Red as a cherry

As Aella roused from a heavy slumber she first became aware of the coolness of the air and its loamy fragrance. Her dress felt as damp as a flower in the dew of the dawn. Within seconds of realizing she had been unconscious she sat up, eyes wide, taking in the shafts of light that burst through the gaps in the leaf canopy above. She had been sleeping under a large tree, on top of a dusty grey cloth.

"Good morning."

Aella turned to the voice, not recognizing the person in front of her. It didn't help that he had tied a black cloth around his head, covering everything but his eyes. He was dressed in all black, a sharp contrast to his shining silver hair.

     "I'm Ash," he introduced himself. "The fire guy from yesterday."

     Aella was amused. 'The fire guy', what an introduction.

"Nice to meet you, Ash. I'm..." Aella trailed off, thinking how best to introduce herself. She was a nobody. "I'm-"

"She's Aella." Vinson entered her line of sight, looking happier than when he got his first part-time salary. "I'm Vinson, apparently a mage, and that's Maya, apparently a mage of all mages. And we apparently warped into another universe, which pretty disappointingly looks the same as our world."

Aella didn't know how to respond as she sat there, stunned. Vinson seemed pretty cool with the whole two worlds thing, but still… Was she sorry she hadn't been able to tell them? Was she glad she didn't have to be the one to tell them? Or was she more nervous of how they would react to this world in the next few days? Perhaps a mix of all.

Maya then arrived holding a glass bottle of water in one hand. Unlike Vinson, she wore a blank expression on her face, keeping herself busy with whatever she was fidgeting with. It seemed that Archer had filled both of them in. It seemed that a few things had happened while she had been unconscious.

One of those things being the fact that she missed the warp into another world. Again.

Maya had changed out of her dress and into a brown blouse and baggy pants set that Aella recognised. She was thankful Archer had taken her emergency bag for her. She looked down at the muddy dress she was still wearing and wondered if she had prepared two extra sets of clothes instead of one. She didn't remember. Her heart had been beating too wildly the past twenty-four hours.

Now when she finally had time she became aware of her state. Bugs zipped in and out of her ears, humming and buzzing their little annoying songs. Mosquitoes landed on the only exposed skin she had, and she quickly slapped them away. Sbe was filthy and shoeless, and yearned for a long soak in a bathtub, or at least a nearby river.

Sadly when Archer returned to the group they decided to not waste time and left the tree, heading for the edge of the forest where he mentioned a carriage and a small cabin was waiting for them. He led the way, followed by Maya and Vinson then Aella, and Ash became the tail of the group.

Taking her first few steps, Aella realised Archer had fed her the small vial of healing potion she had kept in her first aid kit. It had closed the wound overnight, but her muscles and nerves were still sore everywhere.

Throughout the hike the dull pain never left her alone. When it waned she could move, when it returned she could only hold still and breathe, breathe slow and deep until it had passed. Every few steps it felt like a nail bomb exploding in her innards. Clutching her fists tightly, Aella kept moving forward.

"You can't walk like that," Ash commented, eyes on her limping leg. "Let me help you."

She paused. She didn't want to be more of a burden than she already had been, but could she go on like this, she wondered.

A few meters ahead of the pair, a thud onto the ground sounded, followed by a cry of pain. Ash jogged ahead of Aella, tending to Maya. Aella couldn't go any faster than she was going, so she continued to limp towards Maya.

"I think I sprained my ankle," Maya panted heavily as she spoke.

Ash got on one knee, turning his army green hover-sack to the front and gesturing towards his back. Maya climbed on and hooked her arms loosely around Ash's neck as he stood and continued walking.

Well, that wasn't surprising. Even though Maya was a child of the Earth, throughout the years Aella had observed that Maya wasn't as physically active as she thought she would be. She preferred basking still under the sun to exploring the outside.

Thankfully in less than an hour the forest trees were thinner, indicating a possible clearing. As they continued the path grew wider, and stretched, in a gentle incline, towards a hillock of moderate height. A cabin accompanied by a few tall trees sat on the top and right beside it stood two horses attached to a wooden horse carriage.

When Aella stepped out of the cool shade from the trees and into the harsh sunlight, her eyes trailed up the path to the cabin. It was an uphill.

'Okay, positive thoughts. It's going to take just five minutes.'

She started to hum to distract herself but broke off when an intense pain shot through her spine, cutting her from the world like a metallic string.

The throbbing in her thigh willed her onto her knees as sweat trickled down her forehead. She took deep breaths, trying to control the pain level. From her peripheral vision the others had all walked ahead, and she didn't have the energy to shout for help. She focused on resisting the pain.

I don't feel anything, I don't feel anything, I don't feel anything.

I don't feel anything.

For a moment it worked. For a moment the pain disappeared and she almost exhaled in relief. But just as it faded away it came back, sharper and stronger this time. She let out a groan and dropped her hands to the ground, gripping dead leaves and small sticks.

