As they were to go to Michael's house to discuss things, Velvet stopped walking and started to gough very heavily into her right palm. Once it stopped, Velvet saw blood all over her hand before collapsing on her knees and using her arm to keep her upper body up as Simon and Michael heard this, turning around as they stopped to see Velvet throwing up blood on the ground while she was holding her stomach. Simon and Michael ran over to her and got down on the ground, Simon holds her back as he sees her dropping her strength.
"Selene, what's wrong?!" Simon asked really worried over the change of health.
"I don't feel so good…" Velvet explained weak and hushed. Simon looks at her old wound underneath the sleeve to see some kind of liquid coming out of it.
"She's been poisoned!" Simon concluded as he felt Selene getting warmer and warmer by the second. "We need to get her to my house!"
"How is that possible?" Michael asks as his friend and rival carried the sick woman in bridal style before the two ran as fast as they could forwards Simon's house.
"We were attacked by a couple of snake hellions two months ago, one of them bit her and that wound wouldn't heal." The alchemist explained as Michael opened the door as they arrived that must be Simon's. "I think Selene wasn't affected until now."
Simon hurried up a pair of stairs to the next floor where two desks, one for writing on while the other was for experiments. A cabinet was there as well with many different potions at the top while the under had books as all the things was on one side of the room as the other was like a bedroom in a way. Michael comes up as Simon places Velvet's legs while having her upper body in his arms as the therion was breathing heavily as she was sweating.
"I'll find the cure." Michael said, going to the cabinet to search for the right potion.
"Selene, you need to stay awake." Simon begged Velvet and holds her hand in comfort as she stared in Simon's eyes weakly.
"Simon…" Selene breathed out.
"How's the cure going?!" Simon exclaimed really worried over she's not going to make it.
"Found it!" Michael exclaimed as he found the right bottle before going to the couple.
Michael opened the bottle and he placed it on Velvet's lips as he pours it into her throat, he stopped once the bottle was empty and Velvet choked before Simon places her fully on the bed. Simon wiped away the blood on her cheek as Michael looks at his rival suspicious over his actions.
"Okay, Simon. You need to explain everything to me, bites made from poisonous hellions usually take effect a few seconds after they're hit." The Shepherd said as Simon puts the blanket on Velvet's body while she slept.
"Selene isn't exactly human, she's a hellion." Simon replied and Michael is shocked.
"She's a hellion!" He yelled. "You brought a hellion to Maotelus, I need to purify her now!" Michael held out his hand to use an arte but Simon grabbed his wrist as Velvet moaned because of the noise before going back to sleep and Simon let go of him.
"It's not a possibility, Selene can't turn back into a human." The alchemist explained and looks at the sleeping woman as he sits down besides her on the bed. "It has become a part of her being, if you purify her she'll die."
"Brother, Simon! Are you here?" A female voice called out from down stairs before footsteps was heard going up.
It was a woman with long brown hair, which is braided down to her back, with bangs swept to her right. Like Michael, she has lavender eyes. She wears a white dress with black sleeves and a red coat with a ribbon tied around her neck. She also wears long black boots. Underneath her bangs was a gold circlet with a blue gem in the middle.
"Muse, how did you know?" Simon asked the woman, knowing somehow what she was going to say as he stands up.
"Saw you in the window, I know what happened." Muse explained simply as she goes to Velvet's side and gently takes the blanket off to look at her. "There's blood all over her clothes, I maybe need to clean them for her. So, you two, get out!"
"Okay, we'll be downstairs if you need anything." Michael said before he goes down the stairs with Simon right behind him.
"Just a tip, Muse," Simon said which got her attention. "Don't remove the bandages on her left arm, Selene have some really horrible scars that she really wants to be covered at all times."
"I'll keep that in mind." Muse replied and Simon followed Michael downstairs.
While Muse fixed Velvet up, Simon told Michael everything that happened under the two months of travel. The Shepherd was really skeptical about Selene after hearing what his best friend had told him, she might have been lying or really did lose her memory but it wouldn't make sense why she would go running forwards the shrine and even be able to open the doors that was sealed shut.
"I see, Selene is a hellion that can devour anything living." Michael concluded. "And you said she's told you that she's been gone for a long time."
"I'm positive, she knew about Maotelus and the cave when we got here just by looking at them." Simon explained, thinking about the moments.
"I'll send Lailah a message about it later, since I'm no longer her vessel. Still I wonder why you care about her so much?" Michael asked in question, it became quiet between the two for a few seconds before Simon finally confessed.
"I love her." The Shepherd was surprised while his old friend stared at him serious. "I love her so much, her smile and strength even her serious demeanor. She's special that way and not because of her beauty nor what she is, it's because of who she is."
Michael was speechless over that Simon truly cared about her more than a friend in that short short amount of time they're been traveling together. It was almost like they were part of the same coin, destined to be together in the future. Muse comes down with Velvet's clothes in her arms and a smile.
