In the Quiet of the Day

Aurora took a deep breath, trying to get rid off the nauseousness that was slowly coursing through her body. She had used too much of her energy to brew certain potions and she knew she had to take some time off. She couldn’t keep on brewing potions for her father and for other patients, not in a short amount of time at least. Luckily they had stocked some potions in their cabinets for situations like these, but eventually they would run out as well. Aurora felt drained; more so because of the fear she had of losing her father than brewing too many potions at once. Her father was becoming sick at a rapid pace and although Aurora could support herself with the money she had earned over the years – and with the inheritance her father would left behind – she still didn’t feel ready to let him go. Not so soon after her mother had died.

Her father was sleeping soundly, surrounded by two mages who would keep watch over him so that Aurora could go out for a walk. She felt less sick as the air around her blew through her hair, reminding her of the good things in life. She wanted to take some time off from her duties, but she knew her patients wouldn’t wait for her to make up her mind. It was at times like these that she felt troubled with the occupation she had chosen for herself, but she knew that she wouldn’t trade it for the world. The happiness displayed on the faces of those around her as she saved a patient was priceless and her father’s inevitable death shouldn’t mean that she should turn her back on her duties. But it was hard, that was for sure.

As Aurora reached the quieter place of the town, she saw a young man sitting down on the ground. She hesitated. She didn’t really feel like having company around her, but maybe it would be good to talk to someone. Not about her problems of course, but just some nice small talk. When she went to the lake to get some rest a couple of days ago, she was glad that she had someone to talk to. So Aurora quietly approached the man, sitting down next to him. ”Hello,” she spoke softly, turning her head to the side so that she could give him a soft smile.

Aurora was relieved to be welcomed by a friendly face. He even gave her a wave, which she returned to him with a friendly smile. Although she just hesitated about being in someone else’s presence, she couldn’t help but feel relieved that it was someone who would enjoy her company. Most likely. It would be a lot more annoying if the person would be someone like Sirach. She couldn’t stand to have his sarcastic remarks around her for now. And she didn’t even know why she was thinking of him in the first place. She sat down next to the stranger, getting Sirach off her mind when she saw that he was replying through writing it down in a notebook.

”Do you have a medical condition that makes it uncomfortable or impossible for you to speak?” she asked. Only after she asked the question did she realize how intruding the question was and her cheeks started to redden. ”I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to sound that rude. It’s just that I’m a druid and I specialize in healing people, so I’d like to know about any medical condition I can whenever the occasion arise.” She didn’t know if it would soften her earlier spoken words, because it could be a sensitive topic for him to discuss. She would have to find out. If he brushed her off, she would let it go.

It was a simple as that.

Aurora felt even more bad when the boy wrote down that it was a question he received quite often. That was probably exactly the reason why she shouldn’t have asked. But she couldn’t help herself; she was interested in everything related to medical conditions. Maybe she miraculously could find a cure. She looked on with interest when he informed her that he was born without a voice. That sounded like a medical condition alright, but not one she knew the cure to. ”I must admit that I have never heard of that before, but have you ever traveled to Lemuria to let yourself get examined by a mage? I heard the moon mages are quite practiced with healing spells.” Unfortunately she was only a druid and the only cures she could come up with were the plants she knew which liquids to extract from to brew certain potions, but she had never heard of a plant which liquid could cure someone’s voice. So maybe he had to aim a little higher than that by contacting a mage.

Aurora smiled shyly when he wrote down his next words, praising her for her occupation. ”You make it sound like I’m exceptional at my job,” she jokingly said to him. ”But yes, my mother and father are both druids, so I guess I kind of learned it from them. I learned to extract from plants to brew potions from my parents and I had a regular master to teach me how to take care of wounds, burns and other skin diseases the old fashioned way.” The three of them had taught them so much, but now her mother was gone, her father was struck down with a disease that didn’t seem to have a cure and she didn’t know where her old master was.

”Have you lived your whole life in Ravaryn?” she asked curiously, partly because she was genuinely interested and partly because she didn’t want to think about her parents right now. She guessed he wasn’t; his skin tone seemed to be different from the citizens within Ravaryn, but she could be wrong.

Aurora leaned in his direction to read the words that answered her question about traveling to Lemuria. Ah… Yes, money could be an issue. She could count her lucky stars that she never had trouble with any of that. Both her parents had a great income with the occupations they had and even after her mother passed away her father was still able to cover all the bills with the money he made, which only increased after Aurora started to take on the same occupation as well. ”I wish I could say to you that I could come with you on your journey, but unfortunately there are some matters that I need to attend to here,” he spoke, giving him a wry smile. She wasn’t going to avert from her father’s side, not when he was sick like this. She had cancelled all the requests from outside of Ravaryn until she would see progress for the better regarding his sickness. Until then, she wouldn’t leave Ravaryn.

