Shawn was convinced he had left everyone speechless with his declaration.
No one said a word.
The silence was absolute.
'Perfect!' he thought, pride swelling inside him. 'They definitely get how great I am now!'
But reality was very different.
No one knew how to tell the girl that what she had just said was complete nonsense.
'Heal anyone just by touching them?' one knight thought, frowning. 'What kind of fairy-tale bullshit is that?'
'This isn't the place to go spouting crap like that…' another thought, gritting his teeth.
But with the captain present, none of them dared mistreat Sheila.
Elena, meanwhile, took several deep breaths.
One…
Two…
And three.
'Poor girl,' Elena thought, tenderness flooding her again. 'Her kidnapper probably brainwashed her into believing she had special powers to control her.'
Elena stepped closer and gently took Shawn's hand.
"Sheila," she said calmly. "No one here is going to hurt you."
Shawn looked at her, confused.
Elena gave him a warm smile.
"You can tell us the real method you used to heal my comrade," she said, squeezing his hand gently. "You don't have to make anything up."
Shawn blinked.
'Make anything up?' he thought, confusion rising. 'What is she talking about?'
He raised his free hand and pointed at it.
"By touching anyone," he said firmly, "I can heal any wound or illness."
Elena fell silent.
So did the knights.
But then one of them couldn't hold it in anymore.
"This is ridiculous!" he shouted, stepping forward. "A method as simple and childish as that can't possibly work!"
Elena glared at him.
"Watch your tone," she said coldly.
But the knight didn't back down.
"Captain, this girl is a provocateur!" he exclaimed, pointing at Shawn. "She barged in saying she wanted to touch us, and now she claims she can heal anything with her hands! Don't you see she's mocking us?"
Other knights chimed in.
"He's right!"
"Just because she's a lady doesn't give her the right to make such outrageous claims!"
"This is disrespectful!"
The doctor, who had been watching quietly, finally spoke up.
"When it comes to treating the sick, you have to choose your words carefully," he said seriously, looking at Shawn. "Young lady, you could lose your head making a declaration that bold. Especially if the queen hears about it."
A chill ran down Shawn's spine.
'Lose my head?' he thought, fear starting to take hold.
Elena looked at Shawn with concern.
"Sheila," she said softly. "They have a point. You can't go around claiming you can heal anything. That could get you in serious trouble."
Shawn clenched his fists.
Without thinking, he pointed at one of the knights lying on the floor.
"I'm going to heal him!" he declared firmly.
The knights erupted.
"This girl never learns!"
"She's all talk!"
"Someone stop her!"
But Shawn pulled free from Elena's hand and walked straight toward the knight he had pointed out.
The knight—who had a deep gash on his forearm with purple marks spreading across his skin—frowned at her.
"Stop!" he shouted, trying to scoot back. "Don't touch me!"
But Shawn didn't stop.
He reached out and placed his hand directly on the wounded forearm.
"Hey!" the knight yelled, annoyed. "You'll get infected! These wounds are—"
But then he fell silent.
Shawn removed his hand.
Where there had once been a deep wound and spreading purple marks…
There was nothing.
The skin was completely clean.
No blood, no marks, no scar.
The knight stared at his forearm, mouth hanging open.
"What…?" he muttered, touching the spot. "Where's my wound?"
Silence blanketed the room.
"Impossible!" one knight exclaimed.
"What just happened?" another asked.
"The wound disappeared!" a third shouted.
Shawn smiled, pride surging through him.
'Take that!' he thought, lifting his chin.
But he didn't stop there.
Shawn looked around and spotted another knight.
This one had wounds all over his face, but the worst was a deep bite on his chest, exposing raw flesh.
Shawn walked over.
"Wait!" the knight shouted, raising his hands. "What are you—?"
But Shawn was already there.
With one hand he touched the chest wound, with the other he touched the knight's face.
The knight froze.
And then everyone witnessed something incredible.
The wounds began to vanish.
The bite on the chest slowly closed, as if time itself was reversing.
The gashes on his face faded away, leaving perfectly smooth skin.
In seconds, the knight was completely healed.
"What…?" the knight murmured, touching his chest. "What just happened?"
Everyone stood with their mouths open.
"Is this a dream?" one knight asked, rubbing his eyes.
"What kind of technique is that girl using?" another asked.
"Impossible!" a third shouted. "This can't be real!"
The doctor, who had been watching in stunned silence, rushed toward Shawn.
Elena stepped in front, blocking his path.
"What do you think you're doing?" she asked coldly.
The doctor raised his hands.
"Please!" he said urgently. "I just want to examine her hands!"
Elena glanced at Shawn.
Shawn nodded.
"It's fine," he said with a smile. "He can look."
Shawn extended his hands toward the doctor.
The doctor took them carefully and examined them closely.
He turned them over, touched them, even sniffed them.
He searched for traces of cream, ointment, any substance.
But there was nothing.
Shawn's hands were completely clean.
Nothing unusual about them at all.
The doctor stood there, baffled, at a loss for words.
"How…?" he murmured, staring at Shawn's hands in disbelief.
Shawn smiled.
"I told you," he said proudly. "Anyone I touch with my hands will be healed."
The doctor released Shawn's hands and stepped back, still unable to process it.
Then one of the knights still lying on the floor raised his voice.
"Please!" he cried weakly. "Help me!"
Shawn looked over.
The knight was covered in wounds, the purple marks already creeping up to his neck.
Shawn walked over without hesitation.
He knelt beside him and touched the wounds.
Within seconds, the injuries vanished.
The purple marks faded away.
The knight's eyes snapped open as strength flooded back into his body.
"I'm healed!" he exclaimed, jumping to his feet. "I'm really healed!"
Elena watched everything in silence.
'What kind of experiments did that madman who kidnapped her perform?' she thought, worry gripping her. 'This isn't normal.'
But she said nothing.
She just observed.
One by one, the knights began approaching Shawn.
"Please heal me too!"
"I need help too!"
"Miss, please!"
Shawn smiled, joy flooding through him.
'This is awesome!' he thought, healing another knight. 'I'm absolutely crushing this job!'
He healed the fourth knight.
Then the fifth.
Then the sixth.
Every time he touched someone, the wounds disappeared.
The knights started thanking him.
"Thank you, miss!"
"You're incredible!"
"I've never seen anything like this!"
Shawn felt on top of the world.
'God would be proud of me!' he thought, pride swelling again.
But when he moved to heal the seventh person, something happened.
A powerful wave of dizziness hit him.
'What…?' he thought, vision starting to blur.
His legs trembled.
His body felt impossibly heavy.
And then everything went black.
Shawn lost consciousness and collapsed to the floor.
Thud!
"Sheila!" Elena shouted, rushing toward him.