"Ah, Mrs. Adlerian, what a pleasant surprise," a large man with a menacing face approached the trio when they entered the house the young girl led them to.
Both Yuki and Jacek retreated unconsciously at the sight of the large figure. The butcher halted in his tracks at the reaction of the youngsters.
Taking notice of the man's offended expression, Mrs. Adlerian looked about herself to find her children gone. She looked back and gave the two a reprimanding look.
The siblings, under their mother's chiding gaze, immediately gained their composure and apologized to the apparently offended man.
The butcher, soft in voice and attitude, forgave the family and invited them inside his house as he went away to prepare their meat.
The space that served as a living room in the butcher's house was poorly furnished, thus, the only available option for the three was the shabby and worn-out straw mat, on which they hesitantly sat.
The six eyes moved from one thing to another as they inspected the room in silence. Wasn't their life perfect! Thought the three.
Out of the blue, a cough and three alarmed Mrs. Adlerian and her children. They instantly looked in the direction of the cougher and found a person wrapped in layers and layers of patched covers. They guessed the person to be the sick wife of the butcher that the hag spoke of.
When the coughing increased, Yuki stood from the mat and cautiously approached the woman to inspect her. First, Yuki checked her pulse, then she parted the woman's closed eyes and peered at her pupils before finally opening and looking inside her mouth.
"What do you think you are doing?" Came the butcher's fearful voice from the entrance of the room. He rushed over and grabbed Yuki's hand and effortlessly yanked her.
"Wait! Please wait! My sister is an apothecary!" Jacek exclaimed and rushed over to recover his sister. His heart had jumped from his chest and fallen to the ground behind him. "She is an apprentice apothecary. She was checking your wife's condition," Jacek held his sister desperately while looking up at the lofty man.
When the petrifying atmosphere cleared, the butcher apologized frantically to the young girl, whose intention he had misinterpreted.
"Forgive me, lil' miss, I've wronged you," the butcher frantically apologized in his tender voice.
Yuki did not hesitate to forgive him and even proceeded to examine his wife again.
"She is poisoned. Probably by eating some poisonous food. Does anything come to mind?" Yuki diagnosed.
"Poison? I did not know. I wasn't home yesterday and can't tell what she ate. Can you not help her, lil miss?" asked the distressed butcher.
"Not as I am now. I have no medicines to give to her. I could have made something had there been ingredients."
"What would you need?" asked Jacek, eager to be of help.
"They are hard to come by, and here too… Ah, godfather should have those ingredients if not the medicine itself," Yuki remembered, he was the best apothecary in Stolz after all.
"Who?" the butcher disclosed his confusion.
"Oh, they are talking about old Cecil. The apothecary who lives at the outskirts of the entertainment district," Mrs. Adlerian explained.
"Yes, him. Should I take my wife to him?"
"We should. Poisons are best treated as quickly as possible before it get fatal?" Yuki reasoned.
"I will go and get a carriage immediately," the butcher rushed out. He returned after some time with a terrible-looking carriage.
Since the carriage could only carry four people, the driver included, Yuki and Jacek volunteered to take the woman away first while their mother and the butcher came later. An agreement was made. Yuki, Jacek and the sick woman took the carriage and left.
…
After a long ride, Yuki and her company arrived at the apothecary's house. Jacek carried the ill woman and followed Yuki towards the old cottage.
"Godfather," Yuki called on to the old man who was sitting in a rocking chair on the balcony outside the house. He opened his shut eyes and squinted at the newcomers one after the other.
"Yuki. Do you finally remember this old man?" Old Cecil lifted his back slowly from the chair and sat up. "What is wrong with her? Come, follow me." His hoarse voice said as he rose from the chair and headed into his house.
"Food poisoning. Some poisonous herb, perhaps," Yuki relayed to her godfather as she followed him into the cottage; she beckoned Jacek to follow her inside.
Old Cecil put on his monocle and inspected the woman in the same way and places Yuki had inspected her earlier.
"Indeed. Bring the purple jug on the third shelf, the one beside the snake wine."
"Right." Yuki hurriedly turned towards the stairs to go and retrieve the jug her godfather spoke of. As soon as her left foot joined her right in her attempt to climb the stairs, Yuki halted in her tracks. Her eyes stared up ahead dreamingly.
Descending from the stairs was a tall shirtless man, flaunting muscles so enticing she forgot bodies were paired with heads. Yuki unwillingly tore her eyes away from the perfectly chiseled physique to slowly look at the face that owned such striking features.
Her lips parted ever so slightly when her own eyes were perceived by a pair of bright grey ones. Yuki looked upon the handsome and well define features of the new comer's visage. His strong jawline was set in a determined expression as he returned Yuki's gaze.
"Maidens of Echt are said to be bashful and modest, surely, you are not here to prove that false, are you?" the man's rugged voice uttered, a hint of annoyance evident in his tone while his grey eyes regarded the girl scornfully.
Yuki blushed and averted her eyes. She could not believe herself for being so discourteous.
"Oh, did I wake you? I apologize," Old Cecil said behind Yuki. She turned to look at her godfather with speaking eyes. The old man smiled.
"This is an acquaintance of my son, Sir Treyton Athaulfe, he came from Gouna… and this, Sir Athaulfe, is my goddaughter and apprentice, Yuki Adlerian." The old man tried to introduce the two.
The shirtless man moved his feet from the spot they were rooted to. He took slow, steady steps down the stairs, towards Yuki. His grey eyes never left Yuki's face, not even once.
Upon reaching the girl, the man put his hand out to Yuki, who in turn placed her palm in his. His pulpy lips landed on the back of the girl's hand. The man, polished in character but with a body that refused to match that grace lifted his eyes to look at Yuki.
His manners and gaze had completely changed after Old Cecil's introduction. It was as if her name alone was enough to clear Yuki's ill manners a minute ago. It was as if knowing she was Yuki Adlerian was all that mattered to him, nothing else.
"It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Ms. Adlerian."