This was going to be by far the most difficult healing magic I had ever. I had seen my grandmother do it plenty of times. She had been a hedge witch after all. She was in the business of healing people as long as they didnâ€™t ask any questions. I had never done any poison expulsion bigger than a small snakebite though. I had always known what berries, mushrooms, nuts, and animals were safe to eat. I had forgotten that other people didnâ€™t know these things. I had never been poisoned and since I never used my magic on anyone but myself and I wasnâ€™t willing to eat something I knew was poisonous just to see if I could extract poison I didnâ€™t have much practice with this exact spell. Occasionally a hungry child would eat something unsafe because it was the only food they could find but that was generally a poison that would work itâ€™s way out of your system in a day or two and you would just be miserable till it was gone. It wasnâ€™t really worth the pain to try and expel something that would work itâ€™s way out of the system on itâ€™s own. This was different this wouldnâ€™t come out unless I made it.<br/><br/>I was terrified to try something this hard. What would happen if I didnâ€™t do it right, or what if I wasnâ€™t strong enough? I had already used a good amount of magic just to get in the castle. There was no way to tell if I had enough magic left in my reserves to cure her. I had to try though. My heart was almost ripped from my chest at the look in Katherineâ€™s eyes. She was hurting. This was going to hurt more. I wished I knew an easier way. I wished there was a way to save her and not cause pain, but that was impossible. The pain would be worth her life I knew that but. It would be so hard to keep going when I knew she would be in agony. This spell was complicated already and doing it on someone I cared so much about knowing that is would be excruciating . . . I could only hope that I could stand it. It would hurt me just as much as her, only in a different way. I felt like I should have warned her and asked, but I was terrified she would tell me not to do it and I wasnâ€™t willing to give her that opportunity.<br/><br/>I closed my eyes. I could never fully concentrate when they were open. I felt Katherineâ€™s entire body tense on the bed. She was preparing herself for the pain. There was no preparation for this kind of agony, but I was proud of her apparent determination. She was so much stronger than she first appeared. She had showed it to me more than once. She had been so determined when her ankle was broken to walk under her own power, she was so determined to carry that basket all the way to the village yesterday, and here she was not begging me to make the pain go away, but bracing herself for what she knew was coming. I never would have thought a princess could be as strong as Katherine was. She had the strength a ruler would need to fix this kingdom. The kingdom wasnâ€™t in bad shape, but she would make it so much better.<br/><br/>I opened my eyes. I had completely lost my concentration. I had been thinking about everything except what I was supposed to be doing. I had been thinking about Katherine and all the things that made her so wonderful instead of saving her life. I would hit myself if I could for wasting one single moment of time. I closed my eyes again convinced that I was going to concentrate on nothing, but the poison racing through her system. It took me only a few moments to identify it. There it was it showed up as a sickly green in my minds eye combined with the rushing red of her blood. It was moving much faster than it had when she first ate the berries. There wasnâ€™t much time left. I was tempted to pull away from the brownish color of the blood and poison mixing, but if I did I would have to refocus all over again. This was worse than I thought. I had hoped the poison was still in her digestive system so I could expel it that way, but in her blood stream? I considered everything about healing that my grandmother had taught me. A disease or poison that attacks the blood stream can only be expelled by pulling the poison out of the pores themselves.<br/><br/>This was going to hurt even more than I had originally thought. Iâ€™m sorry Katie. I concentrated hard as I waved my hands back and forth over her entire body over and over. I could slowly see the blood clearing of green returning to the healthy red color it should be. I could vaguely hear Katherine screaming in the real world, but I couldnâ€™t stop, not now when I was so close. I could only hope she would forgive me for the pain. It was the only way I knew to save her. I knew it must feel like I was ripping her into a million pieces. The screams did finally subside informing me that she had passed out from the pain. I suppose that is really for the best. I could work more swiftly with her silent and unconscious. It took probably another half hour to completely clear her system of the vile green toxin, but I felt certain I had gotten it all out by the end. I was exhausted. I wanted nothing more than to go home and sleep for three days. I wasnâ€™t about to leave before she woke up though. I needed to see those eyes clear of poison before I could leave in faith that she would be all right.<br/><br/>I stroked her cheek. There was no response. I didnâ€™t want to startle her too much. I didnâ€™t want her making too large a movement swiftly. I wasnâ€™t sure how to wake her. For a moment I was tempted to kiss her the way the princes in stories did to wake princesses, but I was no prince and this wasnâ€™t a fairy tale. I shook away the foolish notion to kiss her and instead gave her a light shake. â€œKatherine? Girly? Are you all right? Please tell me I didnâ€™t kill you. Iâ€™m so sorry, but I didnâ€™t know what else to do.â€ I didnâ€™t realize how afraid I was until I saw her eyes flutter open and meet my own. I felt my heart give a frantic leap at her weak smile. I couldnâ€™t even laugh at her comment about being able to stare at my eyes all day. â€œI promise you can spend all the time you want staring into my eyes when you are better, girly.â€<br/><br/>She was weak I knew she would be for at least twelve hours and probably much longer. I didnâ€™t care as long as she didnâ€™t die on me. I stroked her hair lightly so I could see her eyes. He was warm. The poison had made her feverish and though the poison was gone the fever was not. She would have to sleep off the fever. She would be fine. I should go before I pass out or someone notices that no one is with Katherine. I was about to get up when I heard her soft plea. â€˜Stay . . . pleaseâ€™ She had almost died, how could I refuse her such a simple request. I would just have to get out before they broke through my locking charm that shouldnâ€™t be too hard.<br/><br/>I moved to sit on the bed with her. I lightly wrapped my arms around her allowing her to take comfort in my presence. â€œRest now my Katie you will feel better in the morning.â€ I watched over her as she slept. When I felt I had enough magic I would cast a slight cooling charm to help dissipate what remained of her fever. I would occasionally brush back her hair from her face. She looked younger when she was asleep. She looked like some ethereal sprite. The effect was startling yet soothing like when you catch sight of a deer in the woods and just watch each other in peace. Two worlds coming together for only an instant both content to just observe the other. I suppose the two of us fit that scenario more than most people after all we were from two different worlds, but neither of us tried to change the other we were content to be who we were and be together.<br/><br/>I slipped down in the bed a bit to get more comfortable. I was exhausted. I hadnâ€™t realized how drained I was. I knew I was tiered, but I didnâ€™t know I had stretched my magic and myself too thin. I hadnâ€™t done that since I was fourteen. It was dangerous my grandmother had always told me to be careful how much magic I used or I might fall asleep and never wake up. I could tell I used more of my magic than I should have, but not enough to never wake up. I just need a bit of sleep. The last thing I remember before the darkness swallowed me was brushing back Katherineâ€™s hair and kissing her temple.