Chapter 26
April 9th - Grythen
Kismette
Jeremy led Kismette to the netted chair and nodded for her to sit. Kismette sat down slowly with her eyes still wondering around, taking in the sight of all the unusual flora and fauna the palace garden offered. It was a hot sunny day and the sun was shining into the sunshade, reflecting light from the polished wooden platform.
“Remember: concentration is the key. You’ve tried this the past few days in the peace of my library, so I want you to try in a wide, open space. You will find that things like insects and trees can be very distracting,” her mentor cautioned, a kind smile on his face as usual. “Once you’ve gotten the hang of it, you’ll be able to heal and talk to people or watch the television at the same time.”
Kismette grinned and nodded earnestly. She touched her braids carefully and tucked the loose strands of her hair under the knots. “Let’s start.”
Jeremy brought out a hare from the cardboard box on the floor and placed it on the round, rattan table in front of her.
The animal shivered in pain. Kismette resisted an innate urge to pat it comfortingly and wrap her healing hands around it. She closed her eyes and summoned for the energy from her star. It was like a connection she had never felt before-surreal yet potent. The magic from the enchanted well buried thousands of meters underneath Quesdeja soil opened a door in her. It was as though a satellite in her body was finally tilted to the correct angle to receive her star’s signals, and the power from her star gushed towards her like a tide released from behind a dam. The energy from her star filled the core of her bones and poured out from her pores. She could have sworn her skin was glowing from the power, except that no one else could see or sense another’s star energy.
And yet, this power is infinite. Kismette smiled to herself in the knowledge that the more energy she uses from her star, the stronger her star grows and the more energy it releases.
She put her palms out without touching the rabbit, trying to locate its injury through her star instead of through her vision. Immediately, millions of other life forms came to her attention-scurrying rats, unseen in their network of underground subway below her feet; marching ants, directing food to their treasure cove; billions of blades of grass, waving in unison under the invisible hands of the gentle wind. They all radiated a kind of heat that never scalded her, a kind of brightness that never blinded her. It was something she could sense but not feel physically.
Wounds, especially the fresh ones, showed up as pools of intense red, attracted by her healing energy. Kismette realized that the hare broke both its hind legs. She looked up at Jeremy to confirm that thought and he nodded.
“It leaped across a fence and landed directly into a trap. We’ve given it painkillers, but it’s probably worn off by now,” her teacher explained. “Now, focus.”
Kismette nodded. She knew what she had to do next.
With great, conscious effort from her mind, Kismette pushed the energy coursing throughout her body to gather at her palms. Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she shifted her hands towards the hare slowly and touched the mammal gently, withholding the streams of energy in her hands. She counted to ten before trying to look away from her hands, but her energy was flowing towards the injured creature too easily like iron to magnets, especially when it was already concentrated at her hands. The sun was merciless today and beads of sweat were forming on her skin, sliding a ticklish line down her back.
I can’t look up or I will not be able to hold my power in.
Jeremy gave her a half-surprised smile. “Ah, looks like you can sense it better than most healers do,” he said. “Good, at least you know where it is going and have control over it,” he nodded in approval. “Now heal it. And know when to stop,” he added.
Kismette guided the energy slowly, checking its surging flow. She smiled to herself in contentment. This was the easy part. Healing was simple, if not downright natural for her. Nonetheless, Jeremy had praised her yesterday. He said that she learnt fast and they were ahead of schedule. That made her swell with so much pride she thought she could float in the sky. The matron had always said she was slow and never bothered to teach her to read.
The session soon ended, faster than Jeremy had anticipated. Kismette touched her hair again to check if they were getting loose. She could not wait for Jeremy to dismiss her so that she could run to Evelynn’s room for another round of cards and play dress up. Evelynn promised to let her use her new curling tongs which would arrive this morning. She stood up right after Jeremy did.
“You did a fantastic job today, Kismette. I’ll push the infirmary visit forward by one week then. Tomorrow, you will be dealing with real patients,” Jeremy said as he picked the hare up from the table.
