The Chronicles of Harold the Healer Ch. 02

"Let's get going," Jane coughed and they quickly left the shed for the much fresher air outside it.

"Things don't change much around here," said Harold as the scenery of prosperous, well-kept farms and buildings passed by. "It's one of the things I like so much about this area. The Capital is all rush and hustle all day and night. Other parts of the Kingdom have their charm, but my heart is here."

"Healer Leila is here," Jane remarked dryly, "which may explain that a bit." They all chuckled. "Mom was right. Things do seem to happen when you are here. Love is in the air and we can all feel it."

"It can't be helped," Harold replied, blushing a bit. "We were acquainted with each other in Magic School, but because of the seven-year age difference, we didn't move in the same circles. After I graduated, I didn't have much contact with the School, and never met up with her again until I first came to town working for the Order. She was quite impressed by the Healing job I did on Tim Witherspoon's leg, and somehow it seemed to be love at first sight, like it had always been meant to be." His relaxed, happy expression and posture was a sharp contrast to what they'd seen in the kitchen earlier.

"You must miss each other when you're gone," said Joe, a trifle tactlessly, turning red when he realized his mistake.

"We do," he replied wistfully. "It takes about a month and a half for me to make the cycle of the towns I cover, including the time in Havisham at the Order's main office to fill in the paperwork. A lot can happen in that time, and I've missed so much. I'm a little old to be tramping around the back roads in all seasons and am beginning to think about a change in occupation."

"I wonder what you would do here," Jane said thoughtfully as they entered the outskirts of the town. "Maybe you could make Magwitch your home base, get a horse and cart and visit the farms that are a bit further out of town?"

"That's food for thought," considered the Healer thoughtfully. "Thank you very much for the ride," he added as they arrived at the corner across the street from Leila's house. After he had dismounted, he added, "take care of yourselves." His eyes took on a mischievous twinkle. "Jane, be sure to say hello to Mark Acorn for me when you're in the store. Ask him how the quarterstaff training is going and see where that goes."

"Mark is a nice guy, but not my type!" she asserted, a bit uncertainly.

"Thanks again for everything," Joe chimed in as the buggy started to pull away. "She actually has the hots for Mark but won't admit it."

"Shut up!" she shouted at him as he laughed and warded off a blow. Harold snickered as they continued the trip that would get them to the General Store about a half mile further down the street. He saw a tall man hustle out of the front door of Leila's house, hastily get into a buggy that was parked in the driveway, back it out, and leave at a great pace down the road away from him. The rain reduced visibility and he wondered what was going on. After a northbound wagon and a southbound buggy had gotten out of the way, with friendly waves and smiles to the drivers, he scurried across the street. As he approached the walk to the front door, it opened and a familiar figure popped out, clutching a large book.

"Papa, you're back!" said Marcie, answering his big grin with one of her own. Her bare feet passed silently over the stone steps as he hastily extended his Ward so that she wouldn't get wet from the gentle rain. "Mama is busy with some people and doesn't want to be disturbed, but she knew you'd want to see the appointment book. Were you able to help Joe's cow?"

"Thank you very much, Marcie," he said, taking the book and opening it to about the halfway point, where there were notes in Leila's neat, left-handed handwriting. "I was able to cure Bessie of her mastitis, then Mr. Russell of a cracked femur given to him by his ram. Then they fed me and gave me a ride back," he concluded, omitting his final Healing. Such things were always confidential, though they were still recorded in the log book that all of the Healers used to keep track of their activities for the audits. He and Leila had written in "Cleaned 12 filthy children" as the headline for the short paragraph that described yesterday's end-of-day episode.

"I thought that you would be going to the Community Centre," he continued, seeing that there were only two notes. "Mrs. Blandford's tomatoes are showing signs of blight. That's not good, but easy to fix. Miss Keystone's dog Tiny is showing signs of cataracts and needs a checkup. No problem at all. Nice and easy, and I can mooch around town looking for trouble for a couple of hours afterwards. I can walk you to the Community Centre if you want."

"No thanks, Papa. It's almost lunch time, and I'll go afterwards. I have an umbrella."

"Oh, maybe I can come in with you and make you lunch," he offered, seeing an opening.

