The Last Healer

Chapter 72:Ariella

Chapter 72: Ariella

"You've returned." Her voice sounded as I walked inside the large hall my eyes falling on the watery form as it floated towards me. "Come, child, there is much we must speak about." Her hand held out as she urged me to walk forward, a gentle smile on her watered face. "You have many questions from your endeavor earlier.

"You know?" I questioned and she nodded. I stared at her in surprise, watching the bits of water swirling around inside of her as I tried to understand how she knew. How could she have known what had happened when she wasn't there? When she was stuck here.

"Come, my dear. Let us walk." Her arms rose and wafted around her as she waved me forward, turning her back towards me. "Tell me, child, what happened?"

"But you already-"

"I know the facts, my dear." She interrupted, her voice soft and gentle as she studied me from the corner of her eye. "But I want to know what you know." Her blue lips curved into a smile as we reached the altar, her eyes studying the wall in front of us.

"I attempted the Water Drop Technique but I exhausted myself." My arms curled up around me, tightening around my middle as I glanced down at the floor, the memories swirling in front of my mind. "My friend took me back to my room and, four hours later, returned to tell me the child had died." My gaze shot up to her, my arms tightening once more as I stared at her. "I don't understand how she died. The infection was gone and, if it was there, it was just a small one. It shouldn't have killed her."

"That is where you are wrong, Ariella." Nimiane sighed as she turned towards me, her watery eyes soft and gentle. "You must remember, what you have gone through is something we all have suffered. We've all lost the people we were tending. Whether because our skill wasn't enough or because there wasn't enough time."

"But at least there's a warning, there wasn't with her!" I exclaimed, tears streaming down my face. A furry head nuzzled into my leg, comforting me as best as he could.

"No, there wasn't." Nimiane sighed as she glanced down at Pika. "The simple fact was that the girl was ill." She leaned forward, her blue hand brushing against the top of Pika's head.

"Ill?"

"With a cold." She confirmed.

"T-that doesn't make sense." I muttered, hugging myself tightly as if I was trying to find warmth within myself. "A cold doesn't kill people that quickly, we usually catch it first."

"Normally, you are correct. However, you're forgetting one very important thing." Nimiane rose, her eyes studying me as she straightened herself. "The Water Drop Technique is known to hasten an illness that is inside of a body. No one is sure why, but in my day, if one had even the smallest fever, they were excluded from the technique."

"Do you mean to tell me, I killed her?" I stared at her in horror, my chest constricting painfully as the realization settled in my mind. I had killed. I had killed an innocent child.

"You are not a murderer, Ariella." Nimiane sighed as her hand waved to the wall in front of her. "In my day, when someone had died, the Healer was to come here and kneel in front of this wall, allowing her mind and soul to release the negative feelings inside." She turned to me once more, her hand resting on my shoulder as her watery lips smiled at me. "You did not kill her, the illness did. Your inexperience, however, almost killed you." Her hand lifted from my shoulder, her arms crossing in front of her as she stared at me. "You are to busy handling the mindset of a Warrior, you're not thinking like a Healer. With that mindset, you will never reach your true potential and many more people will die."

"How else am I supposed to Heal? This was how I was taught-"

"Yes." She nodded as she stepped backwards and headed towards the wooden door on the right of us. My eyes studied it, the door hidden in the corner, blocked by the pillars as you walked inside. "How you were taught was fine for the basic skills, even if they used a massive amount of Power. On the other hand, Ariella, you are no longer dealing with the child spells. You are learning how to Heal with techniques given to only the strongest of Healers and only to the ones who understand the basics of out ability."

"But you gave it to me."

"I knew when you failed, you would return alone." She turned to me, her arm rose to her shoulders as she pointed to the door. "I needed you without your friends, Ariella Mathews, because I have to teach you what they could not. I must teach you what it means to be a real Healer of Water."

"Am I not one now?"

"No. You have the potential, my dear, but you are a Healer with a Warrior mindset and that will, eventually, take your life as it almost did today." Nimiane turned and floated forward. "Come, child. Let us begin."

I nodded slightly as I rushed forward and followed her through the door. A part of me continued to wonder why she kept saying I thinking in a Warrior;s mindset. I never thought of fighting and I rarely got angered or over protective. I didn't understand at all.

Nimiane led me through a hall and into the last door on the left, into a room with a giant tub inside. It sat down in the middle of the room, the floor encasing its edges as the water lapped slightly.

"The others and I had cleaned this out for your use as I am sure you will be using it a lot." Nimiane told me as she floated closer, her watered body connecting to the water of the tub. "Undress yourself and then come and climb in, child."

"What am I going to do?" I questioned as I inched my way towards the edge, allowing the water to lap against my feet.

"You are going to float, my child." Nimiane told me, her watery smile appeared once more. "You are going to allow the water to carry you, to support you."

"Why?" I questioned and watched as her head shook slightly.

"You will find out when the time is right, Ariella." She smiled softly as she held out her hand. "Come, child. Let us begin."

A moment passed and I nodded and slipped out of my clothes and stepping into the cool water.