"Have you gone crazy, Anne?" Arella asked in a tired voice.
She was already exhausted from trying her best, and now this! Anne really did not have to do this! Look at the gash! It was deep enough to leave a scar! If something wrong happened, how would she ever face both of them in the future?
"I trust you Arella. I know you can do this. Do you not have faith in yourself?" Anne softly spoke, trying to appear unfazed because of the pain.
Arella looked at Devon for some help. They had to knock some sense into Anne's brain! And they had to do it soon. The blood was endlessly flowing from Anne's wound.
Gardener cum healer had reached. Regardless of Anne's reason or persuasion, Arella quickly asked him to heal Anne.
As soon as the gardener was about to touch her hand, Anne swiftly retraced it.
"No. I will only allow Arella to heal me." Enduring the pain, Anne spoke calmly.
"Do not be ridiculous! Let him heal you now!" Arella roared fervently. She was already at the edge of losing her calm. The rage was eating her! How dare Anne be so reckless? Is this some sort of game? How dare she bet herself!
Unbeknownst to them, her dull eyes had become brighter. The red glowed like soft embers.
Anne was patiently listening to Arella's words. Nobody likes to be pushed to their limits. And this was exactly what she was doing to Arella. So, bitterness was bound to be there!
Devon noticed that Arella's eyes were becoming brighter with every passing second. The angrier Arella became with Anne's recklessness, the brighter her eyes burnt. It felt as if her eyes encompassed an inferno within.
"We want you to heal her." Devon tested the waters. He knew Arella was undergoing something. And he wanted to check whether this had anything with her powers or not.
"Fine! You wanted it! Do not blame me!" Arella almost shouted.
Hidden from everybody's eyes, another small crack silently appeared on the ruby.
"You stay on standby. Anything wrong happens, and you have to take immediate action." Arella turned her head in the gardener's direction and said decisively.
The gardener instinctively took a step back and nodded.
The cook, who stood nearby, could not help but notice that there was something different about Madam. She possessed a momentum that they could not defy. Something akin to their Master.
An innate sense of dread that comes with the power surrounded the cook. Others might not notice, but she knew. This aura was something that should belong to a high aptitude beast. But the problem was that Madam was neither a beast nor ranked high. Why did she possess such fierce momentum?
The cook remained entangled in her thoughts. The gardener stood in close proximity to all of them, always ready to react if something went awry. Anne sat on the chair while Devon stood next to her, half embracing her with his hands on her shoulder.
Arella grabbed Anne's injured hand in a tight grip. A painful sob escaped Anne's mouth upon contact. Not because her grip was strong, but because Arella's hand was burning! Her temperature was higher than normal! She wanted to speak out, but when she looked at Arella, she noticed that even her eyes were glowing!
Unaware of any changes, Arella concentrated on healing Anne. Inside her, a fierce determination had taken root. She wanted to heal Anne, and then, once she was healed, look how Arella would torture her!
She channeled all her energy into her hand. In her eyes, only Anne's bloody hand remained. Her eyes could not see anything beyond the blood. Her eyes were restricting her vision. So, she instinctively closed her eyes.
In her mind, the image of Anne's hand stayed still. And then, layer after layer, the coating of blood evaporated from her hand. Until only the gash remained. In her mind, she could clearly see the deep gash.
Not only that. She could also feel a faint energy trying to repair the wound. This was Anne's tamer power. Her body was trying to treat the wound, but the speed was extremely slow. To Arella, the blurbs of faint white light, busily trying to repair the broken skin, were crystal clear.
Shifting focus, she envisioned her own power. It should be in the center of her palm. In her mind, she looked at her own palm. There, on her palm, was the figment of her healing power.
Unlike Anne's white ball like powers, her tamer power was pure blue. It appeared proud, in a flame like shape, dancing calmly. It looked as if it was waiting patiently for her orders.
Without any second thoughts, she urged her flame like blue power to move toward Anne's wound. The flame as if infused with great energy, roared and glowed as it flew over to the wound within seconds.
Within her mind, Arella saw the entire process. She witnessed how her blue flames went into the depths of Anne's gash, and found the tampered vein.
Then, the blue flames, as if being squeezed, generated a few drops of blue liquid. This liquid precisely went into the broken parts and filled the gaps in the vein. The veins started recovering at an astonishing rate.
Once fully recovered, the blue flame came out from the depths and hovered over the open wound. It stretched and became a net. This net slowly descended upon her wound and covered the entire broken skin.
Just like the tempered veins, the broken skin started regenerating and recovering at a lightning fast speed. Soon, no imprint of the wound could be seen on the now smooth and flawless skin.
Outside, the moment Arella had touched Anne's hand, Anne felt her burning temperature. But once Arella closed her eyes, Anne could feel a gentle sensation. As if somebody was cautiously applying a coolant on her burnt skin. It was calming, relaxing, and very soothing.
Anne did not feel anything else. Once the gentleness touched her, the pain disappeared. Anne felt as if she was in the lap of her mother. Comfort surrounded her just like her father's presence. She felt content. But before she could enjoy the warmth, the sensation receded like a tide.
Bewildered, Anne opened her eyes only to find Devon skillfully cleaning the blood away. Arella lay close to her, her head resting on the table. Anne stirred a little. Devon and Arella both noticed this and looked at the awake girl.
"What…what happened?" Being stared at made Anne a little uncomfortable.
"You fell asleep. The wound is gone. Do you feel any pain?" Devon gently inquired.
"No, on the contrary, I feel much better!" Anne cheerily remarked as she looked at Arella.
Arella's mood was in stark contrast with Anne's. Anne was feeling enthusiastic and full of energy, while Arella looked drained.
"Good," Arella spoke a single word and left the grassland without looking back.
With confusion etched on her face, Anne innocently asked, "What happened?"
"I will tell you slowly. Can you walk?" Devon politely asked.
"Yes," Anne immediately answered.
"Good. Let us have some rest first." He calmly told her.
"Thank you for today." He turned toward the gardener and cook and thanked them gentlemanly and sincerely.
The helpers bowed and then left. Devon and Anne, too headed to the guest bedroom to have some rest. On the way, Devon explained the happenings to Anne.
He informed Anne that Arella only took approximately five minutes to heal her deep wound.
"We could not see anything because her hand was bleeding profusely. But after five minutes, Arella opened her eyes and claimed that we should check your wound.
The gardener checked and figured out that your wound was already healed. But you were still asleep, making both of us anxious. According to the gardener, you were only asleep. You looked healthy, but on the contrary, it was Arella, who appeared drained, as if she was the one who had bled abundantly.
We asked her to have some rest, but she insisted on waiting for you. And now that you are up and running, she went to have some rest too." By the time they reached their guest bedroom, Devon was done with his narration.
He did not tell Anne that at the beginning, the red in Arella's eyes blazed like flames. The angrier she was, the brighter the red glowed.
But later, when she touched Anne's hand to heal her, it was, surprisingly, the blue in the edges of her eyes that took over. The red became dull in front of the icy blues. This was the last thing he noticed before Arella closed her eyes. And if he was right, even the cook noticed this subtlety.
Whatever, this was not he was concerned about at the moment.
Once inside, he locked the door and trapped Anne in between the door and himself.
Anne impatiently looked at Devon. She knew what he wanted to ask.
"I am feeling good. There is no pain. Even the wound has disappeared without any traces!" Anne rambled. She knew he was angry at her for her earlier bold and reckless act.
"Really! I even feel full of energy! Do you want me to run a lap to show you? I can do that!" Anne put forward another suggestion to make him believe her.
"No need." Devon huskily said.
Before Anne could understand, his lips came crashing down on hers!