Chapter 4 - Flora

We had our meal in silence and I ended up eating a lot more than Lord Blade. I had told myself to eat lesser portions to not come off as rude and uncultured; but alas! I couldn’t last long.

Lord Blade didn’t seem to mind much. By the time I had finished eating, Lord Blade had already left for his business. Grace was nowhere in sight, so I had to make my way back to my room. Since I remembered my way around the manor, it wasn’t difficult for me to find my room.

As I neared my room, the door to Lord Blade’s room opened suddenly which caused me to yelp in panic and I landed on the floor. That simplest action of door opening was enough to make my heart stop beating.

I slowly looked up at Lord Blade to find him looking at me, but not my face. I followed his gaze and realised my legs were spread apart slightly, causing my red knicker to be visible. Feeling embarrassed and conscious, I clamped my legs shut which snapped Lord Blade out of his daze. “You need to be aware of your surroundings, Miss. Harper” he said and took a step toward me.

My first instinct was to crawl backward but a sharp pain shot through my lower-back, making me cry out in agony. I had apparently hurt my tailbone which was now sending waves of pain with each movement of my body.

Unlike other average mages, I was particularly weak. It would take me longer to heal myself. Had it been someone else who fell down instead of me, they would’ve been better by now. I, on the other hand, would have to wait as long as a few days to heal. It wasn’t always like this though.

An extended hand came into my view and I looked up at Lord Blade. He had offered me help to get up from the floor. Once I was on my feet, my hand instinctively held my lower-back to locate the pain. “Did you hurt yourself?” Lord Blade enquired. I shook my head.

“One thing, Miss. Harper you should know about me, is that I don’t like being lied to!” his words made me wince. “I’m sorry, sir…” I apologised. “Where did you hurt yourself?” he asked firmly. “T-tailbone”

“Let me check” Lord Blade pulled me into his room. The interior of his room mimicked mine. He had a king sized bed with a bedside table on each side of the bed. The layout was almost the same except he had a small desk in his room where a lot of books were lying around in a mess.

Lord Blade pulled me toward his bed and motioned for me to lie down on it. “On your stomach” he added. I wasn’t comfortable but I needed to obey him or I might be punished. With no option than to oblige to his request, I slowly sat on the bed and turned to sleep on my stomach. Another wave of pain shot through my spine, making me whimper.

Swallowing my painful cries, I laid flat on my stomach on the bed and glanced at Lord Blade. “Aren’t you a mage yourself?” He moved closer to me causing my heartbeats to increase.

“Yes, sir” my voice trembled a little.

“So what’s stopping you from healing yourself?”

His question made me close my eyes and tears threatened to spill. I inhaled sharply before answering. “I’m weaker than most mages. I can’t heal fast nor can I use spells easily…” The amusement in his eyes didn’t go unnoticed. He took a seat near my legs and placed his hand on my tailbone. The sudden contact made me flinch.

I could feel his warmth seeping through my silk dress. As his hand pressed a little more on my injury, I cried out in pain. “I've located the pain,” he told me. I relaxed a little and waited for his next move. He didn’t move his hand for a while, indicating that he was casting a healing spell.

Soon, the pain subsided and I relaxed into the soft mattress under me. “Are you feeling any better?” he asked. “Yes, sir. It isn’t hurting anymore” I answered and quickly rolled onto my back before sitting up.

“Thank you for helping me, sir” my voice was lower than usual but I know he heard me. If he hadn’t decided to help me out, I would be in agonising pain right now.

“Tell me more about your…condition” Lord Blade said as a flash of curiosity poured in his eyes. “I have nothing more to say, sir. I’ve always been the weaker one amongst my peers. While they were excelling in all kinds of magic, I was still struggling to perform basic psychokinesis” I replied. “Do you know why you’re such a weak mage?” he asked. “Unfortunately, no. Even the elders couldn’t understand what was wrong with me…” I trailed off.

For all of my life, I had been mistreated by my own people for being such a weakling. I inhaled and exhaled before moving to get out of bed. But a pair of arms landed on my sides, blocking my movements any further. “Where are you going?” Lord Blade asked in a deep voice, scaring me.

“To my chamber…” I muttered since I knew my voice would come out shaky if I were to speak in a normal tone. “Stay here. I’m not done with you” he said. I did not understand what he meant. He healed me and I’m feeling fine so I should be able to resign to my chamber, right? What else could he have to do with me?

Then, a sudden thought popped in my mind. Did he want anything in return? “Are you expecting something from me in return?” I asked the question. I couldn’t hold back myself. “What makes you think so?” he seemed amused. I kept quiet. I didn’t know what he was thinking. I couldn’t see his face since I still had my head down.

“Now that you mention it, I could definitely make use of the suggestion. I mean, your father did say that you’re an obedient girl, aren’t you?” I only nodded to him in response. “Words, lady, words!” his voice was firm now. “Y-yes sir!” I quickly replied to not anger him and receive punishment. What would he want in return? I waited in anticipation of his next demand...