Take It All In My Stride

Arnacia was once again scared silly to go further into the village. She stood on her toes to see a little extra distance. The warning by her parents had left an unmoving expression. This was how much further she could walk at the loss of her friend. For the past few days, she had been nearing this particular house but not daring to walk past it.

She stood in one place for a long time, and suddenly a green head came into view! A little girl popped up from around the corner of a house. She rubbed her eyes and there she was!

"Naomi," Arnacia inadvertently said. Her stomach inflated as she took a deep breath. A quiver roused through her body as never before. The air she inhaled was let out along with a single word of excitement, "NAOMI!"

Her body only calmed a little after the loud shout. She was still standing in the same spot, but her hands were high and waved with emotion.

Naomi looked at the source of the voice. She nonchalantly walked towards it but not without the support of the neighboring wall. Soon enough, she had to let go of the aid. Her body was burning, but it made her feel cozy. She walked with small and heavy steps.

Her goal was far beyond the village. The mountain in the distance seemed to wave along with Arnacia. Her vision blacked out, only to be colorful at the next moment. She felt the mountains were rotating as her head closed into the ground.

"Naomi," Arnacia's hands stopped moving. She saw her fallen friend and took multiple steps forward. Her mind rang with multiple warnings, which made her frantically look around. She rushed forward as no one came into view. With great difficulty, she picked up little Naomi on her back and rushed back home.

***

When Naomi woke up, she felt a glass was near her lips. A liquid, which tasted like milk, was being poured into her mouth. Her vision slowly got cleared, and she saw Arnacia. This bad girl was making her drink milk in sleep!

Luckily, Arnacia pulled away the glass when she saw Naomi was awake. She smiled silly and carefully hid the glass behind her back. Her mother used this method to make her drink milk. Today, she tried the same trick on Naomi.

"I saw it," little Naomi pointed out. "You were making me drink that bad milk."

"No, No, I only mixed a little water so you could drink milk easily." Arnacia justified herself.

"Hmph!" Naomi pouted and looked around the half empty room. The furniture reeked in a certain way. She got up and turned to the door.

"Where are you going?" Arnacia asked.

"I won't tell you." Naomi walked out of the room.

"Drink this otherwise you will faint again," Arnacia put forward the glass of milk but was ignored. Thus, she put down the glass and followed Naomi.

The two girls made their way to the riverbank, which was alongside the main road. It was a crime to pollute the Evermore river in the Lorein Kingdom. Thus, mostly, houses in villages were built away from the river. It was also strategic to have main roads alongside the river bank as the villagers could shift the blame on travelers if any mishap occurs where the river was polluted.

"Don't follow me," Naomi warned multiple times.

"Where are we going?" Arnacia asked, each time in response. After a long while, she saw Naomi slow down. An inspiration hit her and she said, "If you fall again, I will carry you, so tell me." She urged.

"I am going to the source of this river," Naomi pointed out as she stopped to catch her breath.

Meanwhile, Naomi's grandfather, Shilo Eeich, was increasingly worried. He reached the end of the village and reluctantly approached Arnacia's house. To his surprise, the door was not locked. He went inside the empty house and accidentally tripped the glass of milk. Uneasiness filled his old heart again. Was he going to lose another family member today?

Sudden fatigue washed over his body, and his back began to hurt. He struggled to catch his breath as he leaned against the wall. Sweat beads appeared all over his face and an uncanny burning feeling arose in his chest. It felt as if his heart was contracting and suddenly his vision blurred.

When Shilo next woke up, he was in a warm and cozy blanket. A wet towel was placed on his head. He sat up with great difficulty. To his surprise, Naomi and Arnacia were sleeping in the adjacent bed.

The two little girls were sleeping like angels. Arnacia was resting her face on Naomi's belly. Shilo sighed in relief at seeing the sight.

"I have to protect Naomi," Shilo said to himself. "I can't let her know that her mother has passed away. The riverbank is safe and if I follow them every day, it won't be a problem. I hope Arnaica's parents will do me a favor."

