Aefia lay with her back flat on the ground. Spectrum rested an inch away from her fingertips—where blood from her arms were flowing down into the gorund. The scent of burning cedar entered her nose in an irritating way. The barks from trees were stuck at placed around her arms. Her eyes vacantly starred up at the vast sky without a single care to how she was probably bleeding out right now. The fact is, there was a rather strange thing about this.
As she tilted her head, her eyes caught the sight of a phoenix with its wings stretched outwards in a display of its majestic pink-orange flames spreading outwards.
"Did you just... save me?" She asked with a smirk on her face while trying to sit up. Her ears were ringing, which caused her to immediately reach up and feel it. Apparently, there was a shallow cut that sliced into her ear's shell, it was bleeding and some of the blood was rolling into her canals. It was frustrating but the most she could do was to cut off a piece of fabric and stuff it into her ear to stop more blood from entering.
Besides, who cares about bleeding ears when your brother is here and this place is filled with hidden bombs.
Her forehead was bleeding again, drenching her white inner shirt with a sickly saturated red. Practically speaking, she was bleeding out. Worse, the final battle hadn't happened yet.
Now it was clear that the three o'clock curse is nothing but team rivalry. Kazimir must have ordered the bomb to be set out, to injure Aefia so she would easily forfeit. She checked her left shoulder, where the gemstones were somehow unharmed.
"How did you save me from being unburnt? I thought explosions aren't something I can get away easily." She asked while shifting her attention back at the bird.
Her brother watched with horror in his eyes, just from a distance. He knew his sister was mad, but to think she would always end up risking her life to save him, tilted his world. Just seconds ago, she was scolding him for existing—alongside her—in this world.
The phoenix sat perched on her shoulder while pecking at her bleeding ear. Its long feathery tail fell on a shimmering waterfall over her blood-stained clothes. The ear immediately healed as if renewed.
Suddenly, Puppet appeared at the air above Aefia, with a melodic twinkling followed it as it flew towards her. Her head tilted back to see it jump on the air with a star-burst shape.
"Aefia!" It yelped excitedly, moving down to hug her cheek before sitting on her dirt-stained palm. "Congratulations on our one-year-and-a-half-year together! This is my gift to you!"
"What?" She groaned while squinting her eyes while sitting up straight while the phoenix worked around her. "Sorry I can't hear a single thing." Her other hand tried to remove the barks. She managed three before becoming tired.
Ugh! This hurts! I need... Medicine. Her thoughts continued as she tried to stand up using Spectrum as leverage. Her legs shook, but she ignored it and leaned against a tree. Her head tilted all the way back to stare up at the sky again. When did my life progress sooo bad? Its like every good thing comes with a bad thing.
"Aefia?" Puppet bursted through her thoughts and asked with concern. Its eyes then travelled to the phoenix and was relieved the gift came to good use. "What has been going on? Where is he?"
"What do you mean by he?" She asked slightly annoyed, while biting her tongue as the cuts burned after being repaired. "I don't even know why you left."
"I left to get you a gift! I didn't... Oh wait..." It scanned the forest and then at her clothing. "Aefia. Are we in a hunting competition?"
"Yes." She spoke, and lifted her hands to cover her face for a while.
"So its already three o'clock."
"Yes."
"..." Puppet looked at the blazing fires of the treeline. "You are bleeding too much. Has the final battle taken place?"
"No."
"You have to forfeit."
"No."
"Why not?!"
"I need to win for Elanor's house, otherwise I can't repay for the disguise she had given me. The artifact that I took was from Lake Erie, which is near where we are. I have come this far, and I am not going to give up right now."
"Are you insane?! You are going to kill yourself!"
She looked at Puppet from between her fingers, a chuckle erupting from the back of her throat as she folded her arms. "Haven't I been going through this for long enough? So what is making you so concern now? I am not jumping off a bridge now, get used to it."
"Why?!"
"I might as well choose to die again." She spoke while stretching her hands in front of her. "What is the point of life? I do one thing and then it catches up to me with a new problem. So you think now... Who wants to live like this?"
Her brother covered his mouth from behind a tree, gasping while his eyes widened to pinpricks. What?
"Anyways. So how did that phoenix save me?" She asked while letting out a yawn. A tiny amount of focus kept escaping her mind as she looked forward. Like her mind was slow by a very small margin. So its been thirty to fourty-five minutes?
"Apparantly... His fire magic avoids from outside fire interacting with you. So as long as he touches you, the fire can't graze you even if you are engulfed by it. The air around you will push outwards while leaving you in a temporary vacuum seal, just to fight against the outside fire." It explained with a sigh. When did things get back to this?
"That's really efficient then. Thanks for the gift. And congratulations to you too." She smiled while dusting her shoulders and putting the quiet Spectrum into her scabbard.
Her fingers pulled out a pocketwatch, which she frowned at while tucking it back in.
"You can come out now." She tilted her head to the side, observing where her brother was. "I am about to leave. So you get to choose right now whether you want to come with me or go back to wherever you came from. If you want to suffer... I can leave you to that too."
He walked out to look at his sister's situation. He felt petrified at the sight. Never in a lifetime had she ever stood with a single drop of blood in front of him.
Seeing her like this, he knew it won't have happened if only he hadn't been here.
But the loneliness back at Earth was more intimidating from her glare in this world.
He stayed silent for a long time.
"Well? So you don't want to come with me. Alright then. Good luck finding your way back to Earth." She waved while looking away. If he could survive up until now, then he didn't need her help anymore. Afterall, he was twelve years and nine months old—an age when Aefia had to sacrifice the remaining of her childhood to divert all of her attention to raising him. Maybe if he wasn't born, she wouldn't have to participate on a 'researching' competition to stack money for his education.