“T-tomorrow?” Kismette gulped. She stared at the hare and it twitched its ears back at her.
“Yes, tomorrow. I’ll see you at the army's infirmary at ten ante meridiem. Ten before noon,” he clarified before the question in her head formed spoken words. “Rest early tonight and eat more.”
Kismette nodded obediently, but looked down and raised her eyebrows sceptically when Jeremy had walked a distance away. He had always asked her to sleep more and eat more, saying that she will need a lot of energy for this, but she had never felt tired. Energy was needed to maintain the bond between her and her star, but even the last few long sessions in his library didn’t tire her in any infinitesimal amount.
And, she definitely didn’t want to start growing horizontally when she had already stopped growing vertically.
Jeremy strode down the paved trail towards the palace and met Chairon who was on the way out. The two men exchanged words and Chairon released a loud laughter like how he always did after saying or hearing a joke, then started walking towards the sunshade.
Kismette thought he was just passing by until she become conscious that his eyes was fixed on her. He stood in front of her and held out a bouquet of roses, tied together with a dark blue satin ribbon. “Surprise!” he beamed at her. “Twenty roses, the prettiest ones, grown in the richest soil from the best farm of Quesdeja for the prettiest twenty-year-old in the whole wide world.”
The long line of foreword fell on deaf ears as Kismette failed to catch the praise in it. Instead, she gasped in pure delight, her eyes glued to the bouquet as she examined the roses in their full glory. The enchanted blossoms were in the warmest, brightest pink possible and grew the biggest bulbs she had yet to see.
“Thank you!” she exclaimed without looking up. The stems were smooth yet decked in spikes while the grooved petals had a feathery texture underneath her fingers. Oh what lovely details the roses possessed!
In a sudden move, Chairon brought her hand up and kissed the back of it. Kismette snapped out of her daydream and flinched, her hand almost tugged out of his palms had he not held on to it.
“I apologize for my insolence, Mistress Larazest,” Chairon said gently and released her hand.
Kismette shook her head to mean that she was not offended, her chocolate brown hair catching the sun. It was just that he shocked her by doing that. Feeling awkward, she quickly looked around for something to say. Helpless, she held out the bouquet to him.
“Why a bunch of roses?” she asked.
Chairon’s face fell. He looked at her outstretched hand, as if she meant to return his gift. “You don’t like it?”
Kismette felt guilty at once. “No, no, no! I don’t mean it like that. I mean… Why are you giving me flowers?” she tried again. “Is it a… a flower day today?” she suggested, mindful of how stupid it sounded.
Chairon’s face lit up with his handsome smile again. “Nope, but maybe you can register a Flower Day in our national calendar and declare it a holiday. The schoolchildren are going to love you for that. Happy Flower Day!” He broke into an easy laughter again. Kismette decided to stop questioning him and laughed along instead.
“So, um, thank you. For the roses. They're lovely.”
“I’d send you flowers everyday if it pleases you so,” he gave her a charming smile.
Kismette sucked in a deep breath, not knowing how to get out of a situation like this. Nobody had ever said anything like this to her before. The heat was getting to her and she felt like going indoors for an iced drink.
The tower clock chimed, breaking their conversation. Chairon checked his watch-a gold framework studded with jewels at the side-and bowed at her. “Excuse me, milady,” he mimicked the low booming voice of generals in movies, “but I have an army to command.” He finished his antics with a grand bow and gave her a wink before walking briskly towards the palace.
Kismette tried to suppress her smile, but she still felt it on her face. She danced with the bouquet all the way home.
I wanna take this opportunity to thank the poster of this secret:
I can't believe anyone would do a nice secret about CS. You don't know how happy you've made me! :D Thank you so much, secret poster!
Also, I have a picspam for you guys to kill time with. :D A real spam this time round.
I'll most probably be putting this on hiatus soon. I'm... not doing as well in school as I would like to and no matter how much I love writing CS, school simply has to come first. :\ In any case, my holidays are in December so even if this takes a break here, it won't be for too long. :) Thank you for sharing this journey with me.
Love,
Ning
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