"If you patch up the arteries like that, they'll rupture again later and the patient will bleed to death on the way home," growled Master Wilford. "Concentrate on the Greystone Cascade, feel the flow."

Valentina corrected her Essence pattern and immediately felt the healing deepen. The fisherman on the treatment table, who had rammed a fishhook deep into his hand, visibly relaxed.

"The old curmudgeon is getting tame," Vyxara commented with amusement. "A few days ago, he would have shouted at you."

After nearly a week in the hospital, Valentina had become accustomed to Master Wilford's sharp manner. His criticism was harsh but precise, and it felt as if she learned more from him here in a very short time than in a whole month at Bridgewater.

Claire, who was treating a burn at the next table, gave her an encouraging smile. "He only rolled his eyes at me three times yesterday. That's practically an accolade."

The morning routine in the outer treatment ring was familiar to Valentina by now – a steady stream of craftsmen, servants, farmers and other commoners with the usual injuries and ailments. The hospital's Essence patterns enhanced her healings, making precise work possible even without much Distilled Essence.

"Good," Wilford grumbled when the fisherman's wound had closed cleanly and only a slight scar tissue remained. "At least you're a quick learner. Next patient!"

A young apprentice stonemason limped in, supported by his master. "A block of stone fell on his foot," the older man explained anxiously.

Valentina helped the apprentice onto the treatment table. Without hesitation, she began the examination, her fingers carefully feeling the swollen foot. "Two broken toes," she diagnosed, "we can fix that."

She wove a pattern of Leb and Ard Essence and connected it to the Greystone Cascade. The bones realigned themselves under her guidance and healed cleanly. The apprentice groaned with relief.

"Impressive," said a warm voice behind her. "I've never considered this connection between Leb and Ard. Ard always seems so alien to the body."

Lorenzo stood in the doorway, already dressed in the grey robes of the healers. His smile made her heart beat faster.

"Oh, look," purred Vyxara. "The charming heir is coming to visit us."

"Good morning, Lord Lorenzo," Valentina greeted formally. After the dance lesson fiasco, she wasn't quite sure how to deal with him.

"Please, we're not at court. Lorenzo." He stepped closer. "Would you show me your technique?"

They bent together over the next patient with a broken bone who came in. While Valentina explained the Essence pattern, they were so close that she could feel his body heat. Her hand accidentally brushed his as she showed him the anchor points of the pattern.

"How sweet," Vyxara commented. "He's looking for excuses to be around you."

"That was very unfair of Hazel yesterday, by the way," Lorenzo said quietly as they worked. "Her behavior when she interrupted our dance lesson was unacceptable. I would like to apologize for that."

"I'm sure it's not easy for her," Valentina replied diplomatically. "I bear Lady Hazel no ill will."

"Still." Lorenzo frowned. "I just wanted to let you know that not everyone at court feels that way. Some of us see more than just..." He broke off, a slight blush rising in his cheeks.

"Than just what?" asked Valentina gently.

Before he could answer, Master Wilford's voice barked across the room: "When you two have finished holding hands, I'll need some help in the middle ring!"

Lorenzo flinched and hastily took a step back. Valentina felt a blush rise to her face.

"I should..." Lorenzo began.

"Yes, of course," murmured Valentina. "The patients."

They hurried off in different directions, while Vyxara commented with a chuckle, "Oh, that sweet, forbidden attraction. Almost as entertaining as your nightly visits to his father."

The rest of the morning flew by. Valentina treated a seemingly endless stream of patients – a cook with scalds, a stable boy with back pain, a merchant with a persistent cough. With each case, she became more confident with the Greystone Cascade, learning to read the subtle vibrations of the hospital's Essence better.

The other healers readily accepted her as part of the team. Claire shared her herbal knowledge, old Manwise taught her useful Amplifying Incantations, and even shy Sadie slowly warmed up and asked Valentina if she could show her the Leb-Ard technique for broken bones too.

Lorenzo was now working further away from her, both trying to maintain a professional distance. But their eyes kept crossing, and each time Valentina felt that telltale flutter in her stomach.

"Watch out," Vyxara warned, amused. "If you pine any more obviously, Wilford will have to separate you with a bucket of water."

Just as Valentina was about to make a snappy reply, a non-weaving healer rushed excitedly into the treatment ring. "Quick, we need a Weaver or two!" she shouted breathlessly. The healer was covered in sweat, her apron was bloody and her hood was askew. "The young baroness – she's bleeding, but we can't find the source. The child is stuck and..." She struggled for breath. "We need Essence Weavers urgently!"

Valentina and Lorenzo reacted at the same time. Without exchanging a word, they followed the healer through the winding corridors of the hospital.

"How long has she been bleeding?" asked Lorenzo as he walked.

"It's been an hour, but it's gotten worse in the last few minutes." The healer led them to one of the outer birthing rooms. "The child is lying in the wrong way, we can't..."

