The young woman went through the desert, whistling cheerfully to herself in the same time. Despite the fact that it was a hot day, she had a big, and heavy pitcher of water to deliver, and still long way to go, before she will reach her destination she had a good mood. It was just her personality, she was cheerful all the time.
She knew her way very well, she was going through this route every day the whole year round, and it was always the same… But today something has changed in the scenery all of the sudden…
The woman squinted her eyes to see it better. There was a small brown point on the horizon before her. The stranger was sure that that brown point was not there yesterday.
"Oh… What do we have here?" The young woman mumbled under her breath, and she immediately hastened.
She decided to investigate that thing whatever it would be, after all, it is the desert and every small change in the scenery is intriguing.
She had to stray from her road a bit, to take a closer look at the place, but it didn't matter for the stranger. Her natural curiosity was always stronger than her sanity.
After a few minutes she approached the brown point, which turned out to be a rather big tent in very good state… it was either rarely used, or brand new.
"How odd…" The woman said placing her pitcher on the ground, to let her arms rest for a few moments. "To pitch the tent on the desert when it's pretty close to our village… It's very rare for the travelers to stay in such place… they should stay in our town instead of camping here in the middle of nowhere…" The young woman was thinking out loud. "Maybe those people are lost, or something? I should speak with them." She said to herself and she approached the entrance of the tent.
"Good afternoon!" The woman exclaimed to announce her presence. "Is anybody here?" She asked, but her only response was silence.
She just frowned, a bit surprised. This tent was apparently abandoned, and it was even more suspicious. The woman took a few steps ahead, and after a moment of hesitation she decided to enter the tent.
But when she set her foot inside of it, great pain took control over her body, and her knees buckled suddenly as if she was thunderstruck. The intruder fell to the ground in shock, and she was unable to stand up anymore. She panicked, at the first moment but after a short while she pulled her thoughts together.
The woman concluded that it is some kind of hex that works on her right now, and she cannot help but smirk despite her bad position. She was always very good on removing hexes, so it was like a challenge for her.
She mumbled a few words under her breath, and she made a weak gesture with her hands shaking.
Admittedly, the hex was very powerful, but the young woman was able to finally fight it off after three more attempts.
When she at last got rid of the nasty spell she sighed deeply in relief. The newcomer was now sure that whatever is inside of this tent it must be very precious thing.
There was nothing on the stranger woman's way anymore, so she entered the tent with a small smile of satisfaction on her face.
At first glance the tent seemed to be completely empty. There was no any treasures or anything like it here, not even regular things… nothing… just a lot of sand, and air…
The woman just bit her lip. She was puzzled, she didn't know, what to think about this all anymore.
And then she heard a strange sound behind her back, it was something like a weak wheeze… a breath.
She turned her eyes in that direction, and she held her own breath for a while, when she realized what is the source of that sound.
"Oh, gods…" She finally cough out quietly.
There was a little child, a girl laying on the simple mat like a corpse. Her face was as red as the blood itself, she was covered in swat, and she was breathing very weakly.
It was obvious that the girl is in critical state, and she has not too much strength to fight for her own life anymore. A few more moments, and she will die…
"Oh, gods… gods!" The woman exclaimed again sitting down beside the ill girl. She examined the diseased kid closely, and she placed her hand on the child's forehead to check out her temperature. She trembled in horror when she did this, the ill girl's skin was as hot, as if she was literally burning alive…
The stranger recognized that illness. She knew that it is sunstroke, and if she didn't do anything to help, the child before her eyes will die in the matter of minutes.
The stranger woman stood up, and she looked at the entry of the tent with her eyes full of precariousness. She was hesitating but just for a few seconds. After all, human's life is much more important than any obligation, or deal…
She run away from the tent in great hurry, and after just a short while she returned with the big pitcher of water in her arms. The woman filled her hands with the water and she gushed it out on the child's face to cool down her forehead.
It was just the first step. To heal that ill girl, the stranger must cool down her whole body, and use a lot of water in order to stabilize the girl's state… But the woman already made her decision. She knew what she have to do…
"Don't worry kid…" She whispered to the unconsciousness child. "I'll take care of you…"
Lina was running away in great panic. The girl didn't know how she ended up in this dangerous situation, she only knew that she have to run.
She was somewhere in the gloomy-looking forest covered by deep fog. Lina was even not able to see the way before her eyes, so she was constantly encountered some impediments on her road. It were mainly tall trees blocking her way, and roots protruded from the ground.
Lina already tripped so many times, and she had so many bruises because of that, that her whole body ached terribly. She was feeling horrible in general, and she was unable to breathe normally. The girl was in bad state, but she didn't care. She just wanted to run away as far as it's possible, after all she was persuaded by a beast.
She could still hear the scary growls of the dangerous animal chasing after her, and she could nearly feel its breath on her neck…
I have to get out of here. – Lina thoughts to herself. – I have to run, run, run… - She was thinking, losing her anyways weak breath.
She turned her head to look behind, and she saw the monster which was after her this whole time.
The gigantic black wolf, with fearsome red eyes covered in blood, and with its jaw full of slobber was running after the girl with its eyes full of blood thirst. That wolf was mad, Lina was sure of it.
She was trying to speed up, but her body was too weak to run faster. The little girl just gulped when she realized that her strength will soon fade away completely.
"Help, help, help…" Lina started begging for some salvation, but in the same time she knew that it will not come.
After some time of this chase, she tripped over a small rock which was lying on the ground, and she fell flat on her face. The girl groaned loudly, trying to stand up again, but it was too late… The dangerous beast which was after Lina, finally catch up with her, and it jumped right on her chest with great impact. Lina could nearly hear her bones crushed under the weight of the fearsome black wolf.
