He turned around and stared at her astonished wide eyes. He did not know what to make of it so he turned fully to face her, clearing his throat in the process. He started feeling self-conscious, something her had felt in a long time.
"I, I am sorry for my discourtesy, Lord Theon. I just did not expect-"
"I understand, not every day you come across something like this. Now, my question is, are you able to heal this type of wound, princess?" Lord Theon was staring right into her wide eyes, the intensity started to make her feel self-conscious about the seriousness of the situation at hand. His honey eyes seemed to be staring right at her soul, making her stay anchored to the ground. It wasn't until time seemed to go by for too long that she realized she had not answered his question,
"Yes, I can heal your wound." The princess spoke so fast, that even she was barely able to make out her response. The dragon Lord blinked once, twice, trying to fathom what had just happened between them. He shook his head, trying to push it aside.
"Very well, the answer pleases me. Let's get started, the sooner I heal, the better for both of us." He was implying something that was supposed to be obvious but was not clear for her to understand.
She nodded, hoping this was easier than it looked. She motioned for him to sit down on the white, wool rug that lay near the fireplace. The fireplace was lit, giving the room a warmer feeling. He sat down on one side of the rug, crossed-leg, facing the fireplace. She decided to stretch her arms while he accommodated himself.
She let out a deep breath and knelt down behind him, no sound was heard, except for the shuffling of her body on the rug. She straightened her back and was about to touch his back but decided not to do so before asking for permission.
"If your highness allows me, I will be starting, if there comes a moment where you feel uncomfortable, please do not hesitate to tell me. I'll stop immediately," She was staring at the back of his head since his face was away from her. His only response was a single nod. She bit her lip when her right palm came in contact with his middle back, his body reacted immediately, it seemed to flinch away from her touch for a second before going back to his previous position. He cleared his throat, maybe he felt embarrassed by his natural reaction.
Her mind started working at those sudden movements. She wondered if he had reacted that way due to a lack of physical touch or if he was simply not used to someone treating his wound this way.
"Please extend your left arm out, with fingers wide open." She waited for him to maybe hesitate but he complied immediately. She kept her right palm on his back while her left hand gingerly ran her fingers along the length of his arm muscles. Her right hand followed her left, tracing his arm muscles slowly but with more pressure. She was trying to figure out where was the root of the damage; yet, before she could finish checking his bicep he flinched, his muscles contracting at the same time. She paused, waiting for him to compose himself again.
While he did and undid his fist, clearly in pain, she picked up a small porcelain cup and took a big scoop of green ointment. Beforehand, she had asked Zella to create it with the herbs Krystle had ordered, after all, she was more trusted than Krystle was. Krystle took hold of Lord Theon's elbow safely, not wanting to hurt him, and applied the ointment in a slow, meticulous manner. At first, it felt cold, almost like her hands. Lord Theon had never come across a human with cold skin such as the princess before him.
Her skin felt like silk against his rougher one, all he could do was stare in awe at her cautiousness. He thought she was being absurd by treating him like he was a tenuous creature that needed a delicate treatment. It wasn't until she applied pressure on his upper arm that he bit his tongue from the sudden pain that engulfed his bicep. He bit back his previous thoughts as he almost told her to be gentle. Almost.
She leaned her body sideways, trying to get a glance at his face, to see if he was in pain since he didn't really complain yet. She massaged the area, trying to see if his nerves were damaged, she decided to keep going to his arm until she reached his wrist. She massaged it softly, but at certain points, she gave some pressure on areas she was uncertain about.
"Are you enjoying my pain, princess?" His voice sounded contorted in agony, as small beads of sweat started forming on the sides of his forehead. Krystle gulped, not noticing his misery. She knew that it would be painful but maybe he did not expect this at all.
"I am analyzing your nerves and tendons… It was not my intention to torment you with this pain my Lord. Usually, when something like this happens, like in your case your wing, the problem is detected on the same side, it might be a ripped tissue or a nerve is damaged, but it may also be that the bone may be broken. If that were the case though, you wouldn't be able to move it at all from the pain. This is beyond my knowledge. Unless-"
"Unless what?" The dragon Lord gave her a side glance, he seemed rather desperate for her answer, and she stared back into his eyes, her gaze never faltering.
"Unless magic was involved. I can sense that besides the damage that is physically causing my Lord torment is a spell or some sort of magic that lingers in your body."
Lord Theon faced away from her, confirming her suspicions. She nodded to herself as many thoughts and questions invaded her mind.
"Remember to not ask any questions." His voice was deeper and menacing, but it did not scare her much then.
"I did not ask any questions." Krystle took a deep breath, "I might not be able to dissipate the magic but I can assure you, your wing will be whole again. I promise." Her last words were spoken in such a manner, that he believed her. Her promise sounded as if she had foreseen the outcome already.
She guided his arm down and got started. She rubbed her palms together, closed her eyes, and slid her palms to opposite sides. She slid them apart, fingers touching fingers; she stopped when the tips of her middle fingers connected. She opened her fingers wider until she felt small portions of her energy leave her body.
Krystle moved her hands forward until her skin almost touched his back. The energy flowed at her will out and into the left side of his bare back. Since she was not healing a disease but a wound, she would not be inhaling anything into her body but rather out.
Time seemed to pass by as her energy flowed out, she was so concentrated that she did not notice when a small drop of blood dripped down from her nose. Her breathing became more irregular and her heartbeat fastened. She opened her eyes and the energy stopped flowing into the dragon's back.
She opened her mouth to speak but was only able to take a huge gulp of air. Her cold hand involuntarily rested against his warm torso as her head spun, breaking her balance. He caught the scent of her blood and the rapid beating of her heart. He turned his head to see her, but his eyebrows furrowed as he caught a small glimpse of her. She looked paler than he had seen her, her eyes were closed but it seemed as though she had no plans of continuing their healing session.
She gulped, trying to hydrate her dry throat but failed miserably. She opened her eyes and noticed her hand was resting against Lord Theon's back. She pulled away quickly, clearing her throat while he kept staring at her.
"You're bleeding." His voice surprised her, so she looked up, confused by his words. Her dumbfounded expression must have said it all as he pointed to her nose. When realization kicked in, she widened her eyes and touched underneath her nose. Indeed, she was having a nosebleed. She looked down and saw a couple of drops on the white rug and immediately apologized.
He ignored her and grabbed her head from both sides, keeping it firmly in his big hands. She stared into his exquisite eyes, amazed by such beauty. He lifted her head backward and applied pressure on her nose with a tissue. She caught on to what was happening and felt herself blush at the thoughts that her mind was creating. For a second, she thought he actually cared, they had shared what seemed an intimate moment.
"I believe today's session is over. You must rest, it is quite late, let's leave this for next time." He stood up as if nothing had happened, as if everything that just happened was normal, nothing special. She blinked a few times as her hazy vision came back to normal before standing up with some difficulty.
She stumbled to stand straight, he helped her steady herself but she pulled away quietly, feeling kind of rejected in a way. She did not understand why, she just felt like being alone, a ton of emotions were taking a toll on her and she needed to rest as he had said. He noticed that she looked kind of lost as if was having a hard time focusing on anything, he was about to extend his hand to help her but remembered she had rejected his hand more than once now. He got the gist that she did not want his help.
"Good night, my Lord." That was all she could muster to speak. The lack of energy had drained her and she did not want anything more than a long bath and a good night's sleep. That she did not have, she was restless all night, her only thoughts were on him, and how in such a short amount of time, he had made her feel so many things that she herself did not comprehend, feelings she had never felt in her twenty-four years of life.