"Where did you place them, exactly?" Lucy inquired as she shifted her gaze back and forth between Charmaine and the location to which she had pointed a few moments earlier.
The grin had vanished from her face as she pondered the possibilities of where she may have put them.
Charmaine stuttered, "I... I," as she attempted to recall the location of the basket in which she had stored the herbs.
Lucy was now standing in front of her and encouraging her to make an extra effort to recall the location of the herbs that she had collected.
"Have you considered the possibility that Morris stole them?" Charmaine posed the question.
"Why would Morris even consider taking them?" Lucy inquired.
"Because he, too, is in need of herbs, and he knows that trekking through the woods will take too much time. Everyone is aware of how lazy he is." Charmaine provided a response as she pointed her hand away as if physically indicating where Morris was.
"That is not a sufficient cause for Morris to take your herbs, and moreover, if he was spotted coming to a female dormitory, wouldn't he be punished?" After hearing Charmaine's statement, Lucy questioned her further.
"Exactly! It is the ideal moment for him to come around since he is now on duty, so no one will question him if they see him around the female dormitories when he is there because he is guarding the place." Charmaine replied.
"I'm still having trouble understanding why Morris would take your herbs," Lucy answered.
"Are you standing up for him?" The question was asked by Charmaine as she aggressively stomped her right foot on the floor.
"I told you that I'm sure he took my herbs so that he wouldn't have a tough time doing whatever work your master would order him to perform tomorrow. I'm sure he did this so that he wouldn't have to struggle. If he was able to enter Elizabeth's room and steal her jade, then what is to prevent him from entering my room and stealing the herbs now?" Charmaine posed the question.
"You've got a point." Lucy confessed as she turned her gaze away from her friend.
"I'll go dress up immediately." Charmaine said as she started walking past her friend.
Lucy stopped her from going any further by holding her forearm.
Lucy inquired, "Why?"
"In order for me to go face Morris, he must return my herbs." Answered Charmaine.
"That's not going to work!"
"Why shouldn't it?" Charmaine inquired while casting a severe glare in Lucy's direction.
"It's nearly morning, and your duty is done... if you want to face Morris, you'll have to go to the male dorms, and if you're caught, the masters will severely punish you for your transgressions." Lucy gave a warning.
"I don't care! My herbs must be returned. When the masters realize that Morris was the one who incited me to anger, I have a good feeling that they would rethink their decision to punish me." Charmaine responded as she wrenched her arm free from Lucy's hold and dashed into her bathroom to get dressed in preparation for leaving. Lucy followed her.
"Hey, let's think about this, shall we?" Lucy inquired as she attempted to catch up with a buddy who was walking faster than usual in the direction of the male disciples' dorms.
"But supposing he didn't take the herbs, what then? You never know, you may have gotten all of the ideas incorrect." Lucy said.
"Or you could simply hold off till morning and question him about it then when he is not around the male dormitories." C harmaine came to a stop and turned around to face her.
"I see, so you are saying all of these things because the two of you are buddies and work for the same master," Charmaine stated.
"No no no. You're getting everything wrong!" Lucy made an attempt to defend herself while maintaining a grin that was unnatural and forced on her lips.
"There is no need for you to come with me. I'll go by myself and get my herbs back." Charmaine said before turning around and walking away from the conversation.
Lucy was anxious about her friend.
She was worried about Morris too, but at the same time she did not want Charmaine to be punished.
She was sure, and she felt it in her gut, that Morris couldn't have taken Charmaine's herbs, but she didn't know how to persuade the girl about this without upsetting her.
But imagine for a moment that Morris had really taken those herbs. What kind of a selfish person would he have been to not even bother to think about how the activities he did would influence the relationship that existed between Lucy and Charmaine?
She was at a loss for what to do, and on top of that, she was terrified of following Charmaine to the men's dorm and getting in trouble for it.
After some laborious reflection, Lucy let out a sigh and started running after her companion in an effort to catch up with her.
Charmaine stormed inside the dorm, believing it to be where Morris slept. The fact that he was an apprentice entitled him to private quarters just like Charmaine and Lucy.
Morris and his companion, who were eating, turned their heads to see who the intruder was.
"Where is he?" Charmaine inquired as her gaze fell on Morris.
"How dare you?" She inquired as she released her grip on the door and began to approach them. Her breaths were fast and heavy, giving the impression that she had run all the way there, yet her breathing became fast and irregular as a result of her being angry.
When she got closer to them, both of the guys stood up.
"Who? Is it me or him?" Once Charmaine was a metre away, Morris' companion inquired as he looked at her, wondering whom she was talking about.
Charmaine's presence in Morris's room came as a complete surprise to him. Was she not concerned that the masters would discover this and punish her for it?