The girl cannot help but scream loudly in pain. It was a strange feeling, as if icy cold wave of water suddenly overflowed her body. Lina was in shock in that moment. It was all painful… it was just unbearable…
She blinked a few times, and then she set her eyes on the red eyed monster. It was just staring at her with its eyes full of fury, and it was growling loudly at her. The girl didn't know what to do. She was unable to move, and not only because she was in fact weight down by the black wolf's gigantic bulk… no… She was also paralyzed by her own fear.
"Leave me… Please, leave me alone…" It was the only thing that Lina was able to do. Her only option was to beg this monster for mercy.
To Lina's great surprise the fearsome beast made very uncommon noise… It was a sound similar to laugher.
Then the gigantic wolf opened its jaw, and Lina saw its teeth already tinted by blood, she apparently wasn't the first victim of this monster… The fearsome beast yowled loudly and then it attacked Lina to bite thought her neck.
The girl just closed her eyes, and gritted her teeth… and then darkness completely enshrouded her.
"FINALLY! TIME FOR VENGEANCE!"Lina heard a man's voice shouting in horrifying joy.
"Waaaahhhh!" The girl screamed in horror.
She got up suddenly, in panic and she could feel that something heavy just fell from her forehead.
Only then Lina opened her eyes, and blinked, still in confusion. The little girl was very surprised when she was finally revived. She was no longer in the scary-looking forest, but in the tent which she was sharing with father during their journey through the desert.
Lina hid her face in both of her hands, and she sighed in relief.
"It was a dream…" She said to herself, to calm down a little. "It was just a dream…"
"Thank the gods! Finally!" Some unknown woman thrown her arms around Lina to put her into tight hug.
The girl just gasped, and her eyes widened in great surprise, this woman was definitely squeezing her too tight. This situation was very uncomfortable, but unfortunately Lina was too weak to do anything in protest.
"Let go of me…" The little one just mumbled quietly. "You're crushing my bones…"
The woman gasped loudly in fear, and she immediately released Lina from this painful hug. She backed down from the girl, and she raised her both hands showing Lina her open palms in an unspoken gesture of apologize. It was as if the woman was trying to say 'I won't touch you anymore' without using words.
"I'm sorry little girl…" The woman said a bit embarrassed, after a long while of tense silence. "No offence, I've had no intentions to hurt you or scare you I just…" She paused for a moment to take a breath. "People are always saying that I'm too expansive but I'm just so glad you're awake for a while I was thinking you're finished and dead but oh gods I was fortunately mistaken."
Lina's first impression about this woman was that she's talking too quickly, too nervous, and too much. The little one had a problem with understanding her speech, because she was speaking so fast. But the girl didn't dare to criticize this stranger's way of talking. One glace around, was enough for Lina to understand that this nervous woman, just saved her life.
First of all, Lina's cloths were completely wet as if she took a bath with them on, and her chest was covered in cold compresses. She was not swatting so much anymore, her skin was no longer so red, and her temperature dropped a lot.
The girl took a closer look at her savior. It was a young woman, probably just a few years after her twenties. She had long, and wavy orange hair combed into a ponytail. She also had a pair of big beautiful violet eyes, little nose, and some freckles on her cheeks. There was something adorable on her face, it was just that… The woman was making an impression of an easygoing person despite her nervousness and fast way of speaking.
"You saved me… aren't you?" Lina finally addressed the young woman.
"I suppose so…" The stranger said with a wide smile on her face. "Hooray for me!" She exclaimed cheerfully.
Lina cannot help but burst out laughing very weakly. "Hooray for you my savior!" The girl nodded with small smile. "Could you honor me with your name?"
"Oh, right…" The woman made a strange grimace, as if she just realized that she didn't introduced herself yet. "I'm Adel of Tormus village. Nice to meet you…" The woman said approaching Lina again, to shake hands with her.
The girl just smirked, and grabbed her savior's hand. "I'm Li…" She started, and she bit her tongue in the last moment.
Lina was just not sure how she should introduce herself. When they were in Nora village father introduced her with a false name, but it was weird when he was addressing her with a different name than her own… After a short while of hesitation she decided to tell the woman her real name. She concluded that she cannot lie to someone who, just saved her life.
"My name is Lina." She said firmly. "It is great pleasure to meet you, Miss Adel…"
"All pleasure is mine." The woman answered simply. "And since we are after the whole introducing, let me ask you one question, because it's bothering me from the very beginning…" Adel started openly. "Why are you in such strange situation, Lina?"
"Strange? How strange?" The girl asked dully.
"I can't believe you're asking!" Adel raised her brows completely astonished. "I'm asking you, what are you doing here, in abandoned tent, in the middle of desert, in such dangerous physical state? And why on earth are you here alone? Where are your parents, or caretakers?"
Now it was Lina's turn to be surprised. "I don't understand…" She said slowly. "Aren't you the physician, whom Validar brought here to heal me? And by the way, where is he?"
"Where is who?" The woman asked with puzzled face.
"My father..." The girl said looking around carefully. "The last thing I remember is when he said that he have to go and find some healer to cure me, but after that… nothing…" Lina suddenly felt great pain in her temples, and she took her head in both of her hands.
"My head hurts…" She pointed out, groaning quietly.
"It's obvious, you're not fully recovered yet. For now you're still very weak." Adel said with her voice full of concern. "Please, lie down, and try not to move too much."
"I won't…" Lina mumbled and she did exactly what the woman told her to do. For some time, she was lying idly on the mat, and she was just looking dully at the space around her in silence.
