Chương 17: Broken Hearts

"Excellent," Harrold said, "I'm glad you see our interests are aligned."

"I'll need time to practise and prepare." Aaron had only used his new power a couple of times. It took him months of practice when he first joined as a novice to make his healing spells useful enough to treat even mild ailments.

"Yes, let's get started immediately. June should still be awake at this time of the evening." Harrold led them out of his study. Aaron walked through to find the two guards still waiting on the other side of the door.

"Thomas, isn't it bed time for your son? You should probably tend to him. We can take it from here." Thomas nodded, "Thank you, sir," he walked off down the stairs with his head hung low. He didn't stop to wave or even make eye contact with Aaron.

"I hope he didn't give you any trouble," Harrold said, "He can be a bit sulky and melodramatic sometimes." Harrold put his arm around Aaron's shoulders and walked him down the corridor. It looked like it was intended as a friendly gesture but felt more like a violation of Aaron's personal space.

"I loved his mother, she was the love of my life until she died two years ago. I miss her dearly," Harrold rambled, "That boy is like a son to me. I made that promise the day I married his mother and I will hold it until the day I die. Do you have any family, Aaron?"

"No," he said, "it's just me and my work." Based on what he'd heard from Thomas - whether it was the truth or not - Harold had the power and will to do whatever he wanted to get his way. It was probably best not to tell Harrold about his brother yet. Tim would be safer that way.

"How incredibly depressing," Harrold said, "a man is not meant to be alone. He needs a woman in his life, and children. My advice to you is to marry young and don't look back." Aaron forced a smile and nodded, "mhmm." Harrold's oversharing was making him uncomfortable, but he figured it was a good idea to play along. Harrold rambled on with his arm around Aaron for an uncomfortably long time. His orange scented perfume was rubbed all over him.

Instead of going back downstairs, Harrold took him down a long narrow corridor. It was dimly lit with doors on both sides every few paces. The first room on the left had a colourful drawing of a cat riding a horse on a rainbow. On the right, one of the rooms had a sign on the front that said Live, laugh, glove and had a falconer's glove hung in the centre. It was lavishly decorated with eagle feathers. These must have been children's bedrooms. They must have passed at least ten similar rooms.

How many kids could this man possibly need? The door was tastefully engraved with swirling patterns and ivy leaves. Harrold knocked on the door twice and waited. Aaron didn't take him for a man who asked for permission to enter rooms. The door creaked open, just enough to see the face of a woman behind it. Her skin was fair, eyes blue and hair long and blonde, dangling down past her shoulders. She must have been at least twenty years younger than Harrold.

"June is about to go to sleep, can this wait until morning?"

"Sorry, my dear," Harrold responded softly, "We will be quick." The woman opened the door to the dark room. A small candle provided enough light for Aaron to see his way around without tripping on any furniture. But it was barely enough to make out the details at the edges of the room. Again, one of the guards followed them and waited in the corner. He almost entirely blended in with the shadows at the edge of the room.

As the woman walked towards the candle at the back of the room, Aaron made out that she was wearing a puffy blue dress which draped down in a dome shape. It was made of a fine shiny material and looked very expensive. It was befitting for a noble's wife. She sat down on a stool and picked up a hair brush. Next to her was a bed large enough to sleep three fully grown men. Pink silk was draped around the top of a tall frame attached to the bed, dangling down elegantly.

A small girl, maybe eight years old, was laying in the bed. She was tucked in with only her head visible above the covers. The woman began brushing her blonde hair.

"Darling, there is a visitor here for you. Do you remember the healer I told you about?" The girl peeked her head up from the covers to look at Aaron and then looked across at the woman.

"Haven't I had enough of healers already?" The woman turned to Aaron, "excuse her manners, she is tired." She turned back to the girl, "June, will you let the man talk to you quickly?" The girl looked at her mother and nodded with her mouth turned downwards." Hello June, my name is Aaron. I'm here to help you feel better. Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?" June looked at Aaron.

"Okay," she said sweetly.

