“Hm,” Ava whispered. “I think I can fix this.”
Some of Ava’s magic flowed out from her form and into the baby. The crowd around us gasped, and from beside me, the child gave off some kind of warm glow. I figured she had to be lighting up.
As the gossip around us died down, Ava handed the baby back to the man. “There. She should be all better now.”
He wept with joy. “The princess has cured my daughter! She has been blessed by the goddesses!”
“No, not really. I’m just a healer,” Ava explained. “My Anichi blood gives me healing abilities.”
“You can heal what most Anichi cannot. You are a miracle worker!” the man gushed.
The crowd around us began singing Ava’s praises. I felt her uncomfortably stiffen beside me. I knew Ava was supposed to be the Elvish goddesses incarnate on this Earth, and their representative here in Ilamanthe, but I hadn’t imagined the Elves took her title so literally.
Ava was a chieftain’s daughter, and she knew what it was like being in the public eye, so she handled it all so gracefully. I honestly felt like I was balking whenever people wanted to talk to me. I held several bouquets that I didn’t know what to do with.
“I’ll have them delivered back to your room at the palace,” a guard said. She took the flowers out of my arms and handed them off to a servant.
For as awkward as I felt, I think I could get used to all this.
The guards began shooing off the crowd, and Eddie announced, “That is all the time the prince and princess have for today! Thank you all for coming! The monarchy appreciates each and every one of you!”
The crowd slowly drained out of the area, and the guards led us to a more secluded part of the mall. Ava’s chair squeaked as she sagged in relief.
“Finally,” she breathed. “Alone at last.”
“You okay?” I asked.
“The appreciation is fun and all, but I’d really like to get to shopping, seeing as how I haven’t seen the inside of a mall in over two fucking years,” she grumbled.
“We’re getting right on it,” I promised. “What did you do to that baby?”
“She had some kind of hole in her heart. It was so small it wouldn’t show up on x-rays. I’m not surprised the other Anichi healers couldn’t do anything, because when I first inspected her, I felt something was wrong with herblood, not her organs, so that concealed the true problem,” Ava explained. “But I followed the clues, and realized there had to be an underlying issue. Ezhas been teaching me a lot about healing since he’s started med school. It’s gotten easier for me to heal, now that I know certain things to look for.”
“Well, now the Elves think you’re a miracle worker.”
Ava sighed. “Yeah. Just what I wanted to be.”
I knew Ava didn’t want to be put under any more pressure than she already was. I resolved to take her mind off things, because I wanted her to remember this day forever.
As we went further into the mall, Ava gasped. “Wow! I didn’t realize it’d be so big. I’m officially in love!”
“You haven’t even started shopping,” I teased.
“Well, what are we waiting for?” Ava wheeled forward as quickly as she could. Eddie and I had to practically run to keep up.
The mall was outdoors and open to the air, with several levels of shops lining a smooth walkway. I could feel the plants and trees potted every few feet, and a fountain trickled nearby. In my opinion, the shopping center was more like a garden than an actual mall, because there were plants everywhere. It was a similar feeling to being within a beautiful jungle.
Ava dragged me into a shoe store first, and automatic doors opened to an air-conditioned shop.
“Oh my ancestors. Finally, a pair of shoes that aren’t absolutely ghastly,” Ava said brightly.
Look at the hats!Oberi exclaimed. She trotted toward the back of the store.
“You might want to shop in husky form,” I warned her. “You’re going to knock over shelves.”
I’m fine,Oberi insisted.These aisles are wide enough for me to navigate no problem.
Her hooves smacked against the floor as she spun around. Amazingly, she didn’t knock over any racks of clothes.
