"I-I want to cure her with magic," Elise declared, her eyes bright.
Silence followed her statement. Every person in the group except for Elise herself showed varying degrees of shock, disbelief, and ridicule.
Elise gulped, her grip on her skirt tightened. Her lips pursed into a straight line as her heart pounded in her chest-- drowning out all sound. Warmth rushed up to her face despite her attempts to steady her quick breaths.
"I want to cure her with magic," Elise repeated herself-- her voice barely a squeak.
It was a self-reassuring whisper rather than a declaration of her intentions. Her head drooped to avoid the gazes of the others. A piece of rock on the bare ground became the center of her unfocused stare as she was lost in her own thoughts of self-doubt. Her sudden burst of confidence fizzled out almost instantly when she was put in the spotlight. Their reactions were not what she expected. In fact, she did not expect much. However, their silence deafened her.
Elise twisted her skirt in her hands. She thought that she could really help the girl. The others might not know but she secretly tried to feel for magic like what Lana had instructed. It was only a short while but she thought that she had felt the magic. Unfortunately, she did not have time to confer with Lana. She was only grasping at strings, however, she had still wanted to try.
The short silence felt like an eternity before Elise came back to the present. She raised her head and stole a glance at the others.
"… should leave her if there's no hope of curing her," Cenric's voice faded in.
'They're ignoring me!' Elise realized. Her nervousness was replaced by a sudden flare of anger.
"There is hope! Father said that magic can cure her!" Elise huffed, calling attention to herself once more.
Cenric frowned, "Your point?"
"I want to use magic to cure her," Elise said, her face flushed.
"This is not the time to jest, girl," Cenric waved his hand in dismissal. He did not even take her seriously.
"But--" Elise started.
She turned to her father. However, he was not looking at her. He seemed to be deep in thought. Unable to gain approval from her father, she turned to Gino.
Gino, startled that he was suddenly in the line of fire of his sister, shrugged.
"Elise… I mean… Lana did say that magic is difficult…" his voice trailed off.
Disappointment shrouded Elise's heart. She inadvertently faced Yu-- her face forlorn. He was her last hope. She did not realize that deep down in her heart, she had placed importance on his opinion.
Their eyes met fleetingly. Within that moment, his deep, dark gray eyes caught her attention. However, other than his impressionable eyes, his face was blank. Once again, she turned away immediately after meeting those eyes. She could not help but shudder at the memory of Yu mercilessly chopping off the head of the slave. His ferocious expression imprinted in her mind.
'How is he so calm after what he did? It's like it never happened,' Elise felt uneasy and frightened. She did not know how to deal with her feelings about Yu.
"Elise," Edward said.
Elise snapped out of her internal turmoil. Her father held her arm gently and brought her to the side.
"You want to cure her with magic?" Edward asked, his voice soft. His light blue eyes pierced into Elise's hazel ones.
Elise gulped and nodded. She had never seen such seriousness from her father. In fact, he looked tired and weary-- as if he had aged a few years within a day. Elise's heart dropped. The events from the past few days had taken so much away from him.
"Can you use magic?"
"We have more pressing matters than to entertain the whims of a child," Greysen interjected.
"Greysen," Cenric signaled and shook his head.
Greysen frowned. Nevertheless, he backed down.
Elise's mind raced. Why is her father asking such questions at this time? Also, why does Cenric allow her father to do as he pleases? She even felt that Cenric was respectful towards her father.
"Elise?" Edward asked, waiting for Elise's reply.
"I think--" Elise stopped herself. It was not the time to doubt herself.
'I need to be confident. I want to use it. I can do it!' she thought as she collected her confidence.
"Yes! I can!"
Elise's eyes lit up with passion. Her hands still clutched her skirt-- they were steady. Edward smiled slightly as he observed his daughter. His gaze seemed far away as if he was immersed in a distant memory.
"Father?" Elise looked at her father, puzzled.
Edward's eyes regained their focus. He chuckled and shook his head.
"Just like you mother," he sighed and remarked under his breath.
Elise could only look at her father quizzically.
Edward cleared his throat. "Now tell me how you'd use magic. Explain what you feel and the steps to conjure it."
Elise nodded. "First, I feel for the magic in the air. Like this."
Elise closed her eyes and spread her senses. She envisioned the magic energy from her surroundings like a blanket that enveloped her. Then, it came. She felt warmth all over her body. It was as if her whole body was immersed in a warm bath. Such was truly a blissful feeling.
When she was done, Elise opened her eyes and met her father's proud gaze. She relayed what she felt to him.
