She was dressed now. Her mother had left her one of her rare dresses in case she woke up. A dark green and blue piece. Cute, but not really her preferred attire. That was the case for her in her previous life too. She would sooner wear jeans than a skirt on most days.
That didn’t mean she didn’t like skirts on occasion, though.
She got dressed and checked herself in the mirror, pausing at the sight of her freckles and red hair. She touched her face and traced over her skin. It was odd seeing a different face from what she was used to, but then again... She was used to this face by now. She had seen this face looking back at her for the past sixteen years.
The feeling was strange, and she shook her head to try and rid herself of it.
Meira then combed her fingers through her flaming red hair. A detail that she was quite fond of, especially now knowing about her past life. It was a shade of red that wasn’t seen much unless it was dyed. And her green eyes really stood out. Quite an upgrade from brown hair and blue eyes.
Not that she didn’t like her old appearance or anything. It was just a nice change to see. It still felt odd though.
She was somewhat ready now.
The nerves were still there, but she had a mental grasp over herself now. She smoothed her dress down and took a deep breath before heading to the door. She needed to take another breath as she held the handle before turning it and swinging it open.
What she saw was a man in black and white robes, to which the thought of doctors came to mind. Doctors in this life, at least. He seemed like he was in his middle years with a receding hairline and glasses perched on his head. The glasses told her that this world had access to that sort of healthcare, which was somewhat reassuring.
Besides the man stood Lucas. The boy that her current self liked for the last few... When did she start liking him? She honestly couldn’t remember a moment when she hadn’t liked him. And the possibility that he might be William had her wanting to get straight to asking him, but she knew how odd that would look to the older man, so she held herself back for the moment.
“Good morning. My name is Imrani Gardinae, a doctor with the Amarabellan Institute of Healing.” The man said with a polite bow. His glasses didn’t seem to budge from their perch even as he straightened up again. “And you must be Miss Meira Deluna, yes?”
“Yes, that would be me.” She answered. Meira had trouble looking away from Lucas. He stood there beside the doctor and seemed a little... awkward? Or was she just imagining things?
“Mrs. Tanea and I have been looking after the two of you for the past week. Well, she was. I only arrived almost three days after you had fallen ill.” The man, Imrani Gardinae, said.
“Oh, um, thank you for your service.”
The doctor chuckled. “Do you mind if we come in? I will need to give you a checkup before releasing you from my care.”
“Using magic.” Lucas finally said. Meira looked at him to find an excited grin.
“Indeed. Using magic.” The doctor said with another chuckle.
Meira blinked in confusion before it dawned on her. Magic did exist here in this world. She was looking forward to learning it when she found out the school teachers were going to hire a Magus. And now she was going to see it? Really? Was she really about to see some magic?
“Ah, yes, please come in.” Meira moved aside to let the both of them into the room. She closed the door behind them and caught Lucas watching her closely. She looked back and felt her hopes go up again. His eyes were searching hers and she searched back. His brown eyes may be different from Williams' blue grey ones, but his expression reminded her of her husband when he was worried.
“Now, usually, this would be done privately or with family or a trusted individual.” The doctor told her as he turned around to look at her. “However, Lucas here was worried and wanted to see you. And you don’t have to worry about undressing. My magic does not require that you remove any clothes. Do you mind him being present?”
“I-I don’t mind. He can stay.” She said, while glancing at the boy. “So... should I stand or...?”
“Sitting will be fine. The bed or a chair will do.”
Meira picked a chair and the older man picked another, moving it close and to the side of hers. Lucas sat on the bed and watched.
“Alright, so you won’t feel a thing. What I am about to do is observe your general wellbeing. There shouldn’t be any discomfort on your end.” The doctor explained. He sat down and found a comfortable position. “It may end up being boring for you though, since the only thing for you to do is wait until I am finished.”
“He says that but he’s using magic, so there’ll be something interesting to watch at least.” Lucas chimed in as she was nodding her understanding. Was that a hint as to how cool it would look? Was the magic here really flashy or something?
Imrani looked amused. “Well, yes there is that.”
Meira watched the little byplay with a little bit of impatience. She really wanted to see the magic already. She also really wanted to talk with Lucas alone, but she wasn’t going to be able to do that until this checkup was done with.
“I’m ready.” She said to hopefully move things along.
“Alright then.” Imrani said and raised his hands.
A point of blue light appeared in front of her. The point of light grew brighter and formed a line. A line that curved around to form a circle of blue fire. It floated in front of her face with no visible fuel for its flame. The circle was about the length of two hands or perhaps thirty-odd centimeters.
Meira’s eyes were wide as she took in the impossible power in front of her. This was magic! Something that didn’t exist in her old life.