Seeing as to how his sister was already ready to leave, he sprinted forward and hugged her from behind. Gripping her coat to keep her in place and plead to her to take him along with her.
"I want to go with you. I am sorry... I will behave! I swear! I didn't know what that paper was until I choose to read it!" He begged while stopping her from any sort of movements. "If I even want to stay alive, you know that I will have to lean into your help to do so!"
She stared down at her brother with a slight amount of warm. "And what do I get in return?"
"Anything! I will become a slave if you ask. I have a dept that will take lifetimes to fulfil!" He shouted while burying his face into her clothes.
"Aefia... Stop doing that..." Puppet whispered into her ear. "Afterall... He came looking for you."
Right... He did... Then why am I getting mad at him? Isn't it my fault he decided to trail behind me into this world?
She patted her brothers head, running her fingers through his hair as she softened up her expression. "Then try not to get caught up in anymore mess if you want to stay alongside me. I do a lot of dangerous work that sometimes end up killing me. If you want to behave, you better do as your words promise."
He nodded while hugging her tighter. "I promise." He whispered. He was a head shorter then his sister, but he had the confidence of a jaguar. Much like his sister, he was bold with his actions—a risk-taker who loves to get into trouble that their parents sometimes couldn't afford. Both of them were a mistake to their biological parents, while they barely managed to stabalize the ground they were standing on.
"Alright. I will need you to do a thing." She whispered into his head while gazing into the distance. "You will have to go find someone. Nada in specific... You do know how she is. Don't you?"
"Yes." He replied back.
"She is at the guest area, in the Countess' tent. Secretly go to her and tell her you want to speak about something that 'Aefia' told you. When in a safe distance, tell her you want to stay for a few days with them and then I will move out into a seperate house I know, and I will take you with me. That is all. Can you do that?"
"Yes."
"Alright then." She took a step back and looked down at his clothing. The ducal house's yellow uniform. She tapped her finger twice against his shoulder. Masking his clothing into green and black. He looked amazed at first, and then she staffed a short sword into his sleeve. "Go. Don't get into trouble. I know you can move without anyone noticing."
He nodded before taking off in a sprint. His steps felt heavy as he left his bleeding sister behind. Aefia in the meantime, felt her heart racing to follow her brother and check on him. Maybe something bad can happen in between. However, she also needed to distract the possible enemies so he could flee safely. With a deep breathe, she climbed a tree and looked for the most efficient route back to the Ducal territory. Her fingers trembled due to the excessive lose of blood. Which was reduced due to the Phoenix.
She convinced herself that this was the last battle she needed to complete before she could collapse on the ground. Aefia was in agonizing pain.
Pain was something she could manage when she had those numbing pills with her—but not now. She was starting to wonder...
A few opioids won't hurt. Even when... She didn't have them. She could still purchase them afterwards, just to keep in stock.
But maybe... There was something else in her mind.
***
Lewis waited anxiously while watching Kazimir pace in a small circle. He was planning for a bad thing to happen or for a good news to reach his ears.
After receiving news that there was a bombardment near the area Aefia was running to, Lewis started to grow more and more concerned for her. His gaze travelled to the treeline which was up in flames. Was it her doing?
But then it would have died down within seconds too.
He bit his thumbnail while glaring at the man with a rattail for a haircut. Just what are you trying to do to my sister now? You look like you weren't pleased after hitting her in the head with a brick. So now you are choosing to burn her alive.
Burning alive is actually more painful than salt in a wound. I won't stand like thay a single second if she happens to die in agonizing pain—huh?
Rustle. Crunch.
His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a pair of footsteps that sounded familiar. He was relieved for a brief second before his eyes scanned her clothing. They were blood-stained and slightly torn at the hem. There were cuts along her arm. Her forehead and face were covered with trailing streaks of blood.
But still, she was standing like this was nothing to her. Her long hair swaying freely and beautifully behind her with every stride. Even after suffering such injuries and without those toxins to save her this time, he was having a hard time believing she had changed. Like it was barely even visible, seeing her prideful about her injuries while clenching the grip of her sword was what actually made him believe that thought of his.
What mattered more for him was that, if she didn't change about this, then she won't change about that—the toxic doses hidden within a harmless sleeping pill. The memory itself pained him.
"Woah-ho! Did you get injuried? Don't mind me asking... Was it the bomb?" Kazimir asked, his voice louder than usual. He clapped his hands at her direction while grinning. "Are you going to forfeit? You must be in huge pain!"
Aefia simply furrowed her brows at him. "Does it look like I am?" She asked.
"It looked like it. Yes."
"But I am quite determined at winning."
"Oh really?" He stepped forward while drawing his sword.
He dissapeared with a residue of dark smoke levitating at his wake, only turning visible right in front of Aefia. The blade grazed her neck, leaving a scratch that her hair was mingling with.
But he wasn't the only one who attacked.
Her feet was placed flat at his stomach while her sword blocked his right beside her head. Twin crimson eyes the same shades of the garnets at her ears, glared back at his golden ones.
"A devil truly. I wonder just how much you can take though." She whispered while riding her blade down as sparks flew through it.
He recoiled at the heat reaching his fingers. But his grin didn't stop as he lunged for her knees.
"Do you know for one thing that the end of every hunt, the winner gets a wish granted."
"I know." She blocked his next attack.
He narrowed his eyes at her. "And do you know that I am trying to win that wish? Because if I can enslave you as a war spoil, it would be fun. It would actually be amusing to see an Imperial Princess turned into a servant—whom I can torture to death."