"Thanks, but Mama already made me a sandwich," she replied, taking the book back. "She doesn't want you in the house when she has people. Confidentiality, she said."

"Awww," Harold mock-whined, making her giggle. "Well, thanks for letting me see the book. I should be back in three hours or less." She ran back up the steps to the front door, let herself in, turned to wave and then closed it.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Having finally announced her decision to marry Mr. Wonderful, Leila had a few things to do to get the ball rolling. She gave her face a quick wash at the kitchen sink, locked the kitchen door, and then returned to the front door where she put on her boots, went outside and locked the door. Marcie had a key, so she wasn't worried about locking her out. The town's bakery was a ten-minute walk south on her side of Main Street, and she found herself reminiscing about her initial meeting with him nearly twelve years ago. Her eyebrows elevated at how fast the time seemed to have gone. He had been a world-weary nomad, never staying in one place for very long, haunted by the things that he'd seen and done while he had been in the Army, but she had seen his gentle inner light shining through the cracks in his armour. She had seen it in the way children and especially animals reacted to him even as they had walked back into town to her place. She had seen it in his polite, yet slightly naughty, behaviour and how he naturally interposed himself between her and perceived threats. He was a lonely soul who had needed someone to love and, when she had looked into his eyes that night during the Autumnal Equinox celebration in the Central Park, she had suddenly realized that so was she.

She had taken him home that night and had found that he was a gentle and skilful lover who knew exactly how to arouse her fire with his lips and tongue and fingers on and in her pussy and then quench it with powerful squirts of cum from that perfectly-sized cock. She had known that night that he was the one to be the father of her child, and allowed his sperm into her womb to create what turned out to be Marcie. The second time, she had licked and sucked his limp cock to hot, throbbing hardness and then impaled herself on it, riding him so hard that he'd accidentally popped out of her pussy and then gotten stuffed into her asshole, something she'd never done before with all of her other lovers. He had been so juiced up at that point that the penetration had been swift and effortless. It had felt very strange, but they were so far gone at that point that she'd just kept on riding him and had felt him pulsing and then delivering another load deep inside her before they'd collapsed and slept the rest of the night with her in his hard, muscular arms.

Leila had to yank her thoughts out of her salacious memories when she arrived at the bakery. She was in danger of going behind the building to finish herself off then and there, but managed to regain her composure and surreptitiously Clean herself. Despite the passage of time, the memories of their first loving were as clear as if they had happened yesterday. She quickly assembled her thoughts and opened the door, causing a small bell to tinkle merrily.

"Hello, Leila!" Wanda Cartwright greeted her as she stepped in and closed the door behind her. She was a tall woman with short hair that was at the medial point between blonde and gray and was carefully contained in a hair net. Like her coworkers, she had muscular arms from years of kneading dough and her white uniform managed to accentuate this. "Never arm-wrestle with a baker," was a thought that popped into Leila's mind for no particular reason. Wanda was behind the counter that was ten feet from the door and featured a large glass-walled case to display a variety of mouth-watering temptations ranging from buns and croissants to a cake, slices of which were available for sale. Several had already been taken, she noted.

"Are you sure that you aren't in league with Pella the tailor?" Leila asked with mock severity, pointing at the cake. "You must be giving her more alterations business than she can handle."

"I am a creature of pure, unrepentant evil," Wanda replied with a grin. "Not that I haven't given Pella some business of my own," she continued, patting her not insubstantial figure. "Quality control is important in my business, you know," she added with a wink. Leila grinned back, having succumbed to the temptations more times than she could count. She had an unfair advantage because of the energy demands of working with Magic.

"It's time for Operation Wedding Band," she said. "I'm hoping that you'll have the time to make a cake for me today?"

"Already underway," said Carlos, her husband, bustling up to the front beside Wanda. "Word is already spreading. Congratulations to you both!" His head was shiny and bald with a fringe of salt-and-pepper hair around it, and he sported a big gray moustache of which he was inordinately proud. He was also a good three inches shorter than her and a bit wider: quality control was also important for him.

"Thank you very much!" Leila replied. "Harold is out at the Russells' on a call right now and probably won't be back until after 11:00, and has two others on the docket, but after that, we have to keep him away from the Park until about 6:00." The door opened behind her and someone walked in. "Any ideas on how to keep him occupied?"

