"I think she's waking up." A muffled voice expressed worryingly. The voice was indistinguishable in the haze that surrounded my head.
"Aoibheann, can you hear me? How many fingers am I holding up?" the same voice questioned, now panicked.
"Her eyes aren't even open yet Haniyya, you moron!" A second voice exclaimed. This voice was deep and rough but it also held a playfulness tone.
My head fog was starting to fade and my heavy eyelids slowly fluttered open to seem my two best friends knelt at either side of my body.
"The cave roof looks particularly foreboding from this angle." I grumbled, cautiously eyeing the Stalactites dangling precariously some 60 feet above our heads. I tried to sit up and a sharp pain shot through the back of my head causing me to feel simultaneously nauseous and dizzy.
"Whoa there, you hit your head pretty hard; you're going to need to see a healer." My friend Kaden said. Kaden was 5"8, although he'd tell you he was 6", with short blonde hair and two big grey pools for eyes. There was always a cocky smirk playing on his lips and a mischievous glint in his eyes. He was classically handsome with a strong jaw line. He helped me up, lifting me with ease into his strong, muscular arms. I wrapped my arms around his neck, grateful that I didn't have to even attempt to walk. I rested my heavy head on his chest, listening to his heart beat and fighting the urge to sleep. We'd known each other since infancy, he was just 6 months younger than me and we were more like siblings than friends, we often bickered like them too.
Keeping in step next to him, my friend Haniyya was almost frail by comparison. She was 5" with long, flowing, ginger locks. She had a lovely, curvy figure, a beautiful soul with kind, deep brown eyes and a gentle smile that revealed two adorable dimples on either cheek. Her face, we would say, had been caressed by the Fae Folk. Meaning there was an abundance of freckles that danced around her cheeks. Often underestimated; it was easy but never wise to be taken in by her soft appearance. Although usually gentle in nature, there was a strong fire that burnt behind her eyes and her feistiness, mixed with a sharp tongue, often led her in to trouble, especially with the elders. My mother used to say me and Haniyya could have been sisters when we were younger. We were built of a similar curvy stature, me just being the tiniest bit slimmer and 2 inches taller. Where her eyes were brown, mine were green. Just subtle differences between made it appear like we could be sisters and growing up we were often mistaken for each other. It was always a privilege to be mistaken for someone as graceful as Haniyya. I made friends with the floor at a young age, I was hoping to have grown out of my clumsiness but it appears more like I grew into it.
We made our way through a series of short, dark and damp tunnels, all lit by torches of fire, and a few of the smaller caverns, eventually arriving in the main cave, which was essentially the city centre. Big wooden structures circled the vast cavern, lit by what we call 'witch light'. These were small balls of light that came in all colours, although most used white light. Directly in the centre was a raised platform, decorated with sigils and Nordic runes. On the platform laid an altar of black marble. The altar held candles, crystals, offerings and all manner of tools to connect to spirits and gods alike. At the moment we were drawing on Aphrodite, for a spring of fertility. Because of this, rose quartz and rose petals were sprinkled all over the altar, along with a couple dozen pink and red candles, all lit and burning.
The many wooden structures in the outer circle, compiled of; a green house like building (we used magic to ensure the growth of both flowers and food); a spell workshop; a practise arena; a butchers; a healing house; a candle and essential oils shop.
This particular cavern is the exact one I was born in and so there is a plaque stating when our city was founded, in dedication to both me and my mother.
We made our way hastily towards the healing house, Kaden occasionally shouting "make way" and "excuse me" as he weaved in and out of people, me still clinging to his neck.
He climbed up the four steps at the front of the healing house and moved with purpose towards the main desk. The strong sent of Myrrh incense filled our noses on entering. They burned this frequently due to the healing properties it provided. I inhaled deeply and allowed its smell to fill me, to some extent relieving the nausea and dizziness.
The man on reception led us down a corridor and into a room. The room was laid out like a massage parlour. A flat bed was in the centre of the room. White candles burned and relaxing music played. Myrrh incense burned in here too. Kaden placed me gently down on the bed and I was instructed to lie on my stomach, my face through a hole in the head rest. Staring at the dark, wooded floor meant I was unaware of what was going on around me; all I could here was the occasional shuffling of feet. I heard the door open and seconds later, two feet in brown roman sandals appeared in my line of vision. A warm tingling sensation spread through my head. The soothing heat relaxed me and I soon felt myself becoming weary and began drifting off into a deep sleep.