Meantime the woman took something from the ground, and she placed it gently on Lina's forehead. The girl cannot help but sighed loudly in great relief, it was a compress; very cold, and very nice…
"There…" Adel said with a smile still plastered to her face. "It fell from your head when you waked up so suddenly, but I think you should keep it like this for a few more moments."
"Yeah… I think so too…" Lina whispered. "But miss Adel…" She started again after a short moment. "Where my father is now?"
The woman just shook her head. "I don't know about who you're talking about… I don't know anything about your dad."
Lina made a strange face. "Then why are you here?" She asked. "How did you get here? How did you knew that I need help?"
"I didn't know." The woman said simply. "It is all just a coincidence, I was around, and I saw this tent. It's very rare to see one in the place like this so I wanted to check it out, and I found here nobody else but you in fever."
Lina just looked shifty at the big pitcher which was standing nearby. The sand around it was clearly wet.
"You were accidentally around… with the pitcher full of water?" The girl said weakly pointing her index finger at the thing. "And you're saying, it is just a coincidence? I don't believe in such coincidences… Tell me how did you found out about me? Are you one of the Grimleal? Did Validar ordered you to follow us this whole time, and watch over me? Did he told you to take care of me when he'll be away? Come on, admit it, you can be honest with me."
Instead of answering, the woman just took a closer look at Lina, and frowned. "What are you talking about? It makes no sense."
She gently run her fingers through the girl's hair.
"You poor thing, it looks like you have a fever again, your head is still too warm. It's probably delirium…" Adel said, biting her lip. "You should drink something to feel better."
Seeing the woman's behavior, Lina immediately concluded that she was mistaken. Miss Adel is not her father's servant, she's probably not even a Grimleal… She was really surprised by Lina's words, and she apparently didn't even understood her question. And besides… Lina doubted that any Grima's believer would dare to call her a 'poor thing' instead of 'Lady', or 'your greatness' or some other strange title like that.
"I should stop with all these suspicions…" Lina whispered to herself. "It's almost paranoia… But I cannot help it, since I left mother, I have a feeling that everyone are lying to me…"
Miss Adel approached the pitcher, and she looked around as if she was in searching for something. "I'm sure I saw one, somewhere around here…" The woman mumbled quietly to herself.
Then her eyes stopped on something half buried in the sand. Lina looked at it curiously, and she found out that it is the waterbag which her father gave to her to drink that tasteless warm water.
"There it is!" Adel exclaimed happily.
She pulled the waterbag out of the sand, and she cleaned it a little. After that she dipped the thing inside of the pitcher, and when it was already full she passed the container towards Lina.
"Please, drink some water…" She encouraged the little girl. "You will feel better after that."
Lina looked shifty at the waterbag, she was expecting that this water will be warm too, but she knew that since she has a sunstroke, she should drink as much as she could, to rehydrate her dried organism.
She took a plentiful sip of water, and when the liquid flowed through her throat, the girl sighted in joy.
It was the most delicious water which Lina had in her mouths ever! She probably had such feeling just because her body was dried to the last limit, and she was thirsty like never before, but still… This water was just so tasty; it was refreshing, clean and cold like the ice itself.
Lina drink the whole content of the waterbag at one blow, and she smiled widely to herself.
"That water…" The girl said slowly. "It was cold although we are on the desert, and it's hot practically everywhere around here. How did you do that? How did you managed to keep such low temperature of the water in this hell?"
The woman gracefully run her hand through her hair, there were also sparks of pure proudness in her eyes.
"This, is all thanks to my amazing magic skills!" Adel declared. "I myself, made a special hex to keep the content of this pitcher cold no matter what! Even if you would pour the boiled water inside of this pitcher, it will also become cold in the matter of seconds!"
"So… Is this pitcher, actually… cursed?" Lina asked, trying to touch that thing, but the pitcher was just a bit too far from her to examine it empirically.
"I just cast a spell on it to make the water inside, more refreshing, so I wouldn't exactly call it a curse. Curses are to hurt people, or to transform them into frogs… In general to do nasty things to the others… I personally don't like such things, I prefer to use hexes in a different way, good way…"
Lina looked at the woman with gentle eyes. "You are very nice person, Miss Adel."
To Lina's amusement the woman's face turned a bit red when she said that. "I'm not…" Adel denied a little embarrassed. "…And by the way, maybe you want another drink?" She asked Lina.
The girl was just staring at the pitcher wishfully for a long while but in the end she just shook her head.
"I don't want to overuse your kindness too much…" Lina said quietly. "All this water belongs to you. You don't have to waste it to imbue me anymore. I'm alright… really."
Adel just laugh shortly in response. "Don't be so modest kid!" She exclaimed. "In such pity state, you need this water much more, than Helmut."
"Helmut?"
"The guy who is living alone in the middle of desert in an old dirty tent. I'm bringing him some water every day to help him survive, but he's not even grateful to me… He is always complaining on me… so don't worry about this weird recluse…" The woman crossed her arms on her chest. "I'm sure he will be fine even without my precious water."
"A man is living alone somewhere in the middle of desert?" Lina asked curiously. "For what reason somebody would do such a thing?"
"He's our local… anchorite." The woman answered her in a strange reverie. "He's afraid to live among the people, so he chose to exist alone on the desert. The only persons which Helmut tolerate as his company are my mentor, and me, so we're trying to make his life easier as much as we could… "
Lina wanted to ask Adel about this strange man more, but something suddenly interrupted her.
The girl had a feeling that someone is coming to take her from this place. The feeling was very strong, and familiar, Lina knew very well who it is.
"My father will be back soon…" The girl said dully. "He's very close…"
"Huh?" The woman gasped a bit surprised. "How do you know?"