She thanked him by giving him a grateful nod. She was aware that both her occupation and her magic were things that people wanted to have for themselves, so she was fairly grateful for what she had. But… she still felt useless when she couldn’t help a patient. She felt useless with her father now. But she couldn’t express that to the man; they barely even knew each other. So she just nodded gratefully. He explained that his mother was from Xaila, which was probably the reason why he was so tanned. ”I see,” she spoke softly.

She nodded to his question. ”I have lived my whole life in Ravaryn, but I have visited the majority of the other kingdoms when I went with my parents on trips to treat some patients. I was very young when that occurred, so I don’t know all of the details, but I did visit Xaila as well at some point.” She smiled. ”I remember being stuck at home due to my skin being damaged by sunburns. Apparently a pale redhead can’t handle the warm temperatures of Xaila,” she joked, but she was pretty sure that was the reason why she had received so many burns.

”So you’re living with your family in Ravaryn?” she asked. She assumed that both his mother and his sister were still alive as he had spoken of them in the present tense.

Aurora smiled warmly at him and nodded when he spoke his words. She didn’t find it necessary to delve deeper into the topic; her father was sick, but that was a personal matter. Too personal to discuss right now. And there would also be a chance that she would lose control over her emotions and that she would cry, which she didn’t need right now. Especially not in front of a stranger. He seemed like a nice man, but Aurora didn’t want to go through the embarrassment of crying in front of a stranger. She had cried before when she was with Ve and although she had known him for a fair amount of time, she had still felt mortified by it. So no, talking about her father wouldn’t do for her, but it was nice to know that there were people out there who cared.

Aurora purposefully didn’t answer his words, which brought them to the topic of Xaila. ”Well, I don’t know what the city was called, but I think it was the capital of Xaila. There were some pretty impressive buildings over there. I think it’s where the royal guards were seated.” The structure of that building had been different from what she had experienced here in Ravaryn, but it was beautiful nonetheless. If she could ever have an opportunity to go back, she probably would. ”But I do prefer Lemuria over Xaila. I don’t know if you’ve ever been there, but it’s quite beautiful. There’s a city that’s literally surrounded by water. Like, the people are living practically under the water, surrounded by sea animals.” That was also the last place she had visited with her mother, which made it all the more beautiful, but also a sad memory in her mind.

She nodded at his question. ”I grew up with my parents here in Ravaryn. My mother has passed away a couple of years ago, so now it’s just me and my father.” She tried to say that with a steady tone to her voice, but the corners of her lips dragged down and she quickly averted her eyes from him. She sternly told herself that she couldn’t afford herself to cry in front of a stranger. She simply couldn’t.

Aurora smiled and nodded. Yes, she was pretty sure that a lot of people could see why she liked that place. Her smile faded away when she saw his expression change. She was already sure what was to come next when he wrote down in his notebook, but she was still glad that he was so considerate of her feelings. ”It doesn’t matter.” She contemplated on her words for a few moments. ”I’ve avoided the topic for so long that it might actually not be bad to talk about it.” Something with strangers being easy to talk to. She knew she could never bring this up when she was with her father, but it seemed easier to let go of her emotions when she was around strangers. And she liked the guy sitting next to her. He had this aura around him that made her feel calm.

She thought about his question for a moment, but then shook her head. ”While I do think it’s beautiful, my heart lies within Ravaryn. I have so many memories here and I wouldn’t want to give up the home I have anyway.” She was scared what would happen if her father were to pass away, but she knew she wouldn’t be able to sell the house. She wasn’t sure if her own income could support it, but her father had told her that she shouldn’t worry about anything if he were to pass away. She was angry with him for even bringing that up, but she knew deep in her heart that she had to face reality soon. But she just didn’t want to do that.

”What about you? Do you have any certain goals in mind?” she asked him. Then she realized that she didn’t even know his name. ”Oh, I’m Aurora by the way. Nice to meet you.” She gave him a smile, the remnants of the tears she had in her eyes earlier starting to fade away. He had successfully distract her from her sadness.

