Lidea awakened slowly, her head reeling as if she had been trampled by a thousand horses. This was by far the worst bottle-ache she had ever experienced. Vouching to never drink again, she decided that just this once, she could sleep a little longer. With her eyes still closed, she tried to turn deeper into the soothing warmth of her blankets. Only for her peace to be abruptly broken by a sharp pain. Memories flooded her consciousness as she awakened with a gasp. She recalled how the torch had scorched her flesh, and it made her break out in a cold sweat. Raising her hand slowly to her face, she felt her fingers glide over the rough texture of bandages. Slightly trembling due to the effort and emotion, she laid her arm back down. She couldn’t believe that she was still alive.

The thought filled her with a sense of joy, only to be quickly dampened by guilt. A little voice in her head whispered how unjust it was that she had survived. How she had deserved to die, more than any of them. Rationally she understood that those thoughts were unfair, but it was hard to shake them nonetheless.

To distract herself, she tried focusing on the room around her, but the vision of her remaining eye was blurry at best. She was lying on a single bed, aside from which stood a small side table and a chair. Three heavy curtains hung from the ceiling above, blocking most of the light and noise coming from the bigger hall she was in. The setup reminded her of the healing houses of old, a suspicion strengthened by the faint medicinal smell that seemed to cling to the space.

Where was she?

All old infirmaries had been destroyed during the magic purge, and now only the church was allowed to care for the sick. For just a moment, she considered if her savior really had been a priest. Though if that had been the case, then she would have been dead.

Lidea pushed herself upright, trying to avoid moving her head. Still, a wave of nausea made her groan in pain and almost fall back. As she tried to breathe through the queasiness, she could hear footsteps rapidly approaching. Her body tensed in preparation, which only worsened the throbbing in her head. The curtain quickly opened and closed as someone slipped inside.

“You shouldn’t be sitting up yet,” a woman’s voice spoke, and Lidea could almost hear the disapproval in her words. A cool hand pressed softly against her forehead, while another supported her back, as the woman gently ushered her to lie down again. The decisiveness and confidence in her actions betrayed her experience in dealing with patients, convincing Lidea that she was the healer who had treated her burns. Lying on her back once more, she quickly felt the nausea die down.

Muttering words that Lidea could not understand, the woman stepped out of her circle of curtains, only to return a few seconds later.

“I hadn’t expected you to be awake yet.”

Now that the pain had lessened, Lidea dared to open her eye slowly. Half expecting the nausea to return, and relieved when it didn't. The woman standing next to her looked to be in her late twenties and was of short stature with dark-colored hair and clear blue eyes. She would have looked normal if not for the sizable blue crystals adorning her body. There was one big one in the middle of her forehead, and three smaller ones evenly spread between it and each of her temples, giving Lidea the impression that she was wearing a tiara of priceless sapphires that not even a queen could afford. Her white dress was sleeveless, showing off the smaller jewels arbitrarily sprinkled over both her arms. Mindlessly, she wondered if her whole body was covered with them.

As an eyebrow raised on the impish face, Lidea realized that she had been staring. Embarrassed, she tried to apologize, but her voice came out in inaudible croaks. The healer seemed to understand her intentions nonetheless as she smiled softly while reaching her the glass of water she had brought.

"Don't worry about it, most people stare when they first meet me. I'm going to have a look at your face. After that, it will be high time for you to eat. You are barely skin and bones! Honestly, I can't believe them. Do they want their prisoners to die before the sentencing is even carried out?..."

As the cool water soothed her throat, Lidea tried and failed at keeping up with the woman's fast ramblings. Her clipped accent reminded her of the plains people of Udrän, although she had never seen one looking like her. As a neighboring country and a main trading partner, Lidea had met many of them while she traveled through the eastern border. They were proud people who wore rich embroidered clothing and never left their tents without having their hip-length hair plaited into a complex braiding style. Although they lived a nomadic lifestyle, all of their items were well-crafted and fully decorated. So much so that in Lynoës, they were often considered vain people.

The woman resembled them physically, with her russet-colored skin and short stature, but she didn't seem to adhere to any of their cultural traditions. Her hair was cut short to shoulder length, and she missed any of their typical tattoos or jewelry. Also, the obvious difference was the crystals that seemed to grow out of her skin.

The healer opened the old leather medicine bag she carried on her hip. It contained some worn books, together with a range of different colored vials and herb pouches. Seemingly without looking, she took out a yellow-colored ampule and held it in front of Lidea's face.

"Drink this, it will ease the pain."

Lidea gazed at the viscous fluid inside. Even though she didn't believe that the healer would try to kill her, a voice in her head warned her not to trust anyone. Other things could be done to a person, without killing them. She wasn't naïve enough to think they had saved her out of the kindness of their hearts. They wanted something from her, and she had to discover what.

She returned the now-empty water glass and accepted the little flask in turn. Instead of drinking the contents, she held it in the palm of her hand.

"Where am I?"

The surprise on the woman's face told Lidea that she hadn't expected her to doubt the healer's intentions. The shock quickly turned into annoyance as she crossed her arms.