"What's next?" he asked.
"Then I recite the prayer?" Elise suggested.
"Alright, good. Do you remember the prayer to cure wounds?"
"I.. uh… I don't, but..." Elise's heart skipped a beat as she realized that she missed something important.
She fumbled around the pouch by her waist and dug into it. She felt around in it and pulled out a folded piece of parchment.
"Here, this is the pra--," Elise stopped as she unfolded it. Her face froze. She frowned and her eyes and drilled into the neat writing on the top of the paper.
"Protection Prayer," it read.
In her eagerness, she had forgotten that the prayer in her possession was a protection prayer.
"I… this… I messed up. How could this be?" Elise said, her shoulders slumped. "Will this be a problem? It will, right? I mean, without the prayer, how am I going to make the spell work?"
'How could I have mistaken the prayer in my possession?' she lamented internally.
Edward chuckled. Elise noticed something peculiar about her father's reaction.
"You knew! You knew that all I have is the prayer for protection!" Elise complained, upset with her father's teasing at such a serious moment.
"Alright, alright," Edward soothed his daughter. "It'll be fine. I know the prayer for curing wounds."
"You do?" Elise's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Yes, I do. Now come. Let's cure her first," Edward said as he led Elise back towards the injured girl.
Elise trailed behind her father, dumbfounded. Her mind raced. When-- how-- did he know the prayer? Realizing something, Elise tugged on her father's hand.
"Wait. Father, you know magic?"
Edward sighed. "Yes, I do. But no matter, we should heal the girl first."
Once more, Elise was dumbfounded by Edward's casual statement. She was not the only one; the others in the group stirred in surprise.
'How?'
Her mind was still performing mental gymnastics from the revelation when she noticed that she was suddenly crouched before the girl. The infected wound was right in plain sight. Unlike before, it was free from maggots. However, the holes in flesh burrowed by the maggots stared back at her like multiple eyes. Elise gulped. Once again, her skin crawled and her stomach lurched. Despite that, she managed to hold down her nausea.
"Put your hands over her wound. Then, feel the magic like what you did from before. When you're ready, I'll say the prayer. Just repeat after me," Edward instructed.
"Okay," Elise answered shakily.
It finally dawned on her that she was using magic for the first time in her life. Excitement rose together with nervousness in her heart; although the degree of nervousness was higher than excitement.
'What if it doesn't work?' a small doubtful voice rose in her heart.
"Relax, I'm here. You'll do fine," Edward coaxed his daughter. He held her shoulders with a reassuring grip.
"Okay… okay, okay. Here I go,"
Elise breathed deeply and concentrated. She closed her eyes and spread her senses. Once again, the soothing warmth enveloped her. Then, she felt her chest warm up too-- meeting the warmth on her skin.
"Good, very good. Now, remember the feeling that you currently have. You may feel some different sensations when we begin but just focus on the current one. I'm going to start the prayer. Are you ready?"
Elise nodded. She could not see anything but she had perfect trust in her father. Edward's voice calmed her nerves like a soothing lullaby.
[O Ytrea, Goddess of Light,
Grant thy blessings upon this lowly one.]
Elise repeated after Edward. The first part of the prayer was a common one often recited by the villagers. However, it had a different effect this time compared to the numerous recitations that she did since young.
Warmth blossomed all around her body at a higher intensity compared to the warmth from her chest. It strengthened and threatened to overpower her warmth within herself.
It was then, at a critical moment, where a cool warmth spread from her shoulders. It collected around the warmth in her chest. The warmth and the coolth mingled and mixed. Together, her inner magic energy grew and matched the surrounding magic energy collected around her.
Elise remembered her father's words. She focused on her current feelings. The next part of the prayer was not familiar to her.
[Cure]
Warm, Gentle,
Mending, Rejuvenating, Strengthening,
Dispelling all pain and injuries.
[Heal]
As soon as she finished uttering the last word of the prayer, she felt a peculiar flutter in the midst of the warmth in her chest. The little flutter grew into a tremble and soon a faint buzzing sounded in her mind. The intensity grew until magic energy from within her and from the surroundings finally achieved resonance.
The spell was released. Magic energy poured out from Elise and collected at her hands, before transferring to the wound of the injured girl. There, it neutralized the corruption and proceeded to mend the wound. After a few minutes, the wound was gone and the skin covering it was as good as new. The prayer was completed.
Elise felt drained. She wobbled and fell forwards in a bout of vertigo. A pair of familiar hands steadied her. She opened her eyes to realize that she was in her father's embrace.
