Thorns

Lady gave the unconscious body of Vesi a last glance before she took her eyes away with a loud sigh as she stood outside of the hut under the bland colors of the dawn which was fast announcing a new day. Lady understood that she had to go on this journey if she wanted to save Vesi, the innocent man who was dragged into a terrible mess of powers because of her but she also knew that this journey might request more than she could ever give.

She exhaled and turned to Mai "I wished you could come with me but there's got to be someone here to look after Vesi" she paused and gazed at the sky" But I hope this is all worth it at the end"

Mai placed an assuring hand on Lady's shoulders "I can't say for sure how tough it is going to be for you but know that I believe in you, you are stronger than you let on. And trust me, it's all worth it at the end"

"Alright, thanks" Lady smiled.

"Besides, you draw from my power, you should be fine in any case but good luck all the same" Mai grinned and patted Lady's shoulder.

Without any prior warning, Lady engulfed Mai in a bone-crushing hug.

"I admit I'm gonna miss you though" Lady chuckled.

"I know, I will too so let go" Mai laughed and tried pushing Lady away but Lady wouldn't move away from her.

Soon after, Lady let go of Mai and took the cloth bag which contained a little bundle of things she thought she might need on her journey, and threw it over her shoulder.

"Now listen to me carefully" Mai began in a very serious voice "I might have been able to conjure up a gateway for you but know that my instincts and power which you draw of will lead you to the forest where you can find the leaf and I'm not sure how long it will take but you have to stay strong and bring back the leaf"

"Alright, I will make sure I bring the leaf no matter what" Lady nodded and turned on her heels to begin her journey.

She closed her eyes and willed her power to lead her in the direction, her power showed her path and then without glancing back, she started walking.

Mai watched as Lady disappeared among the trees of the forest, she had gotten a glimpse of how the journey would be for her and it was no easy thing. She was bound to face plenty of obstacles and challenges but she knew in the end, everything would work out well. She smiled and waved dismissively at the direction through which Lady went.

Lady started humming a song, a song she knew she was very unfamiliar with, the song that began all her plight. It was this song that took her to meet Mai and it was this song that gave her comfort, it was quite a beautiful irony. The part of the forest through which she was walking was quite dense and it had a gloomy atmosphere. It was both chilly and suffocating at the same time, it seemed as if the forest was warning her of impending doom.

After long moments of walking, she came across a vast stretch of land that was blessed with beautiful flowers, it continued to the forest, the land of flowers started right at the edge of the forest where the forest ended. Lady felt the rising sun rays on her face and she felt a little tired and sleepy. When she had discussed the leaf with Mai the previous day, she didn't get a wink of sleep and she woke up early too to begin the journey as she wanted to begin early and end early. It was understandable that she was both tired and sleepy, she was human after all not a goddess. Speaking of goddesses, she missed the particular presence of a certain goddess, she had grown accustomed to Mai's presence, she had always been there for her and so being alone like this, without her, was a little bit hard for Lady.

Lady looked around and found a tree with plenty of shade underneath it so she walked over to it and sat under it. She placed her cloth bag beside her and leaned against the tree to rest. She sighed, content about the cool of the shade. She lifted her eyes and saw a small purple flower on a long vine with thorns on it just winded around the tree she was sitting under. Lady lifted her hand and tried plucking the flower from the vine but she got pricked in the process and the end, she forgot about the flower and tended to her now bleeding finger. Lady closed her eyes and allowed her body to go into slumber under the tree.

Lady jolted out of her sleep with a shriek as she felt an agonising pain in her hand. She squinted her eyes and shook her head to fully wake up. She realised that the sun was already high in the sky with the heat becoming unbearable. Lady felt all the fingers of the hand which she had pricked earlier throbbing. She lifted the hand and inspected and that was she realised that all her fingers had been pricked and her blood was slowly oozing out.

She frowned in confusion and looked around. Her eyes widened from what she found, surrounding her were vines, the vines which had thorns, extending from the field of the flowers and the vines had completely taken over the forest floor as they leaving a small space, that being where she and her bag were sitting. Lady could not grasp whatever was going on so she took care of her bleeding fingers and slowly starter levitating. Right when she made a movement to go over the vines, one shot up into the air and lashed at her right leg, leaving a bleeding gash.

Lady gasped and descended back to the ground. Her eyebrows knitted together as she tried to comprehend the situation she was in. She looked around and she saw that there was no way she was going to be leaving unless the thorns were taken care of but she had no weapon on her. She stood there thinking and that was when it hit her, Mai had told her some time ago that she could summon a weapon similar to hers to use in combat when they were in the god realms. Lady smirked and summoned her weapon, a long sword that shone with fine luster and then Lady decided to be a little creative and added some flames to the sword, engulfing it in the flames.

A smirk worked its way onto her face and she muttered, "Bring it on"

She levitated into the air again -she thought she had more advantage in the air than on the ground and readied herself for a fight. With her sword raised high, she dashed down at the vines, cutting through those that shot up to meet her in the air. Her sword of flames made swoosh sounds followed by the unmistakable scent of burning. After long moments of fighting the thorns, Lady finally descended to the ground heaving as she crouched over her knee. The vines were now scattered in flames or just in ashes, but of course, Lady didn't go unscathed, she had some thorns stuck in her skin here and there, especially under the soles of her feet. A wide victorious grin spread across her face, it was the first time she had fought something, and truth be told, it was more than fun. She exhaled and stood up straight, taking in large deep breaths.

Without much ado, she took her cloth bag and continued her journey. She closed her eyes and used her power to find the direction she was supposed to go in and after she found out that it was through the flowers at the edge of the forest, she walked on still reveling in the aftermath and the joy of her victorious battle.

She took her time and walked through the flowers as she used her power to heal herself from the injuries she had attained from her battle. She knew it was just the beginning but she was more than willing to see to it end of it all. Besides, just as she said, nothing good comes without a great sacrifice, and this time she was sure she was ready for it.