Page 3 of Of Blood & Bone: The Young Queen

Her reply puzzles me and I feel the throb behind my eyes intensify.

Think in other ways? Think outside my normal way of thinking? What in all the realms does she mean?Again, it’s as if she reads my mind, and before I can ask her my question, she provides me with an answer.

“Often, the answers we seek are buried deep within our subconscious, and the best way to access them is to enter a state of deep relaxation. If you would permit me, my Queen, I would like you to drink a special elixir, and then I will perform an ancient healing ritual on you which involves the application of precious oils upon your skin.”

I must admit my curiosity is piqued. Myreena has never suggested anything like this to cure my headaches and to help me through my episodes. I decide to give it a go and this young healer a chance, after all, she may be as practiced in the art of healing as I am in the art of ruling. Despite my twenty-three years, I’ve been prepared for the role of queen since the moment I took my first breath, and for all I know the same could be said of her and the healing arts. I doubt if I will feel any worse, and if she is right I might even come up with a miracle solution to my dilemma.

“What you suggest is most unusual, but I am prepared to give it a go. What do you need me to do?”

She smiles and removes the cloth from my head. Then she dips her hand into the basket and brings out a small vial of liquid. She removes the cork and hands it to me. I smell flowers and honey, as if I was walking in the castle garden on a sunny afternoon.

“Drink,” she tells me as she places the vial in my hand.

For a moment I consider whether this is a good idea, and it occurs to me I should consult with the captain of the Night Guard to verify she is who she says she is. However, there is something about her that is very different to what I’m used to, and I find it so refreshing I’m loath to taint her unusual approach with possible censure from the traditionalists of the castle.

I take the vial and down its contents in one go and am pleasantly surprised at the feeling of warmth and wellbeing that immediately floods my body.

The young healer smiles at me and then tells me to remove all my clothes. Despite the shock that registers in my brain at her request, I stand and slowly start to remove my clothing.

As I disrobe, she retrieves a number of white candles from the basket. She lights them, and as she does so she whispers a short incantation. Then she places them in a semicircle around my bed.

I stand before her, totally naked, and despite the fact only my ladies of the bedchamber have seen me naked, I feel no embarrassment or vulnerability. She bids me to lie down on my bed but with my feet facing the wooden headboard. I do as she asks and for a moment I close my eyes. As I do so I feel a feather-light material touch my skin. I look down the length of my body to see it covered with a sheet of golden silk. Its touch, especially on my breasts and womanhood, is sensuous and almost arousing.

The healer is kneeling behind me, at the top of my head, and I can hear her rubbing her hands together. Then the most divine smell surrounds me – rose, lavender, lily, jasmine and another scent I can’t quite identify, but it simply smells like it comes from a flower that grows in heaven itself.

I close my eyes again as I inhale this wondrous scent, and I feel the knots in my stomach and shoulders start to ease. I take a deep breath, greedy for the magical scent to fill my lungs and permeate throughout my body.

Then I feel a drizzle of precious oil across my chest and I gasp in surprise and anticipation. Seconds later the healer’s gentle hands start to rub the oil into my skin. I sigh with pleasure as her nimble fingers rub the magical lotion deep into my flesh, loosening tight muscles and releasing all the tension I've been holding there.

She starts with my neck and shoulders and slowly moves down my arms, her movements firm and smooth. I can feel myself slipping away, floating on an ocean of bliss. Then her fingers start to work their magic on my face – pressing and kneading, pulling and stretching, and the throbbing pain completely disappears.

I'm floating, totally and utterly relaxed, when I feel her fingers move down the front of my neck, over my chest and onto my breasts. My breath hitches in surprise. I didn't expect her to touch me there and I don't know what to think or what I should do. Nobody has ever touched me there. I always presumed the first person to touch my breasts would be my husband. I'm not even sure why she's touching me there, but as she does so, I can feel another level of tension falling away as it is replaced with a pleasurable feeling. I consider saying something, to object to her touching me in such an intimate place, but as the feeling of pleasure moves through my body, I decide against it and go with the flow. All the pain has gone now and I feel lighter, free from the worries of the day that had weighed me down like rocks.

Her hands move away from my breasts and make their way down the taut planes of my abdomen. She pauses to drizzle more oil on my skin, then massages my abdomen and pelvis in a firm, rhythmic motion. I feel a slow heat start to build andsomething unlocks deep inside me. I have a sense of release, like a bird flying free from a cage and it occurs to me it’s my own fear I’ve set free. The deep-seated fear about my fertility and ability to bear a child. I feel the fear dissipate and disperse like dandelion seeds on the wind. A whole other level of relaxation infuses my body and it’s as if I’m suspended in a place beyond space and time.

The heat continues to build and move towards my womanhood and suddenly there is an almost unbearable throbbing sensation between my legs. The healer's hands swoop over my thighs and in one sudden movement they flick between my legs, and I cry out as a feeling of intense pleasure ripples through me. In the same instant an image flashes in my mind's eye of a man. He's rugged and rough around the edges, slightly unshaven with unkempt hair and wearing the uniform of a warrior. In his right hand he’s holding a large sword, but that's not what gets my attention. No, what grabs my attention are his eyes, two dark orbs of anger and sorrow, and they are looking straight into mine with a burning intensity that enhances the pleasure currently rippling through my body.

My eyes fly open in surprise and a touch of panic. I've never felt anything so intense in my life, either the physical pleasure from the healer's touch or the look from the warrior in my mind. The healer places her hands on my chest and in a calm voice assures me everything is fine and to close my eyes again and relax, that she is nearly done.

Her hands move down my legs and onto my feet. The feeling of warmth and pleasure has moved throughout my whole body and I feel like I'm floating, weightless and almost not of this earth. I can feel myself slipping away, gradually succumbing to sleep, when I'm aware her hands are no longer upon me. I want to open my eyes but they feel heavy and I don't have the energy required to lift my eyelids.

I sense the movement of her hands over my body and a slight disturbance of the air around me. Then I'm aware of her voice, that melodious sound as she speaks an incantation over me in a language I don't recognise.

I find myself further slipping into the world of sleep, and even though I wish to speak with her, I find myself powerless to do so. Then I feel the palm of her hand on my brow.

“Sleep now, my Queen,” she whispers into my ear, her voice soothing and calming. “Let all your fears go with the night. You are a queen, and you are powerful. Believe in your power. Believe in yourself. Have no fear and tonight take special note of your dreams.”

With that she is gone, and I fall into the night.

***

“Here, my Queen.”

“No. Over here.”

“No. Don’t listen to them, my Queen, you must listen to me.”

All around me there are voices, and I look around in confusion but there is only darkness. Then from the murky gloom faces start to appear, grey and shadowed, stern and sour, and slowly I start to recognise the faces of the Grand Council.

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