"Leila, I hear that congratulations are in order," said a warm, masculine voice from behind her. She turned and saw Sam Turner, the town's veterinarian. From his physique, he could have been a blacksmith, as he was about six-foot two with a barrel chest and muscular arms and body, but that was his wife's job; in that profession he was her assistant and mostly did horseshoes, at which he excelled. He still had a full head of hair, which was white and mostly covered by a shapeless wide-brimmed hat, and a carefully-trimmed white beard and moustache. He was dressed in his working clothes, an off-white pullover shirt with the sleeves rolled up above the elbows, pale green pants, and leather boots halfway to the knees. "You're finally making an honest man out of that scamp?" His blue eyes, set in a kindly face that was a sea of wrinkles and creases, twinkled.

"That is too formidable a task, even for me," she replied with a warm smile, welcoming his brief embrace. "And I don't think that he's tried to make an honest woman out of me." She turned back to the bakers, dug a couple of coins out of a pocket, and bounced them off the wood counter. Each made a satisfying ting, one being a gold Sovereign and the other a silver doubloon, and they generated three sets of raised eyebrows. "I've been saving up for today. What can you give us for these?"

"Quite a bit," said Wanda, making the coins disappear. "The cake and lots of little treats and sweets for the guests. But it's going to rain today, and that will make them soggy."

"The rain will end before evening," Sam replied, indicating an apple pastry in the case that Carlos swiftly removed and traded a few coppers with him for it. Nearly everyone in or attached to the farming community had a well-developed weather sense. "We'll just have to dry off the picnic tables, which shouldn't be too hard. As for keeping him occupied, I've got something that will keep him busy for a while. I'm thinking of retiring and if there's a person who's perfect to replace me, I hear it would be him."

"Really?" asked Leila in surprise. "Have you even met him?"

"Surprisingly not, no. He comes and goes too quickly and infrequently, but he's totally aced all the really hard cases I've left for him over the years and I'd really like to see him at work, for once."

"He has been wanting to settle down," replied Leila. "The area is too small for two people Healers and he hasn't wanted to cut into your business. I don't think that you'd have too hard of a sell. He still would have to resign from his position, but he could be ready to start within a month if he doesn't have to make another circuit."

"That's good to know," he replied, turning and walking towards the door. "I will try to catch up with him this afternoon. Please spread the word that I'd like to meet him."

"Will do," replied Wanda, as Leila also turned to leave.

"Thanks a lot for getting things ready for me," she said, looking over her shoulder with a friendly wave. Sam graciously held the door for her and closed it behind her.

"The Russells' cow has mastitis and he rode off with Joe about half an hour ago." Sam winced.

"Mastitis is bad news. I'm glad that he was here to take care of her." She nodded.

"He prefers animals to people. They don't try to lure him into their beds," she replied dryly, getting a booming laugh from the vet. "I have an appointment of my own now. See you tonight?"

"Wild horses couldn't keep me away," he stated firmly, and they parted ways. He headed home to tell Marjorie about the surprise wedding. It was quiet today and they'd be able to make something.

As Leila made her way to the next stop, she was met and offered congratulations by several people. The pack of kids had obviously been doing their work spreading the news, and she wondered if they would be able to keep it a secret from her husband-to-be. Despite his oft-stated preference for animals, he was a keen observer and seldom had to employ auras to tell if someone was lying or evading a question. Her next stop was Pella the tailor and dressmaker. Havisham, the regional centre, had cloth-making and clothing-making industries, and most of the clothing bought in the town from the two shops that specialized in it came from there, but there is always a need for someone to mend or alter, especially for children's clothes, and Pella and her husband Ramon were the tailors in Magwitch. Their shop was in the next block south, directly across the street from the General Store. She waved to Mark Acorn, who was heaving a half-barrel converted into a planter with some flowers into it under the big window. He grinned and waved back at her and she turned and entered the shop.

