"You aren't going anywhere," Doma said with a smile, standing between the running slaves. They remained frozen in place.
"As much as I hate it, the snowstorm isn't calming anytsoon. You'll stay in my hut for now," Doma clapped her hands, and a bright light showed between the trees.
"Go in," She said, and the slaves did as she said out of fear.
Doma watched as they walked into her hut and turned back, "Now, one is missing," She sighed, "I guess she tripped down the cliff. Running barefoot in the snow gotta hurt," She flew away.
Right below a massive cliff, she found the little girl, seemingly unconscious among the snow, and her fingers turned blue from frostbite.
Doma stared down at the little girl, "Are you dead? Those who fall asleep in the harsh could usually die within seconds,"
The little girl growled, her mind barely holding its consciousness by a thread.
"I see. Let's head back to my hut," Doma lifted her hand, and the little girl's body started floating. ZON! They teleported to the hut in the blink of an eye.
The moment they landed, the little girl could feel a warm breeze wash over her body. The sun shines brightly in the blue sky above them.
The other slaves were sitting around on the green grass, staring around with confused faces. How could suck a place exist in this forest.
"You get warm water from the tap there," Doma pointed with her hand toward a small fountain, "My golems would bring you food and help break your shackles. After you rest, I'll teleport to the elvish capital border."
She walked toward her tree house with the little girl floating before her.
"You're helping us?" A woman gasped.
"It wasn't your fault that you got into my domain. I already took my payment from the slaver and his assistant," She smiled, "Or do you wantto use you as a lab rat?"
The woman shook her head, "No! Please no,"
"Then, no complaints. Get your shit together and scram to your lives." She growled at her, "Normal people shouldn't stick around in my cursed land, nothing good would cout of it,"
The slaves looked at each other, then went toward the golems to break their shackles.
****
Inside the tree house, Doma put the little girl on her lab table and looked at her limbs, "You already had a weak body, were malnourished, and then ended up buried in the snow longer than everyone else."
She walked toward the counter and pulled sherbs. "Stay where you are. I know you want to warm up, but we need to treat your limbs,"
The little girl growled, unable to speak.
"I know, you don't feel any pain," Doma looked back at her, reading her thoughts. "That's a bad sign. Your nerves are dying."
She crushed all the herbs into a paste and slithered the girl's hands and feet in it.
"Now, this might be a bit uncomfortable," She reached below the table and pulled out a long thin tube. "Hold still," She grabbed the little girl by the head and shoved the tube down her nose, all the way to her stomach as she struggled.
"You'll die of starvation if I give you a healing potion, and you can't eat or even drink now." Doma sighed, pulling a funnel and pouring warm water into the tube from a jug.
"It's working," Doma smiled, Walking toward the counter and heating smilk. She poured the milk into a large glass and mixed shoney with it. She then went back to the girl and fed her that.
"Just stay calm for a while. Give it a few minutes to get absorbed, and I'll give you a weak healing potion to start with." Doma giggled, waving her fingers above the little girl, "You'll be fine. Hehe."
She then jumped back and pulled a large black pot from beneath her counter. "Tto cook, I guess," She looked at the little girl's eyes with an excited spark. "I didn't do this in a while. Hopefully, you won't turn into a frog. Like my last patient,"
Doma flicked her fingers, and a massive fire appeared in the middle of the room. She put the pot on it and poured a bucket of water, followed by a bag of strangely glowing green powder.
"Water, vex's ash, chicken feet, a dash of crushed warthog's bones." With a cheerful face, Doma pulled a large cane and started stirring the pot, "Now we added a live hummingbird. Sorry, that was a joke. It's a pickled one," She threw it inside and burst laughing as the pot started smoking.
The little girl slowly turned her head, looking at Doma.
"This'll take a while to simmer," Doma hummed, "But, you see, I can make it faster by adding sof this." She pulled a jar filled with white dust.
The little girl could only growl.
"Crushed children's bones. Don't askhow I got them. I certainly don't have a side hustle as a tooth fairy." Doma turned toward the little girl, "You still have all of your teeth, right?"
She grunted.
"You think this might be toxic? Don't worry, it won't kill you at least," Doma flicked her fingers and increased the heat, singing as she stirred the pot, slowly pouring her magic into the mix.After about ten minutes, the strange, bubbling green concoction and Doma poured it into the little girl's stomach using the tube, even though she tried to resist.
"Con," Doma smiled as she poured the concoction in, "Don't resist. It'll help fix your organs. Well, at least prevent them from dying further until I give you a potion,"
After she finished feeding her, she poured swater in to clean the tube and sat beside her on a chair, "Let's give you a few seconds before pouring this in," She waved her fingers, and a weak healing potion appeared.
"You eat to get energy, then I'll give you a potion to heal. That consumes energy. You rest, then we repeat until you're healed." Doma smiled, "But your limbs aren't looking that fine. We might have to cut the dead fingers," She pointed at the little girl's frostbitten hands and feet.
After several healing rounds, Doma sighed, "As I expected," She looked at the little girl's limbs, "They are already dead beyond repair. You don't have the constitution to grow them back at this age with healing potions or magic. It's sad, but it can't be helped." Doma approached the little girl's head and tapped her forehead. "To sleep with you,"
The little girl lost consciousness and only woke several days later in a soft bed inside a room that she didn't recognize. She sat up, and it didn't take her long to recognize her severe hands and feet.
"She cut them off..." She sighed, "How am I supposed to..."
"You're awake?" Doma opened the door and walked in. "Well, you aren't sleepwalking,"
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmThe little girl stared at her, "You cut my hands and feet,"
"They were dead and rotting. I couldn't leave them." Doma replied, "And I have those for you. They should work as a replacement, except you can't feel anything with them." Doma had a small basket in her hand with a pair of doll hands and feet.
"Where is everyone else?" She asked.
"I already sent them to the elvish capital. You're the only one left," Doma sat beside her, pulling a measuring string. She gently pulled the little girl's arm and started measuring it. "This one will fit..." She started mumbling as she took all the measurements.
"Will you kickout soon as well?" The girl asked.
"I'll kick you out as well, but not soon, in a few years at least." Doma smiled, standing up. "I'll bring you something to eat first. For now, rest. Putting those doll parts on is going to be painful. I'll have to sew them into your limbs directly."
Doma fed her, and several hours later she sewed the doll's hands and feet into her body and let her recover until the next day, when they started her rehabilitation.
After the girl learned to use her new limbs, Doma started teaching her alchemy for the next many years.
"Mistress?" The girl asked, five years later.
"I told you to callDoma," Doma stared at her as they were in the lab testing spotions.
"Why did you savethat day? Now that I lived with you for stime, I know you would've thrownout with the rest of the slaves." The girl asked.
Doma smiled, "Listen, Aisha." She looked at her eyes with glowing pink fire.
"You almost killed my husband," Doma replied, her eyes glaring directly at the girl's face, "Is that enough?"
"How cthat I almost killed your husband? Are you even married?" The girl sighed, "Can you stop with the jokes?"
****
Shifting to the current time, Arad stared at the doll as Eris pinned her down with her foot.
"Remember the old days? Aisha." Doma said in Arad's body, his eyes glowing pink.
"Mistress Doma?!" Aisha gasped.
"It's been a few centuries, my little student." Doma said with a calm stern voice.