Infected by her friend's enthusiasm, Mihva was also eager to leave the room. She flew ahead, once again dragging Lilly behind her. The situation was similar to their journey through the Frozen Hell, but luckily they weren't in danger this time.
Suddenly, however, Mihva felt her friend stopping. The young butterfly turned around in confusion. They had only just made it past the door. Could it be that Lilly forgot something in the room?
Looking into Lilly's big eyes, Mihva quickly understood. A proud smile formed on her mouth as she noticed how Lilly feasted her eyes on the environment.
If it were up to Lilly, Mihva had all right to be proud. The young woman was in awe. The butterflies' world was the most beautiful scenery she had ever seen in her short life.
Only after leaving her room did Lilly understand that they were atop a giant tree. Her room was naturally growing from a half a meter thick branch. Gorgues leaves of multiple colors surrounded them.
Bright light filled the room, vigorous vitality animating a variety of plants to grow. Fields of flowers decorated the floor, inviting colorful butterflies to dance between them.
Lilly hadn't expected to find herself in such a mystical place. The spectacular marvel of nature seemed almost illusionary. But even if it would have been a dream, Lilly would have refused to wake up.
It took the young woman a few seconds before she let out a sigh of admiration.
"I have never seen something this beautiful.", whispered Lilly quietly, almost afraid that a single word might disturb the scenery.
"Beautiful, Beautiful!", repeated Mihva as she proudly fluttered through the air.
Lilly laughed lightly. One look at her friend and she was in a good mood. She began strolling down the branch.
A few seconds later Mihva landed before another room. She waved at Lilly to draw her attention.
"Lilly, Lilly. Here. This is our friend's room!"
Right at this moment the door opened. It stopped right before hitting Mihva, startling the poor beast. A quiet chuckle sounded.
Mihva blinked her big, round eyes. Recognizing the perpetrator to be her aunty, the young beast angrily waved her hands.
"Aunty, aunty! Can you not scare me like that? You surely knew I was here!"
Loiava laughed lightly as she patted her upset niece's head.
"How could I see you from in there? I already reacted quickly and stopped the door form hitting you."
Naturally Mihva knew that her aunty war pranking her. How could the rank seven healer not perceive her surroundings? Unfortunately, she didn't know how to argue. She could only pout and keep this in mind. She would certainly get her revenge sometime.
Lilly also chuckled lightly as she looked at Mihva's cute pouting face. Nearing the two butterflies, she asked with a smile:
"Aunty Loiava, how is our friend doing? Is she already awake?"
"I have just cast another spell. She should be waking up any second now. Maybe you should go in to calm her down when she wakes up."
"Thank you again on all our behalf."
The respected healer waved her hand, not fishing for praise. Knowing that Lilly was the most suitable person to comfort the little girl, she left carefreely.
Watching in amazement as Loiava turned from a mature woman into a palm-sized butterfly, Lilly sighed in wonder. There was just so much to discover in this universe. Some lust for adventure silently sprouted in the young woman's mind.
Lightly petting Mihva's shoulder, Lilly signaled her to come with her.
The two friends entered a room identical to the one Lilly had been staying in. Quietly whispering for Mihva to stay behind her for now, Lilly grabbed a small stool, dragging it next to the bed.
She sat down while observing the cute girl before her. Since the beasts hadn't taken off her mask, Lilly finally got a good look on it. Its design was rather simple. The mask was wholly painted in golden color except for the white triangle in the middle.
Some artistic shadows on the triangle let Lilly understand that this was symbolizing a prism. The young woman slightly raised an eyebrow as she understood that the rebels also used the Church of Light's symbol.
Because of the mask Lilly couldn't tell much about the rebel, but she also thought it was a good idea not to remove the girl's cover. This would signal some goodwill right away and offer the girl some safety.
A few seconds after Lilly sat down, some movement came into the girl's body. The young woman noticed in confusion that the mask didn't have any holes for eyes. This made it hard for Lilly to understand if the girl was already awake or not.
Just as such thoughts surfaced in Lilly's mind, the girl drew a sharp breath behind her mask. Suddenly she shot up, panting wildly.
Lilly was startled for a second before she could react.
"Mom, Dad!", shouted the girl with a heart wrenching voice.
Feeling the girl's insecurity, Lilly looked at her sympathetically. She put on a kind smile as she calmly tried to get the girl's attention:
"You are awake! That's great. We were all worried about you."
Hearing an unfamiliar voice the girl turned around. Wrecked by chaotic emotions and dreams, the girl didn't even notice the beast in the room. With panic in her voice, she continued talking:
"Who are you? Where am I? Is this the base? What happened to me?"
Some tears appeared from under the golden mask as the girl fell back down and tried to burrow into the bed.
Lilly looked at her in pity. The young woman carefully reached out her hand, only putting it on the girl's shoulder. Her tiny body shuddered, but she didn't push Lilly away.
"Shh, shh.", consoled the young Rottal.
"Don't be afraid. You remember me, right? We have fought together in the mines."
The rebel girl sobbed quietly but she nodded her head.
"That's good. My name is Lilly. Do you want to tell me your name?"
"I'm… Reminuana."
Lilly wasn't sure if the girl was desperately grasping for support, or if she was fast to adapt. Nevertheless, the young woman was happy with her progress.
"Reminuana? What a beautiful name."
The rebel girl was slightly calming down while Lilly began to caress her shoulder.
"Remi? Can I call you Remi?"
"Yes.", whispered the girl.
"Thank you. Remi, should I tell you where we are?"
After a slight hesitation Remi nodded silently.
"Ok. We are in the most beautiful place in the whole world. Despite being in the Frozen Hell, it isn't cold here at all, right? It is bright, warm, and colorful. The most gorgeous and kindest butterflies' life here. It was them that saved us both."
"Can… can such a place exist?"
"I thought the same after I woke up, but it really does. You can see for yourself. If you want to, Mihva will show us around. She is the kind butterfly who caught as after falling."
Remi's body shook slightly as Lilly spoke the last word. She felt scared remembering this situation.
Lilly silently reprimanded herself. She should have known that this would leave a scar on the girl's mind. How could she stupidly sprinkle salt into such a wound.
For a few seconds only the noise of Mihva uneasily shifting on another stool could be heard. The innocent young butterfly wanted to help, but she also knew that her appearance might scare the girl.
She felt sad at the thought of someone not recognizing her kindness only because she didn't look human. Unfortunately, humans were on bad terms with all the other races. Even the young girl already went through a beast attack. It surely wouldn't be easy for her to accept that a foreign race saved her.
Not wanting to continue the uncomfortable silence, Lilly tried to speak to the young girl again:
"How about it Remi? Should we take a look around? Should Mihva show us the gorgeous flowers and trees?"
"I… I want to see mom and dad."
Lilly sighed lightly after her failure. She could only try to comfort the girl:
"I'm sure your mom and dad are searching for you."
"No, they won't."
"What? Why do you think so? How could they not search for their cute, little girl?"
"How could they search if they don't know that I'm missing?"
Remi's words confused Lilly. She asked carefully:
"Where you parent's not among the group when we… met?"
"No."
"Then, should we go look for your parents?"
"No."
"Then what would you like to do?"
Remi took a few moments before answering. But with her next words Lilly's breath almost stopped.
"I want to get stronger!"
Despite the weight of her words, quiet sobs once again left Remi's mouth.