"I'm done, I put on one of your shirts on Selene so that some clothing was covering her." Muse said and Simon stood up to look at her with a smile.
"Thank you, Muse." The alchemist thanked her, now knowing Selene was going to be okay.
"You have to cool her down a few times to make sure she's not going to have a high fever as a side effect." Muse explained and Simon nodded before she left the house.
"It is best you get some alone time to take care of her, I need to do my duties before nightfall." Michael excused himself and stood up to leave, walking by Simon.
"Michael. Once you get to know Selene, you'll know she didn't want to become a hellion but was forced." Simon pointed out as Michael walks out the door, leaving his friend to take care of the newcomer.
At night time, Michael goes up to the temple once everyone was asleep to see Maotelus. The Empyrean had been worried since he heard what had happened as it happened quite fast and unexpected. As Michael arrives, Maotelus was already there, waiting for him.
"How is she?" The Empyrean asked worried about his friend.
"Selene is going to recover, we just don't know how long it'll take for her to wake up." Michael replied.
"Thank spirits she'll be okay." Maotelus breathed out in relief.
"Maotelus, there's something I need to ask." Michael requested. "How is it that you and Selene are already acquaintance with each other?" Maotelus looks up at the starry sky.
"Just like I told you before, Selene and I are old friends from many, many years ago." The Empyrean replied. "She reminds me of someone I met at the time, who taught me that ways to live of my own free will."
"Were you a seraph before becoming an Empyrean?" Michael mumbled to himself.
"Please, Michael, it's best for people to not know this truth." Maotelus warned him. "We hid it for the purpose for our friend could live happily once she returned without being reminded of her past."
Michael knew what it meant, there were other people that knew about the truth of the world and Selene but he doesn't have time to travel the world so he'll need to tell Simon when he have time from taking care of Selene. Michael bowed as he excused himself before leaving the Empyrean to think about his words.
- Two weeks later -
It was late afternoon, Simon up in the bedroom as Velvet was still in the bed. He was dipping a towel in a bowl of cold water that was standing on the bedside table before drenching it out, he sat down next to the sleeping therion. Her hair wasn't in the ponytail anymore and the blanket covered her body. Simon cools her down with the towel but as he had the towel by her cheek, Velvet began to stir and groaning awake which made Simon smile in happiness while Velvet opened her eyes a little, looking right in the green eyes of Simon.
"Si… mon…" Velvet moaned.
"Selene, thank goodness you're awake." Simon said grateful.
"What happened?" The therion asked and tries to sit up but got down as fast, feeling pain all over and a massive headache.
"You've been out for almost two weeks." Simon explained as he helped her half sit with the pillows. "You were poisoned by the snake bite, looks like by devouring it slowed down the process for a limited time until now." Velvet placed a hand on her head, despite the pain to move any body part.
"My memories are all foggy," Velvet confessed. "All I can remember was your worried voice telling me to stay awake." Simon smiled and took her hand from her head.
"I'm just glad you're okay." The alchemist said before standing up. "I'll get you something to eat and some new clothing to cover yourself a little more." Velvet raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"What are you talk-!" Velvet looked down to see that the white shirt she was wearing wasn't buttoned up entirely and showing her bare chest, the therion blushed and growled as she takes the blanket up to cover her chest while Simon chuckled at her behavior.
"Don't worry, I'll give you another one instead." Simon left to go down stairs while Velvet looked away before mumbling, "You pervert!" She then smiled, knowing he just joked with her.
After getting changed into a black long sleeved shirt, that didn't need to button up, and getting some food in her system, Simon explained to Velvet that he told Michael about her being a therion and how he found her to the point they were now. Velvet might not show it but she was really irritated that Simon didn't ask her if it was okay, on the other hand she was not able to even talk that time.
"So the Shepherd knows who am I now." Velvet said, still not liking the idea of Michael knowing.
"I didn't have a choice, it was the only way for Michael to not confront you the first thing he does when you wake up." Simon said to his defense and Velvet sighed in defeat.
"I know it was for a good reason but you should ask me before you do something like that." Selene said as she looked away with guilt in her eyes. "I'm not really proud being like this like I used to do, it brings me bad memories of how I became one."
"I'm sorry for bringing that up." Velvet placed a hand on his in comfort, knowing what he was going to say.
"I didn't say I was angry at you, I meant that you should ask my permission first." Simon smiled a little at the black haired hellion.
"Thank you, Selene." Velvet smiled back before they heard something hit the window. Simon gets up and goes to the window to see four children, two boys and two girls in different ages, outside waving to him as the brown haired alchemist opened it. "What is it, you scum?"
"We heard a fair maiden sleeps in your fortress." The older boy played along before the oldest girl elbowed him on the arm. "What was that for?!"
"Why do you always when he's just teasing with you." The older girl pointed out before looking up at Simon. "Can we come inside? It's okay if you don't want us to." The little girl came forward and shows a flower crown in her hands.
