Chapter 3 WHO CALLED THE HEALER

Melanie's Pov

I could already see the annoyance on my daughter's face. I almost laughed but the panic in Bryce's voice had me swallowing my laughter immediately. He was at our bedroom door in a second. The worry on his handsome face had me worried too. What was going on? He was by my side in a flash holding my hand, opposite of the side Wren was seated. He sat by my right and she to my left which was the side the door was. The 2 people I adored the most just never got along. She was already eyeing the door am sure planning her escape. Bryce on the other hand, had his whole focus on me. He barely noticed her. His eyes were pinpoint. The blue in them darker because of worry. I liked them as blue as the sky.

"My love, I came as soon as I could. And I managed to get ahold of the healer. He is downstairs." It was my turn to be worried.

"A healer? Who asked for one? In fact, who is sick?" But he was not even listening to me.

"That damn meeting! It went on and on and in the end nothing achieved. I kept telling them you were expecting me. It is your birthday but nothing. No one would listen. Then I got the note, and they still would not let me go. I had to send Harrison to get the healer which I should have been the one doing. I should have been here sooner. And for them to say no to my request after wasting my time. In fact, I should have never left. Am so sorry."

I was so confused. What was he talking about? A note? A healer? I was dumbfounded and I only managed to give him the very confused look he seemed to return. He had no idea that I knew nothing about what he was just saying. And the culprit decided to clear her throat, and we all turned our attention to her. She swallowed hard and gave us an innocent look. But I saw right through her.

"You would better speak up before I get it out of you." She gave me a sheepish look and touched the back of her neck.

"Okay then. I am the guilty party. I was worried when I saw that you sick like that. You have been sick before, but this was way beyond anything I have ever seen. So, when I went to make you breakfast, I wrote Bryce a note and have Harrison to deliver. In my defense, I was just worried and acted like the caring daughter that I am." She was already raising her hands up in surrender and looking as remorseful as she could. Bryce on the other hand, was giving her a dirty look for using the word daughter am sure. Good thing she did not seem to notice.

"It is okay. You might as well bring the healer in since he is already here. But after that, you promise to give me and my daughter space. There is a lot we need to talk about." He was about to say no but I gave him my sternest look, and he immediately closed his mouth and swallowed his protest. It was his turn to surrender. I smiled. These two were more alike than they would like to acknowledge. Wren went to get the healer as per the request of Bryce. He never asks anything nicely when it comes to her, so her response is always to roll her beautiful eyes.

My daughter is beautiful. She has striking green eyes and fair skin like me. Her hair is jet black like mine. The only difference being hers is longer almost reaching her waist while mine rests on my shoulders. Sometimes when she is in a good mood, she lets me add colorful highlights to her hair which makes her look so beautiful. They make her eyes and skin pop in a really nice way. Unlike me though, she is tall and quite slender. And she is the most boyish girl I have ever met. She wears nothing in her size. She is always hiding her beautiful body in baggy clothes. I try to discourage it, but she is as stubborn as Bryce. I still remember how I forced the adoption of Wren since he would not agree. But once you stand me and her side by side, you would say I gave birth to her. We look that alike.

Wren walked into the room followed by a middle-aged grouchy man. I had not set my eyes on this man for the longest. About 20 years ago, I was his frequent visitor. I was trying to conceive, and he used to make me herbs that he promised would do the trick. The herbs I took but I only ended up too sick to actually do anything. And the off chance the herbs did not make me sick I would not conceive. And if by chance I conceived, the pregnancy would only last a month before I lost it. And that is how I stopped visiting him and just hoped a higher being would remember me. I had about given up when Wren came to us. She is my little miracle. Her mother's daughter in every way. Our eyes locked. He had aged a little for sure.

"Wilen." I acknowledged his presence in the room.

"Dios. I hear you are not feeling well."

"Well as you can see, am still in bed." I really did not like this man I knew one day I was going to die but I hoped not by his hands.

"If you do not mind, can you ask them to leave? I need to examine you, and I cannot do that with them in the room. Kindly." I looked at my family and they each excused us.

"It is bad, isn't it? I can see it in your eyes." I saw him swallow hard. It is bad I can tell.