"Tell me how you are feeling." Aaron asked.

"Sad," she said. Harrold walked over and sat on the edge of the bed and stroked her head with his hand, "My sweet child, I will make it better, I promise." Aaron gulped down some saliva and pulled the collar of his tunic. He started to feel warm and nervous, "How about in your body, can you run and play?"

"Sometimes I can play, but I never run. It makes me feel like I can't breathe," June said.

"Her lungs are failing," the woman said, "Many healers have tried. It usually works for a bit, but always worsens again. I just want her to be able to be a child again." Her bottom lip quivered, but not for more than a heartbeat before she took a deep breath, pushed her shoulders back and sat up elegantly. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

"May I come closer?" Aaron asked, "I won't hurt you, I just want to look at your lungs." Aaron knew that the healers wouldn't have known for sure if it was her lungs causing the problem. Spirit Healing was quite superficial; it focused on balance of the soul and assumed everything would get better after that. But as Aaron had seen, it didn't always work.

"Suuure," June said, as if she had heard the spiel thousands of times before. The woman at June's bedside got up and offered Aaron the stool to sit on. As he sat down and got a clearer image of June, he noticed er face was pale and puffy, almost swollen. There were unusually large veins running down the side of her neck pulsating with her heartbeat.

"Can I see your hands?" Aaron asked. June put her hands up and placed them in Aaron's palms. They felt cold. Unusually so, given they had been under the covers.

"This might feel warm, but it won't hurt. If you want me to stop at any time, just say so." Aaron smiled warmly, but the girl seemed completely unfazed. Aaron felt much stronger this time, but not even close to the strength he had before his class changed. Perhaps it was the dark, quiet room or just that he was more practised. He closed his eyes and pictured the girl's lungs. As he channelled his True Sight, a deep chill clutched his chest. Instantly, he could sense each of the girl's breaths.

Each exhale filled his mind with clear sound and each inhale felt painless and easy. Her lungs appeared perfectly healthy, but Aaron could sense her unrelenting hunger for more air. Aaron looked closer, the lungs were expanding healthily and blood flowed freely through the vessels around them, as you would expect in a well child. They were in perfect working order, not a problem in sight, yet why did she feel so unsatisfied with each breath?

They didn't teach much about anatomy at the infirmary, since there was little reason to when they were just healing the spirit. But Aaron knew the basics; the heart and lungs were closely linked so it made sense to look there next. Instantly, Aaron recognised a problem. The heart was giant, almost twice the size he would expect in a child June's age. Where the walls of its chambers should have been muscular and mobile, they were now thick and sluggish. They were too large and cumbersome to act as an efficient pump.

Her heart was failing. With each heartbeat, the muscular walls contracted so hard that they blocked the blood from leaving the chambers. Her body was starved of blood and the lungs were trying to compensate by working harder. Aaron opened his eyes. He gently squeezed the girl's hands and smiled. He didn't want to worry her, although he suspected she was well beyond worrying.

"Thank you, June! Get some rest. I'll see you soon." Aaron gestured to the group that it was time to leave. He got up from the stool and left the room. Harrold followed eagerly with the guard close behind.

"What's wrong? Did you find anything? Can you help her?" Harrold said.

"Not here," Aaron whispered, " I don't want to worry her."

"WORRY HER? Okay, this way. Quick" Harold whisper-shouted. Aaron followed him further down the hall, through one of the side doors and into an empty room. There was a cot in one corner next to a rocking chair. Several Children's toys were scattered around.

"There is nothing wrong with her lungs," Aaron said, "It's her heart causing the problem. It's failing! If spirit healing has failed, I suspect it's because it's become damaged beyond repair with conventional magic." Harrold paced around the room with his hands behind his head, pulling at his hair.

"Can you do anything about it?"

"I have never attempted anything like this before. I'm worried that I could do more harm than good if I tried."

"What choice do I have?" Harrold said, abandoning all attempts at staying quiet.

"If I act, she dies. If I don't act, she dies. I can't lose her, Aaron! I won't!"

