I woke up to the sound of someone groaning.

  No.

  I was groaning.

  I shot up and threw the scratchy wool blanket off my chest. The instant the cool night air washed over me, my skin prickled up, and I started shivering. As fast as I threw the blanket off, I pulled it back over me and turned myself into a cocoon. Then, with a deep breath, I tried to get a hold of myself.

  "What the hell is going on?" I whispered through chattering teeth. Pulling the blanket tight, I rubbed my hands together to warm up. Man, was my left hand sore.

  Wait...

  I brought my hands to my face. After turning them both over a few times, I touched my fingers to my thumbs as a slow realization dawned on me.

  Both of my hands were working!

  "How?!" I asked the empty room.

  I'd been messed up. Really messed up. Like, partially paralyzed, messed up. The kind of messed up that people didn't recover from. But here I was, moving them around like they were as good as new. Well, that was a lie. I mean, the bandages still clung to my arm, but they weren’t so caked with blood today!

  That was something, right?

  I laughed as I lifted my arms above my head and back down again. I didn't have a full range of motion, and my arm was still partially numb, and the skin felt tight and itched terribly, but that was all okay. Whenever I saw that giant woman with the magic light hands, I’d give her wrinkled old lips the biggest kiss of my life. She saved me.

  Eager to explore my body further, I started with my feet. Wiggling my toes and pumping my ankles, I found that my right foot still hurt, but not nearly so badly as it had before. It was the same with my right knee, which hadn't moved at all the day before. My left arm was fully covered in bandages, which smelled like flowers and antiseptic. From there, I just started moving everything I could.

  Everything worked. At least kind of.

  Thank you, freakishly strong magic nun.

  With a deep sigh of relief, I looked around at my moonlit room, taking in the strange sights and sounds for the second time. Everything was as it had been, except the incense on the desk had gone out at some point. Outside, the moon was just peeking over the edge of the windowsill, bathing the room in a soft silvery light. It was beautiful.

  Turning, I saw that someone had placed a large glass of water on my end table. Reaching out with my left hand, I used raw willpower to force my fingers open, then struggled to grasp the cool glass. After a half-dozen failed attempts, I finally managed to pick the damn thing up and bring it to my lips.

  The water tasted amazing. Cool and refreshing and so, so pure. It was probably the best water I'd ever had.

  I finished the stuff in a few gulps, then immediately wished I'd savored it more. With a sigh, I reached back out and placed the empty glass back on the end table.

  Just then, a soft knock on the door sounded in my room.

  My heart nearly leaped out of my chest.

  Was the terrible lady of pain back for more?

  "No, thank you!" I said louder than I meant to.

  Despite my plea, the heavy wooden door opened, and a woman's shape entered the room. A small white taper illuminated her, revealing the image of a woman who was maybe twenty-five. Fair, freckled skin stretched over her pretty face, which was narrow and delicate, with high cheekbones and almond eyes slightly too large for her face. Her robes, which were shapeless and brown rather than the white and blue of the woman from before, were a size too big and hung awkwardly off her body. She was short, maybe standing around five-three, and her long, straight black hair was pulled back into a braid.

  My heart skipped a beat.

  She was beautiful, but in an ethereal way, like some fairy princess.

  Noticing that I was awake, she grinned mischievously and said, "La plorulo veki?as! Kiel vi fartas?" Her voice was sweet and melodic, with a slightly noticeable difference in her accent compared to the woman from yesterday.

  "Hi, how are—"

  Without waiting for me to respond fully, she approached my bed, placed another glass of water on the small wooden nightstand, and pulled the covers away from my arm.

  Not only was it cold, but she'd almost seen way more than she needed to see! “Um, can I help you, miss?”

  She smiled but didn’t respond. Instead, she began running her fingers up my arm, closing her eyes as she did.

  Scarred and terrified from yesterday's experience, I pulled my arm away from her cool fingers. "I'm okay, really. Thanks."

  Her eyes opened, revealing two brilliant sapphire eyes...

  Where had I seen eyes so blue before?

  It felt like I'd seen them in a dream, but I wasn't so sure now that they were looking right at me.

  As I thought on it, her eyes gazed into mine. "Ne timu. Mi estas ?i tie por helpi vin." Shaking her head, she said, "Help," then pointed at herself.

