And I believed him without question. I didn’t know why, but I had no doubt that Torben would do everything in his power to keep his word.
As we rode around the back of the castle and approached the gardens, I pointed around a large wall of bushes indicating where he should go to find the pond. When we cleared the wall of shrubbery, we came upon a small group of people. I recognized most of them as servants from within the castle. They were crowded around a tiny form that lay motionless on the ground.
My hand rose to my mouth as I realized it was a young child. There was a woman leaning over the girl, wailing and pressing kisses to her forehead. I didn’t pause for Torben to stop. I jumped from the horse, heedless of the fact that I might injure myself. By the gods, I landed on my feet with only a slight jarring in my legs. I was in motion before I had time to really consider whether it had been painful.
When I reached the crowd, I tried politely pushing my way through, but I got nowhere. That was until a large hand wrapped around my own and pulled me forward. Torben’s wide shoulders and impressive height sent people reeling back as though they were barefoot and standing on hot coals. They practically jumped out of his way. If I hadn’t been on my way to help a child, I might have been offended by how they moved for him and not their own princess. As it was, I had more important things on which to expend my energy.
Torben stepped to the side. Once his larger body was out of the way, I moved quickly, kneeling next to the mother and child. Before I said anything, I glanced up at Torben. He gave me a single nod, letting me know that he understood my unspoken message. I needed him to clear out the people. I didn’t need anyone to see my gift in action. I was surprised by the gentleness in his voice as he asked people to step back and give the woman privacy. A second later, I heard Dayna and Thomas’s voices as well. With them tending to the crowd, I could focus on the child.
“Ma’am,” I said softly. “Will you let me help?”
The woman lifted her head. Her eyes were screaming at me, begging me to do something.
“If you will allow me, I will help her. I will heal her,” I said. I didn’t explain how I would do that, nor did I think about what might be wrong with the child. It was clear that she’d fallen into the pond, so it was likely the child was drowning. But it might be more complicated than that. It might be that something had caused her to fall in, like a sudden seizure or headache. I had no knowledge of the child’s history, so I would not know—not until I touched her.
Finally, the woman nodded. I wasted no time getting my hands on the girl. I closed my eyes, shutting out everything around me. The people around me slipped away, their voices simply becoming a humming background symphony. The smells of the air, grass, and salty ocean faded away. The touch of the breeze on my skin was nothing more than a soft feather gliding ever so lightly. I was lost to my ability, to my magic, as I allowed myself to sink deep into the consciousness of the girl.
I felt her spirit stir, but it was very weak. I moved my own spirit through her form, finding the source of the problem. I began calling on my power. Her lungs were full of water, and I knew that I needed to get them empty in order for her to breathe, but that wasn’t the only damage. There was something wrong with her brain. Something pulled at me there, but I decided breathing was more important, so I focused on the lungs first.
“Little spirit hear my plea,
Draw near and do not flee.
Flowing lungs that have filled,
Overflow let all be spilled.
Push the water inside, out,
Use my power like a spout.
Breathe deep precious child,
For life, play, and being wild.
Your days are not done,
You’ve only just begun.
Once the lungs were clear, I sent a pulse of magic into her heart and began to chant.
“Pumping blood, life giving heart,
Respond to my magic and restart.
Pumping blood, life giving heart,
Join with this body, be a part.”
I chanted until, once again the heart was pumping rhythmically, sending out blood into the body. Finally, I moved to the brain. I wasn’t sure what I was looking for. I had never had to heal a brain injury before. I search out every part until I finally found the small area that was covered in blood. I pressed my power tightly against it and let the warmth flow into it as I began another chant.
“Mind of body, mind of spirit,
Listen to me, really hear it.
What is broken, let it heal,
To my will, come and kneel.
Do my bidding and restore,
What had been just before.
Become what needs to be,
Heed this command, hear me.”
I felt the magic and power flowing out of me. It was more than I had given before, and I wondered if I’d even be able to bear weight on my legs when it was finally done. When I was sure that whatever had been wrong with the brain was now repaired, and things in the body seemed to be working again, I began to pull back. As I drew away from her, I felt her spirit growing stronger.
By the time I was back in my own body, I heard coughing and a small voice.
“Mama, what happened?”
“Shh, child. Peace, you are fine now,” the mother said gently.
I opened my eyes, unsure of what I would see when I looked at the woman. Would she be fearful? Would she be disgusted? When I finally built up my nerve, I looked up and met the woman’s gaze.
I sucked in a deep breath as I watched the tears fall silently from her face. She leaned forward so that she was just inches from my face and then leaned her forehead down until it was touching my own.
“Bless you, child of the gods. Bless you for your selfless sacrifice.” Her words rushed over me like a soothing oil, and a calm filled my spirit that I had not felt in a very long time. It was as though the words were necessary, like they ended the healing process that had just taken place.
And then words suddenly filled my mind that I felt compelled to say in return. “It is my honor to serve.”
“I will not mention this to anyone if that is your wish, Your Highness.” The woman spoke again. She was continuing to stare at me, her eyes full of sincerity.
“I would be in your debt if you could keep this a secret.”
She gave me a slight bow with her head and then began to stand. Torben suddenly appeared and helped the woman up, while at the same time picking up the small child who looked tiny in his large arms. I had a flash in my mind of a different time, a different child, and a different set of circumstances as Torben held our own child. It was so real that I gasped and had to shake it off.
“Brant,” Torben called over to his comrade. “Please escort the child and her mother home.”