"Hi Rose, yes, I'm fine. Thankfully, it's not me you have to help, but a good friend of mine."
Bethany quickly shimmied to the side as she pointed Oriana's way, sending the Healer, Rose's, eyes her way.
Rose was about to speak, but clammed up for a moment, as if she realised something.
It was very sudden, and just as quickly as it occurred, it ended.
"And who have we here. I may not know everything about you, Bethany, but having friends is something I know you don't really have," Rose replied, raising her eyebrow at her.
"Pfft, what. I have plenty of friends. I may even consider you to be one of them, if only before you made that comment." Bethany said playfully.
"My bad, my bad. Don't strike me off the list." She gave a pouty look, teasingly towards Bethany. "Now, what seems to be the problem?"
The healer very quickly moved into professional mode, switching up as if she hadn't just been chatting with a friend.
"Oh, well, I got injured." Oriana managed to eke out. The sudden shift in tone caught her off guard.
"I see. Now, before we go any further. Bethany."
The one in question just shook her head.
"Really?"
"You know the rules."
"Fine", and with that, Bethany just left the room, leaving Oriana to her fate.
"Sorry, but if a patient needs healing for anything, unless they are family, the patient should be on their own. Just in case there are any sensitive problems…or secrets.
"…"
The way she looked at Oriana as she said that made her a little worried. Normally, Oriana felt in control of the situation. Granted, there were times like her exit from the Ball, where she clearly wasn't. But just talking to this person made her feel like she was a little lamb being led by a string.
"So, do you want to tell me how you got hurt?" The healer said as she rummaged around in her desk drawer, pulling out a magic stone tablet.
"I was attacked. I was out doing a task for the adventurers' guild and was attacked by a couple of bandits."
"Oh my…that must have been pretty scary."
The voice Rose responded with sounded sincere…but it felt tinged with something else.
"Now let's see where you got hurt."
Rolling up her sleeves and pulling up the side of her shirt, she showed Rose where she was injured.
"I see someone gave you some first aid. That was good thinking. Wounds like that, left without any help, tend to get worse very easily."
Oriana sighed in relief, knowing that Robert had truly helped her out.
"I should do something nice for him as thanks." She thought to herself about getting him some nice dessert as a treat, or maybe using the coin she had to pay for a nice trip for him and his family.
But that would have to wait. She had some healing to do.
Although the look on Rose's face told her it wouldn't be that easy.
"…"
"…"
"I'll be honest with you. I know you're not human and have an illusion over you."
"Wha-what are you talking ab-"
"Look, you don't have to worry. No one aside from me can see or hear us. The rooms are coated in magic circles to keep everything incredibly private."
Looking around the room, she couldn't see anything. And she knew her magic circles. There should be some trace of them.
"So, you're also quite the mage as well, not just an illusionist. Trying to find traces of the magic circles. You won't. I've been doing this for far longer than you."
The sound of rapid blinking from Oriana was all that could be heard after that.
"Now, change back to how you actually look. If I'm to heal you, I need to know what race you are, lest I do something that hurts you by accident."
The raised eyebrow really fixed Oriana in place and strictly told her what had to be done. With no deviation.
Oriana, in wanting to ensure she could continue doing what she did, felt like just showing that she could create illusions was a bad idea.
But she needed healing. And another part of her saw that this might be invigorating.
She hardly knew this person, but she felt like Rose truly was just trying to help her. Being able to just be herself might be quite nice since it's been some time since she could.
When she was around Robert and in the Adventures Guild, you could say she was herself there. But even then, she had some sort of act on display.
So, she did as the Healer said.
"Oh my. A forest fae, I haven't seen one of you in centuries."
"Wait, what," Oriana replied with a dumbfounded expression.
"Oops, I guess the cat's out of the bag. You did show who you are, so I think it's only right I do the same."
Before her eyes, she watched as Rose's skin changed from the tanned tone she had to a deep, dark red.
Atop her head, two horns grew, pointing out through her hair. Her ears elongated, and something popped up over her shoulder. It took a moment to realise what it was…the end of a tail.
She was a demon.
Rose just stretched as she changed form. No illusion involved.
That was something Oriana would love to do. A full change like that meant that it couldn't just fail like illusion magic did against certain spells.
The usual downside was that most people with that ability could only change between a couple of forms. But if she had that ability as well as her illusion magic, that would be incredible.
"Now, I won't ask how you actually got hurt. I'm fairly certain you could deal with a couple of bandits. And these," she said as she peered at Oriana's wounds. "Have been made by a very finely made sword, by a…pretty good swordsman. Not something your typical bandit has or is."
"Err…"
"Don't worry. I don't really care what happened. All I care about is getting you all better. Now hold still."
