Upon waking up, Arella was bombarded with worrisome faces and queries from both, Devon and Anne. While Anne almost attacked her with questions, Devon was more sensible. He quickly informed the cook and the gardener.
The gardener checked her once again and put forward a few questions to the awake Arella.
Arella was absolutely stunned. She was informed that she had fainted on the temple premises, and the initial check up revealed that she was exhausted! But what baffled her the most was that she was actually feeling much better! In fact, she had not felt this good for a while (excluding the week with Adrian, of course)!
She somehow felt stronger and more agile. Her senses became keen too, but she wasn't aware of it yet. And yes, there was one more thing that she felt, thirst! She was thirsty! Her throat felt parched!
Ignoring the questions, she reached out for the water and drank water. A lot of it. She consumed so much that the entire container, which had water reserved for three people, was emptied by her! Looking at the nature of her movements, the gardener concluded that Madam had recovered. He was well aware of her exceptional recovering abilities. He asked the cook to inform him immediately if Madam felt any discomfort and then left.
Anne and Devon, too relaxed their vigil. The cook took in the environment and went to set the meal. Madam must be hungry! She politely invited all of them to eat. It was way past lunch hours, and everybody could now feel faint pangs of hunger.
Anne was still very conscious. She stuck closely and held Arella's hand while walking, always looking at her and making sure that she was fine. Anne's attitude tickled her a bit, but she did not complain.
All of them settled down and started to help themselves with the meal, except for Arella.
"Anne, we have already sat down. You can unhand me now!" Arella softly spoke to Anne.
Anne's face reddened a little due to embarrassment, and she quickly released Arella's hand. Looking at the situation, Arella smiled heartily, and even Devon had a pleasant expression plastered on his face. The cook served the meal, and everybody ate with harmony and happiness.
The meal was delicious! Especially the plate of seafood! Anne had stars in her eyes and ate them with relish. Devon was more reserved, but he, too, enjoyed it to the fullest.
Satisfied, all of them went to sit in the grasslands. There was still a faint streak of light in the sky. None of them had expected that the day would unfold like this. It was their first day of marriage, but both Devon and Anne were busy taking care of Arella. She felt a little guilty regarding this. But there was nothing she could do.
The only solace was that they had accepted her invitation to stay the night. Though Arella claimed that she felt fine, Anne was still unconvinced. What if she became ill at night? Who would look after her then? So, she decided to be on guard for one night. Their wedding night could wait. Arella's health was more important to both Devon and Anne.
As Devon explored the spiritual barrier, both, Anne and Arella were left alone. So, with a devious smirk, Anne started bombing Arella with some private questions.
"So, exhausted, huh? Was the Major General too much for my little Arella? Didn't you ask him to be gentle? Or was it that he couldn't hold himself back?" Anne was filled with curiosity! She knew that Arella and Major General had left together from the healing center. So, did they indulge too much? Arella was already spiritually drained back then, didn't he give her any chance to recover?
"It's not like that!" Listening to Anne's words, a bashful emotion took over Arella. Thinking of those days, a blush crept on her fair cheeks.
"Did I miss something important?" Devon's calm voice could be heard from behind. Shocked, Arella quickly dabbed her burning with some water to make the flush die down sooner. Fortunately, she acted in time, and by the time Devon approached, Arella was back to near normal state.
"Nothing much. I was just asking her what made her so exhausted?" Anne nonchalantly briefed Devon.
Even Devon got interested in the topic. He too looked at Arella with curious eyes. And Anne was already blatantly staring at her, playfully daring her to speak the reason!
In a way, Anne's logic might be right. Was she exhausted because of her intense week with Adrian? But she never felt it before. Or was it…A glint of realization flashed in her eyes.
"Maybe because I have been thinking of ways to train hard. Maybe that is why I strained myself?" Arella doubtfully spoke her mind. She wasn't sure. But other than that, she couldn't think of any other straining or exhausting thing that has stressed her lately.
"Train hard? But why do you want to train?" Anne was full of confusion but Devon had a speck of understanding. Was it for Adrian? He too wanted to become more powerful for Anne. He wanted to protect Anne by becoming stronger. Was Arella thinking along the same lines?
"I…I want to become powerful. I want to push my limits. Anne, I no longer want to sit and wail at the lack of my aptitude. There must be a way to improve it." Arella opened her core in front of her close friends.
The thoughts that had plagued her for such a long time had become painful and she wanted to share it with someone. She wanted to share the helplessness, the pain, and the conclusion with someone.
Anne couldn't make the head or tail of it. But Devon understood.
"But haven't we tried all the methods? Why bother?" Anne didn't know the gravity of the situation. She was a girl who believed in trying, but if it didn't work, she thought it was in her best interest to move on. There's no point in being stuck!
"What if there are other unexplored methods?" Arella spoke calmly.
Talking to Nicholas had given her a new training outline. She persistently followed one method, but what if there were other methods? And today, at the temple premises, she received an epiphany.
All her life, she was training hard to become a tamer. But why? Why constrain herself to the limitation of a particular role? And who exactly was a tamer? Just a calming medicine to a raging beast? Just a strategist behind the covers? But what if there was more to a tamer than that?
Her tamer powers were the manifestation of her beast. So, before a tamer, she was a beast. And in order to unleash her abilities, she had to connect with her beast. Nicholas's words were starting to make sense to her by now. Connect with the beast.
"Method? What method?" Anne's confused voice broke Arella's reverie.
"Connect with the beast, train the powers, and follow the senses." Arella dazedly spoke.
"Huh? Did you find an underground cave with some wise words carved on the wall by the Beast God? What's with this ancient language? Why can't I understand anything?" Anne unceremoniously spoke.
Whatever Arella spoke was way beyond her understanding. First, she had never felt the urgency to become powerful. What was the point? And second, what was Arella talking about? It was too absurd! Who connects with their beasts? It was like making fun of them! Those who could not even feel the presence of their beasts!
Both, Arella and Anne, were lost in their own thoughts. It was the calm, unhurried, and measured voice of Devon that broke their reverie.
"We can begin with the 'train your powers' part. You are a D rank tamer, and Anne is an E rank tamer. Your powers should have some impact on her." Devon suggested slowly after contemplating a lot.
"That day, I felt the influx of your powers. At one point, I thought that you were stronger than me. So, you should be able to use your powers on Anne. For the 'follow the senses,' I might help. We can use ways to test your senses. But for the 'connect with the beast,' I am afraid you will have to depend on yourself for it." Devon insightfully added.