Chapter 2

"Is this an Otome?"

The man looked at her in complete confusion.

"It is possible she has sustained damage to her brain. She should be taken her to the Doctor."

"But sire! The battle will begin soon." He looked down at Arata, in his eyes reflection she saw herself. Pastel pink hair, which she kept long with a fringe, covered in mud from the riverbank, and her blue eyes even caught the sky in such a way... His own eyes glistened.

"She is too strange an omen to abandon, we will take the fairy girl with us."

She was pleased to be called a fairy girl. Cottage-core was her favorite recent trend and she had always loved fairies, but being lifted by three soldiers and placed on a wagon full of supplies was less enjoyable. Arata was somewhat glad though because it did not seem that they wanted to kill her and she was very confused.

She looked at the militia as they rode inland. It really was a strange situation; she hadn't begun to panic yet because the man was right. And he was probably just an echo of a nurse who had valiantly said the same thing over her comatosed body and soon she would wake up and see the woman who had so valiantly nursed her to health.

For now, she enjoyed the dream and took a deep breath of air - Ahhh~

It was so clear; she closed her eyes and began to drift to sleep.

"Oi." A man with a red mullet poked her with the end of a spear. "Oi!"

She opened one eye and turned away from him but he poked her again.

"You can't sleep with a head injury."

"I'm not injured just dreaming~" She responded closing her eyes again.

"Well, it's not like I care or anything." He huffed and looked away but then looked back to her and slapped down the end of his spear with a shwack. "Oi, didn't you hear me, you can't sleep. The general would be upset if you died after he spent so long giving you mouth to mouth."

She turned to him. "Excuse me?"

"The general saved you."

"By?"

"Giving you mouth to mouth."

She gazed at the trees they were passing and then back at the river, with a strength she didn't know she had she leapt up and ran for the water.

"Hey!" the red haired man shouted, as she sprinted.

The wind moved with her and she ran into the shallows and began washing out her mouth. The general paused the retinue and stopped, he creased his forehead. Only a truly respectable lady would care so much for her innocence to wash her mouth in the river which was generally used for bathing and fishing. He stopped his comrades from running to her as a show of respect.

There in the shallows of the river she washed her mouth and then the thought occurred to her, she could not get Covid in a dream.

Standing she straightened herself. The entire army was staring at her, some whispered while others stayed silent avoiding eye contact. She held her head higher defiant of the embarrassment she felt. And walked back to the wagon, where she climbed on and let her legs dangle. The man with red hair stayed nearby. She crossed her arms in a effort to detour him from speaking with her.

"My name is Ren." He said staying close.

"You smacked me with your thing." He looked accused for a moment but then looked away as they continued through the hills.

The sun began to set matching the red and orange leaves around them and she realized that it was a different season. A cold wind brushed past her, grabbing her wet hair and clothes. She shivered a little and suddenly another man rode his horse up to her, he held the blanket which had been rolled up behind the saddle and handed it to her. He was a young-looking boy and even on horseback she could tell that he was extremely short. He had curly brown hair and brown eyes, he was actually pretty cute in a feminine way. Arata took the blanket and spread it out. It was covered in horse hair but she was in no place to complain.

"Thank you." She said with a smile, he returned the smile which lifted his entire face making him squint.

"Of course, y-you looked cold so..." He trailed off and let his horse fall behind again disappearing into the line of soldiers.

Arata rubbed her hand across the wool blanket, it would cost a fortune in the real world. She covered herself and as the sun set completely, she began to sleep.

The wagon came to an abrupt stop and people ran around it, grabbing supplies and running away again like ants at a picnic. The mullet man poked her before four men arrived with a stretcher. She insisted she could walk now but they still lay her on the wood and carried her away. They were in a camp, with huge tents and fires cooking for hundreds, or even thousands, of troops.

But she was brought to a single white tent, inside there were dozens of people on stretcher like beds. Some were missing limbs and others lay coughing or sick. She was carried into the room at the back where a man with white hair stood wearing Geta sandals, he turned to look at her as he entered. His eyes showed no emotion but as he looked at her, they lit up with curiosity, he walked up to her touching her hair.

"Is your hair this colour naturally?"

"Oh no actually-"

"How did it turn this way, were you found by a Kitsune."

"No well actually-"

"No impossible it can only be colored by some type of dye or berry, but how did you lighten it to accept such a colour."

"Can I speak at all?"

"Of course."

"I colored it with a kind of dye and umm well I lightened it with a kind of umm I don't think you have it here."

"A Spell of some kind."

"Let's go with that."

"You're a Witch?"

"Oh no I didn't lighten it." He listened and the tent flap opened, the man in the armor entered.

"Is she well?"

"She seems confused, likely a head injury. But I do believe that she was cursed, most probably by the Kitsune."

"Damn that thing. How many men has she seduced with her round, big, beautiful breasts, raven black hair and perfect body. And now she curses even woman." Arata absorbed the information.

"And she said that to lift the curse, I would have to find her." They both looked at her and nodded.

"The emperor should meet her, but first we need to win this battle."