The metallic smell of blood hit them hard as they entered the room. The young baroness lay on the birthing bed, bathed in sweat, her light blonde hair dark with wetness. Two healers were with her, one holding her hand, the other trying to turn the child.

"Where is the father?" asked Lorenzo as he rolled up his sleeves.

"On the hunt," gasped the Baroness. "With His Grace. They wanted..." A wave of pain made her cry out.

Valentina stepped next to the bed and gently placed her hands on the woman's stomach. With practiced movements, she wove a pattern from Leb Essence, looking intently at how it interacted. "The child is alive," she said after a moment. "But it is in distress."

She felt Lorenzo next to her, his presence warm and reassuring. Together they expanded the pattern, searching for the source of the bleeding. Their hands touched and Valentina's stomach did another little somersault.

"Concentrate," Vyxara warned sharply. "The woman is dying! There'll be time to pine later."

The young baroness cried out again. Valentina could feel the life seeping out of her, like a precious wine from a broken jug.

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"There!" Lorenzo suddenly shouted. His fingers danced through the air, weaving another complex pattern to immediately act on the discovered wound. "A torn artery, deep in the tissue."

Valentina saw it too. Without thinking, she linked her pattern with his. Their Essence threads interwove, reinforcing each other. The bleeding began to slow down.

She felt the familiar vibrations of the Leb Essence brought by the Greystone Cascade around her. With an elegant gesture, she bound it to both of their healing patterns. The torn vessels began to close, the damaged tissue healed, but was still under considerable strain from the birthing process.

"The child!" shouted one of the healers. "It's coming!"

Lorenzo looked down, blushed slightly and took a step back. Valentina stayed where she was. "I'll help," she said firmly.

The baroness pushed, the healers encouraged her and Valentina helped where she could to hold the child in the right position and carefully pull it out together with the healer. With a final cry, the young woman gave birth to her child.

"A girl!" the healer announced. "And she screams like a little lion."

Valentina cut the umbilical cord and handed the healer a linen cloth to clean the child.

"You seem to know what you're doing," Lorenzo remarked, cautiously approaching again.

"Well, yes." Valentina smiled wryly. "I've already brought a few calves into the world. The principle is similar."

Lorenzo and the healers laughed in surprise. The tension in the room eased noticeably.

The exhausted but happy baroness hugged her child to her. "Thank you," she whispered, "oh, thank you."

Master Wilford, who had joined them at some point unnoticed by Lorenzo and Valentina, stepped forward. "Rest, my lady. The bleeding has stopped, but you need time to heal." He turned to Valentina and Lorenzo. "Good work. Both of you. Your patterns have... complemented each other remarkably well."

"Oh yes," purred Vyxara. "So perfect, the way they meshed. Almost as if you were made for each other."

Valentina ignored the comment. "Thank you, Master Wilford. But without the Greystone Cascade..."

"Yes, yes." He waved it off. "Come on. There are other patients. And wash your hands!"

As they left the birthing room, their eyes met once more. There was something in Lorenzo's eyes that made Valentina's heart beat faster.

"That's so funny," commented Vyxara with amusement. "The son falls in love with his father's mistress. A real comedy, like-"

"Quiet," Valentina thought back and sighed inwardly.

~

After the dramatic birth, a certain calm returned to the hospital. Soon after Master Wilford had sent Valentina and Lorenzo to the library to further develop a method to connect the Greystone Cascade and Valentina's water purification method.

The hospital library was a crammed room illuminated by Essence lamps. Heavy shelves of dark wood were lined up next to each other, filled with medical texts and archived material.

"Look," Valentina said, pointing at her notes. "If we modify the outer ring of the Cascade like this..." Her fingers danced through the air, weaving a shimmering pattern.

Lorenzo leaned over the table, his face just centimeters away from hers. "Fantastic! The resonance is almost identical to that of your water purification method. If we can get the same effect, that would be fantastic. But we should be very sure before we make any changes directly to the Cascade. It would be better if we leave the water purification pattern separate and only let the effects be transported via the Cascade. But your idea is breathtakingly elegant!"

"Oh, how cute," commented Vyxara. "He thinks your Essence patterns are 'breathtaking'. Isn't that romantic?"

"But I wonder," Lorenzo continued, unaware of Vyxara's mockery, "whether we might be able to find the tiny creatures that Master Wilford suspects not only on surfaces and in water, but possibly also directly in the diseased tissue?"

"If the theory is right, that should actually be possible." Valentina reached for one of the open books. "If we take the Leb pattern here and combine it with a very fine Schate web to overcome the skin barrier... but I'd rather try that experimentally before we try it on a large scale. Maybe on a small pig."

They worked side by side, immersed in their research. The world around them seemed to fade away as they developed theories and created Essence patterns. Their hands kept "accidentally" touching as they reached for the same books.

"This is unbearable," Vyxara moaned theatrically. "Kiss each other already!"

Master Wilford returned with a pile of dusty tomes. "These texts could be relevant," he grumbled. "An Essence Weaver from Clairmontine made similar observations two hundred years ago. Unfortunately, his last works on the subject have not survived. The Illumination burned them at the stake along with him."

