Page 7 of The Elven Healer's Apprentice

Memories of my brother falling ill and my desperate attempts to save him flooded my mind. “Henri—I must get to Henri.”

“No Henri here,” a youthful male voice responded. “You best not try to get up yet. Sina is bringing food, and she will be cross if you get out of bed before you eat.”

Easing onto my side, I propped my heavy head on one hand. “Who is Seena?” I attempted to replicate his unusual pronunciation as I blinked my blurry eyes to bring the form in the doorway into focus.

“She’s the housekeeper and cook. She runs things when Master Merlon is away. Don’t cross her or you’ll be sorry.”

My eyes finally focused, and I clearly saw my fellow conversationalist. Curly-haired with small horns, he regardedme solemnly with large liquid brown eyes that reminded me, in some undefinable way, of a deer’s gaze. Then I noticed his legs. From the waist down, he was a goat.

“You’re a faun.”

He brayed a laugh. “Of course, I am a faun.”

“I have never met one before. My name is Adela.”

“Great, introductions.” He rolled his eyes, got to his feet—hooves—and offered me a jaunty bow from the waist. On his top half, he wore a long vest that hung almost to his knees. From under that peeked a white linen shirt. “Pleased to meet you. The name is Lippin. I am Master Merlon’s assistant, but my job is more like a kid of all work.” He pouted. “He doesn’t pay me enough for what he requires.”

“Don’t believe a word!” a very feminine voice announced from just out of sight. “Now remove yourself, Lippin, and get back to your duties. I will take care of the human now.”

Lippin scampered off without a hint of protest. In his place, a petite, though slightly plump female with brown leathery skin, gray curly hair, and enormous ears pushed her way through the door. She carried a massive tray full of covered dishes and a great carafe.

“Ungrateful boy,” she muttered as she slid the tray onto the top of a table. “If the master docked his pay for every hour that he wasn’t available, Lippin would owe the master money.” She pulled out a chair and turned to survey me. “Weak as a newborn kitten, aren’t you?” Compressing her lips, she wrinkled her nose, and her ears twitched. “Can you sit up unassisted?”

“I think so.” I eased myself further upright, but before I moved far, she was there, lifting, supporting, and urging. Before I knew it, I was sitting in the chair at the table. The food had been uncovered, and a spoon was in my hand.

“Now eat while I see to this room.” Sina whirled about, making the bed, dusting the room, and sweeping the floor. Shefinished before I had eaten more than a few bites. Coming to a rest across the table from me, she put her fisted hands on her hips and surveyed me with a critical eye.

“What am I going to do with you, child? Master never gives a thought to such things when he brings foundlings home. Not only are you human, but he promised to deal with you when he returned. What does he go and do then?”

She paused as though waiting for an answer, but I got the impression she didn’t really desire one.

After a great, whooshing breath, she answered her own question. “He gets himself caught in King Emrys’ curse, he does. Now it is up to Sina to deal with the human. It is always up to Sina.” She huffed and motioned to my uneaten food. “Eat! You won’t get stronger if you don’t eat. I will return and you best have eaten it all. Drink that whole pitcher too. I follow instructions, I do.”

With that, she left in a flurry of movement.

I stared after her with the distinct sensation of having survived a storm. Relief and panic mingled with more questions as I gazed down at the feast before me. Where was I and what had happened to Henri?

Chapter Three

One Year Later

Merlon

After months of being constrained to the grounds of the estate owned by my cousin, the king of Eldarlan, my walk home emphasized how unaccustomed my body had become to long rambles. My legs ached and my feet throbbed long before the first glimpse of my roof poking above the treetops. Glinting in the late morning sunlight, the sight provoked an equal measure of delight and dread.

A year had passed. I had blindly headed out to answer my cousin’s call for help, not knowing I would be gone for so long. My experiments must have failed, and my patients might’ve died or worsened with no one to tend them. At least I had confidence that my animals had survived. Between Sina and Lippin, the basics should’ve been attended to, but my heart sank at the prospects of what my other interests had suffered. And the herbs—I groaned. My stores required constant care and replenishing. Even if they hadn’t been used, the collections probably rotted, making them unusable.

Considering that most of the stores I’d had on hand went into the elixirs that the princesses and the new queen had required, I carried few reserves in my inventory now. The prospect of long hours spent collecting, drying, preserving, andstoring the herbs, plants, and roots I required lay before me. Not a pleasant realization when all I wished to do was return home and sleep. The king’s fortress had been far too busy for me to truly rest.

When I reached the front gate, familiar spells enfolded me and the laughter of children at play reached my ears. Curious, I followed the sound around the corner of my clinic space.

“Master Healer!” A gang of familiar children ran to greet me, crowding around me. Ranging from six years old to their early teens, they clamored for my attention as though I had never left.

One tugged on my tunic edge. “Mather Healer, I loth a thooth.” He offered me a wide grin to show off his missing tooth. The new gap was impossible to spot for there were three noticeable ones in his wide grin.

“That’s nothing,” his brother declared. “Mother Mina doesn’t have any teeth at all.”

“Impressive,” I assured the gap-toothed grinner. Meanwhile, I eyed his brother. “You realize your brother’s will come back and Mother Mina’s won’t.”

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