Healer After University

 Her steps were quick and light on the spacious marble-tiled corridor. Dressed in her best dress – or so she thought – she looked very professional. Her wavy hair was loosely combed back with a few small golden flowers for decoration. Her eyes were glinting with anticipation and her posture was flawless – straight back, chin up, arms cradling a bunch of papers. There was no way things wouldn’t go according to plan that day.

She turned into a large room with a few people in white, mostly women, walking back and forth, from bed to bed. It was the university’s hospital wing and it was as busy as ever. She spent three years walking around that room and knew most of the staff, but she knew only the name of the woman she was meeting that day. It was one of the head healers who were almost impossible to meet since they travelled across the country to attend hospital meetings in different cities. But she was lucky.

She stopped by one of the healers, her face serious and ever so professional.

„Excuse me? Hi, my name is Rau, I have an appointment with the attending healer.“ Her voice was confident, but still sounded very light. Lovely. Caring.

The healer, a thirty-something looking brunette, looked to her with amused eyes. “Oh, that’s me. Follow me, please.” She didn’t even wait, but started moving immediately out of the room, back to the corridor. “How old are you, sweetheart?” she asked, walking slightly ahead of Gemina.

“I’m… sorry…” she murmured and it took her a second to get out of that embarrassing shock and follow her. “I’m twenty-two, madam.”

The healer sighed. “To be so young again… and do all those stupid things again.” She laughed – a very girlish, innocent sound that matched her body and face. But Gemina realised that she wasn’t thirty. The attending must have been much older, maybe in her hundreds, but she was too inexperienced and couldn’t tell. Not yet.

They walked into an office that was messier than Gemina would ever expect. It could have been beautiful with its tall walls and windows and marble on the floor, the brass candle holders… but every surface was hidden under hoards of papers that seemed to have no organisation to them. A piece of her neat self wept at that sight.

“Alright, take a seat, please.” The attending motioned towards a chair that was standing in front of a large desk. She flicked her wrist and some of the papers flew up and formed a neat stack on the side so she had somewhere to put her forearms after she sat down. “So… you would like to be a resident here?” she asked at last.

“Yes, madam. Very much.” Gemina sat down and gave her a nervous smile. It seemed as if the mess around took some of her confidence away. She straightened her skirt and reached over to give the healer the papers she’d been holding. Somehow, she didn’t believe they wouldn’t get lost in the stacks around.

“Why here? Not many people want it, we’re known mainly for drunk students.” The attending smirked and looked through the papers she was given – a copy of an application, a resume, some recommendations…

“You’re also known for the most complicated cases. I studied here, I shadowed here… I would like to become a proper healer here.”

“And then?” The attending looked at her.

“Open my own infirmary,” Gemina answered without thinking. It was an automatic response and a truth.

The attending raised her brows. “So we train you, spend time on you, and you leave us…?”

Oh gods, she thought, horrified. “No! No, I… I didn’t mean it like that, I-“

“Miss Rau, we all know what young people want. You want to be independent and, of course, you want money.”

“No! Mrs Arën I swear to you my intention is to always have shifts here and help this wing as much as possible. I mean it.” She sounded very adamant, maybe a bit too much. She wasn’t lying, but had no way to prove it.

The attending gave her a judging look, then smiled. “Look, miss Rau. I see you had a flawless GPA and I know you thought it would make it easy for you-“

“But I am the best of my class,” Gemina interrupted her, now frowning and confused. “I graduated from healing and potions, among other things. I shadowed here for three years, did my research, this year I was accepted to acquired species healing specialty which I’ll be graduating from in two years, I… I-“

“Among other things? What else did you take?”

“Seraphology, practical magic, and acquired species anatomy…” she answered quietly, looking embarrassed.

“Oh my, you must have a lot of time on your hands,” the attending laughed.

“My mother died and I turned my grief into studying. If I knew my tragic background would be a requirement for the job-“ Gemina’s words were suddenly harsh and cold, but the look the attending gave her stopped her from talking. She felt her heart sinking lower and lower. This was going as badly as it could and she had no idea how to make it better.

“I’m sorry. I… I just really need to work here and… I feel like I deserve it. I worked hard for it. I didn’t mean to come off as rude…”

“You didn’t. You came off as someone who doesn’t settle and that’s appreciated around here.” The attending leaned back in her chair and sighed. “When I saw your application, I thought you’d be one of those posh kids who magically got their grades up and now think the world belongs to them. It shocked me, because those kids never want to work here. I’m pleasantly surprised, to be honest with you. So, acquired species… you want to treat demons and vampires?”

“Well… I…” the confidence she came with was gone. “I know what it looks like, but I feel like my species has nothing to do with my job. I can be professional. As for vampires, there are certain treatments even nephilim can offer.”

“You can’t give patients your blood, you know that.”

“I do! I meant potions and certain spells. There are energy healing spells that don’t get their energy from the Light and-“

Yet another strict look from the attending.

“…you probably know that, I am so sorry.“ She felt like crying, but that would be the last nail in her coffin, she thought. She had to walk out of there with her chin high up and then… simply look elsewhere. She truly believed she was the best among her classmates and that she deserved to be accepted to her first choice job, but, as per usual, the fate worked against her.

“Miss Rau, you need to calm down before you need healing.” The attending looked at her with slight concern. “I think we’ll be happy to have you. For… at least two years. Your intentions are noble, but hearts change. If you’re willing to still work shifts here even after your residency, I will be glad. As for now, I think you might be a valuable addition to our healing team. Welcome on board.”

The next thing she knew, she was shaking the attending’s hand and the brunette was out of the office in the next moment. Gemina stood there for a few minutes before walking out, dumbfounded. What just happened? Maybe she just dreamed up that last part…

Fortunately, when she showed up the next day and introduced herself as a new resident, all seemed to be well. Only then she could finally relax and celebrate a little. She got in.