More lines appeared inside the circle. Geometric patterns formed and connected in different ways along the inner curvature of the circle. It brought to mind the alchemical circles that existed in fiction and old studies from the thirteen hundreds.
That impression only grew when symbols started to appear in and around the circle. Symbols that vaguely reminded her of those same alchemical symbols from those movies and TV shows she had watched. Meira observed all these details closely and wondered how it all worked.
“Is it possible to learn this?” She asked the doctor.
“It is. However, doing it the way I am right now would mean being an Elementalist. You would need to be born with the talent, but normal people can draw these circles on paper or on the ground for similar effects.” The man explained.
So, there was an inborn aspect to magic and a method anyone can learn.
“What’s an Elementalist?” She asked next.
“Someone who is born with the ability to affect matter in the world around them. For example, condensing air to make water, or combusting air to make fire, like with what I’m doing here, or reflecting or refracting light for a similar visual effect. There’s also the skill to move stone and other heavy substances across distances. Harnessing electricity is another one.” Imrani explained as he observed something within the circle and through it to the girl on the other side. “There are many applications of an Elementalist’s power. Especially in conjunction with the learned method of Circles and Runes.”
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That explanation had Meira buzzing quietly with barely contained excitement. Her eyes were filled with a hunger and thirst for more knowledge.
“Can we learn to be Elementalist’s?”
“Like I told your friend Lucas here, Elementalism is something you would have to be born with, but there is a way to find out if you have the talent. Sadly, that is something I cannot help you with.” The doctor admitted with some regret in his voice. “It takes a particular use of the skill to test others and I don’t have that proficiency.”
Meira couldn’t say that she wasn’t disappointed, and it likely showed on her face, which is likely why Imrani said what he said next.
“What I can do, is speak with my colleagues back in the city, and recommend that they pay a visit once I return.” He told her.
“Yes please!” She expressed her excitement. She glanced over at Lucas and saw him smiling just as widely as she was.
Imrani was chuckling quietly to himself.
There was a knock on the door and Markita poked her head in again. She saw the doctor doing his work and kept her voice low.
“Petar is working on breakfast for these two. He said that it won’t be too long. I’ve also made some herbal tea to go with it.” She told the doctor.
“Thank you, Mrs. Tanea. We will be done here shortly ourselves.” He nodded her way.
“I’ll have to take my leave here. Someone decided that falling on their arm was a good idea. I’ll need to go and see to that.”
“I can follow you there once this is over, if you would like?”
“That would be helpful. It’s the Hernasi place just two doors down that way.” She pointed in the direction of the home in question. “They have a big red door. You can’t miss it. And you two, I’ll check on you both later today. In the meantime, please stay out of trouble.”
“Goodbye, Markita.” Meira waved. Lucas also waved her off.
----------------------------------------
The checkup was done and Imrani found that there was nothing wrong with Meira, just like with Lucas. Lucas watched the circle of magic fade away and the natural light from the window reasserted itself.
“A clean bill of health. For the both of you. Only a little muscle atrophy, nothing major. That can be dealt with by slowly getting back into the swing of daily life.” The older man told them. He sat back in his chair and took his glasses off. He rubbed the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath. “Now, I’d like to ask if the two of you remember anything that happened leading up to you getting sick. Were there any odd symptoms? Or did you handle any strange substances? Was there anyone you came into contact with that was feeling sick themselves?”
Lucas thought back to the day he had before going to sleep. He remembered the archery lesson with his father and Meira joining in. Then there was the walk home at sunset. He remembered the bird staring at him, then at his friend. He felt strange after that weird staring contest.
There was also that dream. It was difficult to remember all of it but there was a falcon in there.
He looked over to Meira, wondering if she remembered the falcon.
She was also looking at him. From the look she was giving him, he got the impression that she also remembered something. Whether it was the bird or a dream, he couldn’t tell. One thing was for sure though. Telling the doctor might not be the best idea. Why Lucas felt that way, he couldn’t say. It wasn’t like he didn’t trust the man. It was just a little too bizarre. ‘Hey, we got sick because a bird of prey gave us the evil stink eye.’ No, that would just confuse the man.
“We spent the day learning archery from my father. When I got home, I felt incredibly tired and dizzy. I lost my appetite too.” Lucas explained what he remembered, omitting the strange encounter with the bird. “I don’t think I touched anything weird that day, besides wood and a bowstring.”
Imrani nodded in thought then looked to the girl for her account.
“I’m almost the same. I arrived at the field later and walked through the small woods. So, maybe I got some dirt on me... I don’t know. Or maybe I got bitten by a bug?”
“There were no bug bites on you when I first examined you.” Imrani muttered. He stayed quiet then and thought for a moment. He eventually asked, “Any strangers in town lately?”
