Vallen: The Marking (Vallen series #1)

Chapter 27

My shoulder was messed up. Vallens don't have regular hospitals, so people thought I was crazy when I asked for pain medication. Instead, they just started plucking the pieces of fabric that were stuck in the wound out without any medication.

Thank god for Alaric. At first I thought he was offering me his hand to squeeze in, but instead he used his, entirely underdeveloped, gift on me. He couldn't get rid of all the pain yet, but it did help me a lot.

I had watched Eldon's cut close on its own within five minutes during Gift Search. But he was already three years into the transformation. I was only a little over half a year in, I didn't nearly heal as quick as him. I was basically still a human.

There was an old lady down in the village who helped me the first two days after the fire. She was qualified as the medic, but she rarely had to do anything for it. Vallens, unless they are newly marked, never get sick. She was the town medic, and not meant to tend to students. The only thing she sometimes had to do is get shards out of wounds. She clearly wasn't ready for an overnight guest and couldn't hide the happiness on her face when I finally left.

I didn't see anyone beside Alaric and his brothers during my stay with her. No one came to visit me nor could any of the brothers tell me what happened after I passed out. It seemed like everyone was kept in the dark.

Then, my mentor showed up.

"I am sorry about the wait Eira." He said, looking around the dusty room. There were many shelves with natural healing herbs and remedies in it. Darius told me that they were to heal the mind, not the body. Smell this flower when you're sad or eat this baby mouse when your spouse ran off with someone younger. Some Vallens believed in it religiously.

"It's fine." I answered, sitting up in the bed. It creaked loudly under my weight. Actually, it creaked literally every time I dared to move. 

For the first day, it was almost unbearable to not have Alaric with me. Every time I moved it felt like I was getting burned all over again. My shoulder was the worst, but I also had burns on my neck and face. Some of my hair also didn't survive the fire. I didn't really care about that though, more about the giant scars, until I was reminded that I eventually would heal completely.

"First of all," He smiled kindly at me. "Thank you." I laughed, careful not to move my shoulder too much in the progress. "Most of the infirmary was full of students that inhaled too much smoke and the water benders that all exhausted themselves too much." He sat at the end of my bed. "We wanted to make sure that you got the proper attention for the burns. Most students are breathing normally again, so I can now take you up to the castle."

My lungs healed much quicker than my shoulder. Darcia, the medic, told me that it was my bodies way of prioritising. Breathing is much more important than being able to move my left arm, so it started the healing process with that first.

I got offered a wheelchair, but immediately refused. I was dying to stretch my legs, but mostly I was eager to get out of this godforsaken hole as quickly as possible.

"The headmaster is holding a special feast tomorrow night." Professor Lourdes said as we walked onto the towns main road. I had pretty much guessed that the medic's office wouldn't be close to the school. It was too noisy. Most people stared at me as we walked by, but that was probably because of my bandaged shoulder and burned face.

"It's to honour you and the group of students that immediately sprung into action." He explained. "The headmaster requested you to be there, but if you're not up for it yet it's also fine."

"I think I'll be able to do it." I said, ignoring the throbbing pain in my shoulder that increased with each step I took. A feast to honour the group of lost puppies that were stupid enough to run headfirst into the fire. Vallens sure are odd. 

It did lift my spirits quite a bit though. No one but Alaric and his brothers had come to visit me, a painful reminder that I hadn't gotten close to anyone else. The fact that the entire school would get to hear that the human girl helped out in the fire would definitely help my reputation.

"Classes started again on Friday." He continued. "Again you are excused if you don't feel up to it, but I highly recommend going. You shouldn't miss any classes." I could tell he was hinting at my humanness but I didn't care. He was right, I had to attend every class if I wanted to prove professor Kamau wrong about dumb humans.

My hand instinctively wrapped around my tattooed arm. It always gave me a small glister of hope, knowing that even if I become the first Vallen without a gift that at least I did get marked.

In the heat of the fire, literally, I hadn't noticed it happening, but my tattoo expanded. Now, slightly to the right of the web of Wyrd, there was a new one. The Lauwers brothers and I had been discussing what it could be non stop. Darius and Alaric thought it looked like a log, representing the burning logs in the fire. Eldon was more practical and thought the details of what it was would be filled in after I was done healing.

The tattoo reminded me of my family. Every Christmas my mother made us the same desert. It was a french cake called 'buche de noel'. The cake itself was shaped like a log, hence the confusion the brothers had, but had a chocolate swirl in the middle when my dad cut it open. 

My tattoo had the same swirl. Madelena and I always fought over the last piece, and then my parents would make stupid jokes about us embodying the Christmas spirit. Still, they never stopped cutting it in uneven pieces.

"Professor," I said, thinking back to what Darius had told me when I showed him the fresh tattoo. "I think my tattoo expanded during the fire." I rolled up my sleeve and showed him.

Darius said that tattoos don't expand before the Vallens gift is found. He said that it was impossible and that I therefore must have found it during the fire. Except I couldn't think of any incredible things I did that someone else, even a human, couldn't have done. Maybe my gift was extra bravery, as Eldon suggested, one of the most useless gifts ever on a constantly scared person.

Professor Lourdes tried to hide his surprise, but failed miserably. He stared at the cake or log on my arm for a few seconds before regaining his composure and getting his face back in check.

"Congratulations. The heroes saw your heroic deed and rightfully marked it on your arm." He didn't say anything else the entire way back to school.