"Please don't go, Guildmaster Absolon!" the young, dark-haired princess - Amelia, that was her name - said pleadingly. She gazed up at him with huge, puppy-dog eyes, no doubt hoping that she could somehow convince him to stay.
The Healers' Guildmaster Darius Absolon shook his head slowly. "I have to get going, Princess; it's late - er, early," he amended, glancing out the window at the rising sun, which could barely be seen above the rooftops of Tallys City. "Each day brings with it new patients, new medical emergencies; I'm afraid that if I don't snatch myself a couple more hours of sleep, I'll be in no condition whatsoever to deal with a new day's worth of healing."
The girl's other two friends had long since gone to bed, after returning from that restaurant with a bespelled pot of coffee. Only Amelia and the Guildmaster himself had stayed awake after that; he, just to make sure that the chimaera's condition had stabilized; she, because she couldn't bear to leave her friend during his illness. Though if I'm any judge of character whatsoever, she thinks of him as far more than just a friend. One can only hope, for her sake, that he feels the same way towards her, the Guildmaster thought, glancing with concern over at the young stone-skinned man who lay motionless on the bed.
When I first became a priest, I never expected my patients to include chimaeras, he mused, thinking of the extra challenge that treating non-humans brought. In any case, I've treated far stranger creatures in my time. He, at least, is partially human.
"Your friend, Zelgadis, will be just fine. You can take care of him perfectly well, Princess," he told the young girl, in hopes that this would mollify her.
Ever since learning she was, in fact, royalty, he'd taken to calling her 'Princess,' as a gesture of respect. She doesn't seem like royalty, for some reason, but her friends backed up her claim, so.... A princess of Sailoon. It's such a far-off kingdom; she's a long way from home. I wonder what brings her here? Sometimes, he thought wryly, I wonder what brings anyone here; Tallys City certainly isn't much of an exciting place. Though it has its fair share of medical emergencies to deal with....
"Don't discount your own skills at healing," the elderly man told her once again. "I'm certain you can handle just about anything that might occur."
"You're sure?" she asked, not sounding convinced in the slightest.
"Positive, my dear. And be sure to get some sleep yourself," he admonished her, noticing how weary she seemed. She's had as little sleep as I have; no wonder she seems tired! "Goodbye, Princess."
"Goodbye," she said reluctantly.
As Guildmaster Absolon left the room, he remembered to take the pot of coffee with him. I'll analyze the spell on this coffee, he thought as he walked through the inn's hallways, and perhaps have its composition analyzed, as well. It might even be a good idea to pay that one restaurant a visit.... I'll have to return later, and ask where it can be found.
The elderly man emerged from the inn, onto streets which were just barely beginning to be lit with daylight, and realized just how far from the Healers' Temple he was. Oh dear. I have quite a walk ahead of me..., he thought in consternation. Perhaps I won't get any extra sleep this morning after all. Resigned to his fate, he began walking down the cobbled streets. An old man in a ratty grey flannel nightgown, walking through city streets holding an earthen pot of coffee.... It's a good thing I'm not concerned with appearances!