The Healer

A/N: Hey there, I haven't written on here for ages :D Anyway I am back with another story that is set way before the next set of teenagers exist, so here is a new story!
Disclaimer: I don't own JatD, all rights go to Martin Baynton (or however you spell his name), I only own Emily (Emilia) and her dad, Teo.

Chapter 1

A young Spanish Gypsy and her father were walking along a dirt road. Her father was feeling a little gloomy.
"Papa, are you okay?" She asked, her deep brown eyes showing concern. He looked down at her and smiled reassuringly.
"Emily dear, I am perfectly fine." He lied. As much as he hated lying to his beautiful daughter, he did it to save her from sadness. Every time he was down she would always break down and cry, and did every time within the past four years.
She looked up at her father and smiled, her chocolate brown ringlets blowing slightly in the breeze, easing her nerves.
After a little while of silence, she spoke up. "Father, do you reckon that the king will accept me?"
She was prepared to do anything to help her father survive, and if it meant that she had to sacrifice travelling, so be it.
They stopped in front of the gates and he smiled.
"Of course he will." Before he let her go, he gave her one last big hug and kiss. It wasn't long before the tears started trickling down Teo's face and onto Emily's head. She felt the liquid fall onto her head and cried herself, making her father's vest and shirt wet.
"Gracias por todo papa, Te amo." Emily said (Thanks for everything papa, I love you.) In Spanish.
"Le invitamos, Emilia." He replied back with a smile. "Te amo demasiado." (You're welcome Emilia, I love you too.)
The young girl's smile made him tear up even more. How was it possible that it has come to rely on his daughter to survive?
"My beautiful daughter, your mother would be smiling from heaven right now." He choked out a sob. "She would be so proud of you."
Emily started to cry at the mention of her mother. She could never forget the day of her brutal death.
Once Emily composed herself, she said bravely to her father. "I must go now, Te amo so much."
He smiled at her and replied back "Te amo" Watching her walking into the castle gates.
When she left his view, he cried, and didn't stop until he got back into the caravan that he once shared with his daughter.

She was wondering around aimlessly until she ran into a young woman with crimped, red locks.
"Hello, may I help you?" Jane asked, looking at the tanned girl.
Emily felt nervous, which did no good for her English. "Hi, I was wondering if I could talk to your king." She asked, seeming to have an accent different to Jane's.
"Oh, you want to see king Caradoc?" Jane asked, watching the girl nod. "I shall escort you there, my name is Jane." Jane took her hand out to shake Emily's. She shook it back, but got confused with a few words.
"Escort? Caradoc?" She asked curiously.
Jane raised her eyebrow. 'What does this girl think she is playing at?'
"Are you Spanish?" She asked, watching Emily nod again. 'That explains it all then.'
"I am Emilia, or Emily." She smiled. "I am not sure of those two words you spoke then."
Jane smiled and told her who king Caradoc was and what an escort did. After that Emily was all too happy to oblige in letting Jane assist her to the king.

Jane caught the king and queen's attention by stepping in front of them and bowing deeply, along with Emily.
"Jane, who is this fine looking young lady with you?" Caradoc demanded more so rather than questioned.
Jane bowed again before speaking. "My lord, this is Emily or Emilia, and she wishes to speak with you."
Emily stepped forward when the king asked her to, with Jane's help telling her some things she didn't know of course.
"What is it you would like to tell me, Emily?" The king asked slowly, hoping that she understood nearly all of what he said.
She cleared her throat and spoke. "I am wondering if I can get a job here, working as the healer." The king brightly looked at her.
"We need another healer around here, so do you know about the medical herbs and such?" The king asked.
"Yes, your highness." Emily replied back confidently.
"In that case, you will be the wizard's apprentice." The king smiled. "You have the Job."
Emily beamed brightly at the king's acceptance. "Oh thank you ever so much, Your Majesties." And with that, she bowed out of respect, following the red-haired fifteen year old to her new room under the wizard's tower.

