Chapter 20: 20.

Well, that was certainly an impressive flop. Splendidly done, Selene. Simply breathtaking. She bounces off the pavement after a moment of stupefied inactivity, whirling to face me with absolutely gobsmacked expression. "HOW!?" - she demands in a voice that would be whisper if she wasn't also trying to shout.

"You are not the first seer I'm dealing with." - I toss back at her - "All of you are subject to the same fundamental problem - you tend to assume that what you see is what will happen, instead of what might happen." And the best part of it - it's true. When I was eight, I've been attacked by a guy who was under impression I would burn his village when I grow up. Of course, he did not take into consideration that making an attempt on me would prompt father to burn the village years earlier instead. He probably wouldn't have gone this far even so, except the investigation turned out that whole of the village wholeheartedly supported the murder plot. It might have something to do with the fact they were rather recently taken from a much more brutal lord who actually would burn villages for shits and giggles, if he had half a legitimately-sounding reason to. As it stands, father decided to put the "prophecy" to end in the most empathetic manner possible. Which involved making the villagers collect everything valuable and get the fuck out of the village with subsequent burning of the empty houses. It was a fun exercise in fire magic for little me, and villagers were even given timber and straw to rebuild. All in all, pretty merciful, if we consider that the usual reaction to murder plots against nobles is to put the whole village to the sword. Admittedly, dad DID have hung the guy who actually made the attempt. As he put it - "as an abject lesson in proper communication with your liege".

She facepalms. "Not a seer!" - she starts to protest, but then realizes just what she's about to admit - "I... I mean, not intentionally one, like!"

"Uh-huh." - I quip sardonically, as I start walking again, making her doubletake then hurry to catch up - "So, let me sum things up for you. You know of a possible future in which I would do unpleasant things to you. Probably in retaliation for butting in on the engagement. Which you assume is already an on-going process. Which, I have to point out, is rather asinine, as I have only been told you've been spending time with Edward today." Technical truths - mean number one to deceive a light mage. Just because I've only been told a first time yesterday doesn't mean I didn't overhear or spy on anything prior to that.

"Uh-huh." - she mirrors my expression - "So what changed?"

I snort as I pull Moon Unit a little bit closer, the motion clearly visible to Selene - "In this particular timethread, I like girls."

She nearly faceplants again, catches herself in the last second and stares at me and Moon Unit with an expression that is as incredulous as it is confused.

"Wait, no, that doesn't make sense. Why would prince Edward confirm you're a villainess if you're not?" - she demands suspiciously.

"I'm afraid you'd have a better idea on that front. I haven't spoken to Ed since I was nine years old." - I offer casually - "I am honestly unsure what is up with him. Up until recently, I've simply assumed the engagement is proceeding as normal. Right up until the point where we were supposed to meet at the Academy and didn't. According to what I've gathered from the scuttlebutt going around the Academy and confirmed with Alistair, Ed's been avoiding me. My best guess is that he has his eye on you and decided to see if he can't provoke me into doing something sufficiently rash to blame me for the failure of engagement."

Selene clearly wants to object, but doesn't seem to have a good one on her mind. "Edward wouldn't do that." - she eventually offers - "Besides, it's you who's clinging to this engagement."

I take my time to rub Moon Unit's back calmingly, as I can feel her tensing up with each accusation Selene is tossing out. No need to make elven waifu explode on a hapless moron. "Can you blame me for not wanting to pauper my family?" - I offer in return - "I need Ed's cooperation to break the darn thing without upsetting someone in the process, and he seems to be set on avoiding the issue."

"Wait, really? You want to break the engagement?" - Selene switches from suspicious to surprised suddenly - "What the... how... Just... GAH! You... I... You mean if I just talked to... Oh, fuck it all with a rake. We've all been goddamn morons about it, isn't it so?"

"Well, I wouldn't go so far about myself. I mean, I'm doing pretty well personally. Getting together some personal fortune, collecting pretty girls on the way... Yeah, I'd say I'm pretty much on track for a good life, if we don't mind the issue of engagement. Honestly speaking, I can simply wait till we get to the altar and tell Ed 'I don't, you cheating bastard', but that is the apocalypse option. I'd very very very much rather we settle this amiably somehow." - I offer to her - "In no small part because not settling this up amiably means enmity between my family and royals, and generally you don't piss off your sovereign unless you plan to rebel. Which we don't."