Contrary to what people thought, healing magic wasn't a one-size-fits-all. Nor is it as easy as casting a spell on someone to fully fix them up. Spells like that did exist, but they were mainly used in the heat of battle, and healed you enough to keep you fighting.
A temporary fix that would easily fall apart should you get injured again, likely leading to an even worse injury.
Magic that actually healed and helped the body was more complicated, required precision, and, as Oriana had learnt, was different depending on the race of the person being healed.
"Okay, easy does it. Just remain still while I sort out this wound."
Running her hand over the wound, just a short gap between it and her palm, Oriana could feel the pulsating magical energy flowing in the wound. It was an odd feeling…it almost made her feel numb, and a little bit giddy.
"So, what's a forest fae doing in a city like this. I think you might be the only one in this city."
Oriana thought for a moment, given how she was feeling and how Rose seemed to read her like a book, she realised she had to be careful.
"I fancied a change. Things were just too boring in my village. Nothing ever happened."
It was the truth, just not all of it.
Rose looked up at her, "An idyllic life in the forest, far from problems, crime and death. Yeah, sounds like a dull place. I would hate to live in a place like that."
Oriana was about to nod to agree with her, but the sarcastic tone on her last statement made her stop.
"If I could actually age and were older, then I probably would enjoy living there. But as a fae, and remaining like this forever, staying there would have bored me to death. I don't know how the rest are fine with it."
Rose laughed a little at that.
"Huh…I can see where you're coming from. But, I think you will probably start to get tired of all the hustle and bustle of the city at some point, and will probably wish you could relax in the forest for a while."
Oriana hadn't thought of it like that. That may happen, but for the time being, she had no inclination to move away from the…hustle and bustle of the city, as it were.
"Okay, that's the first wound done. On to the next."
Oriana looked down to find her green skin completely knitted together. There was no trace that she had been injured at all.
"I guess leaving worked out for you, though. With all the stuff going on here, I'm sure you probably haven't had a chance to get bored anyway. The Peace festival fiasco, the Merchants Guild troubles and now the castle Ball kerfuffle. So much mayhem in so little time."
"Yeah, I heard about that." Oriana thought back to her times acting out other roles and causing the chaos Rose was talking about. "Yeah, whoever is doing it seems to be causing all sorts of trouble. Who knows what they will go for next? I hope they catch them soon, just to make sure everyone stays safe," she continued, trying to sound the part of a concerned citizen.
Rose raised her eye as she knitted back Oriana's flesh.
"You want them caught, then. Huh."
"Of course. I know I left to get away from the boredom of the village, but I don't want my life in danger. I can still die."
"Okay…I can see that. I'm not entirely sure how honest you are being about it, but I won't pry. Ah, there we go." Rose said as she shook her wrist, feeling a little pain from all the strain.
At that, Rose had finished the healing process. No longer was Oriana racked with pain in her body, and you could not tell she had been attacked at all.
"Thank you. I have to say, that is incredible." Oriana said she tried to find any sign of the wounds.
"First time at a healer's? It must have been quite boring if you never needed a healer back in your village. Getting hurt growing up is like a rite of passage."
Rose put away her notes, and Oriana covered herself back up again.
"Now, it has been nice getting to know you. Even though I might not know all about the real you. But either way, it's been fun. If you have any other problems in the future, you are more than welcome here."
"Thank you," Oriana said, as she rubbed her arm where the damage had been before.
"Now, there are just two things to do. First is Payment. I only ever ask for an amount that people are able to provide. For you, let's say one gold coin."
Taking it out of her storage ring, she handed it over to Rose. It was a small amount compared to the wealth she had from all the theft from the merchants' guild, so it seemed fair.
"The other is just to tell you to put your illusion back up. If Bethany sees you now, that might be quite a shock."
"Ah, yes, thank you again."
Bethany had already seen her as a forest fae, so it wouldn't really, but it was possible Bethany could put two and two together if she left looking as she did. What other reason would she have for looking like a forest fae, other than to be in her normal form for her healing?
She still wasn't too sure about Bethany, and so didn't want to reveal everything about herself yet.
Covering herself back in the illusion from before, she headed over to the door once they had said their goodbyes again and left.
Back outside, she headed towards the waiting area from before and found Bethany standing by the far wall.
"Wow, you look good as new. Rose is quite the miracle worker, isn't she?"
"She is. It's incredible how you could never even tell I got hurt."
"Yeah, she's helped me out a few times, when things got a little hairy. Oh, that reminds me. Come, let's get somewhere a bit quieter."
Heading out of the building, they travelled down the alleyways, finding one that was clear of people.
"Now, I know we haven't known each other long. But, with us both needing coin, and the abilities we have, I have a job that I think would be right up your alley."