After she got her things sorted out, she went out with Jane to meet the others for lunch.
At the wooden table everyone gave her a warm welcome, and Smithy shifted over to give her a seat.
"Thank you." Emily replied with a smiled. "Thank you all for welcoming me."
They all smiled back at her, and told her each of their names.
"So Verbena is cook, Drake is gardener, Jester is… jester, Jethro is blacksmith and Jane is knight?" She asked, trying to remember their real names.
They all nodded. "Although you can call us Pepper, Rake and Smithy." Pepper said kindly.
Emily giggled. She really liked the sound of this group, and was really happy to be living with them.
"What about Jester and Jane?" She asked, wondering why no one mentioned a nickname for them.
Smithy explained to her. "Jester is Jester's nickname; we don't know his actual name." He had to giggle at that. "And Jane just goes with her name, and speaking of names; what is yours?"
"Forgive me; I forgot to introduce myself, how rude!" She gasped "I am Emily. Emilia is my actual name, but I get called Emily."
Pepper smiled at the name. She thought it was a beautiful name, and by the way Smithy was smiling, she wasn't the only one.
"Well Emily it is!" Pepper exclaimed cheerfully. "Has Jane shown you where your room is going to be?"
Emily nodded. "Thank you Jane, you are wonderful." She smiled.
Jane smiled back. "You are most welcome."

Jane took her spot next to Jester and slipped her hand into his. Emily noticed and smiled.
"You two are courting?" She asked curiously? Jane nodded.
"Yes, we have been for a few months now." Emily could tell how happy they were, and then noticed that Rake and Pepper were in love.
Emily looked over towards Smithy and noticed that he was the only one alone. She looked up at him and smiled, knowing how he felt.
"So, are you from Spain?" Smithy asked, changing the subject. He watched her look up in surprise at him. "I am sorry if I have offended you in any way, excuse me." He rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment.
Emily giggled a little. "Yes, I was born there, and no you didn't offend me."
Smithy looked relieved, glad that she just laughed it off.
'She seems sweet.' He thought. "Well that is good, what is Spain like?"
"Oh it so beautiful, Madrid is amazing." When she said that, she felt like crying. She missed Madrid so much, but she was glad she left all the same time. If someone even mentions the word Madrid to her she cried. The last time she was there, she witnessed her mother's murder.
A second later, she felt some tears fall down her face. She was crying in front of people she didn't know from a bar of soap.
"Emily, are you alright?" Jester asked.
Emily wiped the tears away. "I am sorry; I am never usually like this." She said. "It's just that I miss the place so much, you see I have not lived there for two years."
Pepper walked over to her and gave her a hug. "I understand how you feel, I missed my place so much when I first came here, and my parents just live in town."
Pepper stopped when she noticed Emily bury her face into her hands and started bawling.
"It's not just that." She said sadly. "I am sorry, I must leave."
Everyone watched as the new Spanish girl walked away into the gardens. No one really knew what her story was.

Three months later Emily settled in well at the castle, and loved everyone in it. She was learning how to speak English more fluently, and her medical skills were improving a great deal, not that she was bad at it in the first place.
She particularly got on well with Smithy, because they had so much in common. She would help him look after the animals, because one of her main jobs back at the Caravan was to look after the horses, dogs and many other animals.
She also developed a compassionate love for animals, which developed into a love where she would die for them. That has almost happened twice, the first time saving her puppy from drowning in the river. She jumped in to save him when she couldn't swim herself and drowned, but coughed up the water when her grandmother hit her in the back very hard. That was the first time she was saved. The second time was when she pushed a little kitten away from an upset horse, which trampled her badly. It left her with a punctured lung, broken ribs, pelvis, right wrist and left foot. She was unconscious for weeks after that, and her mother was certain she wasn't going to make it. (That was right before she was killed.) Her mother thanked the heavens the day she woke up, for the miracle that blessed her.
When she told everyone that story, they all grimaced, thankful that she is still alive.

One summer afternoon when Emily was helping with the Animals, she was called off to see the King. "The King wants you to tend to the Queen. Apparently she is not feeling the best, and wishes that you could help the Lady-in-Waiting find out what is wrong." Jester said, heading back into the throne room.
Emily apologized. "Sorry Jethro, I have to go."
He nodded back with a slight smile, and watched her walk away into the castle.

Emily bowed her head when she entered the Queen's bedroom, showing her respect.
"Hello Emily dear." The queen said meekly. "I would like to know what is wrong, I feel unusually nauseous."
The young healer nodded her head, and went straight to work with feeling her stomach and examining her.
"Your Highness, I think you may have to fetch the wizard, I am not quite sure what may be causing it." Emily said, comparing her stomach to the Queen's. "There is some swelling."
The Queen smiled. "Thank you for trying anyway Emily, I am most grateful."
Emily smiled back and left the room, heading towards the stables to see if Smithy needed any more help.