___

Selene is quiet as I and Moon Unit talk to the priest. There's basically no problem, though he has to send out an additional crier to make sure people know there are free healings in the temple today. I think the no problem bit is because I gave him a gold coin in "donation" to make sure he handles business for us. Nothing out of ordinary, given that crier gets an ecu from the priest for his trouble. I imagine he would in turn distribute a couple sols to boys that would run around and shout the short message and direction to crier. Selene notably takes the proceedings in, her eyes narrowing at the money exchange.

"Why'd you bribe the priest?" - she hisses to me. At least she knew not to shout it out loud. Progress.

"I didn't? This is the standard practice in the temple. You give a gold for the temple's troubles in making sure people know there is a healer in the residence. Nominally it's free, but every one who visits to be healed or blessed will donate something to the temple. In the end of the day, the priest in charge of proceedings counts the donations and passes over your tithe. Beginners usually break even, if they weren't lazy or caused problems. More advanced healers, like the three of us, will probably end up with a profit. You may donate your tithe back to temple, if you so wish, but generally it is expected that you will at the very least recover the gold you offered in the beginning." - I explain to her as the acolyte leads us to the spacious room set in the front section of the temple. There's a number of beds and chairs there, and a couple tables. One of them is occupied by a cleric with a thick ledger and a donation bowl. He rises to bow to us, introduces himself as "Cleric of the second circle, faithful of Argul, Marra and Kinov, brother Theodore". While there are numerous gods that tangibly exist and could be prayed to with observable results, the temple is a monolithic organization that, in all honesty, is much more advanced than blind faith religions I've been used to in previous life. I suspect this is in no small part due to the fact that gods can and WILL smite their priests for grift and corruption. Serving multiple gods is not forbidden, though. For example, our cleric aide is serving Argyl, who is the god of crafts, Marra, who is the goddess of healing and Kinov, who is the god of business.

"Brother Theodore, a moment of your attention." - I request once I'm sure Moon Unit and Selene are set up and ready to receive the customers. In fact, they're both busy already, handing out minor blessings of light to temple attendants attracted to the room with the flashes of light magic. He frowns and turns to me.

"Yes, lady Gillespie? Is something unsatisfactory?" - he inquires - "There are only a few of..."

He trails off as I raise my hand - "Not that. I wanted to ask if temple is running low on any cures. There are not enough people to need three healers at once."

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He brightens up, answering -"We are fairly well stocked on basics, lady Gillespie, but if I may be so bold, a stock of cure for cold would be nice."

I surmised as such, hence the sack of dried mint that I tote with me. I had to make arrangements with father to have mint shipped to me with messengers. Thankfully, my initial fields had yielded well, and people over at the county quickly grasped the value of growing it, so there's no shortage. "Fair enough. If the temple can provide honey and ouso, I have the herbs necessary with me."

Making the initial batch is simple, but Selene's reaction when I pull her off the greetings to quickly teach the compaction of cure is absolutely priceless. "You're just going to teach me that? Why?" - she asks in absolute befuddlement even as she repeats the movements after me.

"Moon Unit already knows how to, and I want everyone to take a turn at both. Besides, I don't exactly intend to keep the recipe a secret. I've always intended to distribute it to the temples. In father's county, temple already took over the production." - I explain, as I verify she's capable of making it and leave her to finish the batch, joining Moon Unit in front. I can feel Selene's eyes on me all the time. And how she is both relieved and even more confused after seeing me use light magic for real. The cases slowly grow more complicated, as sick and injured people come in or are brought in by their friends and relatives. So far, so good, though there was one harrowing moment when a pair of panicking girls dragged in their father going through a heart attack. It took all three of us to stabilize the guy.

"That was.. tiring." - Selene mutters as she rubs her temples. Moon Unit is currently holding a wet towel over her face. Heart attacks are a serious thing. I mean sure, we managed to handle it, but between the three of us, I'm the only one who still has some semblance of energy. Both Moon Unit and Selene are nursing headaches from pushing all the magic they could.

"Maybe, maybe. But their smiles are worth it." - I quip back, thumbing in the general direction of sisters, who are quietly sitting by their father as he recovers on one of the beds and literally glow with happiness. And this is not a metaphor, they're physically luminescent. That's a thing that happens to happy people in this world, yes. Usually also an indication of decent magic potential.