  Aside from that last bit, I had absolutely no idea what she was saying, but her tone was so sincere and sweet, I couldn't help but relax.

  When she saw that I'd calmed down, she placed her hands back on my arm. Quietly, she whispered something unintelligible under her breath, and a soft white glow, barely perceptible even in the moonlight, began to emit from her hands.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  "Whoa!" I shouted, absolutely fascinated. "How'd you do that?"

  Smiling, she said, "Ne timu," and rubbed her glowing hands along my arm.

  Whatever the light was, I could feel it seep into my body, just like when the older woman had done it the day before. However, unlike the light from the other woman’s hands, which felt really intense, this woman's light felt good. Whatever she was doing felt softer, more gentle. It didn't hurt that her smile never left her face, either.

  “Bone?” She asked after a minute or two.

  I was pretty sure she was asking me if it felt good. “Yeah, that feels nice.” I smiled back. "Thank you." Letting my body sink into my pillows, I closed my eyes for a few minutes, enjoying the feelings flowing through me. Unfortunately, the pain grew the longer she worked. It wasn’t miserable or anything, but it was enough to be distracting. Well, that, and she was a pretty woman sitting on my bed and rubbing on my body. Not only that, but her hip and leg were pressed against mine, and I could feel her breath on my neck...

  My heart clenched.

  For the first time since I woke up, I felt super lonely. I had absolutely no idea where I was, but I had a feeling I wasn’t anywhere near home. I didn't have a good relationship with my family, but the thought that they might be gone forever, and that I wouldn't be able to go visit my sister's... "Damn." I shook my head. That stung.

  Pushing Stella out of my head, I thought of Devon instead. Would I ever see her again? What about Dave? The guy was a scumbag, but I liked him. Sometimes. And what about my neighbors? My coworkers? My friends? Would I ever see any of them again?

  I hoped so.

  "Fartas bone?" The woman's voice was close.

  Wiping my face, I felt another wave of loneliness wash over me. "I don't understand."

  Frowning, her brow scrunched, and her lips worked for a moment before she asked, "Okay? You okay?"

  "Do you speak English?" Maybe I wasn't as far as I thought?

  Her brow knitted further. "No speaking." She shook her head. "Okay?"

  I sighed a deep, soul-emptying sigh. This wasn't the time to get emotional. Maybe one day I could deal with those feelings, but right now wasn't that time.

  Returning to the present, I noticed that the pretty fairy woman’s body was pressed against mine. "Uh?"

  "Yes?" She asked.

  She didn’t seem to notice how close she was, but I certainly did. Looking everywhere but at her, I looked at the symbol on the wall, softly glowing in the moonlight, and thought of everything but how her robe had dipped too low around her neck. I looked out into the dark field. I looked at the ceiling. I didn't want to be weird, but eventually, my curiosity got the best of me, and I turned to look her over.

  For science.

  The girl was definitely around her mid-twenties, with fair skin and deep blue eyes. She had light freckles that ran down her long, thin nose. Her hair was jet black and immaculately kept, so much so that it shone in the moonlight. Her hands were thin but strong, with long fingers and shiny, buffed nails. And she was pretty in a way that was less supermodel and more real. More than anything, though, it was her smile. It was so pure and genuine.

  The woman adjusted her body as she worked, turning her torso toward me, working her way up my arm and into my shoulder with her glowing hands. As she worked, she closed her eyes, her forehead furrowed in concentration. As time went on, beads of sweat appeared on her brow, revealing that whatever she was doing was taking a toll on her.

  As she worked, she coupled her healing with some kind of vigorous massage, working the... magic, I guessed, into my muscles. As she worked, her robe fell farther away from her neck, causing the moonlight to highlight the curve of her collarbone, the muscles in her neck, her delicate jaw, her thin brows, her pale skin.

  I looked up and saw something that I'd missed. She had long, pointed ears.

  "Your ears!" I shouted, pointing with my free arm. "Why are they pointed!?!"

  "Mal?entile!" Her blue eyes grew wide, and her face reddened as she covered her ears with her hands. "Jen miaj oreloj! Bruto!" The woman stood up in a flash and, fishing in her robe's pockets, pulled out a shawl and wrapped it around her head, covering her ears. When she finished, she put her hands on her hips and scowled.