The two thought about the question but shook their heads. No one like that came to mind. It wasn’t quite the time of year for merchants to come through town, and no adventurers had come out this way in a very long time.
“Hm, odd. For there to be no discernable reason for the two of you to fall ill like that... How odd.” The older man sat there and tried to think on the mysterious topic of their illness, but a knock on the door came again.
“Come in.” Imrani called out.
The door opened and another older woman looked in. Lucas recognized her as the wife of the Innkeeper. Mr. and Mrs. Tavan had been looking after the Inn for as long as Lucas could remember. They didn’t often get visitors staying the night since merchants only visited a few times a year, even though the city was a day’s ride away. Though, to be fair, this town was slightly out of the way. The road leading to Bel Vard was winding and threaded around hills on its way to the mountains. This could make the ride to the city take longer than one would like, at least according to the few merchants Lucas had talked to.
“Good morning... oh? Lucas is here too?” Mrs. Tavan noticed the boy sitting on the bed and leaned back out the door. “Dear! Lucas is here in Meira’s room, with the good Doctor.”
She called to her husband, who appeared a couple of moments later over Mrs. Tavan’s shoulder.
“Ah, there he is.” The man was portly sort, with brushy hair. His wife wasn’t far behind him, as she was a little well to do herself. They opened the door further and wheeled in a cart with two trays with covered plates of food. “The two of you had everyone worried. How are you feeling? Up for some hearty breakfast?”
“I’m feeling fine, thank you.” Meira answered.
“I’m fine too.” Lucas added.
“That’s good. Your parents are going to be so relieved. Markita mentioned that she would let them know you’ve woken up.” The wife, Lucas believed her name was Jassini, said.
“Will you be eating in your room, or together?” Petar asked as he moved the cart beside the rooms only table.
Lucas looked to the girl. He wanted to stay and talk with her and try and figure out if she was his wife from a past life, but if she wasn’t comfortable with it then he would back off. He regarded her and waited to see what she would say.
She looked back and forth between Lucas and the Innkeeper and realized that they were both waiting on her to decide.
“Oh, um, I... we can eat together. That’s fine.” The girl said after stumbling for a moment.
“Lovely, let us just set everything up.” Mrs. Tavan told them with a cheery smile. The older married couple then did as they said they would and moved things from the cart to the table.
It was then that the doctor stood up.
“That is my cue to take my leave.” He told them.
“Won’t you be having breakfast?” Mrs. Tavan asked him.
“I’ll just grab some bread on the way out if that is all right. It seems Mrs. Tanea had someone to attend to, so I’ll go and lend a hand.” He told her.
“Ah yes, the clumsy Hernasi boy. Do tell him to be more careful, would you?”
“Yes, I’ll do that.” He replied with a chuckle. He turned to look at Lucas and Meira. “And you two. You will be sure to let me, or others know if you are feeling unwell, won’t you?”
“Yes, sir.” “We will. Thank you.” Lucas and Meira replied respectively.
From there Imrani Gardinae left, and the Innkeeper and his wife fully set the table for them. There was more fussing over the younger two, and they even caught them up on a few of the happenings around town. No one else had gotten sick and things had been continuing as normal. Except for their parents and friends visiting to check on them, life carried on. Of course, the rest of the town was still worried about them. The neighbors would go over to keep the two families company and help with any of the chores.
Lucas and Meira were listening as they ate some bread, meats and cheese. There were also small bowls of vegetable soup and some of that tea that Markita mentioned. The Innkeeper and his wife were very friendly and probably appreciated having guests over. It was also very likely that the only business they were getting at this time of the year was from the townsfolk coming in every evening for dinner and drinks. So, this was likely a nice change for them.
“-and Gillian went and found a badger of all things. The poor thing chased him through the town and into the square. Little Gill was lucky that he didn’t end up with scratches all over his face.” Jassini Tavan was saying. “And then his mother got to him. The hapless boy might not have an ear anymore after she yanked it all the way home.”
All four of them laughed and smiled at the thought.
“And what happened to the badger?” Lucas asked.
“Therry caught the old grouch and released it outside the town with some food.” Petar told them. After chuckling to himself he stood up from his seat. “We should be getting back to work.”
“Yes, I’m sure these young ones don’t want to listen to us oldies talk all day. We’ll leave you two to eat in peace.” The wife also got up and they both moved to the door. At the door, Mrs. Tavan turned back to them. “Oh, just leave the dishes when you’re done. I’ll clean it all up later.”
“Thank you very much.” Meira told them.
“Thank you.” Lucas added.
The door closed and they were left by themselves. This was what Lucas, William, wanted. He needed to be able to talk with this girl in private and was waiting almost impatiently for the doctor and the Tavan’s to leave, but now that they were all gone...
How was he supposed to begin?