Surprises rarely came across as a good thing in Eileen’s experience, except this one made her rethink her entire ideology, as she stood in the centre of the Crescent Blue’s city with her mouth gaping wide open in astonishment.
In front of where her medical shed was supposed to be.
If it could be even called that with it’s enormous size and relatively newer infrastructure. Had it been constructed just recently?
She had this fleeting thought, before she walked inside and the interior left her speechless. Rows of hard covered books lined the walls, clearly brand new and all on the topics of medicine, clearly smuggled in very expertly because they were untarnished. There was a large table in the centre which was illuminated by the small chandelier overhead, the examination table, and the counters on the sides of the room were pristine. Amongst the shiny new equipment and various vials of carefully labelled potions and medicines, there were some tools that particularly caught her eye and caused her lips to curve in an involuntary smile.
Candle molds and waxes. Perfect.
Her hand, that was stroking the new equipment like an overly enthusiastic child, paused when she heard the clearing of a throat behind her.
It was the Beta, Marcus, who was Alpha Nathaniel’s right hand and had accompanied her on her trip here. In her mesmerisation, she had completely forgotten that he had been with her all this time. Colour rose to her cheeks and she faced him slowly, which made him laugh.
‘I’m guessing you like the place, huh?’
She nodded, while trying to force her face into a straight line.
‘Yes, it’s rather lovely. The equipment is just..perfect.’ She gushed without wanting to.
They chatted while they worked to unpack, him asking about her work as a healer, and her answering animatedly without realising how quickly the time had passed. The beta was so easy going that she felt at ease around him quickly after just meeting him this morning.
She had a fleeting thought of where the Alpha was, but then she shook it away, deciding that given his strange effect on her, it wouldn’t be a good idea for them to spend any time together.
Once their work was done and all her supplies were in place, she sighed deeply and leaned against the counter. Her shoulders were aching and all she could think about was going back to her quarters and taking a long, hot bath before falling into bed.
The bell on the door dinged as the door swung wide open and she sprung to attention.
It was a man, holding the hand of a young girl who was sniffling and had her arm in a cast.
The man bowed his head, ‘I know it’s late, but can you please take a look at my daughter’s arm. She’s hurting and wont stop crying.’
The Beta watched as Eileen’s attitude changed swiftly into a professional one, all signs of her prior exhaustion were carefully concealed as she gave the man a polite smile and asked the little girl to sit down on the table. She made quick work of the girl’s injury, taking off the cast gently and changing it into a new one after properly disinfecting it.
Throughout it all, she was quietly coaching the girl, murmuring words of affection and reassurance, until slowly the girl’s sniffles were almost inaudible and her shoulders stopped shaking. Once she was done, she walked them to the door and waved at the girl, who was now smiling, but couldn’t get too far in closing the door because another woman arrived and asked for treatment.
Apparently word had gotten out that the healer had arrived, and despite the late hour, they all wanted a piece of her expertise.
Eileen’s professionalism didn’t waver even once though, much to the Beta’s admiration, as she patiently and thoroughly provided care to every patient. The line that had formed outside the door eventually thinned out and the beta discreetly slipped outside after having watched Eileen secretly rub the knots on her shoulders for the third time. He told the remaining three people to leave and come again in the morning which they agreed to after a little coaxing. He went back inside and Eileen’s face was drawn with exhaustion but also a little..satisfaction? It was obvious that she genuinely enjoyed her work as a healer and was committed to the people she treated.
Marcus smiled at her and was about to suggest that she get some shut-eye when they heard a knock at the door. He frowned,‘I’ll send away whoever it is, you need to rest now.’
He walked over with determined strides, not even slowing down when she insisted weakly that it was fine and she could handle one more. She sat back and rubbed her hands, took off her apron and threw the gloves she had on into the sink.
It dawned on her then that Marcus hadn’t returned from speaking to whoever it was outside. She walked over to the door and recoiled back in shock by the sight of the man in front of her.
‘I believe you said you could handle one more. Can you handle me?’ The man asked in a mischievous tone, while winking at her.
Marcus was nowhere to be seen and she was alone with..the Alpha Nathaniel.
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