The group now had arrived at a safe area of the wood. It was calm and hidden, surrounded by lush trees and bushes that helped cover them. Arwen then let Devon sit on a big stone and said, “stay here, Devon. I’ll need to cure Francesca and Roxanne.”The man nodded nonchalantly as the elf left him with the newest addition to the group from the brothel. Arwen opened her bag and took out some quack remedies. She carefully poured the hand-made medicine into a spoon and then gave it to Roxanne. “Take this, Roxanne. You look quite unwell.”That one of Dietrich’s pupils then take the medication and washed her throat with water. Arwen then gave Francesca the medicine, to which she responded in disgust after feeling such a bitter aftertaste behind her tongue. “Blergh! What on earth is this?” she complained.“That’s a drug antidote,” explained the elf calmly, “you and Roxanne need it after being drugged.”The elf’s job wasn’t done yet, since she had to help
“Are they done?” Arwen’s curiosity couldn’t hold her back as she peeked her head from behind the tree. “Uh, I can’t see it clearly!”“You silly elf! Why would you want to see someone having an intimate moment?” Roxanne groaned as she pulled the elf’s back, but Arwen was too fast. She casually strolled into the scene. While dressing herself back, Cecillia was startled by the other three girls who came out from behind a huge tree. She hastily fixed her clothes, then smiled sheepishly and asked, "how long have you all been there?""Some moments," Francesca replied shortly after she came out from the hiding place, "we heard strange noises, and find out that you and Devon were doing that … stuff.""Yeah … I apologize for the inconvenience" the prostitute felt awkward hearing the hunter's story. She scratched her head and looked at Devon who was lying unconscious before saying, "is he alright? He suddenly fainted after we finished.""It's fine, actually," Arwen answered as she came and carr
While Roxanne swept the floor, Francesca and Arwen arranged the furniture hand-in-hand across the room. Cecilia joined in and wiped the dusty surfaces from the windowsills. The girls bonded together as they chatted and joked about anything. As Cecillia giggled upon hearing the joke, her hand reached for something from the cupboard. It was an old photograph in a rustic white wooden frame. The girl ignored any background noises and started to caress the dusty glass surface, revealing a picture of four people. It was young Cecillia, standing between her father and mother who carried a beautiful baby boy, her little brother. A faint smile was curved on her lips as she reminisced the past memory of her lost family.-----A horse carriage stopped by the house’s front door. A man in his thirties hopped down from the vehicle and was greeted by the loves of his life: his beautiful wife and a young girl with two braids on her hair who immediately rushed her little feet to hug the man.
As the dusk unraveled in the sky, the girls had finished cleaning the long-abandoned Cecillia's house. They rested for a while, wiping beads of sweat off their forehead before Roxanne said something about dinner."It's evening already, aren't you all hungry?"Francesca nodded eagerly as she felt the rumbling sound inside her stomach. She asked the native Pandees girl, "are markets still open at this time, Cecillia?""Actually, yes." the girl stretched her limbs and made a cracking sound from her tired joints. "It's not too far from here, just follow the road then turn left. You'll see a lot of tenants selling groceries."Roxanne jumped up and volunteered to buy the food supply. "All right! Who wants to go with me?""Not me," Arwen answered as she looked up at Roxanne. "I'm afraid they'll look at me differently because I'm not human."“Arwen can stay here and help me take care of Devon,” Cecilia offered.“Fine. I guess it’s just the two of us, Fran.” glanced Roxanne to Francesca.As th
Devon’s eyes felt heavy as he struggled to open them. As his eyes opened wide, a flickering candle cast a faint glow in the unfamiliar room. The man blinked a few times, trying to comprehend and guess his whereabouts now. He glanced over to the right and left just to see cracked walls with an arch leading to the unknown. Devon groaned as he tried to sit from his rest and ran his fingers through his hair. Tons of questions were going around inside his head like a carousel. Where was he? How did he come to this place? Where are his friends?As he pressed his fingertips on the temple, Devon heard an indistinct chattering from a room across the long hallway. He sharpened his hearing and realized that the voice belongs to a group of women. He sat in silence and mumbled, “who are they?”The man grew more curious as the laughter was heard. The pleasant and appetizing smell of something cooked made him salivate and his stomach was grumbling heavily. After a few moments, Devon pulled the blanke
It’s the next day after they knew that Roxanne forgot the path that leads to her very own hometown since she left at the very young age. The group then discussing on how to reach Gallant Rose when their escort didn’t even know the road they need to take to reach Byron City, where Gallant Rose HQ is located.They gathered inside an abandoned building that Cecilia has brought them in. She says this is once a home of her family, but ever since her kidnapping and the murder of her family, it has been left empty since.They sit on each side of a large wooden desk that seems to be previously used for family dinner. It’s covered by dust, so Cecilia pulled a sheet from the drawer to cover the desk. And so they assessed the situation.“So you’re saying that you know what to do and who to meet in Gallant Rose, but you can’t lead us there?” Ask Devon to Roxanne.“Um... Yeah, I spent most of my childhood in Byron, until Beatrice picked me up and recruited me
Having more people in the group would risk their identity to be discovered, they also didn’t want to endanger a civilian for this, so Roxanne politely refused the offer.“Uh- No, thanks! We’re kind of tight on the budget, so I’m not sure that we can afford to hire a guide to reach Byron. Thanks for the offer though, we will be on our merry way!” Roxanne answers awkwardly, she tries to escape the conversation along with Devon who skitters away from the Town Hall.“Ma’am? Ma’am! I can give you a discount price!” Yell the officer trying to haggle with now running away Roxanne and Devon. His voice began to diminish into thin air as Roxanne and Devon hurried their steps.“That was a close call, that officer was quite persistent” Sigh Devon.“Yeah... But at least we know that Byron City is way farther than expected. But how are going to get there?”“You heard the officer, we could probably ask the guide for the map that leads to Byron City and
After finishing the dinner where Maurice joined in. They have finished cleaning up the table and now sit together to hear more about Maurice’s side of story.“What is your occasion to visit this house Uncle Maurice? I thought this place has been abandoned ever since the attack...” Ask Cecilia towards Maurice’s sudden visit.“Well, ever since the attack, I went into hiding in this city. I never tried to live in this house even though back then Madame Marie allows it. Being in this place would just bring me suffering as I vividly remember the tragedy of that day...” The old man’s stature lowers.“But even so, this place holds a lot of memories for me. I always check the house from time to time. That’s why I thought the gentleman here is some ruffian that tries to take over the building. Please pardon my insolence.” Maurice bows to Devon and Arwen.“It’s okay Sir Maurice. We would also like to apologize for causing misunderstanding.” Devon politely a