He placed the books on the table and examined her work. "Not bad," he admitted reluctantly. "The link between the Cascade and the water purification is promising. But what about the resonance shift in the second quadrant?"

"Oh!" Lorenzo snapped his fingers. "What if we set a Zît anchor? That would stabilize the vibrations."

"And increase the efficiency of the entire pattern at the same time," Valentina added enthusiastically. "Look..."

She hastily wove a complex pattern in the air. Lorenzo picked it up and expanded it. Their Essence threads interwove perfectly, as if they had been working together for years.

Master Wilford watched them with an unreadable expression on his face. "Interesting," he murmured. "Very interesting."

The old librarian coughed discreetly. "Forgive me, but it will be dark soon. I have to close the library."

Valentina startled. They had been working all afternoon without realizing it. The reddish light of the setting sun was already falling through the small windows under the ceiling.

"Of course, sorry." Lorenzo hastily began to tidy up the books. "We should get back to the palace anyway."

"You could take the path through the gardens," the librarian suggested with a knowing smile. "It's particularly beautiful at this time of year."

"The old lady knows what's up," giggled Vyxara.

Master Wilford rolled his eyes. "Take the notes with you," he said. "We'll get back to work tomorrow. This could actually turn into something."

From him that was highest praise.

While they were packing up their documents, Valentina felt Lorenzo's eyes on her. The tension between them was almost palpable.

"May I accompany you?" he asked quietly. "Through the gardens, I mean. The path is really... very beautiful."

Valentina knew she should refuse. The duke was expecting her soon, they were going to attend a private theater performance together with the inner circle. And after the dance lesson...

"Oh, go on," urged Vyxara. "A little walk in the evening light won't kill you. And the duke won't be jealous of his own son."

"I'd love to," Valentina heard herself say. "That would be... very nice."

And again Lorenzo's beaming smile made her heart beat faster.

~

"The water purification method is really brilliant," said Lorenzo as they walked together along the winding path between tall hedges, fragrant flowerbeds and artfully trimmed trees. "How did you come up with that?"

"It was more of a coincidence," Valentina replied. "I had noticed that Leb reacted very differently to dirty water than to clean water, which made me realize that Leb was crucial to the pattern. The rest was... well, a lot of experimentation."

"And a demon who helped you," added Vyxara, amused. "But we won't mention that, of course."

They passed a group of gardeners who were busy removing wilted flowers from the bushes. The men bowed hastily to Lorenzo and gave Valentina curious glances.

"You have big plans, don't you?" Lorenzo asked gently. "I can see it in your eyes when you talk about new healing techniques. This... hunger for knowledge."

Valentina nodded slowly. "I want to make a difference. Make the world a little bit better, or a lot better if I can. There's so much to discover, so much to learn..."

They stopped at a small pond. Water lilies floated on the mirror-smooth surface, their white flowers glowing in the evening light.

"And for that..." Lorenzo hesitated. "You'll go to any lengths for that? Take every opportunity?" His voice sounded strangely tense.

Valentina sensed what he was getting at. "Sometimes," she said carefully, "you have to make compromises. To achieve your goals."

"Be careful," warned Vyxara. "He's fishing for information about you and his father."

"I can tell," she thought back angrily.

"Compromise." Lorenzo uttered the word as if it was bitter on his tongue. "Is that what you have with my father? A... compromise?"

Valentina averted her eyes and watched a butterfly dancing over the water lilies. "It's complicated," she said quietly.

"Is it?" Lorenzo stepped closer to her. "Or are we just making it more complicated than it needs to be?"

He took her hands in his. His touch was warm and gentle, so different from his father's possessive gestures. Valentina lifted her gaze and lost herself for a moment in his green eyes.

"Lorenzo, I..." She broke off, unsure what to say.

He leaned forward slowly. His breath brushed her cheek. Valentina's heart hammered in her chest. She knew she should back away, should think of the duke, of their arrangement, of the consequences... But she couldn't move, didn't want to move...

The clanking of armor and loud voices caused them to scatter. A patrol of palace guards turned the corner, led by an older sergeant who was arguing vigorously with a younger guard.

The moment was shattered. Lorenzo let go of her hands and hastily took a step back.

"I... I should go," Valentina said breathlessly. "The duke is expecting me. The theater performance..."

"Of course." Lorenzo's voice sounded pressed. "The private performance. Only for the inner circle."

She could see the pain in his eyes, the suppressed jealousy. She would have liked to explain everything to him – her reasons, her hopes, her doubts, spread them all before him. But she knew that would only make things worse.

"Good night, Lorenzo," she said quietly and hurried back down the path to the palace.

"That was close," commented Vyxara. "But very entertaining. And now quickly – you still have to change for the performance."

Valentina quickened her steps as the sun slowly sank behind the palace walls. Her heart was still beating wildly and her hands felt strangely empty without Lorenzo's hand in them.

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