Combat Healer Ch. 09

A full straight minute, of the world existing in darkness, in the middle of the daytime, while my new spell 'Divine Restoration' became the daylight. It was so bright that I felt like I was beginning to hallucinate, a warmth appearing on my jawline, as if a pair of hands had reached out to grab my face, filling me with warmth from my head, down my entire body.

Yet I saw nothing, except the light.

But then the pressure holding my face dissipated.

The warmth began to diminish.

And the light dimmed.

Shockingly, I could still see, as if I hadn't just been staring into the sun. And before me was a tan elf with chestnut hair, lying on her back with a neutral expression as if she were only sleeping, her chest beginning to rise and fall normally.

She was breathing normally.

"Oh my God!" Astaer sobbed, abruptly throwing herself on her sister and kissing her on the forehead as she cried out. "Oh God, you saved her! You really saved her! Oh God!"

Feeling a little dizzy, I almost fell over to my side, barely catching myself with my left hand, as an intense wave of Fatigue washed over me, though I knew it wasn't from the spell. It was a type of severe Fatigue experienced from rapid essence absorption and depletion, something very few people had ever experienced, since rarely did someone need to use thousands upon thousands of essence in such a short amount of time.

"Allister!" Mel abruptly exclaimed, practically dropping to the ground to try to catch me.

But I would be okay.

After all, among the many skills I'd learned in the Dungeon when I was fifteen, there was one that had been particularly useful, allowing me to not even have to cast a spell for my own injuries or ailments. Because, as long as I had enough essence to cover it, my skill would do it for me - so long as I was fine with prioritizing myself.

Skill, Regeneration.

"I'm okay," I managed, the severe Fatigue already dissipating due to my Heal Ailment, Fatigue spell auto-casting. "That was just exhausting."

An Elf Guard spoke up then. "Astaer," he said firmly. "We must go."

Astaer abruptly kissed her sister on the forehead again. "I love you so much," she whispered, only to focus on me. "I am forever in your debt. Please keep her safe until she wakes up."

Another Elf Guard spoke up, this one having a much deeper voice. "We'll have a soldier watch over your sister. We need to bring the Healer with us."

I focused up at the man in question, feeling like I recognized his voice, only to be surprised by who it was. A very muscular elf with graying hair, towered high on a large muscular horse, with an entire cavalry behind him. I'd only ever seen and heard him from a distance before now.

General Vildred.

The literal Head of the Guard.

Old as hell, strong as hell, and strict as hell.

He was practically the Queen's right-hand man, and the only other person he took orders from was his young wife, who was rumored to have him wrapped around her finger. Apparently, the beautiful young blonde elf was also the only reason people knew he had a soft side.

But there wasn't a man in the world who told him what to do, and he certainly acted like it.

Astaer's tone was abruptly pleading. "Please let him heal my mount!" She then urgently looked at me. "Can you save him too? Please tell me you can use that spell again."

I smiled, grabbing the Essence Crystal she didn't seem to realize she was grasping, only to stand up and reach out my other hand to help her up. "Yes. I can save him too."

Oh man, the look of adoration in her gorgeous blue eyes...

And then she stood up.

Fuck, why did elves have to be so tall?!

I mean, she was only a couple of inches taller, but that 'moment' we had going on felt lost the instant she had to incline her head slightly to continue holding my gaze.

Letting go of my hand after a brief squeeze, she turned away and spoke to the nearest Guard riding a horse. "Okay, take me to the Queen immediately," she demanded, marching over and grabbing the guy's offered hand, gracefully mounting the muscular horse behind him.

"Yah!" the man exclaimed, both slapping the reins and kicking the sides with his heels.

Immediately, they were off, the steed bolting at full speed through the Guild gate and rapidly disappearing from sight. Of course, the streets would be clear by now, the sound of the Gryphon signaling everyone to cease travel so that the Guard and Guilds could move freely through the city to assemble wherever they needed to be.

Knowing I was about to deplete almost all my essence again, I went ahead and bent down to grab a couple more Crystals, before heading over to the Gryphon, which was now unconscious as it also slowly died from liquifying.

Fucking Arakna'cabra.

There were other Scourge Beasts that looked similar to mutated insects and such, but this demon was far worse than a normal monster. And by the time all was said and done, I was sure a number of people were going to end up dying gruesome deaths before this emergency was over. Which was probably why General Vildred planned to have me go with him.

Because I'd just done what was previously impossible.

No doubt this would be far from the last time I cast this new spell.

Far from it.

Mel and Val both stayed right at my side as I began using Divine Restoration on the Gryphon, with there being another blinding light for a solid minute, only for Mel to immediately question the General, still on his horse, when he again indicated it was time for me to come with them.