The surprise on the woman’s face told Lidea that she hadn’t expected her to doubt the healer's intentions. The shock quickly turned into annoyance as she crossed her arms.

“I suppose I should feel flattered that you decided to ‘disarm’ me before asking your questions. If I had wanted you dead, I wouldn’t have let you wake up in the first place.”

Lidea didn’t respond, keeping eye contact while balancing the vial. She believed the woman had no bad intentions, but then again. Life had taught her that people could sound sincere while still lying by omitting or twisting the truth.

“Where am I?”

The woman sighed overdramatically as if she believed Lidea to be the stupidest person in the world. “You are in my infirmary at the resistance, and my name is Crystal. Might that have been your next question? Will you now let me do my work?”

Lidea didn’t react to her snide remark, as she frowned over her answer. An old pain filled her with vengeful hatred and prevented her from disguising the anger in her following question.

“What do you mean with ‘resistance’?”

The woman seemed to be confused by the sudden intensity of her emotions but smiled at her with a mixture of pity and irritation.

“Did you think that your group was the only ones resisting the king’s commands? You have probably not been in the capital enough to hear from us. The resistance was started ten years ago after the first signs came that there would be a revolt against magic holders. It was a group of volunteers who helped people escape before everything crumbled down. Now, we mostly smuggle children born with magic out of the city before the city guards get to them.”

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

Crystal had misinterpreted her anger but she didn’t correct her. Lidea had known about the group for a long time since they had been the ones to protest after the first anti-magic laws were instated. After her father had been sentenced, she sent them letter after letter, begging them to help him, believing that they would, as he had been one of the only voices within the nobility to stand on their side. A letter with a single sentence had been their response.

The resistance only helps those with magic.

After that, she learned that the resistance didn’t want peace. They just wanted to go back to the old system in which those with magic automatically gained access to a higher standing. It was the reason why she decided to fight alone and not even bother trying to work together with them.

“Why save me? I am not of magic.”

The woman looked at her as if she had pondered the same thing and answered her exasperatedly.

“We do help people without magic occasionally. But I fear that only Warchief knows why we saved you.”

“Warchief…? Does the resistance only use nicknames for people?”

She had noticed how Crystal was a very on-the-nose name for the person standing in front of her, but at least, it still was a name. Warchief was not.

Her confusion amused the healer as her annoyed scowl disappeared to make place for a broad smile.

“Maybe. So what will your name be? Maybe Rose would be fitting, pretty but prickly.”

The sly grin and mocking tone reminded Lidea of her sister, who had always looked down on the fact that Lidea seemed to prefer fighting with swords over dressing up and going to balls.

“Just Lidea is fine.”

“Alright, ‘Just Lidea,' will you drink that vial now?”

The last thing that Lidea wanted to do was drink something that would knock her unconscious around people that hated her 'kind'. Although it had been six years ago, she refused to believe that their core ideals had changed so much.

"Do not call me that, you know what I meant. As for the sedative, I can be treated without," Lidea said defiantly.

Lidea felt just a bit smug as her mocking smile disappeared and was replaced by another scowl.

"Has anyone told you that you are no fun? As for the sedative, I am a healer, not a torturer. I refuse to work on you if you will be in pain. Just drink it, we could have not saved you if we wanted you dead."

A sense of humor is not what keeps you alive...

She didn't speak her thoughts out loud, instead choosing to stare her down. As if Lidea was going to give in to a woman who was easily two heads shorter than her. Even in her weakened state, she would easily take her down.

"I. Can. Take. It," Lidea insisted firmly.

The healer's face twisted in annoyance as she spat her frustration. "Don't be foolish, take the sedative. I am not helping you if you don't. Why would you want to be in pain?"

"Because she wants to keep her wits about her. Don't forget Crystal, to her we are just strangers. It would be odd if she immediately trusted us without question."

The rough baritone voice came from right outside of the curtain and surprised both women. The rising tension instantly disappeared and left them staring at one another in awkward silence.

With a cough, the person outside called attention back to themselves. "Am I allowed entrance? I heard you arguing, so I assume our princess has woken up."

Lidea wondered if annoying people was a skill taught in this group, as they all seemed to be good at it. She quickly glanced at the healer, hoping she knew better than to keep using this new nickname for her. But the woman seemed to have found another person to point her daggers at.

"If you aren't going to bother her, make sure not to let any light in. She is still sensitive," the healer instructed.

Lidea hadn't even noticed how careful the healer had been while walking in and out of her bubble of curtains. Her bedside manners might be lacking, but Lidea could only respect how thorough she was in her caregiving.

As a precaution, she closed her eye while she listened to the curtain rings sliding open and closed.

"You seem like you are feeling better," a chipper voice remarked, and she looked up to find the priest standing there. Although this time he looked slightly different. His softer features had hardened, including the belly that had originally convinced her that he could be part of the clergy. Her thoughts must have been visible on her face as he quickly explained.

"I used an illusion spell. It is not very strong, so it can't change much, but it was enough to fool a couple of bored guards."

