Infirmary

"Never thought, I would ever be saved by the likes of you."

A sudden voice drew me from my hectic thoughts, and I looked over to see Blair struggling to sit upright. I ran toward the lavender-skinned witch and lowered myself to meet her eyes.

"Are you alright?" I asked as I checked to see how badly she'd been hurt.

Blair met my eyes for a moment and then glanced down at the blade.

"Where did you get that?" she sniffed as I helped her to her feet.

"It doesn't matter." I shook my head. "Come on, let's get you back inside and clean up those wounds."

She nodded but then winced as she stood on her leg.

"Thank you," she muttered as we headed toward the door. She was limping, so I hoisted her up and swung her arm over my shoulder as I helped her walk.

"Don't mention it," I replied.

Blair turned to look at me, and there was gratitude deep within her silver eyes. "I hate to admit this out loud, but I was way out of my element back there."

"No shit … what the hell were you thinking?" I asked, and I did my best to not sound too harsh. "You shouldn't have come out here alone, even I know that."

When I looked down at the witch, anger flashed across her bright silver eyes, but then they softened as if she just remembered I was the one who saved her.

"I-I wanted to find blood to sacrifice," she whispered. "I guess I might have overestimated myself a little bit."

"A little bit?" I repeated with a raised brow, and I tucked the dagger I'd taken back into my waistband. "Look, I know I'm new to everything here, but it just seems rash to come out here and face something like that alone--"

"I know," Blair snapped and averted her gaze from me. "Look, I know,

I don't need a lecture from someone like you."

"I'm going to just ignore that," I grumbled as the front doors opened up on their own.

I was thankful for the small mercy. It had been one hell of a night.

We headed back inside, and I looked around as the paintings stared at the two of us. Then I briefly wondered if any one of them would report back to Headmistress Merlin.

"Is there an infirmary around here?" I grunted as I adjusted Blair's weight on my shoulders.

"Yes," she groaned, "it's by the library." "Uhh, where is the library?" I asked.

"Make your second right," she sighed.

It took us some time, but I managed to get her to the infirmary. To my relief and surprise, it was unlocked, and there was no one inside, so I assumed there was no nurse on duty. Perhaps it was up to the witches to cure themselves whenever they were ill or injured. It wouldn't have surprised me. These classes were clearly cut throat, so it made sense they wouldn't have someone to tend to injured witches.

The infirmary itself was expansive, though, with white beds lined up against the walls and a massive cabinet at the end of the room with glass doors that showed all kinds of potions and brews inside. There was also a small chandelier that hung above us and dimly lit up the room.

"Just sit here," I said. "Try not to move too much."

Blair winced as I set her down on the bed. I looked at her ankle, which was heavily bruised and starting to swell, so I guessed it was either broken or sprained. Usually, I would have tried to find some ice, but I had a feeling there was something to fix bones in the medicine cabinet.

"What should I be looking for?" I asked.

"There should be some mending brew in there," the witch said and pointed to the cabinet.

"What does it look like?" I questioned as I headed toward it.

"It should be in a purple vial." She grimaced. "Maybe on the first shelf?"

I opened up the cabinet and scanned the first shelf. Then I found a dark purple bottle with a pair of bones crisscrossed on the front.

"Found it," I said before I snatched it and brought it to her.

"Thanks," Blair mumbled before she tossed her head back and took a deep sip. She made a face, sighed, and then drank the rest of the potion.

"It tastes like shit," she muttered.

"How long will it take to work?" I asked.

"It should be about five minutes before it takes effect," she sighed and stretched out her leg.

I nodded as I headed to a sink, filled a nearby bowl with water, and snatched a towel. I brought my supplies over to the witch and kneeled down in front of her. Then I dabbed the towel in the lukewarm water and cleaned off the dried blood and dirt on her face.

"You don't have to do that." Blair scowled and tried to pull away from me. "I don't want to catch any of your human man germs."

"Very funny," I muttered as I dabbed a washcloth on her broken lip,

"but I'm doing it anyway."

She tutted, but let me continue to help her, and after about five minutes, she was cleaned up. Then, when I glanced down at her ankle, it was no longer bruised and looked good as new.

This place might be terrifying, but I couldn't deny … the magic was pretty fucking awesome.

"Are you ready to walk?" I asked.

"Yes," Blair mumbled with a clumsy nod. "I'm going to bed."

"Alright," I replied before I walked away to dump the grimy water down the sink.

"I can do it on my own, too," she said with a little scowl before she headed to the door, "and don't even think about trying to help me to bed."

"Fine." I shrugged. "Sleep well … try not to get into any more trouble.

Oh, and you're welcome, by the way."

To my surprise, Blair actually chuckled and flashed me a small smirk.

"Yeahhh," she mumbled and averted her gaze. "Thanks again for saving me. It's not easy to admit, but I would have been dead without your help."

"So, I'm not just a useless man after all, huh?" I questioned with an arched eyebrow.

"Perhaps not," Blair muttered as her silver eyes dragged over me. Then she turned away and slipped from the infirmary, and her footsteps faded down the hallway.

When I was sure she was gone, I pulled the dagger from my waistband and studied it. I briefly wondered if I should return it, but then I decided not to.

It might come in handy in the future, so I secured it in my waistband and left the infirmary. Then I headed back to my room, and when I was inside, I hid the blade under my pillow. I thought about going to sleep, but I was far too energized. After all the excitement tonight, there was no way I'd be able to crawl into bed and fall asleep.

So, instead, I sat back down at my tiny desk and did some more reading. I read until the candles died down and a small glow emerged from the stained-glass window. I knew it was probably time to get ready for class, so I stepped into the bathroom for a quick bath. When I was inside, I was shocked to see the tub was already filled to the top.

"Fucking magic," I whispered with a grin. "So cool."

I stripped out of my dirty clothes and stepped into the water, and I instantly relaxed as the warm bath soothed my aching muscles. I knew I couldn't stay here for too long, though, because the last thing I wanted to do was arrive late to class.

Yennefer would surely tear me a new asshole if I did.

Fifteen minutes later, I stepped out of the tub and wrapped a towel around myself. When I was back in the bedroom, a set of fresh clothes were folded on the velvet chair, and I figured that Cordelia must have laid them out for me. I dressed and headed out the door, and I was ready to start fresh today with all the information I retained from reading through the night.

When I arrived in the classroom for my next Blood Magic lesson, not one single person lifted their head to look at me. Morgana, Sweeny, Faye, and Rin had all their heads lowered, and not even Blair bothered to look up. She was too immersed in her textbook.

Well, fine. If the lavender-skinned witch wanted to pretend like nothing happened, I'd let her.

For now.