Aurora nodded with a warm smile around her lips as she read his words. She decided to introduce herself before she would spill out her heart to him about her past. It was good for her if she could talk about it with someone, but she didn’t want to spill out everything too quickly without even knowing who he was. Not every stranger could have good intentions, although he didn’t seem like to the type of guy who would do anything bad to her. But he was still a stranger after all, so she needed to be cautious. She couldn’t afford herself to be naïve now.

Aurora smiled after he had written down his words and she had read them. ”And who knows what you’ll find along the way,” she told him. ”We’re both still young. Anything could happen to us if we don’t push it too hard.” She meant a chance in occupation, but also regarding finding love. The boy introduced himself as Deirdre. It was an uncommon name, but Aurora found it to be quite beautiful. It suited him.

”Regarding my past…” Aurora gulped, fiddling with her hands. ”My mother passed away a few years ago. She had a disease that even the strongest mage in Lemuria couldn’t heal.” She felt tears brimming her eyes, but she continued on anyway. ”Now my father has gotten sick lately as well. Once again it’s a disease no one seems to be able to find a cure for and I’m afraid that I’ll lose him as well.” Tears started to roll down her eyes. This was one of the main reasons she had wanted to avoid the topic. ”Sorry,” she apologized as she wiped away the tears with her hands. ”I do have friends, but I’m still afraid to end up all alone. No one can ever replace family, you know.”

It were inspiring words that Deirdre had written down. Aurora wished she could have something other than her memories to remind herself of those words. Something she could use to engrave it in a memory she could actually touch. But no, she would have to solely rely on her memory for this one. So she gazed firmly at the words before she started to talk about her past. The words soon became hazy as she told her story and Aurora blinked furiously to get rid of the tears, which only resulted in them rolling down her cheeks. She let out a small laugh as Deirdre handed her a handkerchief she could use, which she accepted with a thankful nod.

She read the words he had written down and she nodded. ”It’s especially hard because life seems to go on. There are still patients who send letters to me because they require my attention. I can only take a break for a little while. I can’t let my patients down because of my own emotions.” She carefully wiped the tears away, but it seemed like bottling up her emotions had cost her dearly; every tear she wiped away was instantly replaced with a new one. ”I’ll wash this for you,” she promised him, trying to keep the mood lightly, but failing miserably because in the sound of her voice it was heard clearly how upset she was.

And then a thought occurred to her. It was stupid and she wasn’t even sure why she was thinking of this, but she felt like she needed it desperately. ”I’m really sorry for asking a question like this, but…” She bit her bottom lip as she tried to gather her thoughts. ”Would it be possible for me to borrow your shoulder for a minute? I feel pretty exposed crying like this.” Burying her head against his shoulder would make it seem as if they were a couple sitting close to each other, but that would at least take away the sharp edges of her sadness. And hopefully no one would notice that she was crying.

Aurora smiled when he wrote down that she didn’t have to worry about washing the handkerchief. She would wash it and return it to him, alright. Then she would have another reason to meet up with him. She felt really comfortable around him, which showed itself when she allowed herself to be weak. His embrace around her shoulders felt nice and Aurora laid her head on his shoulder, enjoying his warmth and his presence. Sometimes the presence of someone you didn’t know could be more soothing than a family member could ever offer, especially in times like these. Aurora knew that she wouldn’t be able to cry like this in front of her father and she had to let out her emotions somewhere, so this was a pretty decent way of doing that.

”Thank you,” Aurora sighed after a certain amount of time, but she didn’t move her head away from his shoulder. It felt too nice to let go of it now. ”I really needed that. I want to be strong in front of my father and my patients, so I don’t have a lot of opportunities to let myself go like this. It’s really kind of you for letting me do this.” She hoped she wasn’t making him feeling awkward. They were strangers after all.

The embrace around her was loosened so that she could pull away anytime, which she appreciated. Not that she was going to; she felt comfortable like this, even though they hadn’t known each other for that long. Not even an hour. She didn’t know. She didn’t keep track of time during times like these. Her gaze followed him and landed on her hand, where he traced the letters of the words he wanted to convey to her. The sensation on her skin felt nice and Aurora had to actually put in some effort to concentrate on what he was saying to her. She smiled when she discovered the message he was trying to let her know and she nodded. ”You surely did,” she spoke softly. After she was sure that her tears were dried, she pulled back from him, giving him a thankful nod.

”What kind of job do you do in Ravaryn?” she asked him. She didn’t want to linger too long on her sadness. She had cried and she was happy that she could do that, but she was genuinely interested in him. She wasn’t going to use him as a scapegoat to get rid off her emotions.