Lina looked at her with strange emptiness in her eyes. "Trust me… I just know such things… He's coming to take me."
"There must be a strong bound between you two then…" Adel said quietly. "I've heard about such things before, if there are a lot of warm feelings between the two people, a mental bound is forming… You love your father very much aren't you, Lina?"
The girl cannot help but burst out laughing discretely. It was so ironical… There really is a connection between her and Validar, but it definitely has nothing to do with love. Lina was rather trying not hate that man, and she had no any 'warm feelings' for him.
"I wouldn't exactly called it 'love'… I just get used to my father, and that's all…"
"You… get used to him…?" The young woman asked, not sure what to think about Lina's words. "I don't understand…"
"I don't like him, we are just on journey together. But the true is that my father is a ruthless and… an odd man…" Lina answered her. "In fact I think you should leave now, Miss Adel… I'm not sure what he will do, if he would find a stranger here. He might be angry at you…"
"W-what are you saying?" Adel shuttered. "Your father should thank me for taking care of you."
"Yeah… Anyone else would have done so…" Lina admitted.
"So what's the problem?"
The girl suddenly felt Validar's presence, much closer than just a second ago. He was close… now he was just a few meters away from her.
It looks like he used teleport spell this time… - Lina thoughts to herself frowning.
"Well, we'll see how he will react… about now…" The girl said turning her eyes towards the tent's entry.
Adel also noticed a silhouette of a man standing in the entrance.
When the man set his eyes on the unknown woman he frowned in anger, and before she was able to react he appeared in front of her with a dark energy formed in his hand. He was ready to strike right on the woman's head in every moment.
"How did you get here you wench?!" He asked sternly with venom in his voice. "How dare you bother my master?! Who are you?!"
Adel was just standing here dumbfounded, with her mouths opened widely, and her eyes set on the dark spell pointed at her head. She didn't expect such behavior from this man at all… and it all happened so suddenly...
Lina gasped in fear too, in fact she was expecting that Validar will be alarmed, and angry seeing an unknown person by her side. But she didn't know that he will be ready to attack Adel so quickly, without even second thought.
This man… - Lina was thinking, gritting her teeth. – …really is unpredictable.
"Father, stop it…" Lina said grabbing him by the flap of his cloak to have his attention. "Miss Adel helped me… She helped me survive…" She said dully.
When Validar heard the girl's voice he gushed his spell, and he immediately turned his whole attention at Lina. He was very surprised; it was as if he just realized that his daughter is awake.
"How are you feeling?" He asked quickly. "Do you still have fever? How is your body condition?" He questioned her nervously.
The girl was also surprised by his attitude. His normally cold, and empty eyes were now full of fear, it looks like he was really worried about her.
"I'm fine… Thanks to her…" Lina said pointing at the young woman, who was still standing like a stony figure on her place. Validar surprised her so much, that she was afraid to move.
The man just sent a stern look towards Adel, and he was staring at her for a long while. The woman gulped loudly when she met his eyes, there was something gloomy, and creepy about this man.
When Validar finally concluded that Adel is not any danger for Lina, he decided to… ignore her presence.
"I brought here, a very skilled cleric. She will come to us soon, so don't worry anymore my dear…" He said to his daughter. "You will be fine…"
"Yeah… I hope so…" Lina whispered. "Thank you for all your efforts…"
"For your sake…" Validar said looking directly in her eyes. "I'm ready to do anything."
He finally calmed down, seeing that the vessel's condition is no longer so dangerous, his face was again stony, without any emotions.
During this quick exchange of words between father and daughter, Adel finally managed to emerge from her first shock. She was now angry at Validar for his… tactlessness, and violent attitude.
"Who do you think you are, to jump on people like this, without any reason? What a terrible behavior!" She exclaimed in anger. "Are you crazy?! I just saved Lina's life, so you should be grateful, and at least thank me!"
Validar budged suddenly when he heard the woman's outburst, and he slowly turned his head to look sternly at her.
"How…?" He asked slowly with his voice cold. "How do you know her name?"
Adel gasped when she looked at these stern, and chilly eyes again. That man's stare was just impossible to bear for long, so after just a few seconds, the woman turned her head in completely different direction.
"She told me her name herself… It's only natural, isn't it?" She mumbled, not sure what Lina's father could mean by such stupid question.
Validar just slowly shook his head, and his sent a schooled look towards his daughter. The girl just gulped in response, his angry eyes were saying that she did something wrong. She probably shouldn't introduce herself with her real name after all…
"I left a powerful hex on the entrance…" Validar said, slowly approaching the woman. Adel in turn, unconsciously took a few steps back. "How did you avoid it?" The man questioned her.
"I don't I was under that hex's control for a while but I dispelled it after a few tries and I entered and then I found her." Adel said pointing her index finger on Lina.
She's speaking too fast again… - Lina was thinking. – She's nervous, Validar is probably terrifying in her eyes… Well, I can't blame her, his face is a bit scary.
"You dispelled my hex?" Validar asked astonished.
This information was very surprising for him. After all, he knew his own power, and he knew that he has not too many equals in the matter of dark magic. Until now, the only people he knew who were able to dispel his hexes were Xerxes, and Celia… but nobody else.
Maybe this woman is not as harmless as I was thinking… - The man thoughts to himself. – I should have been more vigilant about her…
"So, are you saying that you entered this tent, which is not your property, without anyone's invitation? And you destroyed the trap which was protecting it just like that? Without even thinking about the consequences of such act?"
Adel panicked a little, when the man approached her; his aura was so cold, so dark, and so terrible… He was too close, and the young woman was unable to endure his presence. She even wanted to run away from him in that moment but unfortunately her legs didn't move.
