We turned in after I finished weaving the pants for Rodrick. Thankfully I didn't seem to have any nightmares that night either, though the girls making extra sure to wear me out before bed may have had something to do with that.

"Good morning." I smile down at the pixie that's sandwiched between Amelia and myself.

"Hi." She smiles back. "Did you sleep well, the ward didn't go off."

"Very well." I lean closer for a kiss. "Thank you for last night, and thanks for watching over me."

"You are very welcome." She pulls me back in for another kiss before turning to Amelia to get one from her.

Those kisses led to more, and it was nearly an hour before we climbed from the tent. The sun was still barely up, but Rodrick was awake, sipping on some tea as he read his book. Amelia was about to rush off to the latrine, but I held her back long enough to get a candid picture of her brother reading.

"That's great, but gotta pee." Roddy looks up when she runs past him on her way to the outhouse.

"Morning sis."

"Do you think she's ever going to figure out that she can use magic to deal with that?" Apricot asks with a laugh.

"I hope not." I laugh along with her. "She's so cute when she does that little pee-pee dance of hers."

"I know, right." The pixie's lips pull into a wide smile.

"So, Rodrick. Have you decided what kind of clothes you want?" He's wearing the outfit I made last night. "Or, should I sketch out some examples? Though, I should warn that the men's clothing I know isn't nearly as diverse as women's. Mostly it just comes down to slight differences in style or cut."

"Ooh, show me what you've got." This comes not from Rodrick, but his sister who's returning from relieving her bladder. "Especially the formal stuff, I need to make sure you have an outfit good enough to match my dress."

"This is good for now." The man ignores his sister. "I might take a look at your designs though, and I certainly won't say no to something fancy made out of star weave."

"Don't forget underwear?" Apricot chimes in. "You drew page after page of women's undies, there has to be more to be more for boys to wear than those trunks you made for yourself."

"Yeah, but I like my trunks." I sigh and take out my drawing supplies when I see that neither she nor Amelia look like they're going to drop this. "There's like nine or ten basic styles, but I really do just prefer trunks, maybe some loose knit boxers if I'm having a lazy day." I fill a page with everything from g-strings to long-johns. "There. Now, if you're happy, can I get started on breakfast?"

"I suppose." Amelia says without looking up from the sheet. "But, we're definitely playing dress-up later."

"Whatever." I sigh again, and make a light breakfast for the four of us.

After the meal, we pack up and get on the road again. The girls start pestering me about men's fashion again, so I spend most of the morning going through my media collection looking for men's outfits. I was never really into fashion, so I'm sure I'm missing stuff, but it is what it is.

I try to break things down into general groups like athletic, casual, business, formal, military, period, foreign, and a few weird outfits from movies just for laughs. Apricot and Amelia had plenty of fun mixing and matching the different pieces, and teasing me about what they were going to make me wear.

We reached the edge of the woods around noon, and the first thing that stood out to me was the size of the city walls. The second being the faint trail of smoke coming from just outside the walls.

"Apricot, can you make that out?" Amelia shades her eyes to get a better look, but doesn't seem to be able to make it out any better than I can.

"Someone's house burned down." The pixie says, her tone somber. "Took most of the field with it too."

"Shit, I hope everyone got out okay." I want to rush forward to help, but judging by the smoke this probably happened early in the morning.

The rest of the ride into town is subdued after that. Nearing the wall, I spot a dejected-looking woman picking through the remains of what was presumably her home.

"Sorrel, look." Apricot points to a couple girls that I missed because they were sitting in the shadow of a small tree One looks around seven, the other is around four or five. "The little one is wearing bandages."

I jump off the wagon and start walking towards the gutted farmhouse, the girls following close behind, while Roddy stays with the horse.

"Hello!" I announce myself from a ways back. "My name is Sorrel, I'm a healer and I might be able to help."

