The Last Healer (A Witch's Tale)

Chapter 2: The Vial

(A/N: I would like to dedicate this chapter to "Aliena6194" for adding this story to her reading list :)

(The cover on the right is created by "detailed". Though it didn't make it to my top 3, as promised, your creation has been posted. Thanks again:)

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Chapter 2

It has been four years since Valen became an orphan. It was Valen's birthday the other day and she just returned home yesterday after visiting Yel and prayed for her fellow healers. It is a nice, lovely morning, Valen has been seating on a chair for almost an hour now looking at her few vials on a small round wooden table.

Her new shack built beside a big tree in a vast forest between Algom and Helena is still a walls-and-roof shed, with narrow door but no window; it is still small in size but inside has a chair, a table, a wooden bed, a small cabinet where she keeps her clothes and a drawer where she stores her medicines. Repelias are still planted around the shack to repel wild animals. The shack is a lot sturdier than the one in the Algom forest, as she already became a bit stronger to build a more solid and secured shelter, though she is still petite but curvier compared before - her bosom is a bit smaller compared to other well-endowed ladies, but the shape of her behind looks that she will have no problem in childbearing. However, anyone who will see her wearing her usual trouser and shirt will not be able to appreciate her good, curvy shape. She only wears old, simple dress when going to town to heal and to trade her medicines, not for coins, but for bread, clothes or other things.

Valen now only has two vials left containing odorless and colorless oil that she can use to be able to go to town safely without worries and suspicions as she does not know yet the person or the group that wanted to kill all black, straight-haired healers. It was a total of twenty vials inside the box.

Before, she has been visiting towns twice a week, but almost two years ago, her visits were reduced and now goes to town once a week as much as possible as she needs to use the liquid in the vial wisely. She has not been able to get a lead as to who ordered to kill her fellow Yel townspeople. She thought at first that perhaps it can be somehow from Algom, but after years of treating Algom dwellers, as well as Helena townsfolk since last year, the lead no longer points to anyone in Cellis.

She started healing people in Helena last year as a serious illness had been inflicting child-bearing mothers. She was immediately summoned to Helena after being recommended by an Algomian; she was spotted healing a patient in Algom when she was almost dragged to ride the carriage going to Helena. The patients suffered from a disease called Anoobila, it makes the victims unable to move their joints or feel pricking pain if any of their joints are move. Valen is aware of this disease so all mothers were cured in no time. Lord Thomas heard of the great news as no doctors were able to heal the mothers and would-be mothers. He informed his most trusted lead servant to summon the healer to thank her or perhaps, offer her to stay in the mansion. However, up until the present day, Lord Thomas still was not able to talk or see the healer at least once. He was told by his lead servant that the healer was always able to escape; it already seems she does not want to talk to the king or always wanting to go home immediately. No one even knows where she lives, but Lord Thomas ordered them to continue on their mission so he can properly thank her. He even hopes that she is a black, straight-haired lady healer.

Sighing, Valen puts one vial back to the box in the drawer leaving only one of them on the table. Her stomach growled as she remembered that she has not eaten yet and has been looking on the vials for almost an hour. She grabs her last piece of bread and eat, good thing she will be going to the town, this time to Algom, for her usual business so that means she will be getting new supplies of food and other things. After eating, she change to a simple and old light blue dress over an old chemise, the dress has a long tight bodice that show how small her waist is. She was about to put her hair in a bun when she realized she's not done yet.