Heaven's Greatest Professor

Chapter 49  Backlash

"Are you alright?" Warden asked.

June's body was perfectly fine; it seemed her mind lacked the clarity to command the body. She almost fell forward from the chair even with her bottom resting on it until Warden caught her. Her eyes wandered into nothingness for an uncertain amount of time as she finally blinked.

She let out a shriek, shuddering in his arms. Even Warden's form was tumbling, but he did his best to pull her into his arms and laid her on the bed as she finally calmed down. Warden had only seen the vision, but June had interpreted it from the fate marks and even transferred it to him. He didn't think there would be such a backlash, but apparently, he was wrong. Even he was rattled, though not as badly as her. Although his eyes didn't bleed, his blood came down from his nose and ears.

"At least it was not for nothing," he mumbled, wiping his blood with a napkin. He helped himself with water, gulping down the entirety of it in one attempt.

June came to her senses sooner than he imagined, but then again, she was a silver ranker of Elven origin. She groaned, sitting right up from the bed.

"Are you alright?" he asked again.

"I'll be," she said. "I have a headache and can't see clearly at this moment." She tried to wipe the blood that dripped on her cheeks, only making a mess of it. "Let me," Warden came to help, resting her back on the bedhead. He washed the napkin clean with water and wiped off the red blood from her cheek. There was still a layer of it in her eyes, but he was unable to do anything about it with her blinking rapidly. "Do you want water?"

"Yes," she said. Warden handed her a glass of water. She drank the water and asked for another glass. She used it to splash her eyes, strength returning to her mind and body.

"This is not the first time something like this has happened," June said. "Don't worry about it. I'll be at my full capacity in the morning."

"That's a relief." "You're right about the opportunity not being a waste," she continued, thoughtfully. "It was fascinating as always. I had a lot of insights, though I'd still like to interpret more of the runes someday. But I fear I won't learn much without advancing another rank."

"Thankfully, I learned something more about myself," Warden said. "With your help, of course."

"What?"

Warden smiled.

"What?" June reiterated. "Is it about the runes?"

"It is better if I show it to you," Warden said. "Tell me when you can see clearly, and I need to meditate on the things I re-learned as well."

"Is it about the runes?" June asked again with the enthusiasm of a child. "My eyes are fine; show me now."

Warden laughed. "You know, with you behaving like this, I have a hard time believing you to be an ageless, patient elf."

"I've barely lived fifty years of my life, half of those in the prison of my mind," June snorted. "Those wisdoms don't come as early. At least I need to go through three cycles for that."

"I have no clue what you're saying, but as a fifty-year-old woman, you're basically a granny."

"I'll still be the same in hundreds of years to come," June snorted, "while you'd have withered or become old and wrinkled."

Warden's teasing seemed to have the effect he wanted, as the elf girl snorted at him. She was nothing like a granny, to be honest. June was composed most of the time, unless it was something of great interest, like fate marks; then, she became impatient like a teenager.

"Still, you're almost double my age," Warden teased further. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"How do you know?" the elf countered. "Even if you look in your mid-twenties after shaving, you could also be twice or thrice that age. Magic keeps everything fresh."

"Well, that could be a possibility, but with my personality and rash behaviour, I don't believe I'm that old."

"What do you mean 'that old'?" June scowled. "I've seen many people in their 50s or 60s acting rash. That's pretty normal, with an average ranker living close to two hundred years."

"How long do elves live?" Warden asked.

"We are immortal," June said matter-of-factly. "Anyway, you changed the subject. Tell me what you learned from the runes."

"Well, I learned that I'm something of a Scriber," Warden said, and received no reaction from June.

"What does that mean? Is it a class?" she questioned. "Are you someone who interprets these runes?"

"Like I said, it will be better to show you," Warden sighed. "Then show me," she urged him.

"Can you even see properly?"

"Fine, let me drink a potion first." She brought out her cube and let it spew out a small vial of potion and another medicine that seemed to be some kind of eye drops. She drank the potion on her own and handed the eye drops to him. "Help me, no more than one drop per eye."

"What is this?" he asked, inspecting the smaller vial. "Diluted moon water. Pretty precious, don't waste it."

Warden complied and drew closer to her. Again, her lavender perfume assaulted his nostrils; her slow breathing was like a rhythm to his ears as she opened her eyes wide. He hesitated to touch her cheek, holding the eye drop over her eyes.

"Get on with it," she croaked, getting impatient. Warden hesitated no more. His palm supported her head as he dropped one small drop of the moon water into her right eye. June closed that eye and opened the other wide. Warden transferred his palms to her other cheek and wetted the other eye as well, as she remained closed-eyed for about a minute.

Warden seated himself in the chair and waited. "Do I look more handsome now?" he asked after she opened her eyes.

"I see what you're trying to do," June said, inhaling sharply, "but trust me, it will never work between us."

"What won't work between us?" "You know what I'm talking about." She shot a curt glare.