She nodded absently, as she recalled how they had passed through a wall before she blacked out. That must have been some sort of spell as well. Lidea had never seen magic being used like that. It reminded her of how he had somehow managed to save her. Looking back at her situation with a clear head, it should have been impossible.

Magic.

"Tell her that she is being stupid for not wanting to be sedated, Warchief."

Lidea's chain of thinking was broken, and she sighed deeply due to the woman's stubbornness. Warchief looked at her with a pointed gaze, questioning without words if she would let the healer have her wish. Staring back without blinking, Lidea gave her answer in silence as well. She would rather endure moments of pain than lose her mind for hours on end. Who knew how strong a sedative the healer wanted to administer? Besides, she still had many questions. He sighed, seemingly annoyed, but then smiled.

"Just treat her without."

"You can't be serious, Warchief. With the kind of deep-set burns she has, that would be torture!"

"Crystal, do it. She will learn the hard way."

His voice had turned cold and determined. For a moment, the healer seemed to want to protest, but one glance at his eyes and she frowned. Irritated, she grabbed the vial from Lidea's hands and returned it to her bag before turning her attention to the knots of her bindings.

With skillful hands, she untightened the bandages. As the support fell away, gravity pulled on the skin, causing pain to radiate from that side of Lidea's face. Lidea did her best not to show any signs of discomfort, afraid that the healer would force the sedative on her. The 'I told you so' glares that the woman shot at her with every twitch told her that she wasn't very convincing.

At the last layer, Lidea had given up on hiding her pain. She shivered each time the bandage was carefully ripped from the new healing skin that was stuck to it. A sigh of relief escaped her as all the bandages were removed, and the healer continued by cleaning the wound before covering it with a cooling salve.

"Can you try and open your eye? Be careful and stop if it hurts in any way."

Hesitant, Lidea followed the healer's instructions, tensing up as she prepared herself for the pain. Her eyelids were stuck together, but the salve had softened the gunk enough for it to come loose with a bit of force. As she looked around with both eyes open, she was surprised to see a blurry image. Another wave of relief washed over her, and it was hard not to become emotional. She had been ready to accept the loss of her vision as a cheap price to pay for her life. Still, she knew that it would have been hard to ever hold her beloved sword again.

"Good. It seems like the eye itself is not too heavily damaged. You should be able to keep your vision. How do you see now?"

"It's blurry."

The healer nodded thoughtfully as she further examined the wound.

"Not too surprising. You have been out for five days. I can't promise you that you will return to full vision, but I will make sure that you don't lose more. I'm afraid I can't help too much with the scarring, though."

Lidea was shocked to hear that she had been unconscious for five days. No wonder she felt so weak. Still, the shock couldn't wipe the bright smile off her face. She was acutely aware of just how lucky she was.

"Thank you, Crystal."

The prickly woman finally seemed to relax as she smiled back. Lidea could see how much her patient's recovery meant to her.

"No problem. For now, I will cover it so it is protected. Hopefully, in a couple of weeks, the skin will have recovered enough to go bare again. I have some creams to hopefully lessen the scarring."

Lidea almost found it funny how the healer seemed to be more upset about her scars than she was. With a myriad of scars already adorning her body, one more wouldn't make much of a difference.

"It's alright, I'm already happy to have kept my eyesight," Lidea assured.

The frown reappeared on the healer's face as she shook her head. "That is not enough. You are too young to lose your pretty face already."

"I honestly don't care," Lidea responded firmly.

The healer seemed ready to argue her point, but one look at Lidea's face made her sigh and mutter something about the ridiculous stubbornness of patients, prompting a snort from Lidea at her hypocrisy.

The rebandaging was a much less painful affair, and Lidea suspected that the cooling gel still had some numbing properties, but she decided not to bring it up. Silently, she thanked the healer, even if she wouldn't admit it out loud. Besides, her head still felt clear enough, so it wasn't worth potentially further antagonizing Crystal or, worse, getting her in trouble with her commanding officer who had been patiently waiting.

As Crystal finished her work, Lidea's gaze turned to the man she had introduced as 'Warchief.' She wondered how she was able to call him that with a straight face. However, she knew that there were more important questions to consider. The foremost being why he had risked so much to save her. There must be a compelling reason behind his actions.

The atmosphere in the room had shifted, and the healer seemed to sense it. She swiftly and efficiently packed her belongings before addressing them both.

"I will leave you two to talk. Don't bother her for too long, Warchief, and make sure she eats. There is some broth on the table for her. Make sure she eats slowly! As for you, 'just Lidea,' try to rest once your questions are answered and your stomach is full."

Although Lidea was annoyed by the nickname and the fact that Crystal had instructed Warchief to watch over her like a child, she couldn't bring herself to say anything. She was too elated by the news that she hadn't lost her vision.

As the healer departed, Warchief took her place on the bed. Lidea briefly wondered why there was even a chair if nobody intended to use it. However, her curiosity soon gave way to seriousness as she focused her attention on the man before her.

"Thank you for saving me," she began. "Now tell me, what is the price you want for my life?"