"D-Don't come near me! Stay away!" Adel shouted nervously, taking a few more steps back.
"Who do you think you are, to come in, without anyone's permission? Don't you think that it's mean, and improper?" Validar said with schooling tone. "You're a very nosy woman, I should…"
"Father! That's enough!" Lina finally lost her nerves. She didn't know why Validar is so mean to Miss Adel but it was too much. She decided to intervene, and save her savior from this ruthless man.
"This woman saved my life!" Lina exclaimed. "She saved me! So you better leave her alone, or I won't forgive you!"
The girl gritted her teeth and groaned loudly, her head was aching, again. Lina was awake but the fact was, that her condition was still rather poor.
"Don't push yourself too much, daughter." He said dully to her.
"And you, don't be so arrogant to my life savior." Lina said irritated.
Validar just frowned and he looked strangely at his child, but Lina, as oppose to Miss Adel was not scared of him, so they were just staring at each other for a long time.
The young woman, didn't know what to do in this uneasy situation so she also said nothing, and tense silence fell in the tent.
Then, after a short moment they all heard someone's quick steps, and soon a tall woman with beautiful wavy long red hair, and dark-blue eyes came inside the tent. She had a Mend staff on her right hand and, she was holding stretcher under her left arm.
"Sir Wolfgang, are you here?" She asked quickly looking around a bit nervously. "You disappeared so suddenly…" She said when she set her eyes on Validar. "I was afraid that I won't find the right path without you."
"My, apologizes…" The man said with the nicest of his tones. "I was so worried about my daughter's condition… I left you alone to check on her as soon as possible. I'm sorry for leaving you behind." He addressed the newcomer, bowing a little.
"No, I understand…" The woman said slowly. "It's only natural that you were worried... And after all, I found my way, so it's okay."
Then she looked carefully at Lina. "I can see that your daughter is awake, that's good…" She said calmly, but then, she again turned her head towards Validar. There was a clear surprise on her face.
The man quickly understood that the woman's eyes are not set on him, but on the person standing behind his back… at the intruder.
"Adel?" The young cleric asked frowning in surprise.
"Kaia…" The other woman whispered quietly. "Sister!" Adel exclaimed a second latter, approaching the cleric in a blink of an eye.
She stopped paying any attention to Validar, and she forgot about the fear which was overwhelming her not so long ago.
"What are you doing here?" Adel asked placing her hands on her sister's shoulders.
"Me? I came because Sir Wolfgang asked me for help." Kaia said, looking directly at Validar. "He said that his little daughter is in critical state and he was begging me to save her nearly on his knees… You know me, I'm just unable to refuse to the people who need me."
"This guy…?" Adel mumbled with troubled expression. "Stay away from this man…" She said dully. "He's crazy… and creepy."
"Sister! It's rude!" Kaia said indignant. "How could you say such things about the person you just met?"
"But he jumped on me with the dangerous spell in hand without any reason, and he was totally rude to me first!" Adel was trying to defend herself.
The young cleric raised her brows in surprise. "Is that true sir Wolfgang?" She asked with worried tone.
"I'm afraid so, Lady Kaia." Validar admitted. "But it was just my first impulse… I saw an intruder beside by poor, ill, and defenseless daughter. I wanted to surprise this young Lady, and stop her from doing my dear Lina any harm…" He said smiling towards Kaia. "But I assure you, I've had no real intentions to hurt her. I just wanted to ask her a few questions, and that's all… I'm sorry if I scared you milady." He said to Adel, and he bowed gracefully before her.
The young woman was listening to these words in disbelief, and she was absolutely dumbfounded again.
It was as if this man… (Wolfgang is his name, if Adel understood well) It was as if he just changed into completely different person.
He was smiling at her now, he was speaking politely, and his eyes were full of embarrassment, and penitence. Even his aura has changed into a different one…
How did he do it? – Adel asked herself absolutely confused. – He was so gloomy, and scary a while ago, but now he appeared to be… nice. What's wrong with him?
She was sure that this man is simply acting. He wore a mask of a polite person, to deceive her, and Kaia, to make fools of them both… But Adel was not stupid, she knew what she has seen a while ago and she remembered what Lina told her, before this man entered the tent. She said that her father is a ruthless and weird man, and this is his real nature…
When Adel looked at the little girl again, she was just slowly shaking her head in disappointment.
Lina was very astonished by the fact that Validar can lie to the people with such ease. He was able to change his whole personality just to make an impression of a well-mannered man before the cleric he wanted to use… It was disturbing for Lina she didn't know how many times he was pretending a different person before her, and in that case… did she even know her father's true self?
"I won't trust him." Adel said dully to Kaia. "It's great that you want to help Lina, but this creepy man…" She cough out, looking defiantly at Validar. "Just keep him far away from me."
"Adel, don't be like this…" Kaia said calmly. "Sir Wolfgang just apologized to you. It was an unfortunate misunderstanding between you two, so don't be so stubborn and forgive him. He was just nervous because of his child's dangerous state…"
"That's not it!" Adel exclaimed irritated. "There is something nasty about him, but I'm not sure how to describe it to you…" The young woman reverie for a moment to find the right words. "It was his aura… His aura was so terrible a second ago, but now it changed… I have no idea how he did it but Kaia…" The young woman bowed to her sister's ear. "He's not the person you think he is." She whispered.