The woman's eyes light up, only to cloud over again a moment later. "Thank you, but we've already seen the best healers in Riverton. They did their best but said that there's only so much they can do for burns."

"May I try anyway?" I stop a few meters out. "My healing spell works a bit differently."

"If you think you can." I can tell that she's trying not to get her hopes up. "Myra, baby. This man is going to look at you." Judging by the girl's glassy-eyed stare, they dosed her with something for the pain.

"Did they give her poppy juice?" I ask while kneeling in front of the little girl. Her left arm and that side of her face are wrapped in bandages, what I can see of her hair has been singed short on that side.

"She wouldn't stop screaming because of the pain." The mother nods, and strokes her daughter's un-burnt hair; her older sister standing by protectively.

Sending my magic into her, I can see that she has second-degree burns covering most of her arm. Her face isn't quite as bad, unless you count the blistered mess that used to be her ear.

"I should be able to help." I say hesitantly. "But, it might take a few days for her to fully recover." I honestly have no idea how much vitality it's going take out of me to heal her.

"Truly?" The woman looks like she's about to collapse. "Please, please help my baby."

"Shh, everything will be alright." Amelia wraps her arms about the sobbing farmwife. "Sorrel will do everything he can to fix your little girl."

"I'll start with her face, but I need to remove these bandages first." The mother just nods, so I make the linen wraps fall away, and cast cleanse to remove the ointment that was put on her burns.

Myra's sister hisses at the sight, but I ignore her and start spreading healing sap over the burns. The wounds visibly fade as I push my strength into the little girl. The ear is the worst, and I find myself having to cast cleanse to clear out the blisters before I can repair it fully.

Satisfied that I've done what I can for her looks; I move onto her hand. I can feel the remnants of another magic here, it looks like they did what they could, but without a proper healing, she might lose a couple of her fingers.

I want to do more, but I have to focus on restoring blood flow and repairing her tendons. 'I can work on the cosmetic stuff later.' Thinking about it like that is the only way to keep from pushing more and more vitality into the little girl.

"I need to eat something, and to rest for a moment." I pant out a few minutes later, sagging in place once I'm sure her hand won't be crippled. "I won't be able to cure it all today but give me a bit to recover and I'll do what I can for the pain. Her hand is still burnt, but I took care of the worst of the damage."

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

The woman and the girl's sister are just staring at the now flawless skin on Myra's face. Her mom stroking it gently, as if she doesn't believe her eyes.

"Mind telling us what happened while I catch my breath?" Just as I say that a man with a few bandages of his own comes running up.

"Sophia! Is everything alright?" His wife just moves aside so he can see the little girl. "Myra? How?"

"Oh, William. Mister Sorrel, here healed her just like that." Sophia is now looking at me like she can't believe I'm real. "He was just riding past, and oh..." Tears that she must have been holding back start streaming down her face.

"I'll need at least two more days to take care of her arm." I explain while scarfing down the cookies I saved for myself last night. "The spell draws on my strength, and I can only offer up so much at a time. That's why I'm eating like this... and yes you can have a cookie." I hold the plate up the older girl who's been eyeing them since I took the snacks from storage.

"Willow." The man laughs at his daughter. "Sir, we can't thank you enough. If we hadn't just lost everything, I'd give you anything you wanted. As it is, we have to rely on the generosity of our neighbors just to have someplace to sleep tonight."

"Well, maybe I can do something about that too" I climb to my feet and start dumping out log after log of firewood from my storage. Calling Blackthorne to my hand, I start shaping the wood into beams and planks for a new home. "I should have more than enough wood to replace your house. Just tell me where you want it?"

"Mister Sorrel, please this is too much." William tries to stop me, but I'm going to do whether he wants me to or not.

"And, of course, you'll need the basic necessities." I ignore his protests, turning more firewood into furniture that will go in their new home. A great bale of cotton comes out next, and fashions itself into clothing and bedding for the four of them.

"I don't think he's going to take no for an answer, dear." Sophia takes her husband’s hand in hers as tears of happiness run down her face.