  Had I done something wrong? Probably. It was me after all.

  "Sorry, I didn't mean to insult you." I didn't know why she reacted that way, but I clearly messed up. Searching for the word that the older woman kept saying the day before when she was torturing me, I slowly recalled it. Pardonu. I was pretty sure I knew what it meant. She only said it a hundred times while breaking me. "Pardonu! Pardonu. Sorry." I tried to sound as gentle as I could. "I was just surprised. Pardonu."

  After a few more moments of scowling, the girl's expression softened, and she sat back at the edge of the bed with a huff. “Bruto.” She swatted at my arm before sitting closer. Taking my hand back in hers, she began to work on my arm again. With a soft, pure voice, she intoned more of those indecipherable words, and the soft light returned to her hands.

  At first, it was about as bright as it had been before. But when she kept chanting, it got brighter. Much brighter. Then, it didn't feel so good anymore. That same itching, burning feeling from yesterday ignited along my scars.

  I began to squirm, then groaned, then writhed when it began to burn. "Okay, that's enough now. Thanks. Thanks much. That's great. All done."

  She didn't let up, working her light into my muscles with the same vigor the larger woman had the day before. "Ne timu," She whispered through a grin.

  "Okay, now. That's good. Pardonu. Pardonu! PARDONU!" I shouted loud enough that my voice echoed in the small room.

  She gave me a mischievous smile, whispered, "Nedankinde," and the white light dimmed back to how it had been before, and the itching subsided.

  I decided then and there that I'd never trust her again. She was trouble.

  "Fartas bone?" She said, her voice filled with mischief.

  I glared at her. "You really got me." I knew she didn't understand, so I added, "Haha. So funny."

  "Haha," she said back with a shit-eating grin on her face. "So funny," she parroted in her melodic accent. Then, she giggled. Her laugh sounded like music.

  For the first time in however many days, I genuinely smiled. Then we both laughed together.

  “Pardonu, plorulo,” she said as she worked my arm. "Ve ne sciis, ke vi estas..." Hesitating for a moment, she eventually said, "You not know you rude."

  “Pardonu.” I felt like that word helped, so that was what I was going with.

  After that exchange, she focused on her work. Her eyes met mine from time to time, but the conversation faded, so I slumped back into my pillow, letting her do her thing.

  Some time later, she finished, and my arm felt the best that it had felt since I'd woken up. "Thank you," I said sincerely.

  "Nedankinde." She lowered her eyes and inclined her head.

  I assumed that meant you're welcome. Pointing at myself, I said, "Alex."

  "Naya."

  "Pleased to meet you, Naya." I meant it. I didn't know how long I’d been there, but it was nice to connect with someone, even if that someone had pointy ears, impossibly blue eyes, and glowing hands. Oh, and she may or may not be an angel.

  Taking her hands from my arm, she stood and walked to the foot of the bed. Reaching under the covers, she placed her hands on my right foot. The same good, itchy, achy feeling crept into my foot, then spread up my leg and into my knee.

  "So where am I, anyway? Is this some sort of hospital?" I asked, knowing I wouldn't understand a word she said. It was just nice to talk.

  She opened her mouth to speak, closed it, then opened it again. "Ili ne kredis, ke vi travivos. Vi estis tre vundita, kaj mi kaj Tristan pasigis multajn noktojn ?e via lito. Mi dankas, ke vi vivas. Forta vi estas." She smiled softly, a subtle sadness filling her eyes. "Ne ?iuj vivos." Her blue eyes peered into mine a moment longer. "Mi pensas, ke vi estos afabla al Tristan..." She seemed like she wanted to say more, but a distant noise outside the room ended the moment. She stood up, brushed her hands on her robe, and walked back to the side of my bed. "Vi devas ripozi." She placed her hand on my head as she spoke.

  I wanted her to stay longer, to keep talking with me, but there was a soft pulse of light from her fingertips. Instantly, I was wracked with an overwhelming urge to sleep, and my vision swam.

  "Bonan nokton, Alex." She smiled, squeezed my hand, then turned to leave the room. I was asleep before the door shut, dreaming of beautiful fields, sheep, and black-haired elven maidens.