She walked back to the stables and noticed that Smithy was still there, so she walked up to him.
"Do you still need help?" She asked quietly, trying to break him out of his trance. "I just thought I'd ask because you are still here."
Smithy still looked like he was in a daze, so she called him again with a nudge.
"Smithy? Smithy!" At this point she was getting annoyed, so she punched him in the arm gently. This got his attention.
"What? Oh sorry, were you trying to ask me something?" He was startled at first. "And how long have you been calling me?" And also really confused.
"For a little while, actually." She sighed exasperatedly.
"I am really sorry, Emily." Smithy's facial expressions showed that he meant it too.
Emily smiled a little bit. "It's alright, now I was going to ask if you needed any more help around here."
Smithy shook his head. "No thank you, I finished not long after you went to assist the Queen, but thanks for asking."
Emily was confused slightly. "Then…how come you are still here?"
"Some nights, I stay here a little longer after I clean to think." He said. "It also helps me feel better when I am feeling down."
Emily thought back to a time where she used to sit outside, in front of her Caravan on a nice, starry summers night with her father, laughing and watching her younger siblings wrestle. She also recalled the times when her mother was alive, how they would put Spanish roses into their buns and dance Flamenco around a roaring bon fire.
She shook that memory away to stop her from crying, and stayed focus on Smithy.
"Oh really? Would you like to tell me what is on your mind at the moment?" She said gently. "I mean you do not have to if you do not want to."
Smithy chuckled. He loved the way Emily cared so much about her friend's needs.
"It's nothing really, just missing my home back at the farm; I just get like that sometimes." He sighed.
Emily was intrigued. "You lived on a Farm? I have always wanted to know what it would be like living on a farm."
The blond boy laughed lightly. "Yes I did. Living on a farm is a pretty good experience, you tend to grow an unconditional love for animals and learn how to understand them."
Emily had heard rumours about a pig whisperer when she first came to England, but wasn't entirely sure whether or not it was true. The more she talked to Smithy, the more she had a feeling that he was the pig whisperer. She couldn't handle the suspense any longer, and she just had to find out.
"Hey Smithy? Was this farm by any chance a pig farm?" She questioned curiously.
Smithy raised his eyebrow slightly. "Yes…why?"
Emily shrugged. "Just curious, because when I first entered England a few years ago, I heard rumours about a pig whisperer."
Smithy smiled at her. "That would be me."
Her brown eyes widened slightly. She couldn't believe that her sneaking suspicion was right.
"Wow… that must explain why you understand Pig so well." She said. "She is such a beautiful pig, reminds me of one I saw in Spain before I left."
The Smith had a feeling that something tragic happened for Emily and her family to leave Spain for good.
His Ocean Blue eyes searched her Earth Brown ones to find the emotions running through them. Mourning, anger and stress being the main ones.
He smiled thankfully at her before his face turned sullen again. "I cannot help but notice, but please do not feel offended." He started. "I am wondering if something happened while you were in Spain."
The brunette went quiet, tears welling up in her eyes again.
"Sorry Emily." Smithy cautiously put an arm around her to pull her into a hug, and was surprised when she took it and cried into his shoulder.
"It's fine." She sniffled. "And to answer your question…y-yes." She sighed sadly.
Smithy didn't keep his arm away from her shoulder; instead he just tightened his grip.
"I am so sorry, I never usually cry like this." She sighed again.
"It is alright." Smithy reassured kindly. "If you do not mind me asking; what happened for you to leave your home country?"
Emily rubbed her eyes to stop more tears from coming.
"Alright then, but do not blame me if I start sobbing halfway through." She warned, with him nodding in reply. "Well here we go…"

