"You don't have to force yourself to recall them if it brings you so much pain, Miss Risa."
But Risa paid no heed to Jehan's words as the pain was more disturbing than it ever was. And yet, for some reason, she could only see blurry images in her mind. Some of them, she knew it happened. While the others... She could see water everywhere. She could feel them, as well.
So she eventually ended up in the river after that car struck her. But how did that happen? Was there some magic about that car that pushed her to this place? She had already seen that magic was possible here.
The person who called her name when the car was about to run over her... It was still a mystery to her. She knew that it was not her brother at all. A friend, perhaps? She shook her head.
That call was the trigger for her to end up in this place. At this point, she was sure of that.
Risa took a deep breath when the pain subsided and soon faced Jehan.
"I'm sorry. But I think I won't be able to answer that question. Even I don't know how I ended up there."
"As I said, you don't have to force yourself for now. What matters most at the moment is that you take a good rest."
Risa nodded and sighed in relief. Not long after, she looked around.
"By the way, where is the Master Mage?"
"He's outside. He's setting up a barrier so that any stranger to us could not enter this place. That way, you don't have to worry about anything or anyone barging in here again."
Risa frowned.
"Anything? Are there creatures that would decide to barge in here, as well?"
Jehan smiled and shook his head.
"Not every time. But yes, there were wild creatures that would crash into someone's cabins or houses located in these woods. It doesn't happen often, though. As for the Master Mage's house, only mystical creatures that he commanded to guard this place could enter."
Even though Risa nodded, a large part of her mind still couldn't comprehend the words she had just heard from Jehan. So there were mystical creatures in this forest that would obey the Master Mage's commands.
"I want to thank him for letting me use his house to rest. I'm just hoping that I wasn't a bother to him at all."
But before Jehan could stop her, a voice had already done so.
"This is the only safe place that Jehan and I could think of for you when we saw you clinging to a log while floating on the river unconscious. There's no need for you to thank me. I know you're not someone who could do any harm to anyone."
"Master Mage..."
Risa could only look at him after he said those words. Soon after, she smiled and bowed to him.
"Even so, thank you for saving me."
The Master Mage smiled and shook his head. "I guess you are one stubborn woman."
It made Risa smile, as well.
As it was happening, the door burst open and made the three of them look at it. To Risa's confusion, a middle-aged woman with long wavy silver hair and wearing a purple gown entered the house. She did so while continuously going ahead with her litany that appeared to be meant for the two men.
"Useless mages! Useless soldiers! If that woman would only end up getting killed in your care, I shouldn't have allowed you dumb people to take care of her in the first place."
Risa could only look at the Master Mage and Jehan. But they just shrugged and smiled.
"We're used to it."
She smiled at Jehan's words and faced the woman who had now entered the room she was using.
"I hope these two idiots didn't bother you too much. When I lay my eyes on those scoundrels for hurting you like that, I'm burning them all until no one recognizes them."
Okay. Brutality was, perhaps, one of the main traits of the people in this kingdom. But she'd rather keep that thought in her mind at the moment. There had to be a reason why the woman was here.
"Risa, this is Lady Enlari Gaynore Rassec. She is one of the most powerful mages in this kingdom. So you can see why she could just burst in here like that even though she wasn't invited at all."
Risa couldn't help bursting into laughter after Jehan said that. It seemed that he didn't care if Lady Enlari was glaring at him.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to suddenly laugh like that."
Lady Enlari sighed before approaching her.
"How are you feeling? Does the wound on your head still hurts?"
She nodded. "It would hurt a lot whenever I'd try to recall what happened to me that made me end up in this place."
"Perhaps you shouldn't try recalling them for now."
Risa frowned at that, however. Even Jehan and the Master Mage looked confused.
"What made you say that, Enlari?"
"I did mention to you that the magic I felt before we found this woman was unlike anything I've ever sensed before, right?"
Jehan faced Risa. "She can utilize the power of the wind for her to sense magical and evil presence even from afar. We were at the capital when she sensed it."
Risa nodded and faced Lady Enlari after to listen to what the woman was about to say next.
"I can sense that same magical presence in her as we speak. And it's probably the same magic that blocks your memory from recalling the events before you came here, young lady."
Lady Enlari approached Risa and touched her head. "So for now, it's best that you don't force yourself to remember those events. Maybe in time, you'd be able to."
"She's right, Risa," the Master Mage said right after. "You don't have to worry about anything for now. We were the ones who found you and saved you from the river. That means we're making it our responsibility to take care of you as we're the only ones who knew you're not from this kingdom or this world, most of all."
"But... wouldn't I be imposing too much on you if you do that to a stranger like me?"
"Risa, the Master Mage and Lady Enlari rarely treat strangers like this," Jehan said with a smile. "I've been their apprentice since I was young so I know their personality when it comes to their treatment towards other people."
She could only look at the three people in front of her at the moment. She had no idea why they were doing this to her. But the thought itself was enough to make her cry.
"Thank you."
After that, Lady Enlari handed the various gowns that she could use while living in the Master Mage's house. They might not be as regal and fashionable as the gowns the nobles would normally wear. Or at least the ones that she knew the nobles would wear.
But Risa was more than happy with the gowns that Lady Enlari gave to her. They looked comfortable to her and she loved the simplicity of the designs. No laces, no ribbons.
"May I try them on?" Risa asked politely.
"Am I stopping you?" But even when Lady Enlari asked that back, she was smiling.
And before anyone could stop the woman, she materialized a stand-in mirror right next to the wooden chest on the corner.
Risa got up from the bed and approached the mirror that Lady Enlari placed there. But she froze upon seeing herself in it. Of course, the people in that room noticed it.
"Risa, what's wrong?"
But she didn't answer the Master Mage's question. Instead, she looked at her hand and also touched her left upper arm, as if trying to feel something from there. After that, she looked at her reflection in the mirror while slowly touching her long straight brown hair. Her eyes were now a lighter shade of brown when, in fact, she had dark brown eyes.
It took a while before Risa faced the two mages and Jehan; still dazed at what she had seen.
"How come... that my appearance changed?"
No comments:
Post a Comment