"Adel!" Kaia shouted outraged. "Sir Wolfgang…" The woman quickly addressed Validar. "I'm sorry for my sister's rude words, I don't know what gotten into her… Normally she's nice and cheerful…"
"It's okay Lady Kaia…" The man said with polite smile still on his face. "Some people are reacting on me in such way… It's just because I'm a sorcerer and my aura is indeed a bit gloomy, but I, myself am innocuous like a child. I would never harm you Lady Adel, I just wanted to scare you, nothing else."
"I'm not so naive to believe you." The woman answered him adamantly. "If Lina wouldn't stop you, you would probably blew my head away by now… So stay away from me!"
"If this is what you want then I would fulfill your wish milady…" Validar said with false calmness in his voice. "But you must know that I'm very sorry for my impulsive behavior, and my inconsiderateness towards you."
Adel said nothing in response. The fact that the man is suddenly trying to pretend somebody else was disgusting for her.
"Sister, I'm disappointed by your behavior…" Kaia said with schooling tone.
"Kaia… It's not like I'm going to chivvy you, or anything…" Adel said slowly to her sister. "But don't you think that instead of bothering yourself with my 'disappointing behavior' you should finally take care of Lina's health…"
At first moment Kaia made an angry expression, and she frowned. She didn't like the fact that her little sister is instructing her like this, but on second thought she realized that Adel is right, and there is no time to waste anymore.
"Good point…" Kaia just mumbled. She finally approached the diseased girl, and she set down beside her.
"Hello… Lina, isn't it?" The cleric asked, and the little girl just nodded weakly. "My name is Kaia and I'm going to heal your disease, so be a good girl, and let me examine you first, okay?"
Lina just smiled a little. "Don't worry Miss Kaia… I'm not going to protest, or cry, or impede your work in any way, I'll be good… Besides, Miss Adel helped me a lot already, she cooled me down with the water, and I'm feeling much better."
"Really? That's great." The woman said calmly.
She checked out Lina's temperature and she changed, her lying position. She also took a closer look at the compresses which were still covering the girl's chest, and head.
"Her temperature is not so high, she's a bit warm, but it is not dangerous to her life." Kaia smiled radiantly to her sister. "Good job Adel." She said petting her sibling's shoulder.
"I'm glad someone finally noticed my efforts…" Adel mumbled looking angry at Validar. She was still bearing a grudge against him, and she was still thinking that he should thank her for her hard working in taking care of Lina.
The man just crossed his arms on the chest and he was doing his best to ignore the annoying woman's glare. It was bad that Validar lost control over himself and he showed his power before the person he didn't know… Now it will be harder for him to pretend a normal, innocent commoner before her.
But what is even worse Adel as well as Kaia, are already knew his daughter's true name... Validar was not sure for how long he, and Lina will be able to travel incognito in such situation. After all somebody might outguess their real identities if those women will say the vessel's name in presence of somebody who is in service to the Fell Dragon, like for example a priest, or a priestess of Grima… The Fell Dragon's servants would probably figure it out quickly.
If the people would find out about Lina, and if the word about the vessel of the Fell Dragon would spread around the town then, some Ylissean spy might intercept this information, and then the enemy army would come… to kill Lina.
Validar shook his head to get rid of all these scary visions in his mind.
Something like this will not happen… - The man thoughts to himself – I'm just thinking too much… When Lina will get better I'm going to take her back to Mediuth city immediately, and without any discussions. Then she will be perfectly safe again.
"Yes…" Validar whispered quietly. "After everything what happened, it's definitely time to go back home."
"Did you say something?" Adel asked looking shifty at him.
"It's nothing…" Validar mumbled under his breath a little irritated. "I'm just worried."
"There is no need to worry so much, Sir." Kaia announced loudly. "As I said, your daughter's life is not in danger." She said, chanting a spell and using a Mend on Lina.
"Thank Grima…" The man whispered, and sighed in relief hearing the cleric's words.
The blue light which came out from the staff, jarred the girl's eyes a little, but it was not so bad, Lina could feel that some of her strength is returning to her… But unfortunately she was still not feeling perfect.
"But still, we should take Lina back to Tormus village and let my teacher take a closer look at her… You see, Sir…" Kaia said a bit embarrassed, when Validar looked strangely at her. "I might be a good cleric, but I'm still just an apprentice… Our mentor is much more experienced than me… He is running an infermery in the town, and I'm sure it would be better for your daughter's condition if we will take her there, and let her rest peacefully for a few days…"
"Few days…?" The man repeated dully like an echo.
"It's just my opinion." Kaia said quickly. "We'll see what Luther… I mean my teacher will say about it..."
Validar mumbled something to himself. He was clearly discontent with such course of actions, but after a moment, he just nodded in agreement.
"I see… If you think that it is the best thing to do, then I'm not going to argue milady, you are the expert here."
Adel just rolled her eyes hearing the man's nice words. "What a hypocrite…" She said quietly under her breath.
That waspish comment from her sister's mouths, annoyed Kaia.
"By the way, Adel…" She started slowly. "Shouldn't you be with Helmut right now? If you won't come, he will be angry at you… again."
The young woman just gulped in response. "Well I should but I never reached to his place I noticed this tent in my way and I wanted to speak with its inhabitants but then I found Lina in fever and I concluded that I should use the water which Helmut should receive to save Lina's life because she was in such pity and dangerous state and it was her limit and she would even die and I wanted to help her and…"
"Miss Adel, calm down!" Lina suddenly interrupted the woman in her incomprehensible and unclear speech. "Really… I don't want to be rude, but you're speaking so quickly that I can't understand what you're saying at all. What's wrong?"
The woman fell silent for a while, and she started to rub the back of her head in embarrassment.
"I'm sorry…" She finally coughed out. "It's just happens, every time when I have to explain myself before someone… I don't know why…"
"I… I see…" Lina nodded a little surprised, but she didn't say anything more.