Flashback. (Emily's POV)
One summer's evening we were having a bonfire, like we did most nights.
We were dancing and having fun until my younger sister, Heavenly heard something.
"What was that noise in the bushes?" She asked me timidly.
Mother instantly held my brother, sisters and I close to her. I have an older brother too, his name was Alejandro, but he was in bed with a sickness at the time.
"Stay close to me my dears, you will all be safe." She said in her soft, beautiful, strong Spanish accent. We all trusted her, so we sat down and huddled, until these knight things came out at us.
"Gypsies, typical site around here, pity none of them survive." One of them said wickedly. "Gypsies are not tolerated in Madrid, or the rest of Spain for that matter."
That was a lie. It was only Madrid who hated Gypsies, because of the new king who took over. He wanted the beautiful looking Gypsies for his own personal pleasure, and that makes me sick.
After the knight said that, he walked over to mother and grabbed her by the hair.
"The king would certainly want you." He was a dirty man; almost causing me to throw up. "And your eldest daughter." He then looked at me, getting the other guards to try and release my grip from my younger siblings. Of course I refused to let go. I was so scared about him stealing my innocence, and I was preparing for it. That was until my father grabbed him by the neck.
"You leave my daughter and wife alone!" His face was going red. "No one, I mean NO ONE messes with my family."
Papa's force somehow broke his neck, and killed him. I knew he was not going to give up without a fight.
Another sick man smirked. "We will let your daughter go, but we will keep your wife.
My father growled like a bear, ready to strike his pray.
"I will NOT leave my family, no matter what!" I heard mama shout. "I was born a Gitana and I shall die a Gitana!"
The remaining guards got an awful idea, which has permanently wrecked me.
"Is that so…" He said, before he used the back of his sword to smack my mother across the back of her legs, making her drop to the ground. I told Heavenly, Anita and Pepito to go in to the caravan while I stayed out.
"Mother!" I shouted, before I furiously came up from behind and tackled him. Of course I was meek compared to him so he threw me into the ground, not that I was down for long.
The next thing I saw, a group of them were kicking and punching her.
"Please I beg of you, stop this!" I heard her cry out helplessly. "I cannot leave my family!"
I tried to get to her, but father held me close to him, trying to force me into the Caravan with the others.
"No papa, I will not leave!" I yelled, so after a while he stopped trying to get me in there. One thing he did though was refuse to let go of me.
After ten minutes they finally stopped beating her, just enough time to let me say an unexpected goodbye to her.
"Emilia, my baby girl, I do not think I am going to make it." Mother told me in a mere whisper. "I cannot move.
I started crying violently. "No mama, you must not give in to death, you mustn't!"
She looked up at me with those grey eyes of hers, Tears filling them rapidly. "I have to Em, I have no energy left."
I could not believe that she was doing this. "You do have the energy, because you are strong!"
The tears I could tell she was trying to keep in were coming down freely.
A second later I screamed in pain, looking down at my arm, which gained a fresh slash.
After they slashed my arm, they started slashing my mother, first with her arms and legs.
She started to scream from the pain, crying loudly. "You bastards will pay, I swear it!" She yelled out, taking another slash to the stomach.
"Please mother, you can't leave us, please!" I was crying again, knowing that she had no choice.
"I am so sorry baby." I could hear it in her voice that she didn't want to die either. "It is time for me to go now." She said as they slashed her throat. "Te Amo Emily, Alejandro, Heavenly, Pepito, Anita and Teo." Were her last words before she left this world.

Smithy was left speechless, watching his companion hopelessly cry in front of him.
"I am so sorry to hear that, Emily." He said, pulling her into another tight hug. "Here I was complaining about seeing my family once a year."
Emily looked up towards the young boy, tear blinded. "You were not complaining, you were just telling me a story." Her voice was cracking as she spoke. "I am the one who should be sorry."
Smithy gave her a look of confusion. "What for?" He asked.
She heaved in a painful breath. "For being in this state and telling you my problems, I feel like such a burden."
"Emily you could never be a burden, to any of us." Jethro said soothingly. "Now if you said you were a burden to Jane or Pepper, they would lecture you silly." He chuckled very slightly to try and make her laugh.
"Because I am one." She sighed.
Smithy shook his head. "What I mean is, they would do that because you are not a burden."
Emily chuckled a little, and then shook her head. "Alright then, I give in."
The young man smiled at her, and gave her another hug. "Good, I think you need to get to bed, you need your sleep."
Long brown curls pooled over her shoulders as she nodded, thanking Smithy for everything and kissing him on the cheek.
The stunned stable boy watched her as she left, ignoring the sudden burst of heat in his face.
'She just kissed me on the cheek.' He thought with shock. He felt the part on his right cheek where she kissed him, and gently smiled.
He had a soft spot for her, and he had ever since she came to the castle. He always knew there was something special about her, making her a completely different category from the rest of the girls in the village.
She was very quiet, still to this very day. It wasn't because she didn't like the castle, she absolutely loved it, but it was something else. She liked romance and liked gowns, but she still wasn't your average girl.
Unlike most of the pretty girls in the court who get spoilt rotten every day, she would be happy with something simple, and when she did get something nice occasionally, she never bragged about it. In fact she actually hesitated to accept it.
Smithy liked that about her a lot, and now that he found out what sort of life she previously lived, it made him like her even more.
It showed him how strong she really was, and how she would just get on with her daily chores like nothing bad had happened in her life.
"Her mother would be so proud of her." He whispered to himself. "Because of the amazing daughter she has raised."

A/N so yeah, first chapter finally done :) I know it is pretty crappy, but I have had so much horrible things happening to me at the moment that I haven't really been bothered to make it perfect.
Hope you enjoyed it :) Please Review, it would be much appreciated. BE HONEST!