The Naturalistic

CHAPTER 8

He let's go off me and starts to move towards my uncle's tent, taking his warmth back with him, but I don't move an inch. My feet go cold. Nobody has ever been so kind to me. What is he trying to tell me?

"I-I don't understand." I stutter as I jog towards him and my hand movement reminds me of my injured wrist, sending a sharp pain through me and I grunt.

"You don't need to." He says again taking my hand gently. "Let's go heal it before it gets worse, we can talk about it later, okay?"

"Okay." I nod along. I remember Sam telling me about his past, They whisper his past was not kind to him. Could it be the reason for his such behaviour? Why no one else talks or trains with him. He is always alone during his practice and training or at least whenever I see him, there is no one else with him. His past. It's not a good time and a good idea to ask him what's the story of his past? He won't tell me and I don't blame him. We barely know each other and the reason he is talking with me is that he's my trainer, not my. . . Friend. Or at least that's what I have heard. Work to work.

Now standing in front of my uncle's tent he, asks, "Victor, it's Rick and Evy, is it okay if we come in?"

He opens up the zipper of his tent and smiles when he sees us. "Yeah, how can I help you two?"

"While practising earlier today, Evy dislocated her wrist by mistake," Rick explains.

"Oh, dear!" My uncle exclaims. "Are you okay? Does it hurt much? Let me see."

"It was an accident, I'm okay," I say.

I bring forward my hand and he takes it carefully. Again, pain shoots inside me because of the movement.

"I fixed it back to its place, but it needs to be healed completely," Rick says.

"Thank my houses, if you would have kept it dislocated, it would have hurt you worse than this." I look towards Rick, silently thanking him with a smile, he offers me the same in response and looks back at my wrist which my uncle is examining.

"All right, it's not much, but as Rick said it has to be healed completely, so keep your hand as steady as possible." He says and I fight the urge to snap at him that my hand is not moving since past few minutes. He gestures me to sit on his bed and I do, but Rick goes and stands near the opening of the tent, folding his arms. My uncle's tent is not bad to stay in for a single person. It has a bed, which is enough for one person to sleep on, a table which is spoiled with all of his books and a closet.

He brings a lantern and places it on the table next to us to get a better view of my injury. Again taking my hand in his, he closes his eyes, but I keep mine open. Holding my wrist with one hand, he brushes his fingers of the other hand on top of it. I expect pain shooting up in me again or at least a little twitch, but rather I feel the pain easing in me, it's reducing. After a few minutes, he let go of my hand and smiles.

"Done." He says.

"Done?" I ask startled. If it would have been to heal without magic, that would at least take a couple of months and with it free pain.

"Yes done, your Majesty." He laughs. "There is a reason why we are called the Healers."

"Healers indeed." I smile back.

Again I try moving my wrist and expect it to hurt, but it moves freely without any pain.

"Further in our lessons, I'll teach you how to do it and to heal many more things."

"Exciting," I say. "Thank you for this and also sorry to disturb you."

"Oh come on, that's my job." He replies.