"Have you asked a heart specialist Spirit Healer?"

"Of course. heart, lung, abdomen, brain, skin, everything! They all tried and nothing worked. You're my last hope." Aaron sensed the desperation in his voice. Any attempt at using his untrained magic would be gambling with her life, but he suspected that Harrold wouldn't take no for an answer. He chose his next words carefully to try and make him see some sense.

"I'm not strong enough for something like this, It could kill her."

"Well you better get strong soon, Aaron. I need you to do this." It was difficult to tell if he was being threatened, but it was clear that this was no longer a request. If he had no choice, he'd need to make the most of Harrold's resources and level his Necromancy skills as much as possible. Not only to help June, but to prepare to try and remove Tim's curse again.

"I'm going to need some practice then, and I'm going to need some books about my power. I have worked with hearts before, but to make June better I'd have to completely remodel it by shrinking it and smoothing over the overgrown muscle."

"Tell me what you need. You need hearts? I'll get you a dozen. I'll have my librarian find everything that could possibly help you."

"Pig hearts, right?" Aaron asked. Surely he couldn't mean human hearts.

"Right, of course." Harrold replied unconvincingly.

"What did you think I meant?" The pair discussed the specifics for around an hour before finally adjourning for the night. The look in Harrold's eyes made Aaron uneasy. The man was completely consumed with finding a cure for June. Obsessed, in fact. He feared how he would react if he failed. It was pitch black outside when Aaron rode back in Harrold's carriage. Two beautiful black stallions pulled the gold and white coach wagon. The four inside seats were made of an expensive feeling red fabric.

He was too distracted to appreciate the luxury and was home in what felt like a heartbeat. Aaron thanked the driver as he rode off into the dark street. The sound of hooves striking pavement disappeared slowly into the night. Upon entering his home, he was surprised to see Tim still awake, sitting in the chair, reading a scroll next to Cuthbert's empty cage.

"I didn't know they gave you a carriage home after a long shift. Awful nice of them, for once," he said. Aaron was desperate to tell Tim what had happened. He always gave good advice and if he ever needed it, now was the time.

"I've been at Harrold Umber's house all evening. He wants me to work for him."

"The duke with the distillery business? What use does he have for a healer, surely he had dozens working for him already?" Tim asked.

"He knows I'm a Necromancer and he asked me to help with his dying daughter. Her heart is failing. He's desperate." Tim threw his scroll onto the table, "What? How did he know?" Aaron tried to reply, but couldn't get a word in before Tim continued.

"Aaron, tell me you said no. Your powers are supposed to be a secret and a desperate noble is not someone you want to mess with. What would happen to you if you failed?"

"He's going to help me practise. He has a library full of books from the Southern Expanse." Aaron swore he saw Tim's eyes light up at the sound of the Southern Expanse. Books from there were so rare, it was practically unheard of. To his annoyance, it didn't seem to persuade him.

"This is a bad idea, you have to refuse! Let him find another healer."

"I need to do this. He has information on Necromancers. This might be my only chance to learn about my powers so I can help people. So I can help you, Tim. This might be the only way I can learn to cure you."

"I don't want to be cured, Aaron. There is no cure. What if you accidentally kill this noble's daughter? What will come of you then? I don't know how long I have left and I want to spend it with you, not worrying about you."

"Don't you ever say that!" Aaron said. He felt his heart pounding in his chest.

"Don't you give up, we are getting through this. We're so close!" Aaron hated arguing with him, but this was too important to let go. Tim picked at the nail on his thumb.

"I.. I'm sorry Aaron. I'm so tired of hoping to get better. I don't know if I can find it in myself to live my life looking for something that might not exist. I just want to know that when I start the next life, you are thriving in this one."

"I am following this through and we are NEVER giving up." Aaron felt focused again and remembered why he became a healer. The danger didn't matter, this was about Tim; Aaron had enough hope and determination for the both of them. If he could find a book about curses in Harrold's library and develop his power, Tim would listen.