queentaejin:

There was something different in Faris’ eyes now; Queen couldn’t quite pinpoint it, but she noticed the slight distress in his face. She didn’t know what he could be so afraid of; being a soldier and all, surely he could handle minor pain like this.

“I am afraid not,” she told him, shaking her head. “The wound must be cleaned properly before I administer treatment. This is important, please understand.”

When Faris still looked wary of her, she paused for a moment to recollect her words. Taking the towel in her hands, she began to dab at the other wounds to his body, being sure to keep her touch light to reduce the pain. Perhaps it was a matter of gaining his trust first; she knew that she herself would also be wary of someone she had met only a few minutes ago. 

“Magic and potions are excellent in that they provide immediate recovery. But allow me to tell you something you perhaps did not know; if you rely on them too much for healing, the body grows to become reliant on them,” Queen began to explain, rinsing the towel free of blood before she started on the scratches to his arms. “It becomes so reliant on magic that it begins to reject other methods of healing, including that of natural repair. That is why I try to avoid using magic and potions when I can.”

Dropping the towel into the basin, she placed her hands in her lap, giving Faris a rueful smile as her gaze met with his again.

“Of course that is not always possible, especially when I am active in the field. But as I mentioned earlier, your condition is nothing serious yet so I can afford to treat you without the use of magic. The most effective form of recovery is to let the body heal on its own over time, after all.”

Faris had remained silent throughout the duration of Queen’s speech. The medic’s hands were gentle and confident as she worked; she seemed quite sure of what she was doing, and Faris didn’t doubt that she was right in her approach to cleaning the wound. That being said…

Maybe if this was less sudden. If she had had more time to wrap her head around the fact that, for the first time in years, she was going to openly acknowledge that she was a girl. But this situation had taken her off guard and inside she was reeling.

Queen stopped cleaning up the smaller scratches, and stared at Faris. Queen smiled; Faris figured she was trying to reassure her. It might have worked if Queen knew what Faris’s real concern was.

No getting around this, Faris thought to herself. Queen had made an all too rational speech, and there was no way for Faris to reasonably protest further. Her muscles tensed, nerves set on edge.

Faris sighed, and tried to calm down. She pulled off her gloves, and then deftly undid the belt around her waist. Finally, she pulled off her blue tunic, followed by her white undershirt, leaving only the bandages wrapped around her chest. She stared down at the floor, not particularly keen on eye contact at that moment.

There was silence. And then, for the first time in a long time, Faris dropped her masculine voice, and spoke in her natural one, “Nobody else knows.”

(Source: faristaejin)