"Can we come too?" Mel asked seriously.

"No," he said decisively, his deep voice having an air of authority.

He certainly ended that conversation.

I fished in my pocket for my room key, as well as some silver coins, handing them off to her.

"I'll be fine. Feel free to explore the Guild while I'm gone, or relax in my room if you want. Maybe get Val something to eat, since I doubt she's had lunch."

Mel's gold eyes were somber. "Okay," she said quietly, accepting the key and coins.

"Love you," I replied warmly.

Her gold eyes lit up, only for her to abruptly throw her arms around me tightly. "Love you too, Allie," she whispered. "See you when you get back."

Pulling away, I turned to General Vildred who held out his hand to help me get on his horse. However, when I accepted it, he immediately pulled me up in front of him like a fucking child! No way in hell was I riding through the city like this! No fucking w-

"Yah!" he commanded, his muscular steed immediately bursting into a gallop, like its tail was suddenly in flames.

Fuck, my shoulders slammed into General Vildred so violently, that I realized that this was much less embarrassing than falling off the moment he started going.

Oh well, things could be worse.

Racing through the city, I discovered that it was actually more empty than I was expecting, with almost no one in plain sight. But then again, it was early afternoon, and I wouldn't be surprised if all the taverns were stuffed right now, since the average folk couldn't really do anything about the situation, except take the day off.

The Queen's castle was on the northwestern side of the city, overlooking the western side of the northern lake, and it was almost like its own little town that was sectioned off from the rest of the capital. Similar to the massive stone walls that encompassed the main part of the city, there was a massive wall leading to the castle, with a heavily guarded gate that was now lined with something like fifty Elf Guards.

The castle itself was built on a hill, but almost all the paths running through the place were completely flat, with massive stones steps allowing one to go from one level to the next. Of course, I was sure they had normal areas where carts could easily pass, but the horses climbed the steps to the main massive courtyard area so quickly that I was sure they'd done it a thousand times.

We then bolted past some stone buildings and a gurgling fountain, only to arrive at the main entrance, massive steps leading up to enormous pillars that created a large open chamber that would shield one from the rain much like a typical house porch might do.

Really, that's exactly what it was, except just on a much larger scale.

The ceiling was so high that ten people could stand on each other's shoulders and still not reach it.

Helping me dismount just after the fountain, General Vildred proceeded to get down too, along with six other Elf Guard, only to escort me up the stone steps to wait on whatever was next. The moment we got to the top, the General snapped his fingers and one of the men took off in a hurried walk into the massive interior, aiming for the enormous wooden doors where even more guards were stationed.

I focused up on the huge man. "So now what?" I wondered.

"Now, we wait," he said simply, not amused.

I sighed. Of course we'd be waiting, since it wasn't like the Queen had called me here. Rather, upon me healing Celestine, he made the executive decision to bring me along, assuming that the Queen might want to speak to me, or at least use me to help in this emergency.

And it made sense that he'd anticipate her requests anyway, considering that the Queen had been in power for nearly a hundred years, and I was pretty sure that General Vildred had been the head of the Guard for almost as long as she'd ruled.

Nearly a hundred years that he'd served underneath her.

But having to wait was fine.

This was the kind of thing I lived for. To help others.

And maybe, in the event my earlier conversation with Sylvia did result in me ending up with a target on my head, then I felt confident this would allow me to escape a potential problem. Essentially, I was too valuable at this point to be silenced...or so I hoped.

It was kind of rough having a Ruler I didn't really know, because a part of me was sincerely devoted to the Queen, knowing how her policies had shaped the kingdom for the better over the last century, while another part of me understood the hard decision such a person had to make.

Which meant that I was someone who would obey her every order, but also was well aware she might get rid of me if I was too much of a liability.

Harsh reality, but that's just how it was.

Especially since I didn't know what kind of a person she really was.

I decided to speak up again, since it was pretty quiet outside, aside from the fountain gurgling.

"I'm really surprised you let me try to heal Celestine for so long. But I thank you."

He scoffed. "Queen's orders."

I looked up at him in shock. "Wait, what? How in the world did she know?"

He scoffed again. "She doesn't know. Not yet."

"But then..."

"Enough talk," he snapped.

I focused on one of the stone pillars, just trying to understand what that could possibly imply. He let me try to help Celestine because of the Queen's orders? And yet the Elf Queen didn't even know about the situation yet. Or at least, she was only now learning of the specific details.

But what could that possibly mean?

What orders?

Shit, none of this made any sense.

Unless...the Queen's orders had to do with Celestine...

Or the Gryphon!

