuck her tongue out at me as we continued on our journey toward the healer’s shop.
“This is for the healer. I understand it might not be the same where you are from, but here they are the heartbeat of this community. Anyone who needs anything, man, woman, or child, goes to them. They deserve as much help as they can get.”
Within a few minutes, we had reached the healer’s shop.
It appeared much more inviting in the daylight than it had when I had last tried to approach it.
During the short walk up to the shop, several women came and went.
Not that I ever really doubted anything Thea said, but I hadn’t been expecting the healer’s shop to be as busy as it was.
I felt angry and upset that this was what I had been missing back home.
This sense of support and community had been ripped away from me and the women of my village because of the fanaticism of the Cult of Children.
Had I been allowed to practise my craft freely, without restraint or prejudice, I, too, could have been the heartbeat of the village.
A place anyone could come to for support.
We made our way up the uneven wooden steps and opened the door to the sagging brick shop.
I turned to Nocturna and Astra. “Maybe it’s better if you two wait outside. Preferably not by the door.”
Nocturna and Astra looked at me and whined.
“Please?”
With synchronized huffs, they sauntered over to the other side of the street, taking up post across from the healer’s shop.
A bell dinged overhead to announce our arrival.
The faint smell of spearmint and eucalyptus welcomed us as we entered the shop.
A threadbare rug lay across the entryway, lined by well-worn chairs occupied by waiting patrons.
Pale blue linen curtains hung from ceiling to floor, separating the waiting area from the remainder of the healer’s shop.
Moments later a friendly voice called out, “Hello! How can I help you?”
An older woman with bronze skin and long, curly salt-and-pepper hair stepped out from behind the curtain, wiping her hands on her soiled, once white apron.
Thea held up her baskets of food. “We came by to drop off some goods for you and your patients, and to offer our services for the day.”
The healer looked at Thea skeptically. “And what services do you offer, may I ask?”
Thea placed the baskets of food on a nearby counter and pulled off her gloves, stuffing them in her cloak pocket.
“My friend and I are healers from a small village in the Moonstone Court. We joined our lady on her journey here to celebrate the return of the Prince. We were given the morning off, so we thought we would come by and see if we could help. I know how busy we are in our tiny village. I can only imagine how busy you are.”
The woman walked over to inspect the food Thea had brought, grabbed an apple, and cleaned it off on her dirty apron.
“I’m surprised your mistress let you go for the morning.
The fae here aren’t exactly known for their benevolent behaviour.
” She took a large bite of the apple. The crunching sound echoed through the now silent waiting area.
The patrons sat in their chairs, craning their necks to watch our conversation.
The woman pointed her finger at me. “You, go ahead and check in with the new arrivals. And then get them set up in whatever free space you find in the back,” she ordered between chews.
She turned to Thea. “And you. Grab this food and disperse it among the patients. A lot of them haven’t had a good, nutritious meal in days. They could use the pick-me-up.”
Thea reached out her hand. “I am Thea, and this is Aurelia. Thank you for letting us assist you today …”
The woman reached out her hand, accepting Thea’s welcoming gesture.
“Maria. And thank you for your generous offer of help. It is much appreciated. Recent events involving the prince’s disappearance have caused quite a stir and unrest in our quarter.
People have been targeted and roughed up or gone missing entirely, all because of the king’s delusion that dark arcana or the Obsidian Court is involved.
And for reasons unknown to any of us, that means humans are involved. ”
Thea’s brows furrowed as she listened to Maria talk about the toll the dark arcana hysteria brought about by King Julian was having on them.
“For every fae they drag to the gallows, they take a handful of humans to their dungeons, never to be seen again. Such formidable beings with their arcana, they seem to be completely overtaken by human persuasion, apparently. Too weak to ignore our dark agendas,” Maria said derisively.
It was obvious that Maria held no love for her fae ruler, and she wasn’t shy about sharing her thoughts on the matter. She reminded me so much of Magda. She had fire and a desire to help and protect those she cared about. It was inspiring.
I took off my cloak and hung it up on the tall coat rack that stood beside the front door.
Maria quickly went into the back and returned with two aprons for Thea and me to wear. “We can talk later. Now, let’s get to work.” She tossed the aprons at us.
I nodded, put on the large apron, rolled up my sleeves, and got to work.
*
A few hours had passed when we stopped for a quick bite to eat and some tea before carrying on into the early afternoon.
Maria, Thea, and I all sat in silence as we processed our morning.
I couldn’t stop thinking about the sheer number of women I had helped treat, almost all of whom were at some varying stage of pregnancy.
Their mental well-being was as varied as their physical health.
Some were quite coherent, whereas others were in another realm entirely.
Maria had shared her opinions on the use of fae arcana to keep the women they used as surrogates young and “operational,” and to say she was not a fan was putting it lightly.
“How long have you been a healer in this community, Maria?” I asked as I finished up my tea.
“Personally, I have been a healer for sixty years. My family has provided the healers of this quarter for generations, dating back to when the first humans occupied these lands after the conflict with the Obsidian Court. This was not how I wanted to spend my life, but I was the only girl born to my mother, so I had no choice.”
My heart hurt as Maria shared her story.
It felt all too familiar. Maria explained that magic existed in very few human bloodlines through a distant fae relative.
In those bloodlines, the ability to use it existed only in women and girls.
This was why healers in all the human settlements were women.
This also explained how it forced the women of her family into their roles.
They had no choice but to serve as healers.
Sure, they could leave, but walking away, leaving hundreds of people in their community without care, was a callous decision that was very rarely made.
“I overheard one of the guardians at the palace talking about their surrogate and that she had to be close to two hundred years old now,” I said. “I believe her name is Annika. Do you know her?”
Maria looked at me with a sad and tired expression. “Yes, I know sweet Annika. She has been here longer than several families. It’s quite sad, really.”
“How many fae children has she had over the years?”
“At last count, she was well over one hundred pregnancies. Only one of those was her own, a child who has long since died of old age.” Maria’s fists grew white as she clenched her apron.
“Every spring solstice, when the fae come around to gather her, I do my best to intervene on her behalf. I’ve begged and pleaded for them to leave her be.
She has long since lost her mind and has no clue who she even is anymore.
At this point, death would be a mercy for her.
But every year, they ignore me, some years more painfully than others, as they herd up the child-bearing women of this quarter like cattle for the slaughter.
” Maria’s face reddened as she shared the horrors that the fae put her people through.
“The king abused our generosity and turned it into a sacrifice that every household must make to stay here. If they play nice, they allow these families to remain without issue and let them have one child of their own whenever the king deems it acceptable. Those who fight back are beaten or killed for their efforts. The women disappear and are never to be seen again.” Maria took a long sip from her cooled tea.
“We cannot continue to live this way. Something has to change.”
Thea smiled ruefully at Maria. “I agree. Something has to change. But what?”