CHAPTER 8
In the Thick of the Past
That night, Fawn had untied the bundle left by the mysterious Vigilante and found that there was a great deal of jewelry and money of high value as per the Antarian monetary system.
It was clear that beneath the mask, the gentleman who was about as a vigilante was of great wealth, or of high enough caliber to steal from a noble or the royal treasury itself and to get away with it.
Upon the counter that stood near the make-shift stove, there were vegetables and enough things to make some hot stew and tea. Fawn had enough money to ensure that she could brew some medicines for the victim's fast recovery.
She tended to the unconscious dame until late and night and then, when it seemed like the young lady was sleeping, and the fever had subsided and she wasn't mumbling words in her delirium, Fawn carefully withdrew and left the inn.
As she stepped outside, on the cobble street, there was a carriage waiting.
"Lady Fawn to the Imperial Castle?" asked the horseman, and she absently nodded.
"This ride has been arranged to take you there", said the man at service, and although she would not normally accept the bid of something ass sketchy, Fawn decided that it was safer to trust a carriage arranged by a vigilante that respected a woman in a brothel enough to save her, than to uncertainly find her way around a foreign Kingdom.
Getting onboard, she leaned back, feeling all of her tiredness catch up with her as she watched the city of the kingdom passing by. The damsel of midnight blue hair made note of the place so she could come back to visit the young lady still at the inn who was deeply in need of her aid.
She hadn't breathed a word of it to anyone, including her master, Chief Physician Monto. Since he wasn't requiring her presence unless there was any important appointment where her assistance was actively needed by his side, Fawn took her leave quite early on the next morning and left to the inn.
Monto had mentioned that their stay in the Kingdom of Antaria would last another month, until the King had recovered well from the fatal battle wounds. Their son, Prince Dan, had been involved in the war during the mean time and the King had needed to get back to the battlefields within a few months' time to make sure that the Prince could go to attend to his enrollment at the royal academy the following year.
Staying there for a whole month at the Kingdom of Antaria was sure to grant Fawn sufficient time to see the victim of the brothel to full health.
In fact, Fawn knew that she would return with Chief Physician Monto to the Royal Academy run to the Ministry of Inter Kingdomnal Affairs during that year and she might have a chance of seeing Prince Dan there as well.
When Fawn made her way back to the little in, she found the damsel sitting up, back rested on the pillows. She seemed to have had a meal, judging from the crumbs of bread still beading her cheeks and lips and her clothes were changed and fresh, although it seemed like she had not risen to her feet or gotten out of bed.
Fawn had wondered if the vigilante had revisited the damsel and left, since the windows were ajar and that was all the trace a man of such shady disposition would leave at his wake.
"Hello", Fawn had begun, startling the young lady, who had seemed to have been lost in the trance of her thoughts.
After a moment of pause, the damsel had asked tentatively, "Are you the healer that the vigilante gave me to the care of?"
"I am indeed", the apprentice had replied, as she had broken a smile. "You can call me Fawn."
"Ah", the other girl had smiled back, "You seem so young, Fawn. Thank you for all the efforts, I do not deserve it."
"Non-sense!" Fawn had waved away the comment, "You deserve to be at your best and it takes everyone's best interest to get it done."
As the words had left the healer's lips, the young lady's eyes had welled up with tears and she had sobbed uncontrollably.
"So what's your name?" Fawn had asked, curiously.
"F-Fiore", had been the reply, as the damsel had tried to control herself and gather her bearings.
"There, there, Fiore, you're in good hands now", Fawn had patted the young maiden softly at the back.
"Thank you", she had hiccupped in response, and looked up. As the healer looked at her, she had realized the heights of how beautiful Fiore truly looked, more so then with plump lips and flushed cheeks and a mole under her eye.
It would have been no wonder that her very beauty had led to the terrible fate she's been given to, being found in a brothel. Fawn had been curious to know what her past truly was and how she had been found there, but it was far too sensitive a question for that time and she did not want to bring up horrific memories for the young lady.
She had wondered why the vigilante had been so compassionate as to save only her and what could have happened to the rest of the brothel. It had been evident that he had been there after Fawn had left, to check on Fiore and that would explain how she had been awake and well fed.
"I see you're all dressed and neat now", Fawn had smiled at her new friend.
A deep blush had spread across Fiore's cheeks as she nodded slowly looking down at the clothes she was wearing and her eyes skipped to the open window.
Presently, seated there at the Healer's study in the Royal Academy, Fawn smiled, reminiscing that first time she had met her favourite friend Fiore.
They had been quite close afterwards, writing letters to each other. But for a few months, there had been no correspondence from the young lad, and Fawn had wondered what had happened.
Recently, Fiore had written a brief letter to her, rather discreetly, stating that she would be attending at the Royal Academy this year.
Fawn wondered if she would be some princess' handmaid, although she was certain there was only Prince Dan who was crown heir in the Kingdom of Antaria.
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