Reveal

In the Northern end of the Yanyawn village was a house that was an extra distance away from the rest. Archie was lying on the ground when he heard the front door click. He opened his eyes and turned his head towards the door of his room.

"Mom…" He breathed through his lips. But the voice he heard next was not the sound he wouldn't recognize even after a hundred tries.

"This house, how do I put it… isn't this very simple. Is this the trend these days?" Raffaella asked.

"When were you even invited to a house other than your own?" Naomi asked in a manner that didn't seem very questioning.

"I told you before, we used to live in Vanderlin village before." Raffaella followed Arnacia into the next room of the house.

The room had a bed, but Archie was sleeping on a futon just beside the bed. He tried to sit up, but Arnacia signaled him to stay down. But he sat up anyway and instantly regretted the pain.

"Are you alone?" Arnacia asked.

"Mom went to work." he glanced at the unfamiliar face beside Arnacia. Many questions rose in his mind, like why was Naomi here? And who was this stranger?

"This is Raffaella, she is the daughter of the doctor. Are you fine if she examines your injuries?" Arnacia let Raffaella stand in her spot close to the futon.

What?! The doctor's only daughter left the forest to treat me? He had heard about her. In fact, everyone in the village knew that the doctor had a daughter who never left the forest, just like her dad. But none of them wanted her to, because no one knew she had any knowledge or qualifications to treat people.

"Show me your wrist." Raffaella said as she put forward her hand. Archie looked at Arnacia before extending his arm.

Raffaella felt Archie's pulse with the index and middle finger. She scratches her head after doing so, which made the audience look at her face. Swiftly, she got up and sat close to the bottom of the futon. Everyone except her silently watched the process. She ran her two fingers on top of Archie's foot and counted with eyes closed.

"What exactly happened to you?" Raffaella stood up again, and this time ran her finger on Archie's neck just below his jawbone.

"Wow, you don't know how to read a pulse?" Naomi asked in baffled surprise.

"What happened?" Raffaella asked seriously.

"I got into a fight. It was nothing much."

"Do you feel any pain?" Raffaella tapped on Archie's legs and immediately heard a suppressed grunt. "Your heartbeat is really low. I have never seen anything like it, obviously. But it's clear that you need a strict rest because the healing process has slowed. I would say stopped."

"What are you talking about?"

"Can't you feel it yourself? Your pain must've deceased substantially, but now it's flaring up more than ever." Rafaella moved her hand to touch Archie's leg again, but stopped midway.

"How long will it take to heal?" Archie asked.

"I don't know. Probably a week with-"

"Everything is fine then." Archie looked up.

"A week if my dad treats you. Right, it will take a week for your body to start healing normally again. After that you will be fine at home as long as you spend negligible time out of bed." Raffaella casually said as if she was talking to herself.

"No, it can't be true. You are not a real doctor." Archie couldn't accept this. It was more horrible than he imagined.

"Well, I am not as good as my dad. What do you expect? Anyway, you should get carried to my dad's place as soon as possible." Raffaella said and looked at the two girls at the end of the sentence. "I can probably concoct a painkiller pellet if I find all ingredients in the market."

"Thank you Raffaella." Arnacia said. "And don't you worry, Archie, everything will be fine. If you don't get better till the day of the challenge, then I will beat him up in your place. Larch?" She said with a light smile and looked at the two girls.

"Take care big man, we will be back with the pellet by evening." Naomi said.

"Do you need anything?" Arnacia asked, but Archie only shook his head before laying on the futon again.

"Don't forget about the thread." Raffaella reminded.

"Shall we go to my house next?" Naomi was fired up as they left the house. "We can make a crown and have lunch."

***

In the backyard of Eeich household. Three girls were sitting around a round table. They wore similar crowns made of pointy orange leaves of Sycamore tree.

"I never thought you would know how to make pellets." Naomi sighed.

"Actually, I have seen a pellet before." Arnacia revealed. "I saw it in the hands of a Knight. It was a red-colored pellet sealed in a small bottle."

"There are many red colored pellets, but since it was in the hands of a Knight then it must be Bloodmoon Pellet, or Roaring Rage Pellet, or Enderlust Pellet, or Burnbliss Pellet, or Sunorb, or Crabshell Pellet, or Siamese Fighting Pellet, or Red Venomsmoke, or-"

"Stop-stop-stop!" Naomi lightly slammed her both arms on the table.

"I could cut down the list if you describe the smell." Raffaella smiled.

"You are amazing." Arnacia sighed in admiration.

"What do you think I have been doing for the last 10 years?" Raffaella giggled. She wasn't too proud of what she knew, but seeing the reaction of her friends it felt like everything was worth it.

The girls laughed, joked, and discussed various things. Even Shilo joined them for a while. Elda came to collect the plates and asked if they needed snacks. The sky turned orange in the blink of an eye.

"I am really from a different world." Arnacia said. She had prepped enough to confess and in the end, she did. Lying only made her sins deeper, deceiving people who trusted her was like shaking hands with a double-edged knife.