"Listen to your wife." I nod to the woman. "Now, do you want me to build it in the same spot, or somewhere else? Either way, we should clean this up?" I turn to my girls who are both staring at me with proud smiles on their faces. "Amelia, there's not enough trees around for me to be wasting magic. Can you clear out the ash?"

"Yes, but you need to keep eating." She empties her entire stash of sweets onto the table I just made and plonks me down in a chair in front of it. Not even leaving my side, she then casts her bath spell. It takes a few minutes, but all the ashes and debris soon vanish. All that's behind is bare dirt, a pile of rocks that used to be the fireplace, a few lumpy bits of metal piled together, and surprisingly, a rather nice looking teapot.

"My momma's teapot. How?" Sophia rushes over and scoops up the family heirloom. "It's not even cracked."

"Fire can be a strange beast." Apricot says.

"That it can be." I agree, standing from a now empty table. "Now, do you still want the house in the same spot?" William just nods, so I get to work.

Wooden beams drill themselves deeply into the ground creating the new outline for the house. It looked like it only had two rooms before, with just a packed earth floor. These were probably a kitchen/living room, and a bedroom they all shared. So, I enlarge everything slightly and add a third room just for the girls.

"Sir..." William tries to object again, but I ignore the man's protests once again.

I base the floor off of what I remember from watching home improvement shows. I doubt it's up to code, but since it's made with magically reinforced wood that's been fused into one solid piece. I doubt it'll be a problem, it won't squeak either.

"Now, I can't do stone." I turn to his wife. "But, I'll leave a space for the fireplace, and you can just tell me where want everything else." The furniture starts walking itself into place making Willow giggle in delight.

"That... that looks fine." Sophia nods once everything settles into place.

The walls and roof come next; I can't do glass either, so I add tightly fitting shutters with wooden hinges instead. Those, along with a Dutch door makes the place rather bright and airy on the inside.

"Alright, the roof still needs coating, and the walls painted, but it's not going to rain anytime soon. And, I'd rather use the rest of my magic on your daughter than trying to make some. How about we bring her inside?"

"Are you sure you can heal again so soon?" Amelia and Apricot come up to me with twin looks of worry.

"I'm not going to do a lot." I hug them both to me. "I just want to see if I can do something for her pain. But, I'll probably be starving again afterward." I take out all my potted fruit trees and push magic into them to make them fruit. "This should help, though. And, I've still got all the leftovers from the past week in storage."

"Thank you for helping my sister." Willow's tiny voice speaks up from behind us. "And, thank you for fixing our house too, it's a lot bigger than our old one."

"You're very welcome Willow." I smile down at the little girl. "And, it's bigger because I added a room just for you girls."

"Sorrel." Rodrick's voice calls from the road. Looking that way, I see a couple gate guards coming down the road, their eyes glued to the new house.

"Willow, can you run inside and get your father?" She does as I ask, bringing him out a moment later.

"William... is everything alright here?" One guard steps forward to address the farmer, but he keeps glancing between us and the new house.

"Everything's fine Derby. Better than fine." He gestures over to me. "Mister Sorrel here is healing Myra, in addition to all this. Come on, she's inside, and her face has already been fixed." He takes the guard's arm and drags him into the house, the rest of us following along behind.

The furniture I made is a bit plain, but everything is sturdy enough to last a lifetime, and they can always paint it or something. At least, all the cushions are nice and fluffy.

"Gods." Derby stops in the doorway of the girls' room. "Her face, it's perfect again."

"I started with that, and the worst of the damage on her hand." I say after slipping past him to sit at the girl's foot. The poor thing still looks completely out of it. "I'm going to do what I can for the pain next, so they can wean her off the poppy milk. But, the full healing is going to take a couple days."

"The Baron is definitely going to want to meet you."