***

The scene changed again. It was that of a riverbank. Naomi and Arnacia were walking hand in hand. The change happened over a course of a few weeks. Shilo was observing from far away. He had cut a deal with Naomi. Every day the little girl could explore the path to the source of the Evermore river, but at night she would return home.

For the past weeks, Arnacia had accompanied Naomi. Every day, they traveled a little farther than before. Slowly, they were really close friends.

"It's time for lunch again," Arnacia pointed out at the sun.

"Grandpa!" Naomi looked back and called out. Smile had returned to her face and her health was better. She knew the importance of meals and was readily eating properly now. "My grandpa asked me to thank you." Naomi turned to Arnacia and held her hands.

"We are best friends now. I promise to take you to the source of Evermore River." Arnacia pressed on Naomi's hands and both girls danced with joy. "The All Blue of Herbs!" they said in unison.

All this while Arnacia (Estelle) was watching. She was truly immersed as a spectator now. This backstory was simple with little twists and turns. But it helped her greatly. It was as if a break was what she desperately needed.

***

The scene suddenly returned back!

In the present, Naomi was holding Arnacia's hand. The green eyes were teary and her hands felt weak. The two trainee maids were standing on the riverbank, a little further away from the tournament ground.

"Look," Naomi said as she let go of Arnacia's hand.

Arnacia saw in the direction Naomi pointed. The water reflected her stiff face, devoid of any emotions. What she witnessed a mere moment ago felt like a dream. An illusion that lasted only for a second in this reality.

Her current thoughts stormed back again. The situation had not changed, but now she had memories of the real Arnacia. She looked at her reflection for a long time.

Slowly, the lines on her face from this life intermingled with the memories of past life. As the orange eyes stared into each other, her mind got clearer. Steadily, she calmed her thoughts.

While walking along the river, she had stolen many glances at her own reflection. But never was that face as clear as now. She bent down and dipped her hand into the cool water. Her face appeared again after the ripples calmed down. The face had an oily shine to it. Her expression didn't get better as she started intentionally.

'This is what I am right now, a pathetic loser. I am scared to face the consequences of my new reality. Estele, you were a fool. Did you really think that this life would be easy and fun as long as you got down Arnacia's character? This is not a vacation. I am not sent to a paradise. I only got a chance to create a new paradise when I already lost one.'

'I am holding my destiny in my own hands,' she thought as she looked at the reflection. 'I will have to work for it, face the consequences, take all the responsibilities of Arnacia and make them mine!'

"Naomi," Arnacia suddenly said in a low voice. She splashed water on her face and stood up straight. Then she took a deep breath and let it out as loud as she could, "NAOMI!"

It was as if the voice reverberated into Naomi's soul. Her tears came to an abrupt halt and her body froze. She wasn't sure what to expect next, but somehow her heart was inclined to a positive feeling. She stared at Arnacia's face.

"Don't cry, okay?" Arnacia smiled. A tint of sadness was on her face. "I remember I promised to take you to the All Blue of herbs."

Naomi's sad emotions were put at an abrupt halt by the shout earlier. And hearing this now made her emotions flow backwards. Her heart overflowed with happiness as tears gushed out of her eyes. She jumped to hug her childhood friend.

Arnacia readily braced herself for the hug. She caught Naomi and stroked the green head buried in her chest. I will protect you forever, Arnacia secretly said.

It was not loud enough for Naomi to hear, but she already knew that her friend would always be there for her. She didn't let go of Arnacia, and the latter didn't mind. The two maids walked back towards the camp in an awkward position - Naomi was a little bent and was hugging Arnacia from the side with her face still close to Arnacia's heart.

***

On the opposite side of the river, the forest was all there to see. However, on a branch, Aciano Alucard stood with a paper in one hand and a sword in another. He had watched the two maids walk upstream and listened to their small talks. In fact, he was a guard when the two harmless maids approached.

He jumped down from the tree when the maids disappeared from his view. The new sword, that he still found uncomfortable, was put away. He looked at the paper in his hand before putting it away, too. Two sketches were drawn in it, marked as - Snowmoon, Partner.

At the foot of this tree, a large chunk of grass was present. He visually rechecked the materials hidden inside. Then left the scene to scout the periphery of the training ground one more time before he took action.