"I talked to the gods before coming here. This disease has no cure. Only a way out and you do not have much time. I have the way out here with me. My answered prayer from the gods. Take it when you are ready. It is the way chosen for you to meet them. And please let it be between us. The gods have prepared a place for you. They are already expecting you." And with that he handed me this whitish substance in a piece of cloth. I was confused. How was I supposed to take this now? As if reading my mind, he answered,

"Put it all in a warm glass of water and mix thoroughly until dissolved entirely. Then make sure to drink it all. Do not leave anything behind. And wash the glass after. I suggest you ask Wren to help out with this. She is favored by the gods. But do not tell her the substance is for. Just tell it will make you better. May the gods be with you." He kissed my forehead and was about to leave but I held his hand.

"Will you ask the gods to look after Wren? I know I am not their firmest believer, but she needs them on their side." I had my pleading face on. He removed my hand from his wrist and held both my palms in his.

"The gods already favor her. She has been chosen for a greater purpose. It is the reason the gods allowed her path to cross with yours. She needed nurturing and love, and you did exactly that. I am seer as well as a healer. She has a rough journey ahead, but you have prepared her well. The gods are happy and that is why they are showing you this kindness. You have fulfilled their purpose for you." I was satisfied now. I never believed him but now I did.

"I believe you. You told me that I would hold a baby within my arms and that it would be a girl. That I would watch her grow and she would call me mom. But I never believed you." I could feel the tears trickling down my cheeks. He stretched his hand and wiped them.

"My daughter, it is okay. The time for tears is long gone. I just wish you never stopped coming to see me. I had seen your future. I knew this day was coming. The herbs I used to give you was protection against this. I had seen a future where you and Wren were together until you died of old age. And it was beautiful. She looked after you. She was doing well for herself. Bryce had long left to join his ancestors, and she only had you. She never married, never had kids of her own. Never experienced the kind of love you and Bryce share. And it was lonely for her especially after you died. But the gods had other plans. Your stubbornness was part of their plan, so you stopped coming to see me. Wren has a bright future. She is going to find love greater than what you share with Bryce. She is going to make a family of her own away from here. She is special and you have taught her well. I suggest you finish your story soon but not here, in the forest for her new home shall be built in one." And just like that he left.

I was happy. Wren was going to be in good hands. As soon as the healer stepped out, my family came right in without even asking. No one even bothered to see the healer out. But I understood them. They were worried.

"Bryce, I want to go out for a walk with Wren. We will be back before dark." I looked at him with pleading eyes.

"Only after you eat something. I asked Harrison to get you something from the orphanage kitchen. You are not supposed to take medicine without food." Wren was just giving him weird eyes. She was standing at the foot of the bed looking at us. She looked bored.

"She hates orphanage food. We all know that." She said sarcastically.

"Says the person who was supposed to be eating that same food. Your presence in this house just disturbs everything. I bet she is sick because of you. And that food you are disgracing is better than anything you would dare to cook." I just saw the anger flash in her eyes. Bryce was about to lose his teeth if I did not end this.

"Will you stop that? You are being really mean right now!" I said as loud as I could.

"But she started it!" He shouted back.

"You are not the child in the situation. You should have handled it like the adult that you are. Plus, it is not her fault that you cannot handle the truth. She is right. I do not like the orphanage food but for you today, I will eat it. And I do not want to hear you being mean to each other." Bryce did not like what was said but he chose silence. Wren was still standing at the same position with her hands folded over her chest. She was too quiet for her own good.

As if sensing the need for a distraction, Harrison knocked and announced he had brought the food. I did not like the guy. He is a creep, and I definitely did not employ him. He is Bryce's messenger. Wren went to serve the food as Bryce helped me freshen up. We ate at the dining table, but the silence was deafening. I did not want to stir the pot, so I let them be. We all concentrated on our food. I was feeling much better now. I was even able to finish my food. Talking to Wilen helped. Wren cleared the table and we left. Bryce did not say anything.

The walk was short but quiet. I could feel the wheels turning in her brain. I just chose to give her time until we reached. We often sat under this huge baobab tree but today I had other plans. There was a dam deeper in the forest that used to our source of water when we first built the orphanage like over 20 years ago. We moved to this place 25 years ago. I was 16 then and Bryce was 24. We found the healer on our journey here. He was the one who guided our journey to this place. He gave the name Davidson which is our orphanage as well as our surname. The village we named Davids.

