The Great War: Chapter 13
The prince and the healer
“Jae,” a healer speaks, causing Jae to spin around. Her arms are full of small salve containers that other healers have asked for.
“Do you need salve as well?” she asks.
The healer shakes their head, pointing to the entrance of the tent. “The prince is here to see you.”
Jae can’t help but arch her brow high. The prince, here to see her?
“Really?” escapes her lips.
The healer smiles back weakly. “Well, he asked for Yumi, but… you know.”
“Ah.” She had a feeling. Yumi met the prince already. Of course he asked for her. “Thank you. I’ll see him in a moment.”
The healer nods and steps aside, allowing Jae through. She hurries down the small walkway, cots on her left and right, brushing against her legs as she goes, tossing the salve containers to the working healers. Some notice and catch the containers, others busy with their healing let the container land at their sides.
Her arms now empty, she rushes to the tent’s entrance and steps out into the open air. The sky is bright blue, the light of the cycle fully set in by now. Recently, she’s been acutely aware of how thick the air is inside the tent versus outside of the tent. She tries to encourage breaks to other healers as much as possible, lest they let themselves go crazy inside.
She sees the prince almost immediately, standing off to the side in his neat purple palace garb. Suddenly feeling self-conscious, she looks down at herself. Blood stains her short dress. There’s no point in trying to wash it out if she surrounds herself with horrific injuries every cycle.
“Jae?” she hears a call, and she looks up. The prince has shifted, his arms folding impatiently.
“Oh, sorry,” she mutters, approaching him. “You were probably looking for Yumi, right?”
“Yes, that was who I asked for,” the prince replies.
“She’s preparing to set up an infirmary in Ica. She leaves next cycle. So that means I’m in charge here now.” She holds out a hand. “Jae, acting head healer.”
“Samuel,” the prince replies flatly, shaking her hand.
“Don’t you usually have a bodyguard with you?”
“He’s off… training.”
“I see. Well, what do you need?”
Samuel stares at her silently, his gaze vacant and his expression stony. His lips part ever so slightly, though that’s as much as they move.
“Your Majesty?” she asks.
“I’m sorry,” he sighs with a slight head shake, “it’s not something for you to know. Thank you for your time.”
“Oh,” she breathes, the note coming out more downhearted than she wanted it to sound, “I see. Would you like me to send for Yumi, then?”
“No, it’s not that important.”
Jae just nods, turning away from the prince and carrying herself back to the infirmary tent as fast as possible. She couldn’t help but feel disappointed, even thought she did nothing wrong.
She steps back into the tent, the noise of groans and soft conversation once again becoming her world.
She takes a quick look around, then waves down a healer with empty hands and a downturned expression.
“I need you to send a message,” she tells them, which lights a spark in their tired eyes. “Go tell Yumi that the prince came to see her. And… take your time.”
“Thank you,” the healer breathes back as Jae moves out of their way. As they pass, Jae pats their shoulder awkwardly, trying to give them some sort of comfort. And as the healer steps out of the tent, she sighs to herself and heads off to check on the unattended injured.
“I’m back,” Devin speaks suddenly, causing Samuel to jump and turn around with surprise. His heart leaps in his chest, which he places a hand over to try and calm it upon laying eyes on his friend.
“You scared me…” he breathes aloud.
“My apologies.”
“So, how’d it go?”
“I don’t know if there is a range,” he replies, regarding his newfound teleportation power, “but I believe that I can only go to places I’ve been before.”
“You can go from here to Ica?” Samuel breathes in awe.
Devin nods back. “But not any of the farming villages nearby. I tried.”
A flash of green in the corner of his eye catches Samuel’s attention, and he can’t help but turn his head. A healer is trotting away from the infirmary tent and heading into town.
“They weren’t listening,” Devin assures the prince. “They just left, probably running a message. Did you speak to Yumi?”
“Yumi isn’t in charge here anymore,” Samuel replies. “She’s traveling to Ica next cycle to set up another infirmary close to port.”
“So who did you meet?”
“Jae.”
“Never heard of her.”
“Me neither. But…” he trails off, doubt rising in his chest.
“But?” Devin presses.
“What if we’re wrong?” Samuel asks. “What if Yumi isn’t the being we’re looking for.”
Devin folds his arms and scowls, thinking. That doubt came to him the moment he had been told that Yumi wasn’t at the infirmary, and grew with his short conversation with Jae. “A devoted healer” could be any healer.
“If you have doubts, then maybe we can look for the others first,” Devin finally speaks. “There are four other lines we can focus on.”
“Right…” Of the five other lines they have from Korodon, they know for a fact that they are looking for a healer and a Creationist.
“We can try to find the Creationist,” Devin suggests. “There’s a high concentration of them in the refugee camp at Ica. I’m sure it wouldn’t be that hard to find one who used to be a librarian.”
Samuel only nods back in agreement. Leave it to Devin to already have a plan.
His friend extends a hand. “Shall we?”
“The sooner we start, the better,” Samuel replies, taking Devin’s hand.
In an instant, his stomach lurches, and the small town of Eros melts into the outskirts of Ica.