"We made this for her to make her feel better." The little girl said.
"You can come in if you guys like to meet her, she's awake now." Simon told them before closing the window again and turns around to see Velvet with a raised eyebrow and a quirky smile while looking at him in disbelief. "What?"
"Really, 'you scum'. You sounded like an old man who doesn't like kids." Velvet pointed out and Simon just smiled sheepishly while scratching the back of his head.
"Those kids usually barge in whenever they can to play with me but now that you're here, they probably thought you were asleep still." The children came up the stairs and gasped when they saw the black haired woman in amazement.
"Wow…" The little girl breathed out.
"She's pretty." The younger boy pointed out as they all carefully sat on the bed in front of Velvet. The little girl wanted to place the flower crown on Velvet's head so the woman lowered her head in order for her to do it.
"Do you like it?" The little girl asked and Velvet nodded with a smile, the little girl became happy and carefully hugged Velvet as a thank you while Velvet did the same before they broke up.
"I really like your hair! It's so long and pretty." The older girl exclaimed jealously. "I'm jealous."
"Thank you for the compliment." Velvet thanked her, reminding the therion about Laphi and when she and Laphicet was watching the aurora borealis together.
"What's your name?" The older boy asked. "We didn't get the chance to hear it."
"Selene." Velvet told them her fake name. "It's nice of you to come and check on me."
"We heard you lost your memories before coming to Camlann." The older girl explained and Simon picked it up as he had sat down by his writing desk, an empty book in front of him and coupe of paper sheets.
"Where did you hear that?" The alchemist asked, suspicious that they gotten in trouble.
"We kinda overheard you telling Michael." The older boy replied before the older girl hit him on the head.
"You weren't supposed to tell them that." The younger boy told him quietly. The little girl then noticed Velvet's bandaged arm as she was sitting next to her.
"Selene, what happened to your arm?" She asked innocently and Velvet shadowed her eyes with her bangs and curled up her fists. "Selene?" Velvet took a deep breath to control herself before looking back up.
"I'm having a hard time talking about it." Selene explained. "Have you ever heard about the moon turning scarlet red?" The sudden question shocked everyone in the room and they looked at each other confused.
"What's that, Selene?" The younger boy asked.
"We want to know!" The other boy exclaimed excited.
"It's quite a long story that's very scary and sad, it would take some time to tell you all of it." Velvet told the children, teasing them a bit.
"Please!" All the children plead at the same time and the black haired beauty snickered.
"Alright, but I warned you." Velvet said as they got themselves settled, even Simon was curious of the story that he had his pen ready to write. "Many, many years ago. A scarlet red moon was high on the night sky above a small village where bandits were causing havoc by burning down houses and killing the villagers." The children was already getting scared and Velvet had to hug the little girl to comfort her. "But in the forest nearby, a man and a pair of siblings running away. One of the siblings was a little girl and while she ran for her life, she held a tight grip of her little brother's hand. What the girl didn't know was that that night would change her whole life forever and her name was Velvet Crowe."
Velvet began to tell them about her old life in Aball under the perspective of a fairytale, even her real name. The children was sitting quiet the whole time until Selene begins to tell about her experience at the Advent and her awakening as a therion. Simon was really interested in the story that he started to write down on the sheets of paper, copying every word she said. The children gasped as Selene ended the part of Artorius strike and her scream of his real name which left the children wanting to hear more of it.
"It can't end there!" The boys shouted at the same time.
"What happened to Velvet?" The older girl asked. "She can't be dead, can she?" Selene didn't have time to answer as Simon got up from his chair.
"Okay, you guys. Selene needs to rest, you can come back tomorrow." He said and the kids moaned in disappointment as they go off the bed to go out the house.
"Goodbye Selene! See you tomorrow!" The little girl said before she hurried after her friends and Velvet sighed in relief that they were finally gone.
"I never thought you would make them quiet like that, it's unbelievable." Simon confessed in surprise.
"You just need to know what they like, everyone in my time knew about Velvet Crowe's journey." Selene explained even though it felt wrong saying her name in third person. "It's quite the tale."
"I understand that, I'm guessing it's not a normal tale about a hero defeating the villain." Simon guessed as he sits down on the bed, right next to her and Velvet lays her head on his shoulder tired.
"It's the opposite, her story is about how a girl, her kind heart changing into one of despair, freeing and saving the world from within the shadows from the lies of the light." The therion told her loved one while closing her eyes. "Heroes don't have to be good because they're in the light and villains don't have to be bad because they're in darkness."
"And you are the proof of that." Selene opened her eyes a little with a sad smile because even though Simon didn't know about that the story was real and Velvet Crowe was sitting right beside him but he was right.
"Ain't that the truth." They stayed like that for the rest of the day, falling asleep together by accident as they embraced each other with smiles.
Another chapter done! Next time, Velvet is going to meet another Zestiria character and gain more abilities that's going to be important later on in the Zestiria story.
See you guys later!