When we reached the dam, surprisingly the water was still clear. It had created its own inlet and outlet. It never gave up despite us giving up on it. I could learn a thing or two from it. But that is not what was surprising me. It was the wide smile on my daughter's face. She was even glowing and for the first time today, I saw a genuine smile, and it melted my heart. I had never let her play with water or go near a water body. I thought she would meet a Bryce of her own and start sneaking off to see him and one day go with him. I know it is stupid, but I could not risk it.

"You know you can dip your cute little toes in, right? I am giving the rest of the story with our feet inside the water." The smile she gave me was one to die for. She helped me sit down first, remove my shoes and dip my feet in. She then proceeded to remove hers and dipped them in. The water reached our knees almost. She dipped her hands in too and played with the water. After a while, she asked me to continue my story. I was glad she was in a better mood because the next part was gloomy.

"Where were we? Oh! The loud bang. I had never dressed that fast in my life before. Thick smoke could be seen in the air, in the direction of my village. I prayed to the higher being to save my people, but I was too late. Bryce was right next to me fully dressed as I started walking towards home. We did not both care if we were wet or how it looked. Another bang stopped us in our tracks. Bryce tried to convince me to run but I am my father's daughter, the next leader. It was my duty to find out if my people were okay.

In my worry and determination, I did not notice the sound of paws coming towards us. But Bryce was keen. He pushed me into the nearest bush and covered us in this weird smelling cloth. He only left space for us to see who was passing on the path. I was about to explode on him, but I heard it too. The paws hitting the ground hard. The ground was literally shaking like an earthquake was upon us. And that is when I saw them. The largest pack of wolves I had ever seen. They were huge no doubt. Taller than even us and they were on their fours. I literally held my breath as they passed. I did not want any of them to notice us.

Once Bryce was sure they were long gone, he uncovered us. A big sigh of relief left my mouth. And I turned to give Bryce a "what the hell' look. He read the memo and explained.

'Well, I have had experiences with wolves before. That is why I usually come for Rarity. Rarity combined with this specific cloth, forms an invisible barrier between us and the wolves. It is like all their senses are clouded and they cannot even sense us.' I was shocked. What kind of sorcery was this?

'So, you mean to say, even if I screamed, they would not have heard me?'

'Yes exactly. Clouds everything and that is our specialty and secret. The reason beside your own village, we have never been attacked by the werewolves.'

'And here I thought you were just good tailors.' I muttered under my breath and pulled him towards the smoke. He almost left his things behind.

Upon reaching the border, the heavy smoke and the smell of burnt flesh welcomed us. We walked around. Dead bodies everywhere. Burnt houses everywhere. There was no sign of life here. I almost did not recognize our house. It was half burnt. There were bodies and blood scattered everywhere outside. They were the servants that worked for us. I did not know where my parents were, so I entered our half-burnt house. Dad was tied to a chair with a knife sticking out of his chest. There was so much blood around him. he had faced a painfully horrible death. Mum was on the couch in front of him. They must have made him watch before killing him. They burnt her and by the signs of it alive. There was nothing left of her on the couch except her burnt shoes.

I felt the tears welling up and I turned too fast I almost fell. I did not know that Bryce was behind me. He caught me right on time. I could not look again. I just buried my face in his chest and cried my heart out. He did not say anything. He just held me and allowed me to grieve. But my crying was cut short by a cough followed by another. The silence that fell. We both froze, barely breathing and listened. Another cough in the same room we were. We both untangled from each other and looked for the source. That was when I saw my dad move. We untied him and helped him lie down on one of the remaining couches. he asked for some water and Bryce got him some.

'Thank you, son, and not for the water but for saving my daughter. If she had not left to see you, there would be nothing left of me. I bless you two. Take care of her for me and always make her happy.' He coughed again and there was blood this time, but he continued.

'It was Sam, the messenger who betrayed us. They had promised him a lot of wealth in gold, and he fell for it. They killed him too. He burnt the Rarity allowing the werewolves in. They burnt your mother alive as I watched. It was horrible. And we watched them tear everyone to pieces and burn their properties. There is a group of humans who hunt them. They are the reason all of this is happening. They hunt and kill werewolves for no reason. The werewolves are just retaliating. They call themselves the Army. Best to avoid them.' And with that, he breathed his last."