It didn't feel right. It didn't feel fair. But more than anything, he felt powerless to do anything. If her mind was made up—or if her family's financial situation was so dire they couldn't afford another year—nothing he said was going to change anything.

"But—but—You wanted to be a healer?" She could be a mediwitch, sure, but that was entirely different from a healer, and Alice, being so smart and aware of her choices in life, probably knew that. "Couldn't you...?" He trailed off, at a loss for words and suggestions.

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