"Perfect Heal[1]" she whispered, before her lips parted from the forehead of the Emperor. A soft glow enveloped him, and the Audience Chamber held its breath. One could hear a pin drop on the floor, that is how quiet it was. Then, the Emperor began to change. Color returned to his skin, his eyes grew clearer and attentive, and his previously dull-blonde hair got its luster back. Strength and vitality returned, and as Lyra stepped back, the formerly unresponsive man blinked, and looked around, moving his body as if he had just awoken from a serious stupor.
"An angel?" he mumbled, slurring his words slightly, looking in the direction of Lyra. There was an audible gasp now coursing through the Audience hall, but first to act was the Empress. She all but rushed over, grasping for his hand as she sank to her knees, staring up at him, eyes welling up with tears. "Husband?" she whispered, as if speaking loud enough might break this fragile miracle.
"My dear?" the Emperor responded, moving a free hand to caress her cheek, at which point the Empress buried her face against his leg, her body shaking as she sobbed violently. Not with sadness, but with relief, and joy.
"Father!" Henry called out, now also moving, running around and up a few stairs beside the platform, rushing towards the throne. The Emperor looked at him, smiling gently. "Henry, my boy. You have grown?" he said, before he was suddenly hugged by his son. It was a touching scene, Lyra thought. The Empress and Prince Henry, bitter enemies, now both hugging the Emperor as if there was no tomorrow. From the balconies, there were murmurs and even some applause. No one could deny the miracle they had just witnessed. But there was one thing which bothered Lyra.
She looked at the notification she had received in her system window, when she cast her "Perfect Heal."
"Notice! [Curse of Withering] removed from [Edward Thomas Alberto Revean the Third]. Targets vitality has also been restored."
It was not sickness, and it was not poison. It had been a curse. However, Lyra strongly doubted the Empress had any part in cursing her husband. Nor did Henry and his faction have any reason to curse his father. Which likely meant, beyond the First and Second prince faction, there was something else going on, moving in the shadows. However... it was not a matter which had to be addressed right now, she thought, as she looked towards the touching reunion between father and son, and husband and wife.
Gracefully, she descended the stairs from the platform, and passed by Helena and James who didn't know how to react. Their Emperor who had been bedridden for over two years, was suddenly healthy again. As Lyra passed them, she patted them each on the shoulder, as she intended to leave. However, a strong voice suddenly called out. It was the Emperor himself:
"Wait!" he called out, and Lyra stopped, halfway through the Audience Chamber, and turned to look over her shoulder.
"My savior, you cannot just leave! Stay, join us for dinner. I shall prepare a mighty feast in your honor. We have much to discuss, I believe." he said, his voice now carried with gravitas throughout the hall.
"Very well, your Majesty. I just figured you and your family needed a little bit of privacy. I was just heading to the reception room. There is cake there I did not yet have a chance to sample." Lyra answered simply and truthfully. Her answer however drew out a loud, boisterous and mirthful laugh from the Emperor. He hugged both his Empress and his Prince with one arm each, nodding, before responding:
"A fine answer. I'll be sure to call upon you soon. Head-Butler, make sure the Lady has everything she desires as she waits." he responded, and gave his order to the Butler from earlier. The Butler appeared in the doorway at the back of the hall, and together he and Lyra exited the audience chamber. As she left, Lyra noticed the nobles being ushered away from the balconies by the Royal Guardsmen. The Royal Family would have their moment of joy and reunion, in private.
Not long after, Lyra was back in the reception room. The confectionery was still there, as was the tea, which was now quite cold. She sat down in a sofa, enjoying how soft and comfortable it was, as she reclined back, resting her head against the back of the sofa, closing her eyes briefly. Even with her eyes closed, she could feel the eyes of the Butler on her, and he was not alone. A handful of palace maids, albeit not the same ones who had dressed her earlier, were now also in the room standing in silence along the walls of the room.
"Milady, shall I have new tea prepared for you?" The butler asked kindly.
-"Yes please, that would be delightful." Lyra responded, opening her eyes and sitting up properly in the sofa now. As the Butler left the room, she first eyed the maids. They were standing incredibly still, their hands clasped together in front of them, their uniforms impeccable. All of them were rather attractive women, fit and slim builds, with hair-colors ranging between chestnut brown to varying degrees of black and light blonde. None of them met her eyes as she looked, as they politely stared at the floor, but whenever she looked away, she felt their gaze on her.
Which wasn't all that strange, seeing she was apparently an extremely rare existence, being a female elf and all. Word that she had cured the Emperor had likely also already spread throughout the Royal Palace like a wildfire, even though it had only been perhaps 15 minutes since then, which would only add to her fame, or infamy.
She tried to make herself comfortable, leaning forward to eye the confectionery at the cake-stand on the sofa-table. Three levels, each containing a plethora of cookies, muffins and cakes. She could count at least 7 different kinds of cookies, including a favorite from her past-life, being the double chocolate chip cookie. Muffins seemed to be a standard chocolate one, a blue-berry one, and one with red velvety cream on top. As for the cakes, there was carrot cake, a cream cake, a chocolate one, and one with blue whipped cream, probably blueberry there too. For the medieval standard of this world, this was probably a massive luxury, being able to offer such a variety of high-quality snacks.
Lyra eyed the carrot cake, before she put a slice on a fine porclain plate, and grabbed a golden fork from the table. However, sitting there eating alone with a handful of maids staring at her did not exactly make her cake-experience all that comfortable. So, she took a deep breath, then asked the maids:
-"Would you like to sit and have some cake?"
