Chapter 15

As she had finally come by, Miranda found herself lying in a cave, the one she had been living in for the past three months. The cold winter had prevented her from changing homes, as well as make her way to the distant villages. Yet she refused to skip any training, until her body had broken down, which really did become a reality today.

She was comfortably covered with a brand new blanket, so thick and made out of wool. Her soaked clothes removed and hung dry while she was changed a new set.

"Ouch…" her head was still throbbing, sharp pain surrounding it.

"You finally awake?" The girl who helped her showed up with bags of foods in them. She greeted her with a wild grin, then laid down her things as she proceeded to put the back of her hand onto Miranda's forehead. Miranda shrieked, but was still too weak to resist.

"The fever hasn't gone down…" said the girl, puffing her cheeks. "What were you thinking? Alone out there in the rain… also, what are you trying to do, starving yourself?"

The girl was surely rowdy and energetic. Not waiting for Miranda's reply, "my name's Carol, nice to meet ya!" Carol then reached out her hand and grabbed Miranda's for a handshake, smiling very contently.

Miranda was totally caught off-guard by this sudden hospitality. "You…" she tried to chase her away, but her stomach was a step earlier as it growled loudly before Miranda could finish her sentence.

"Hee hee! I knew it! You must be starved, eh? Lucky you to meet the sweet and pretty Carol!" She quickly hopped over to her bags of foods and pulled out a handful of hamburgers out. "Here! Eat these!" She then shoved them into Miranda's hands, not concerned whether she accepts them or not.

Miranda stared at the burgers for a few seconds, totally unsure how to deal with the situation. "Don't worry! They are really good!" Carol went and grabbed one for herself, shoving it down her throat instantly, as she exclaimed "Umm…! It hit the spot!" Totally satisfied with the food.

She would not want to further endanger the kind girl who just wanted to help, yet the sensation of hunger bellowing in her stomach was too intense that it convinced her to chomp on the burgers as well, to the point she ate them too fast she choked herself. "Man…! Be easy on yourself, okay?" Carol passed her a bottle of water to wash it down, "you pushed yourself too hard that you are now in such a bad state."

Miranda stayed silent after relieving her throat of the obstruction, and continued biting her burgers without a single reply. "Not even a thanks?" She got her. Meekly, Miranda replied, "thanks…"

"Now that's a good girl!" said Carol as she patted Miranda's head, in which she blushed and became flustered. It's been so long since someone did that to her.

Carol started some idle chatter to warm Miranda up, starting from asking about her name and origins, as well as what was she doing in such a terrible place, all worn out. Miranda, although reluctantly so, felt very grateful to such companionship, and gradually began to disclose her secrets to her new friend, one subject to another.

Carol was living in the small village of Taradi, not too far away from the forest cave they were currently in. She often had to cross the forest to reach the town of Plitra, a much larger town, to stock up some supplies they might not have in their own village, as well as selling their own products there. Her family excelled in farming, owning their own ranch, mostly raising chickens and selling eggs as well as grown chickens to make a living. Her parents would take care of the farm while she would be responsible to push the cart to Plitra.

She might not look like it, but she's a year older than Miranda, who was now fourteen. Her easygoing yet kind attitude made Miranda easily warm herself up to her.

"You are a vampire hunter?" Carol was utterly surprised when Miranda revealed her profession, eyes wide as she dropped her third burger from her hands.

Miranda was embarrassed from the sense of guilt initially, vampire hunting wasn't really a decent job to begin with, and you would always get your hands dirty on the job, with black blood splattered all over you every time. Not to mention, their gazes revealed the sad tale of their dangerous lives, betting them on the line every time an assignment showed up. No way would a simple village girl like Carol appreciate having a friend with such a job.

"That's awesome!" Carol held both of Miranda's hands and waved them up and down in excitement, "literally, you are our savior! Protector of peace! Wow!" So it didn't went down as Miranda had expected, this girl in front of her definitely didn't have all her brain cells connected the same way as other people. "You know, having you guys around really gave us an easier time to sleep soundly every night! We know very well that we are in safe hands against those vampires."

Then it came back to Miranda, Iris never looked at her with disdain, nor the Black Panthers being intimidated by the villagers of Rudoore. She knocked her head with her knuckle, why am I being so bothered about this? Her solitude life for the past two years really got into her, changing her mindset drastically due to the lack of human contact. Hopefully and thankfully, Carol would bring back her humanistic qualities.

Carol then attempted to bring Miranda back to her village, yet Miranda was still uncertain about it after factoring a certain vampire might get in the way, so Miranda would continue residing in the cave by herself, with Carol bringing in food and some clean clothes for her. Carol promised that she would not tell any of the Taradi villagers that Miranda was residing in the cave, respecting her friend's wishes.

Miranda felt saved, both in her physical state, as well as her mental wellbeing.