Kaia just smiled to her sister. "Don't worry Adel…" She said calmly. "You did the right thing."
The other woman just set her eyes on the ground, and her cheeks become a bit red. Kaia smiled even wider seeing this, but Validar just rolled his eyes, and he growled quietly. He started to lose his patience, they should take care Lina instead of chatting here.
"Alright! Enough talk!" Kaia suddenly exclaimed, as if she was reading Validar's mind. "Let's help our girl!"
"Sir Wolfgang…" The young cleric addressed Lina's father. "We should move your daughter on the stretcher. Could you help me?"
"Of course." Validar said without hesitation in his voice, and he quickly approached Lina to take her in his arms.
"I can do it by myself!" Lina protested. "I can go, and lie down on the stretcher without your help."
"You shouldn't…" Kaia shook her head. "In your state, movements are inadvisable, and unhealthy."
"But…" Lina was trying to say something but Validar quickly interrupted her.
"No 'buts' daughter." He said adamantly. "You hear Lady Kaia, you just can't push yourself too much in such state."
The girl bit her lip in frustration, but she knew that the man is right.
"Yes, father…" Lina nodded with sad face.
She wasn't protesting anymore, and she allowed Kaia and Validar to carefully lay her down on the stretcher.
Soon they were all ready to depart. All four of them left the tent, and they turned their steps towards Tormus village.
Validar volunteer to teleport everyone, and makes their way shorter. The women thought, that it is a great idea, and the man immediately used the spell.
Unfortunately Validar's magic was not enough to transport them directly to the village… It was… a bit closer, but still far away.
It is all because, he was so worried about the vessel of Grima, and he was running around the town for half of a day, desperately trying to find some help… Because of this all, Validar was exhausted not only physically but also mentally. He was just unable to focus, and flow mana through his body normally, and it affected badly on his magical abilities.
Seeing the man's embarrassment over his failure spell Kaia just said that he shouldn't be worried about it, and that it isn't a problem. Lina was trying to not burst out laughing, over this whole issue, and Adel just waved her hand in a gesture of resign.
They had no other choice, then to walk the rest of their way on foot.
They all went through the desert in absolute silence, and the situation was rather… tense.
Validar and Kaia were holding Lina's stretcher together, while Adel was going after the 'suspicions man' to observe closely his every move. She, was keeping a safe distance from him, and it was obvious that she still did not trust him.
Lina was impressed by the fact that her father was unable to pull the wool over the young woman's eyes. After all, he has a great ability of… fooling people around, and his lies were usually convincing… But apparently Miss Adel was too smart to be fooled by Validar's 'apology', and his pretty words…
It seems that Miss Adel can recognize it when somebody is… a fake… - Lina thought to herself. – For that… I like her.
The little girl noticed that the sun is as ruthless as always, and her body become a bit too warm again… Lina just hid her eyes under the hand, and she sighed quietly. The sunrays were blinding, and it was annoying.
The girl just closed her eyes, and she started breathing calmly, and before she realized it, she accidentally fell asleep.
She was laying under the tree, and just looking on the sky above her. Lina smiled a little… this place was very nice… The air was clear, the sun was shining nicely, and there was just an open field of green, fresh grass before her. Lina yawned lazily, and she ensconce herself on the ground. It was a beautiful day… In that dream she had no any problems, and nothing to worry about.
But then something suddenly disturbed the girl's peace. Lina heard a quiet rustle on the grass… At first she just wanted to ignore it, but the sound become louder, and closer, it disturbed Lina so she slowly raised her head, and looked at the direction where the sound was coming from.
Lina yawned quietly again, and she rubbed her eyes a little. She saw a big white wolf with beautiful golden eyes, sitting on the grass and staring at her from some distance. The girl recognized the animal… She saw it once before, but back then, the wolf was covered in its own blood, and fighting against the other dark furry beast…
Lina gasped loudly, and she started trembling in fear, she didn't know what she should expect from this white monster. The little girl didn't want to accidentally upset it, or anger it, she knew that her one wrong move would be enough for the white wolf to jump on her and tear her apart. So Lina just froze, in hope that if she will not move, and if she will pretend that she's not even here, then maybe the white monster will leave her alone…
Unfortunately for her the result was quite oppose, instead of walking away, the white wolf started to come closer to the girl very calmly, and slowly.
Lina just shut her eyes, and groaned quietly, when the golden eyed animal approached her. It was very close, and it started to sniff curiously around the girl.
Stay away from me… don't attack me… - She was thinking in panic, yet she didn't say anything out loud.
The wolf just sat down in front of Lina, and it woofed to her in a friendly way.
Lina slowly opened her eyes, still trembling, and when she looked at the animal, she realized that it is not her enemy. It was just looking curiously at her, as if she was some kind of phenomena. Then it carefully putted its head under Lina's hand, and it scraped its fur against the girl's skin. It seems like the wolf just wanted some attention.
"Hey…" The little girl said weakly. "You're nicer than I suspected. Do you need someone for company? A friend?" She asked, petting the animal a little. "Are you lonely?"
At first, the wolf was delighted by the fact that Lina is petting it so much, it was even gently licking her cheeks… Yet, after some time of all these caresses, the white wolf started to sniff Lina's hands… And its whole attitude has suddenly changed when the white animal lay its nose on the girl's artery… It sniffed Lina's hand, and her veins again… and again… and again, as if it can't believe its own nose…
The golden eyed wolf suddenly, and out of blue recoiled from the girl, and it started to growl loudly, and ominously at her. It was now standing before Lina in offensive stance, and it was ready to attack her.
