CHAPTER 9
Old Friends in New Company I
Just as Fawn as putting her brews and bottles away and reaching for the other ingredients she needed to concoct new mixtures, she heard a knock on the door to the Healer's, where she was.
The young damsel frowned to herself, wondering how she had had an early guest.
She was certain that the grand inauguration ceremony was still underway or only just drawing to a close and any person knocking for her service, in case of a potential injury should either have gotten involved in some brawl already.
On the other hand, with Chief Physician Monto still on the board, conducting the course of the Ceremony, there was no way he had returned already.
Pushing all these thoughts to the back of her mind, Fawn gingerly made her way to the door and quietly opened it.
There was a Princess standing there before her eyes with orange hair and green eyes that were brimming with something akin to fear. But beneath the great difference in appearance, Fawn could not even find the words or voice to express her absolute shock that it was her old friend Fiore in new gear.
"Hello, could you please help me? I've been having very severe cramps this morning, sorry to be a bother", the damsel in princess attire said, and Fawn could read in her eyes that she was making believe something that she wanted her to play along with.
Fiore's eyes shifted momentarily to a figure standing behind her and then back at the Healer's apprentice and the damsel took the hint.
"Of course, my lady. Please step right this way", she nodded, pretending like this was their first meet up and moved behind to allow her entrance into the Healer's study. There was a person in a dark cloak with a hood low over her face who had been standing behind Fiore, making way to step inside with her.
Fawn knew enough that this was unwanted company. "Excuse me, but patients are not allowed to be accompanied in the Healer's space, strictly. It is very private", she said, standing between the door and the inside.
The hooded woman looked up, caught off guard, and shook her head, sneering, "make way, I am the princess' handmaid. I am absolutely required to be by her side at all times. This is demanded of out Imperial Castle that she shall not be without my close company."
"Well, our rules here at the Royal Academy overrule any demands or laws made by any kingdoms. We will not tolerate any of this. Kindly leave her be, she is in safe hands at the Healer's. You may keep a close watch on her outside my premises", Fawn heard her own voice come out confidently, despite her heartbeat hammering against her chest.
She was dizzying with tension, for this was the first time she had spoken with as much authority as she had seen Chief Physician Monto speak. In fact, Fawn was not even sure if it was her place to say any of those, but she had sensed that she had needed to say so in order to defend her friend and she hoped desperately for no consequences.
Thankfully, the handmaid in the dark cloak withdrew, albeit with dissatisfaction.
Closing the door firmly, Fawn turned to see Fiore standing there like a frightened kitten, and her shoulders sagged with a moment of relief after the door was closed and the handmaid was no more within earshot.
The Healer's Apprentice folded her arms and looked at her friend, giving her princess get up a once over before breaking into peels of laughter.
"How is it that every time we find each other, you are always in some sort of full blown predicament?" Fawn asked as she took a seat.
"I don't even know, Fawn", Fiore whined. "It feels so good to see you again though, after everything, like I have a family I can fall back to."
"So what happened? How did you get rich?" Fawn chuckled nodding over at the elaborate gown that had clearly been of opulent background. In fact, from how far she could remember, Fiore did not have fire coloured hair or the plump figure she now had. She had looked just as ravishing, but rather different, with a disheveled and homely charm that she seemed not to have now, with all the glamour.
"Are you a secret heir to the royal fortune and you've finally been reunited with your kingship family, but now there's a shady girl shadowing you?"
"I wish it was as simple as fiction, but I am afraid my reality is far from it", Fiore said, eyes down on her hands as she meddled with the fabric of the gown on her lap.
"I am all ears", Fawn said, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder, before rising to her feet and walking to the counter. "I'll brew us some tea while you tell me."
"So after you had left the Kingdom, in Antaria, I was still living there and could find no proper job to settle in. The inn where I had been staying started becoming unsafe, with many untoward men visiting frequently and giving me unnecessary attention", Fiore began unfolding her story.
Fawn nodded, understanding that feeling all too well. In fact, she had had those problems in the wild where people could seldom meet her and they'd preyed on her when she wasn't even alluring. She couldn't imagine how much Fiore would have had to face.
Bringing the tea for them to drink, Fawn placed the cups on the table by their side and took a seat on the bed to listen.
Fiore went on: "The man that had saved me, the vigilante, would often leave me some money there and I could find no proper job to do. The wife of the Innkeeper seemed to have found that I had been saved from the brothel and despised me to a point where she began spreading word of it. Most places I hoped did not offer me employment and life was rather difficult."
She paused to take a sip of the tea, before continuing, "But it seems the problems of then are nothing compared to now."
"I started feeling guilty for the income that the vigilante was providing me with and decided it was time I stopped being such a burden to him. I wrote a note that I am leaving and took off. I knew there was little scope of hope for me in Antaira and left to the woods, so I could cross it and find my way to the neighboring Kingdom."
Fawn frowned. Having been raised in the woods, she was all too accustomed to the dangers it offered.
"And I lost my way until I was found by a clove of Druids", Fiore said, looking up at her friend through worried eyes.
Fawn gulped.
~