Of course!

The Gryphon was one-of-a-kind, and undoubtedly a valuable asset to the Queen and her kingdom. So of course, the General would know that the Queen would prioritize saving the two of them, especially the Gryphon. Because if we lost him, then the next time there was a serious emergency like this, it might be too late to do anything to stop the worst from happening by the time it was known.

After all, the few hours it likely took that Gryphon to travel through the air would have taken at least a day on horseback, if not two days. And a day or two could make a huge difference, depending on the threat.

Taking a deep breath, I glanced around, seeing all the guards standing at attention in their dark blue uniforms with silver accents, including the metal shoulder armor. Of course, I wasn't exactly tired and had spent a ton of time on my feet, but I'd also learned the value of conserving one's strength, so that it didn't give out in the middle of a fight.

Which meant, I didn't see the point in standing around for however long I had to wait, especially when I knew for a fact the Queen would not be coming out to see me. Which meant she'd never know I wasn't standing at attention while I waited for her. Not unless the topic came up for some reason, but I strongly doubted it would.

Thus, I stepped back and leaned against a stone pillar, only to slide right down on my ass and pull my knees up so I could rest my arms on them.

I almost half expected for the General to say something, but he didn't, just remaining there silently as he waited.

However, no sooner had I sat down than the wooden doors creaked open, and Astaer came rushing out, her chestnut hair looking wild, tearstains still visible on her tan face, her bright blue eyes seeming hopeful.

Of course, I stood right back up.

She glanced at me, but was focused on Vildred as she approached.

"The Queen requests to see you. She's given me permission to attend to my sister."

"Very well," Vildred said in his deep voice. "She should still be at Remnant. You may borrow one of the Guard's steeds." He then turned and immediately began walking at a steady gait, his upper body always looking tense.

His arms certainly didn't move when he walked.

I focused on Astaer again when I realized she was looking at me now.

Before I could even say anything, she abruptly threw herself at me and wrapped her arms around my shoulders, my eyes at her nose level as she hugged me tightly. Honestly, I had never really noticed how lanky she was until now, her wiry body being so thin that I was easily able to wrap my arms fully around her tiny waist to the point that my hands were touching my own upper arms on each side as if I was engulfing her in my embrace. Like dang, she was super skinny.

Yet she was also warm and soft, smelling strongly of the forest in a really amazing way.

"Thank you so much, Allister. I can never fully repay you, but I promise to do everything in my power to try. Call on me for anything, and so long as it does not interfere with my duties to the kingdom, then I will attend to your needs."

I gulped, knowing she probably meant that literally as an open-ended 'I'll do anything you want.' Which was amazing, but also quite the statement to make in front of eavesdropping Guards. Thus, I cleared my throat as we separated, pretending like she only meant that in a professional sense.

"Please give my regards to Celestine. I'm really glad I was able to help her. And your Gryphon. I know he means a lot to you."

She reached up and caressed my cheek briefly, causing my face to flush. "I will, Allister. Thank you," she said warmly, only to turn away and head for the steps.

I tried to control my breathing as I sat back down, though this time for a very different reason.

Fuck, she really just turned me on, and I was starting to show.

No way in hell was she lacking in experience, because a person doesn't get that good at being seductive without a ton of practice. And she really knew how to turn on the charm. And shit, just imagining her long thin body wrapped around mine was almost too much. Suddenly I found both her skinniness and height really arousing.

But I knew I couldn't think too heavily about it right now.

After all, it was possible that the Queen might want to see me at any moment.

However, as I waited and waited, feeling like almost an hour had passed at this point, I started to wonder if maybe the General was premature in having me come along. Maybe the Queen didn't want to speak to me after all? Which honestly was perfectly fine with me, since I was a little worried about stumbling with my words in front of her.

After all, she was the Queen.

She was at least five times my age, and she literally held my future in her hands.

At the very least, I suspected there was a good chance she'd assign me to this upcoming assault team, which I was perfectly fine with, but she could just as easily throw me in prison for spreading rumors about the Scourge I'd survived when I was fifteen, depending on whether or not that had anything to do with Sylvia's urgent errand.

Deciding to stand up again to stretch my legs, having long since calmed down from my interaction with Astaer, I glanced toward the wooden doors when General Vildred stepped out, focused immediately on me.

I turned to face him.

He spoke up once he was closer.

"Queen Eliza Ashryn Nylanthria is ready to see you."

I simply nodded, immediately stepping forward to follow him into the castle, knowing this was it.

It was time to see the Queen.

And find out where I stood in her perception.

-

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Submitted: January 26, 2023 to Literotica (Copyright 2021 Kaizer Wolf)