But the little one didn't know what occurred such sudden change of mood in her new 'friend's' behavior, and she was not content of it at all.
"What is it?" She asked trying to touch the wolf again, and appease it. "Did I do something wrong?"
Seeing that Lina's hand is closer and closer, the wolf was trying to quickly bite her arm before the girl's fingers will reach its fur. Lina retract her hand just in time, to somehow avoid the bloody injury, but she was very disappointed.
"So you just wanted to attack me, after all!" She exclaimed with tears in her eyes. "Bad dog! I mean… Evil…" Lina shuttered. "Evil wolf! Leave me alone! Both of you! You, and this other one as well! Why are you attacking me?!"
Of course Lina never expected any response from a simple animal, she just fall to the ground and she started crying quietly. "Stop persecuting me…" She whispered with remorse in her voice.
The wolf was staring at the little girl with strange eyes… Maybe it is sounds weird, but these eyes were full of puzzlement… and concern.
The animal calmed down a little, and it slowly approached Lina again.
"Go away!" The girl shouted at it, but the white wolf didn't resign. It started to yelp quietly, as if it was trying to apologize, and it started to lick her hands again.
"Get lost!" The little one exclaimed in anger.
The wolf backed down from her a bit, but it stopped and sat down a meter away from Lina. It was looking carefully at her as if it was waiting for something.
"Are you deaf? Go away!" Lina shouted, and she stood up from the ground. She had scary expression on her face, she wanted to get rid of the animal, but she didn't know how…
"Huh?" Lina exclaimed again completely astonished. "How is this possible?" She asked looking at the mysterious animal with puzzled face.
She suddenly found herself… on the cemetery… She was standing in the middle of a narrow pathway. The tree and the field of grass disappeared, and now there were just a lot of graves around her.
"What's going on?" She mumbled under her breath.
The white wolf approached her, and it woofed quietly.
"Come…" Lina heard a man's voice from some undefined direction.
The wolf took a few steps ahead, but it stopped for a while, and it was waiting for the girl to join.
"Come…" The voice repeated louder, and Lina took a step towards the white animal.
"Alright…" She said quietly. "I'm coming, I'm coming…"
She approached the golden eyed wolf, and when it realized that Lina wants to go with it, the animal went ahead in a great hurry.
"Hey, wait!" Lina called after the wolf trying to catch up with it, but it didn't stop even once.
It seemed like, the wolf knew exactly where to lead the girl. It maneuvered among the graves without any hesitation, and Lina was desperately trying to keep up with it.
Then finally, the white wolf suddenly stopped, and it sat down right before an old and neglected grave…
Lina also stopped, she was breathing heavy when she looked at the tomb.
It was located on the outskirts of the cemetery, and it appeared to be forgotten…
There were no any flowers, or candles around it. The tombstone was dirty and mossy, and it was hard to even read the name graven on the stone…
The wolf started to run in circles around Lina, and it was clearly excited over this all.
"Is this what you wanted to show me?" The girl asked. "Okay… let's see..."
She approached the tombstone, and she cleaned it, of all the moss, to see the name written on the grave.
"Adam Maclir, 1744 – 1790" Lina read out loud.
She frowned, and she was trying to remember if she by any chance knew the person called by that name. But unfortunately… or rather fortunately… neither, the first name, nor the second name, didn't ring any bell in her head.
"Who is it?" She addressed the white wolf. "Someone important? Your master?" She asked.
The animal was still running around, woofing loudly in excitement. Then it approached the tombstone, and it started to paw the ground right beside the grave.
It took Lina a few seconds, before she realized what the golden eyed wolf is really doing. That animal… it was digging… It was digging in somebody's grave!
"Stop it, at once!" The girl shouted in anger. "Stop digging here! Don't interrupt this man, in his eternal sleep!"
Lina was pulling the wolf by its fur, to stop it from doing such a bad thing, but the animal didn't care about the girl's feelings at all… It was just digging… deeper, and deeper.
"I said, stop it!" Lina shouted again.
"No… It's alright honey…" Somebody approached Lina from behind, and he placed his both hands on her shoulders. "There is something you need, inside of my grave. Don't worry about my old, bare bones, and let us help you."
Lina quickly turned her head to see the owner of that voice, but when she looked there, nobody was behind her back…
"Stop it… stop it…" Lina bumbled quietly in her sleep.
"Huh?" Kaia looked at the girl with concern in her eyes. "What is it?" She asked stopping her march for a moment. They were still on their way, but they were already very close to the village.
"I think she has a nightmare…" Validar pointed out. "She's sleeping."
"Then, we should wake her up, don't you think?" Adel addressed the man. "We should stop this nightmare of hers if we can."
The woman approached Lina, and she bowed over the sleeping child, to gently shake her shoulder.
"Hey…" She whispered into the girl's ear. "Hey, Lina…"
The little one groaned shortly, and she set her still weary eyes, on the woman.
"Oh… Miss Adel…" She said quietly. "Did I?" Lina asked rising her head a little to look around. "Did I fell asleep?"
"Yeah…" The woman nodded. "You were mumbling something nervously in your sleep… You were saying 'stop', and 'stop' many times, so we started worried. Something wrong kid?"
"No…" Lina denied rubbing her temples in the same time. "It's not so important."
"Are you sure that everything is alright Lina?" Validar asked. "What was that? A bad dream again?"
"Yes…" The girl said quietly. "Kind of…" She lie down on the stretcher again, and she said nothing else.
But for the rest of their way Lina was wondering about her dreams; about the white wolf in it, and about the mysterious man who is laying inside of the tomb…
The end of chapter 14
Thanks for reading! :)