The sensation of your hair getting stroked was strangely soothing, with sweet words whispered in your ears it makes for a sweet feeling, washing away all the worries and pain.
- There. Don't worry, everything will be fine. I'm here for you, always.
Jane opened her eyes, feeling like she was floating in a void, but warmth was coming from whoever was holding her close and stroking her hair.
She lifted her head a bit and saw a woman with red eyes and red hair smiling at her. She felt like a more mature version of herself.
- Who… Wait… Anna? Is that you? How? And… where are we?
- Yeah, it's me. I think… You subconsciously didn't want to dream. So your spirit brought you here. Hehe, at least I can hug you a bit!
The young redhead took another look around her. There was nothing at all, a real void. It made her feel guilty. Does Anna live here all the time? Because she doesn't have a body?...
Her friend seemed to know what she was thinking and resumed her stroking.
- Don't worry. This place is just something your mind created for this instant. I'm not here at all when you are awake. Well, I think it's time for you to wake up. You have some explaining to do, don't you?
Jane nodded a bit, the image of a white-haired woman flashing in her mind. Anna smiled at her friend before sweetly kissing her forehead while Jane was disappearing bit by bit.
- Don't ever forget that, Jane. You aren't alone, I'm here, and you are stuck with me.
That made the redhead smile. The scene blurred totally, but Anna's smile stayed clear in her mind. The next moment, the young woman opened her eyes to see a wooden ceiling, whispering to herself.
- I shouldn't be used to that…
She tried to lift her upper body, only to find out she couldn't because of some weight on her body. She looked over and found Eliza, fast asleep with her head lying on the redhead's stomach. She also felt something weird against her skin; she took a peek under her clothes and could see some bandages going around her stomach and waist.
- You shouldn't touch that. Even with my magic, I couldn't close the wound completely. It should be closed in a few days; but at least I could repair your organs.
The voice that just echoed was tired, but you could still hear the sultry undertone. When Jane lifted her head, she saw a woman around twenty years old, she had black hair highlighted with green. Her eyes were a shining green, like two emeralds. The new woman looked at Eliza sleeping for a second before sighing a bit, bringing her gaze back to Jane.
- Really, do I have to meet you each time you are injured? Yes, I'm a healer, but you know if you wanted to see me, you could just invite me to a drink?
{- Eh! I like that one, can we keep it?}
Jane ignored the comment from her soulmate with an embarrassed smile. The woman was right, in a sense; Jane did get wounded pretty often lately. She shrugged a little. That movement made Eliza stir, and, a few seconds later, the woman opened her groggy eyes. It took her a moment before her eyes shot wide open, lifting her body and throwing her arms around Jane's neck. She buried her head in her friend's neck while starting to cry.
- You fucking idiot! Are you out of your fucking mind?! You fucking leave just like that, then we can't find you for two fucking days. And when we find you? It's with a motherfucking spike going through your stomach!
The room was silent after that rant. The redhead and the green-eyed woman had their mouths wide open with astonishment. Neither expected that from the princess of a kingdom, not in their wildest dreams. But Eliza didn't seem to notice the weird atmosphere her words just created.
The green-eyed woman regained her bearing first; head shaking, she got closer to the bed and struck the top of Eliza's head with the side of her hand. The white-haired woman lifted her head a bit to look at her assailant, confusion in her eyes.
- Why did you do that, Nohana? I did nothing wrong!
- Language, Eliza! Think of what you just said!
Eliza stopped a second to think, then her cheeks started to redden with embarrassment. She buried her head in Jane's neck once again. Jane smiled at that and instinctively started to stroke her friend's hair slowly.
- Hrm, leave me alone with that. I can say whatever I want; I'm the princess.
- That's exactly why you shouldn't say that. And it doesn't fucking fit you. It fits me more.
A chuckle escaped Eliza's lips, and she lifted her head once more, wiping away her tears but without letting go of Jane. She just made some head movement in the direction of Nohana.
- Jane, meet Nohana Doku. It's the friend I was talking to you about, the healer that got you on your feet.
- Again.
- Yes, again. Can you not? Anyway, she's a really good healer and… Uh, makes pretty good potions and poisons too.
The redhead looked at Nohana, who made a peace sign, smiling sweetly. While looking at the green-eyed woman, Jane thought that she didn't quite fit the term "healer." She felt more like someone that could backstab you with a smile. But strangely, she didn't feel like it would be against her. Maybe because she was friends with Eliza, and the princess seemed to like Jane quite a bit?
- Thank you, then. And I'm sorry, first, to have you work so hard on fixing me, and to you, Eliza. To make you worry that much. Anna was right; I should have let you come with me. We are a party now.
From the moment she started, Jane didn't stop stroking her friend's hair for a second. Her honest apology made Eliza smile but also made her cheeks burn brighter. She let go of Jane and sat up straight on her chair, coughing briefly to hide her embarrassment.
- Well! Yes, you should have! You should listen to Anna more often! She seems like a reasonable person.
{- Ah! You see? I'm reasonable! Listen to me, Jane, and make some moves on her! And maybe on Nohana too; I like her! Although you stroking her hair was a good first step!}
Jane sighed once more, shaking her head. Hearing that wasn't a good idea for Anna. The redhead hoped that Eliza would see Anna's nature before long…
Nohana, confused from hearing a name she didn't know, cut into the conversation.
- Hey, who's Anna? Don't tell me it's someone else to heal? I don't have any mana left!
Eliza laughed a bit before looking at Jane, asking if she could tell her friend about the second soul inside Jane's body. The redhead nodded her approval.
When the green-eyed woman heard the truth, her eyes opened wide with curiosity. Her healer's soul was screaming to her to study that phenomenon closer.
- How is that possible? Can I study you? Please?
- Nohana! Calm down!
- What?! I know it was a seal with magic! But there's more than that!
- I said calm down! I know how you "study," and that usually involves cutting things open to look inside! And I won't let you do that to Jane.
Jane just observed the two friends bickering for a while with a smile. This atmosphere was nice; it made her forget what she had to go through these last days.
- I hate to interrupt you two, but… I did burn down a few buildings, right? Well, Anna did, but won't I be in trouble?
Eliza and Nohana turned their heads toward the redhead; the first one crossed her arms, thinking a bit; the second one just shrugged like she didn't really care much about that. The answer came from Eliza.
- Well, while it wasn't really the greatest idea, I think you will be fine. I mean, even if I don't have much power in the court… I'm still the princess, so I should be able to bury that under some pretext. I can't tell it was some Ouroboros facilities. I don't know if there is any of their agents deep in the court circle.
Jane nodded at that. It made sense; they couldn't know for real until they could see the tattoo of that group.
A sudden idea struck the young woman, and she looked at Nohana intently.
- Nohana, I was wondering… Are you registered in the Mercenary Guild?
- Hmm? Well, yeah? I do need to if I want to make money. I could sell my potions to nobles, but after a little… incident, I'm banned from that. Why are you asking me this?
- Would you like to join our party then? Since it seems I have a habit of getting injured, it would be better if we had a healer.