She felt as if someone had firmly slapped her cheeks. It was red and swollen, but it brought her fuzzy mind to reality. In front of her was Lydia. Her face was an amalgamation of anxiousness and smugness.
"Take more," she angrily spat, slapping her cheeks side by side.
"Stop it, Lyd. She is from the capital." Ezel tried to stop, but the group commotion only arose.
"Nah, let her be Ezel; she needs to learn her lesson," one of the boys, whose face she had never seen before, barged in. "You're just too kind, Ezel. She must pay for what she has done." Lydia cracked her finger, and the group started to hoot. When she was about to slap Luiza, she suddenly grabbed her arms.
Her arm strength was weak, and she could not hold on for long. Instead, the village girl pushed her to the nearest wall, and her back bruisingly hit the wall. "Ah," she whined as the coarse wall scrapped her back skin.
"That's the way! Hit her more!" One of the males cheered while the other girls amusingly watched her get bruised. They didn't speak, but they enjoyed the entertainment.
Luiza bent down; her spine hurt, and she was already exhausted.
"Why, why are you doing this to me?" She managed to murmur, but all she got was another punch in her stomach. "Ouch!" she gasped for air as the punch hit her organs, and it was an unbearable, excruciating pain.
Lydia pulled Luiza's hair and grabbed her jaw. "Because you," she pointed to her chest. "Made complains about us, and now Posey has been missing since the meeting in the morning." She gritted her teeth and almost landed a punch in Luiza's face, but she dodged it, and the punch landed on the moss-filled wall instead.
"WHO SAID YOU COULD RESTRAIN HUH?" She tried to punch, but Luiza kept escaping till she was cornered.
The crowd that surrounded them was silent, waiting for the climax.
"WHY ARE YOU RESTRAINING? Take responsibility for your actions! Who knows-" Lydia stuttered, "Who knows where that damned Albert has taken Posey?" She huffed, "It's all because we couldn't break you down! TAKE RESPONSIBILITY, YOU DAMIWIT WHORE!!" She used her magical power and fiercely launched a punch, but the power rather reflected on everyone except Luiza, while the punch landed on the moss wall.
"Huh-" Luiza could barely grasp what was going on. Posey had gone missing due to Sir Albert.
More importantly, all the lackeys were in the cold snow; their hands twitching for the recochete of the magic were unbearably strong, and Luiza instantly left that place and ran with all her might. She wanted to run and hide far away before she committed something she would thoroughly regret all her life.
Her eyes were closed, her head was down, and she ran at full speed until she hit a very sturdy bark. Huh? She immediately looked up, and she happened to have hit Hael's chest. Startled by the act, she fell backwards due to momentum, but Hael promptly grabbed her hands and locked her between his arms.
She sharply inhaled, amazed by his speed. Wrapped in his warmth, she gazed into his eyes, which held concern for her. For a brief second, she could see his sculptured face from a closer view.
After a moment, she gathered herself and got out of his warmth. Her head hung low, and she started to straighten her skirt.
"What happened to your face?" It was a conscience plea. He slowly bent down and tried meeting her eyes, which looked away; it showed her bruised cheeks, and he started analyzing them. 'It's nothing much. Let's go home."
She avoided him and started to walk forward instead. Hael took her arms, and immediately they were transported to an old but grim room with barely any lights from the window, which was surrounded by racks of books and vintage pieces of furniture.
"Stay here for a while," he asked, and uneasily, she sat down on the chair. It was a fluffy chair with large armrests. The room had the fragrance of oak wood, and despite its appearance, the place was well maintained.
She analyzed the room; the walls were familiar, similar to the ones in the academy, dull and gray. In a while, Hael returned with a trolly with a tea pot and two tea cups, and beneath the trolly was a box.
He got on his knees and took out the box. Inside the box were a few medicines; he pulled out a cotton ball and a twizzer and dabbed the cotton on to a yellowish liqid.
"Turn to the left," he directed her. He gently placed his fingers around her jaw and lightly applied them to her cheeks.
"AH!" she whined in pain. With a troubled expression, he continued to apply the medicine to her cheeks. She could feel his breath closer to her, so she scrunched her eyes; it lasted until all the visible injuries were covered in medicine.
"Do you have injuries anywhere else?" he questioned. Her head rotated from left to right, indicating a no, but that made him even more worried.
"Here we have this. Take care of your wounds later at home," he said. He handed her the box of medicine and then brought out the warm teapot and served two cups of each for both of them.
It was soft hibiscus tea, and she loved that its sweetness melted off the fatigue she had and the pain she bore.
"Do not get hurt like this ever again," he stated in the midst of the afternoon tea.
"Restraint is one part, but what you did was a foolish attempt to prove your guilt. You were given such powers to protect and preserve, but before everyone and everything, your well-being comes first." She gently clutched her hands. She wanted to fight; she wanted to protect; she did not like getting beaten up, but...
"Listen," he said, turning towards her. "In this world, no one will protect you. You must protect yourself. So, be more selfish and stand your ground. Have patience and confidence in your abilities."
At that moment, her eyes, although widened, dripped tears. It was unintentional, and she did not know why she even cried. Was it because she truly needed those words? She had no clue, but she felt heard and touched.
She immediately lowered her head and wiped away her tears. It was embarrassing.
"Yes, I will. I would not... I will not allow myself to get hurt," she promised.
Hael hummed in acknowledgement and finished his tea while he poured some more into Luiza's cup. He walked behind her and started to braid her tousled hair. It was a simple braid from the left corner of her front portion of her hair to the right corner, and then she later joined the rest of the hair and tied it into a neat bun.
In the meantime, Luiza enjoyed her tea. She warbled a tune while her bird's nest hair was neatly made into a soft bun. "Done." Hael walked towards the front of the couch, and Luiza stood up.
Her dress was slightly torn, her scarf was no longer around her neck, and all in all, she needed a new set of uniforms.
"By the way, Hael," she said, slowly pulling his sleeves, disabling him from casting the spell. With displeasure, he turned towards her.
"Posey is nowhere to be found, and apparently teacher Albert is related," she revealed. His face immediately turned aloof and hardened.
"Tell me more," he inquired.