"I'd be honored to meet him." I pause. "But I'm going to be pretty drained after this. It'll probably take me a good hour before I'm up to going anywhere"

"You take your time." He just stares at Myra's face. "The Baron will understand."

"I get that you're upset, but don't push yourself too hard." Apricot wraps her arms around me. "You won't be able to heal anyone if you drain yourself dry."

"I know." I stroke her hair. "That's why I paused after fixing her face, it just kills me to see a little kid like this." I gesture to the girl's glassy-eyed stare. "Sophia, can you get Myra to drink this for me." I create a small wooden cup that quickly gets filled with healing sap.

It takes her a bit to get the child to start drinking, but after Myra gets a taste, she soon drinks it all down. I then close my eyes to focus on the magic. Her arm truly is a mess, but whatever salve they used on her is keeping it from getting infected, so it's not life-threatening.

This goes slower than working on her face did, but it doesn't take quite as much out of me. I still have to give her another cup though, just because of how large an area was damaged.

"This." I croak and have to pull some water from the air to moisten my lips. "Ahem. This is as much as I can do for now. Her arm is still in bad shape, but I've done what I can for the pain. So, you should be able to lay off the poppy milk. Just make sure she doesn't jostle the arm."

The girls help me up and drag me over to the table. "I told you not to overdo it." The pixie admonishes me.

"I'll be fine in a bit." I fill the table with leftovers and the fruit that I just grew and begin chowing down, starting with some rabbit.

"..." She opens her mouth, but just closes it and shakes her head.

After a while, I start feeling Plantkin again, and the food on the table is all but gone. "We need to go shopping again." I say while quick roasting one of the birds from my storage.

"Not tonight you don't." Derby speaks up from the door. "I just got word back, and the Baron has invited all of you to his manor for dinner. He's very interested in Myra's recovery and would like to have his personal healer to check her over."

"But, we haven't even seen our parents yet." Amelia freaks out a little.

"Tell me where to find them, and I'll go collect them personally." The guard offers.

"They're probably still in the warehouse." Her brother says. "I'll go with you and explain what's going on, otherwise mom will just worry."

"Okay." Derby nods. "Terrence here will guide the rest of you up to the manor house when you're ready."

"Thank you, I'll be good to go in a minute." I bow my head to the guards. "Fortunately, there's enough room in the wagon for all of us. And, there's a soft mattress in the back, so Myra won't get jostled."

"I'll go bring it over for you." Terrence offers and follows Derby and Rodrick out of the door.

"Thanks." I turn to Amelia after he walks off. "Anything I need to know about meeting nobility?"

"Not really. Baron Pepi is known to be fairly easy-going." She pauses to watch me take a big bite of the roast fowl. "Though, you may need to brush up on your table manners."

"Mhm." I mumble, but don't stop eating.

"Seriously, where are you putting it all?" She laughs. "Do you have your own version of Apricot's 'turn food to magic' spell?"

"Not quite." I shake my head. "I'm basically just using a low-level growth spell on my guts to increase the rate at which I absorb the nutrients. I'm still going to need a full night's rest before I can heal again, but this keeps me from passing out while waiting to digest everything."

"You dumbass." She says that, but there's no heat to her words. "I don't want to see a little girl in pain either, but you shouldn't push yourself so far."

"I'll try." I set down what's left of the bird, and pull her and the still silent pixie into my lap. "I'm sorry for worrying you, but this was my first major healing, and I needed to find out how far I could push myself."

"Just be careful, please." Apricot breathes into my ear. "I don't want to lose you."

"I promise." I squeeze her tight. "I love the both of you and don't want to do anything that would hurt either of you. Now, we probably shouldn't keep the Baron waiting."

"I love you too." She pulls back just enough to smile at me. "Even if you are a dumbass."

"I love you too." Amelia sends me a smile of her own. "Even if dinner at the Baron's wasn't how I wanted you to meet my parents."

"I don't suppose it's too late to slink off into the woods, is it?"

"Don't you dare."

***