415 415 Healing Proposition
Ella smiled at the lying wastes of human flesh that were Sophie’s parents. “Well, if that is the case, then we have the perfect solution. We have a powerful Fae back in our village that can help heal her mind and soul the way that I healed her body.
She’s about to awaken as a Witch, so she will be an adult by law and tradition once she wakes up, and she will be free to return once her treatment is over. The Elders have already kindly agreed to the arrangement, so there is no need for payment on your part.”
The girl was clearly much too young to be awakening, and the mother was about to say something, but the aura coming off of Ella was suddenly incredibly oppressive, and the thought of angering the small Witch terrified her.
“Well, yes, I can see how that would be to her advantage. But she is far from awakening. She’s just a girl.” Sophie’s father stammered.
The Elder nodded. “Indeed, I see that she is truly a frail young girl. But the Demon has assured us that she will be awakening as a Witch not long after she wakes up from the effects of the healing spell.
It might seem unconventional, but the law has always been that an awakened Witch has the agency of an adult and is free to make their own choices. It has been that way since the village was founded by our own grandparents over a hundred years ago.”
The couple seemed stunned at the implications of that. Was their daughter actually extremely special to be awakening on her own so early? Or had the Demon done it and used it as leverage against them?
The fact that nobody was raging at them, cursing or giving them a chance to use the excuses that they had prepared was throwing them off their game. They had counted on the accusations to allow them to play the victims, but with everyone taking it so well and offering to help Sophie, there was very little that they could say about the situation until the girl had time to say it all for herself.
Ella cast a fake smile around the room and nodded toward the door. “Well then, if that’s all settled, I think we’ve finished up everything that we had to do here today. Sophie will need direct and intensive care for the immediate future, the poor thing, so Wolfe will be looking after her until we get back to the Fae Forest.
Don’t worry, you can trust him around your daughter. He’s not the sort that would ever force himself on a woman.”
[Yeah, but that’s only because the women are always throwing themselves at him.] Sophie’s father thought but kept his response to a polite nod.
While most of the group left, one of the Elders, the first to have recognized Sophie, gestured for the parents to stay back with her, giving them some privacy to talk while the appearance of the malnourished and sleeping girl outside caused a commotion outside.
Both Wolfe and Ella sensed the flow of magic as a Curse activated inside the house, but the Elder walked out before they were even to the end of the block, and she seemed no worse for wear, so neither of them chose to question what had happened inside the house.
As with most things, problems have a way of solving themselves if you let the interested parties take care of them without interference.
Wolfe cleansed Sophie’s system and worked on her mana veins while she was unconscious but waited to add mana until she started to wake up.
ραndαsΝοvεl ƈοm The forming of your aura was a special moment in every young witch’s life, and it would be a shame to rob her of that by doing it when she was unconscious from a beating her parents had inflicted.
“Please follow us to the Inn. I’m sure you’re familiar with it from your last visit, and we’ve got rooms prepared for you if you want to put young Sophie to bed and come down for dinner and drinks.” The Mayor suggested.
“I think I will keep her with us. She’s likely to panic when she wakes up, and it would be best if there were someone else around when she does.” Wolfe replied.
“And waking up in the arms of a large stranger is supposed to help?” The Mayor chuckled.
“Oh, come on, I’m sure you’ve read the romance books. The ones where Mister tall, dark and handsome sweeps in, reveals that you’re special and powerful, then takes you away to a life of luxury in a mansion in the woods. I don’t think she will be too upset about it.” Wolfe laughed, earning himself a smack on the back of the head from Ella.
“First off, she’s too young to be reading such smut. Secondly, she’s already awake.” Ella informed him while Sophie’s cheeks turned bright red before she hid her face in Wolfe’s chest.
“See, she’s not objecting.” Wolfe joked while he gently added mana into her system to prompt her aura to begin to form.
If nothing else, she would have an incredible story about the day that she became a proper Witch. The girls at the Academy all talked about it, and even when it just gradually happened over breakfast, they made it seem like the most exciting moment of their lives. So, Wolfe decided to make it even more memorable.
“Don’t worry, we’ve got you, and we’re going to take you far away from here to a magical city in the Forest, where nobody will hurt you again.” He whispered into her ear when he felt Sophie freeze in shock at the fact her aura was forming.
He ignored the happy tears that were running down his shirt and carried his small charge to a corner booth, where she could sit in between Wolfe and Ella, protected from anything that might come their way. Once she was stable enough to sit up on her own, that was. The girl was clearly starving.