The hero's too-soon arrival

I would have preferred to choke on my own words than to be in this kind of situation. When he dies here and somebody knows, the villagers will literally burn me and the forest down... I have to make him disappear! No... what am I thinking? When the hero doesn't end the story, it will be the beginning of a downfall. I run back and forth in panic and run my hands through my hair. There is no time... After looking around to see if there are any witnesses, I try to lift him up, but he is much heavier than he looks.

"Urgh... Why are you so heavy?"

After trying to carry him, I start to drag him across the floor into my hut. 

"THUMP!"

"Oh shit..."

While passing the entrance of my hut, I trip and accidentally hit his head on the doorframe. I feel a little guilty, but when I look at him, one bump more or less doesn't make a big difference anymore. 

After putting him in my bed, I unfortunately only now realize that I could have moved him with my magic, but I panicked too much to think clearly. Frustrated I hit my hand in my face and tilt my head back.

Now I am sitting next to my bed, wondering what I should do with the hero. I place my hands over his wounded chest, and a bright golden light appears. The cut begins to heal until no trace of the wounds remains. The light goes out, and slowly I move my hands away. It's really ironic that a witch is able to heal wounds with such 
holy-looking golden light. His wounds were deeper than I expected, and using healing magic is more exhausting for my body than using dark magic. Since he neither wakes up nor dies, I close my eyes in exhaustion as I sit on the chair next to the bed. Hours pass, and I get the feeling of someone tapping my shoulder. 

I open my eyes wide in shock and cry out.

"Ahh..."

The chair I am sitting on starts to tip, and I fall backwards. Suddenly someone grabs my hand. When I see it is Lionel, I startle again and fall to the left side. He jumps up and calls out irritated.

"Are you ok, miss?"

I quickly get back to my feet and try to cover up my faux pas.

"Yes, of course... I was just scared for a moment... But how are you? I found you badly wounded in the forest."

"Amazingly, I'm fine. In fact, my injuries have disappeared. 

He looks around and asks, "Are you a healer?" 

I look around too and realize that, given my obviously looking witch lap and the miracle of his healing, pretending that I am a healer is the best excuse I can use.

"Yes, exactly... I'm a healer..."

I would not believe such an excuse myself, but apparently the hero is more naive than he looks. He grabs my hand and starts speaking.

"Are you interested in joining the heroes squad? We are still looking for a healer, and you seem very skilled as such." 

"Hahaha... oh, you are serious...?

I put my hand to my face. 

"No, nice offer, but I'm not the right person for that."

Also, I'm a wicked witch, but it is the best if he never finds out. 

"I'm sorry to ambush you. I'd like to introduce myself. My name is Lionel Lysander. As a knight of the king, I have been entrusted with the task of saving the princess. While hunting a troll that was tormenting a village, I came across the forest, and despite defeating the troll, I was seriously injured. May I ask, what is the name of my savior?"

"Umm..., my name ... is Aria." I glance to the side.

"Lady Aria, I owe you my life, and I don't want to rush you. But please join this mission. The princess's disappearance is causing government instability and endangering the security of the entire kingdom. Your cooperation would save many lives."

He doesn't seem to let me go, and doubts begin to grow in me. The story is out of control. He should never have entered this forest. If the story has already changed that much and he almost died once, there is no guarantee that there will be a happy ending. What if the story fails? I can forget about flying under the radar now. Maybe I should get involved and ensure the happy ending myself? But that is not how it has to be.

"Lady Aria?" 

Lionel's voice pulls me out of my thoughts. I collect my thoughts and answer calmly.

"Aria is perfectly sufficient. I find titles and so on a bit uncomfortable." 

"I understand, forgive me."

I bite my lip and hesitate.

"I'm sorry, but I am not interested. Rest a bit and then leave."

"I don't want to overextend your hospitality any further."

He bows, takes my hand, and continues.

"Thank you very much for saving me. I hope our paths cross again." 

In my thoughts I answer. Please god, no. Don't come back!

But to be polite I answer "Goodbye, you better take care of yourself."

"I will try."

Don't try. Take care!  This is what I want to say. But I don't.

He straps on his sword, throws in his dark robe, and leaves. I close the door and fall exhausted with my face down on my bed. I remove the disguise spell, and my hair and eye color go back to their original appearance. Hopefully that was the last time that our paths cross. But as always in life, things turn out differently.