They swiftly shook their heads as one, while the head maid, answered: "We could not possibly do such a thing, milady. It would be a breach in decorum, besides these food-items were all prepared for you and the other guests of His Highness the Second Prince."
Lyra furrowed her brows. She retorted: "Well, sitting here eating alone in front of you all is making me uncomfortable. Therefore it would make me far happier if you could join me and share this "Meal" with me. Besides, the Emperor gave the order that I could have everything I wanted, while I waited. This is what I want."
The maids looked at the Head-Maid, the one who had previously spoken. She in turn seemed to be in thought, before she eventually said: "I... suppose that is true, milady. Very well..."
Then, she moved over and sat down in the sofa opposite of Lyra. One by one, the other four maids came over as well, two sitting down on either side of Lyra, the other two beside the Head-Maid. They looked a bit uncomfortable with the situation, but this was something Lyra vowed to amend. She asked them what things they would like to try, and began loading their plates and passing them out to the maids in turn. Naturally, a noble handing out things to a servant would be most unusual. Then again, Lyra wasn't exactly a noble. Well, an elven noble perhaps, given she was a High Elf, but that was beyond the point.
-"This is so much better! What are your names?" Lyra asked, happy with the company and being able to eat comfortably. She took a fork-full of carrot-cake to her mouth, marveling at how tasty it was, as she listened to the maids. Apparently the four maids were named: "Sofie, Lydia, Hannah and Marie" while the Head-Maid was named "Ysolda". By the time the butler returned with a porcelain tea-pot and a cup, the atmosphere in the room had changed and gotten warmer and more comfortable.
Naturally, the Butler was so shocked and horrified he nearly dropped the tea, but Lyra was quick to explain that it had been her order, which was essentially the Emperor's order, and the Butler confirmed his Majesty the Emperor had indeed said Lyra could have anything she desired. Naturally, no one had expected her to desire to eat cake with the maids, but here they were all the same. She offered the Butler to come sit as well, but he refused profusely so Lyra considered him a lost cause.
As she sipped her tea and ate cake with the maids, she found herself able to relax a bit more. She had always seen tea-parties between ladies on the TV when she laid in her hospital bed in her past life, so this had been a nice chance to recreate that. The maids had been rather stiff to begin with, but after half an hour of easy going conversation, they had warmed up to her and began showing more of their personalities.
"Seriously though, milady, what is your hair-routine!? Your hair is so soft, and no split ends anywhere despite being so long!" Sofie had said while nibbling on a cookie happily while admiring Lyra's hair.
-"I just... wash it? Every now and then?" Lyra responded, a bit unsure.
"In what? Magic elf water?" Hannah said, jumping into the conversation.
-"No, just regular water... I think?" Lyra said, again a bit unsure. She had never thought much about her hair in particular, though when she thought about it, back in her past life when she still had hair, it did require a bit of maintaining. Combing, conditioner, oils and shampoo. Otherwise it would get all dry and frazzled and loose its shine. But here, her hair was just... good? She did comb it regularly of course, but she had neither oils, shampoo or conditioners. Maybe the water in her spirit sanctuary was secretly amazing! Or, more likely, it had to do with her being an elf. She took a second to look up, sending a quick prayer of thanks to the Goddess for making her an elf in this life.
"And don't get me started on your skin! It looks so smooth! No acne or blemishes either, I am so jealous!" Marie said, staring at Lyra with big eyes.
"Goodness, why couldn't I have been born an elf too? You have no idea how much time and money I spend on various creams and herbal remedies, just for my face..." said Lydia with a big pout.
Lyra took a sip from her cup of tea, slurping quietly. She did have a very good face, indeed. Something more she was very thankful for, and not something she took for granted. Perhaps even more than her unique skill, being an elf by itself was such a cheat. That said, she had never actually met another elf, so it could just be something inherent to her, or to being a High Elf. Though in all stories she had ever read, elves were supposedly all naturally fair and graceful. Then again, just because it was that way in stories from her old world, that did not necessarily mean it had to be that way here.
Maybe the dwarves in this world hated alcohol? Now that would be something. Or the mermaids couldn't sing at all. Truthfully, now that she thought about it, isn't singing underwater weird to begin with? Well, if you got no air in your lungs maybe it is different. Whales do sing underwater. But they do breathe air, too, so that doesn't check out either! Suddenly, Lyra found herself with a deep headache, rubbing her temple.
Her existential crisis regarding water and singing was thankfully interrupted by the Butler, who knocked on the door and then stepped inside. He cleared his throat, before saying: "Milady, the Royal Family would like to see you in their private dining hall. May I escort you there?"
-"Yes, of course." Lyra said, and rose to her feet gracefully. She flashed the maids a bright smile, before bidding them farewell.
-"It has been a lovely tea-time. Should we meet again, do say hi."
The maids dipped their heads deeply and promised that, should they see Lyra again, they would be sure to say hi. Then, with heels clacking against the stone floor, Lyra left the reception room, and followed the Butler. He led her through long winding corridors, filled with old armors, paintings and statues. The Palace was as much as maze as the Capital City was. Perhaps this was even intentional, wouldn't be strange if it was after all. To make life more difficult for any invading force. Lyra would have needed a map, but the Butler had no issues finding his way. After ten minutes of walking and scaling a final flight of stairs, he stopped in front of a door.
He knocked, listened with his ear against the door, and then opened the door...
[1] Perfect Heal: Costs 10,000 mana. Will mend any injury, purify any toxin or poison, remove any curse or otherwise detrimental magical effect from the target. Will not, however, cure hangovers.