A man of obviously great stature enters the hall. One of the top level priests in this temple, if his headwear is of any indication. Theodore hastily raises and bows to the newcomer. "Prelate Iohann, good afternoon. How may I serve?" - he offers quickly. Prelate, huh? Interesting.

Iohann waves him off - "Easy, brother. Keep to your task, I am merely curious about our volunteers. To make the heart beat again is no small feat, even for three healers working together." He strolls up to us, but pauses and stays a bit away once he sees the wet towels over the heads. "Magic exhaustion?" - he inquires in a soft voice - "Should you need to, brother Theodore can summon acolytes to take you to secluded rooms to rest and recover." He smiles at me, and motions to step aside a little. Probably because it's obvious I'm not as badly hit as the other two. "Lady Gillespie? I wish to confer with you about the cure for cold. I had acolytes come on in and tell me they could learn the makings of the cure just by watching you. You should be more careful to conceal the... Oh?"

He trails off and pauses as I raise my hand. "That was the idea, most honorable prelate. I desire for the temple to learn the recipe and to provide it to all good people of the kingdom. The temple in my father's county already does that much, I decided to be proactive and teach it here as well. If acolytes are not confident they learned properly, tell them to come and watch again, we will be mixing more of it when my companions regain some energy." - I explain to him - "Temple does not sell the cures by bulk, so my market gains will not be hampered, and honestly, I have far more irons in fire then just this one thing. Making sure the temple preserves the recipe and makes good use for it is frankly more important to me than squeezing that one extra ecu out of keeping the recipe secret."

He strokes his chin thoughtfully. "My, my. Kinov surely blessed you." - he muses - "You are quite favored of many gods, it seems like. We are grateful for your contribution and will count you among the worthy from now on. Between the salvation of dwarves and gift of knowledge, you most definitely are of worth, milady."

H-oh. That's actually a pretty big deal. If the temple considers me "worthy", it means they will give me first dibs when they need something and that they will work on presumption I'm doing work of the divines and must be assisted where feasible. I honestly expected I'd need to donate and contribute more. I guess being seen as a sort of leader of a group of light mages is also a factor in my favor.

"My thanks, most honorable prelate." - I reply to him, - "If you pardon me, I'd like to check on my companions now. It seems they have recovered." He waves me off with a chuckle and meanders over to the spot behind Theodore where a couple of acolytes are milling. They're there to provide generic assistance as needed and if I'm not mistaken, also being informed that they should observe the cure-making and do their best to memorize the procedure. (Mental note - do the next batch slowly and with lots of explanation so they could grasp it.).

The rest of the day passes without much ado. Selene and Moon Unit are tired enough to just sit leaning on me by the time it's over. It takes me a while to rouse and guide them into a slow, sleepy amble back towards the dorms. Half the way in, I honestly give up and scoop Moon Unit up in bridal carry. Selene eyes the new arrangement with bemusement and a little bit of envy. I'm not sure if she's envying Moon Unit or me, though.

"Do you want to come in for a cup of cava?" - I ask Selene casually, as we stop next to the dorm doors. She would need to walk further as her lodgings are in another building, and she was already about to head that way as my question finally registers.

"Cava?" - she asks slowly, rolling the word around her tongue, seemingly trying to figure out why it sounds so familiar. I don't want to spoil the surprise, so I just smile at her.

"Alright, fine. Why not?" - she finally goes - "I could use a drink."

Entering my room, I head towards the bedroom without stopping, asking Bridgit to set up a fresh pot of cava. Selene trails behind her, intensely interested in my magical hot plate. Her eyes gradually widen as she takes in the coffee preparation process, no doubt recognizing why the word sounded so familiar now. In the bedroom, I lay Moon Unit on my bed and gently nudge her awake. "Wakey-wakey, sleeping beauty." - I offer to her - "I'm going to peel off your clothes so you don't wake up feeling like you've been chewed on, alright?" She nods sleepily and drifts off in the process. Utterly exhausted. Poor girl. I really should have gotten her to take it easier.

Back in the main room, Selene is sitting at the table and vibrating on the chair, her earlier tiredness forgotten in anticipation of coffee. "I've missed this." - she whispers quietly, probably not intending for me to overhear.

"MM. Yes. Coffee in this world is notoriously hard to get." - I confirm to her. Her eyes grow WIDE as she grasps the implication at last.

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