"You did it, Elise," Edward whispered, his eyes twinkling with pride.
Elise sat staring at the fully healed wound, stunned with amazement. She did it. She used magic successfully. She healed the wound. Her mind could not believe that she actually succeeded. Yet, her heart knew.
It knew that she could do it. It soared with happiness.
"No way!" Greysen exclaimed in disbelief.
Elise was brought back down to earth by Greysen's booming voice. She grinned victoriously.
"Wow, you did it. You really did it!" Gino exclaimed, amazed at Elise's feat. "This is unbelievable, amazing! Elise, you're amazing!"
He laughed and shook his sister excitedly. Elise felt her vertigo coming back. The world spun.
"S-stop! I'm going to faint!"
Gino grinned and released Elise. By then, the group had crowded around her.
Greysen slapped his forehead. "I don't believe it! Girl, are you sure that you've never used magic before?"
"No…" Elise said sheepishly.
"It looks like we've underestimated you," Cenric said. He eyed Elise.
Elise felt uneasy under his stare. She fidgeted and looked away.
"Still, this is unthinkable! She's such a young girl!" Greysen shook his head. "This boy too! At his age, we're nothing but squires!"
Everyone's attention switched to Yu. He was staring intensely at the unconscious girl that he did not realize that they were looking at him. Elise followed his line of sight and the unconscious girl's bare torso came into view. Realization struck her.
"Ah!" Elise exclaimed and covered the girl with her body. "Don't stare at her like that!"
"Huh? I was just…" Yu trailed off, his face confused. Then, a look of awkwardness flashed across his face when realization hit him. He pursed his lips and turned away in embarrassment.
"You too, Gino," Elise pouted.
Gino raised his hands. "I wasn't staring at her! I swear!"
Elise narrowed her eyes at her foster brother.
"Okay, okay… I'll look elsewhere. Geez..." Gino grumbled and relented. He turned away as per his foster sister's request.
A rough piece of cloth appeared in front of Elise.
"Here, use this," Cenric said.
Elise looked up. "Thanks."
She tried to get the cloth from Cenric. However, before she could do so, a sudden wave of fatigue washed over her. She gasped in surprise. She could not find the strength to lift herself up.
Gino snapped his head back. "What's wrong?"
"You need to rest. Magic consumes a lot of energy, especially when it's your very first time using it. Although we receive blessings from the deities, ultimately, it is our own energy that powers the magic," Cenric explained.
Elise nodded. However, she was confused. Why did she not feel the fatigue immediately? Unfortunately, she did not have the energy to think about the reason. A haze crept onto the edges of her mind. She just wanted to sleep.
"Eugene, take Elise somewhere comfortable and let her rest," Edward said, his voice feeble.
Gino looked at his foster father for a moment with concern. Edward's pallid complexion and clammy skin were out of the norm. His condition had changed too drastically.
Gino opened his mouth to say something but Edward gestured with his head, reassuring the former's concerns and urging him to take care of Elise; all in one motion. Seeing this, Gino gulped down his saliva and helped Elise.
Elise felt herself lifted up. She tried moving her legs but they felt heavy. Her limbs would respond to her intentions but they were sluggish.
'What's happening? Wasn't I fine before?' she thought amidst her dizzy mind.
The fatigue had suddenly hit her unexpectedly. The next thing she knew, she was lying down under a shade. She felt Gino's cool hand over her head.
"Hey, Elise. Are you alright? You don't look too good."
Elise heard him and managed a grunt. However, her mind was elsewhere. She squeezed her eyes shut and felt the world spinning around her. Heat flared up her chest and rose to her cheeks. Next was the uncomfortable pounding of her heart against her chest. Breathing came in gasps.
Something had gone terribly wrong.
Elise heard Gino's muffled but frantic voice. Her mind raced. Dread filled her heart. Despite that, she could not bring herself out of her predicament. She vaguely heard voices over her. Her mind slipped away, yearning for coolness to counter the heat building in her chest.
Just as she wished for, it came. A cool hand held hers. Cool tingling crawled up her arm and blossomed in her chest. A slight breeze caressed her cheeks. Her heart steadied and her breathing eased. Her eyes managed to open a crack.
A pair of familiar yet haunting dark gray eyes greeted her. Mesmerized, Elise stared into their depths. They seemed to have a radiance of their own deep behind the dark irises. With a flutter of her eyelids as well as her heart, the radiance disappeared-- like a fleeting shadow.
A familiar calmness washed over her. With that, Elise fell into a deep and comfortable slumber, with her hand tightly holding Yu's.