Leila had always loved the smell of Pella's shop. The front door was in the middle of the front wall, and there was a large oak desk five steps beyond it. On the left side were racks and shelves of men's, women's, and children's clothing, all in sensible styles and made from sturdy cotton-based fabric, quite suitable for the farming and working people who comprised the majority of the area's residents. Anything not in stock could be ordered out of a warehouse in Havisham by post, with an average turnaround time of less than a week. On the right side was a wall all the way to the back of the store with bolts of all sorts of fabric in cubbyholes, as well as all the thread, needles, and other supplies the do-it-yourselfer, of whom there were many, needed to make their own clothing.

Behind the desk stood Pella, tall and slender, her skin a few shades darker than that of the general population, her hair long, salt-and-pepper, and lustrous, and her eyes dark brown and expressive. She, her husband, and their two daughters had been refugees from the war that had liberated Carcosa from the theocratic dictatorship eighteen years ago, and had arrived in the village shortly after Leila had returned to Magwitch. They'd been in poor shape and Leila had had to spend a fair bit of time getting them healthy. A boy had followed, and Leila had been there all the way. No sooner had she closed the door then she was slammed into the joyful, shrieking embrace of two enthusiastic young women only slightly shorter than her. In the back, she could see the son roll his eyes at his sisters, but he was clearly happy too as he swept some imaginary dust into a dustpan.

"Don't crush her! She has a long day ahead," Pella scolded, shooing away her daughters and embracing the Healer. "It's the day we've all been waiting for."

"Here it is, at long last," announced Ramon, emerging from the back room with a shimmery off-white dress on a hangar. "Let's get it on you so we can make the final alterations so it fits you properly." Propelled by eager hands, Leila found herself in the changing area at the back of the store. A heavy curtain was drawn around the four-by-four foot "room", she doffed her boots and outerwear, and put on the dress. It was made from a cloth that was an unusual blend of silk and cotton, and it felt cool and wonderful. She drew back the curtain and good-humouredly submitted to four pairs of hands expertly gathering and pinning.

"Come look," said Sylvia, the eldest daughter who was the spitting image of how her mother had been when she was 24. Leila was led to the full-length mirror, which had two full-length wings at each side for side views. Leila gasped in surprise and held her hands to her mouth, momentarily overcome.

"If you are not the most beautiful bride by the time we are done with you," said Ramon with a brilliant smile, "as the Goddess is my witness, I will eat my hat."

"For once, that will not be necessary," Pella replied, giving her husband's moustached face a gentle pat, eliciting an attempted scowl. "You and Marcie will return here in two hours to get your dresses and shoes. Then Franco," she indicated her 17-year-old son, "will do both of your hair." Franco smiled shyly at her as Leila returned to the changing area and closed the curtain.

"Healer Harold has been very good to us over the years," said Olivia, the younger daughter, who was 19. The dress sailed over the top of the curtain rail, and she caught it expertly. "He is a very kind man, but also a very fierce man when he needs to be."

"Really?" asked Leila, her voice somewhat muffled as she was pulling her blouse over her head.

"Did he ever tell you that he helped us to escape from Carcosa after the Kingdom's armies had stormed the city and were fighting the Autarch's army everywhere?" asked Sylvia.

"No, he did not," Leila replied, emerging fully-dressed from the change area and returning to the mirror to straighten her hair. "He does not like to talk about his time in the Army, and especially his role in the Carcosa Campaign. The stories I have gotten out of him, usually with the assistance of a few glasses of wine and a good dinner, are a good indication why. Defeating the Yellow Autarch's army and occupying the City was only about a quarter of the effort. The rest was spent in rehabilitation and rebuilding the entire Republic. Fortunately, it was easily paid for by all the gold and silver that had been hoarded in the Palace and all of the temples."

"He rescued Pella from three of the Autarch's soldiers who were going to rape her, right in the street," said Ramon quietly. "She was screaming, Sylvia and Olivia were crying, and they had broken my legs and were going to make me watch. He happened to be nearby and came running around the corner at just the right time. When he saw what was going on, he shouted at them and ran at them so fast that they didn't have time to draw their weapons. Within ten seconds he has smashed their heads in with his staff and they were dead at my feet. He then knocked me out with his Sleep spell and fixed my legs as Pella grabbed the girls and ran back in the house. A fire was burning nearby and the air was full of smoke and ash and the awful noise..." He had to stop to compose himself.