Suddenly a gust of wind blew past her and a thud sounded. Still panting heavily, she turned to Ash. He hurriedly pulled something out of his bag and offered it to her.

"Drink," he said, holding a glass bottle to her lips with one hand, another on my arm, supporting me.

Aella parted her lips and swallowed the liquid in the bottle, coughing when it burned as it slid down her throat.

"What's that?" she gasped.

"You'll know," was all he said before it happened.

The pain immediately faded away to a light throb, and suddenly her body felt light and refreshed. It was a minty effect. She continued to control her breathing.

Ash put one arm around her shoulder and asked her to try standing. When she stood and applied weight on her leg, the pain slightly grew and she grit her teeth.

"Okay, up we go." Ash picked her up bridal style, making her gasp.

"I don't– You don't– I'm okay!" she stumbled over her words, unsure how to react.

"No, you're not," he asserted and she didn't object any further.

Looking ahead, she spotted Vinson carrying Maya on his back.

He had just been carrying Maya and now he had to carry her. She felt so embarrassed that she couldn't look up at him, and planted her gaze onto her dirty dress. Too embarrassing!

"That was Pevel, a potion that flattens pain intensity," Ash spoke to her, cutting the silence. "Just in case you were thinking about what it was."

She hadn't actually been wondering about it, but it was good to know.

"It lowers pain levels at the time consumed, but the pain will continue to be there, and for a longer duration than before you drank it. It's like a side effect, for balance."

"Oh, balance… "

This world was all about balance. If one region had one rare resource, another didn't. For commoners of this world's kingdoms, if one child had magical abilities, the other didn't. Aella had heard from Aunt Freia, her caretaker during her time in the Old World, that that was why the Original World had split into two worlds. To restore balance.

"So you're a fire user?" she asked Ash even though she knew the answer.

"Yeah."

"Oh… The magic comes from within you? You just… channel it out or something?" she wanted to know.

The only mage she had known until Ash's appearance was Archer. Though she had been working with him for a year, she had never exactly had the opportunity to ask him. He always came and left. It was also kind of embarrassing to ask him, given his capability. Asking a stranger was way easier, she wasn't afraid of judgement.

Ash looked down at Aella quizzically. "You… you don't use magic?"

"Such is life," she muttered, looking into the distance.

They had passed the carriage and were approaching the entrance to the little cabin.

Aella shifted in Ash's arms, ready to be let onto the ground. "Thank you."

He took no notice of her words and followed Archer into the cabin, letting her down on a creaky wooden chair.

Aella took in the interior of the place. It looked like many things. It was rusty, old and dusty, but rather welcoming. The whole house was made of dark red bricks. A tiny stove, two small wooden chairs, a circular table, a not-so-large mattress and that was quite it.

Archer set down his backpack in a corner and held the door open for Vinson and Maya to come through.

"We will be staying here for the night," he announced, "after which we will set out for the capital."

"All of us in one room?" Maya asked.

Fair question, Aella thought, though she was pretty sure that was the only choice they had.

She looked at Maya regretfully. "Sorry Maya, we can't do anything about that. Maybe we can set up some partitions for you?"

She guessed she could gather branches and tie them together into a board for Maya.

Maya waved her hand. "It's fine, I was just asking."

Archer laid out the thin queen-sized mattress for Vinson and Maya, seeing that it was okay for the two of them to rest side by side as they were siblings. Aella declined Vinson's offer to sleep there because she had had enough sleep the previous night. She could use this time to catch up with Archer.

After making sure they were comfortable and fast asleep, she quietly exited the cabin, careful with her steps. She looked around for Ash and Archer, and spotted them leaning against the wooden carriage, facing away from her.

It was better if she did not interrupt their conversation and came back later, but she did have an interest in Ash, who had taken off his mask. She had never seen him in any of the secret meetings she had had with other agents in the past. Where did he come from? And a fire mage, at that. Fire was the least subtle magic out of the four elements. It was bold and striking. Too noticeable for a low-key operation.

She recalled his ability in the New World. It was impossible for a simple mage to do that. Archer could barely lift a fork back in the New World with his magic. It was a world that hated magic. Yet Ash conjured fire like it was nothing.

Aella shook her head. Regardless, his powers were none of her business. Once this was all over, she would have nothing to do with any of them.

She looked around and spotted a nearby pile of sticks Archer had gathered for the night's warmth. He collected the branches in such a short time. She approached the neighboring trees looking for a sturdy branch to use as a walking stick.

As she poked around the ground in search of her fated stick, the sounds around Aella became louder and sharper. Whispers hung in the air, but she couldn't make sense of the words. What was happening? She covered her ears in an attempt to block out the many unwelcome sounds. She stopped moving, trying to lessen the noise around her. Too much chirping, too much rustling of leaves, two voices.

"...I don't think we should do that, Your Highness," Archer's voice floated past her ears and she almost didn't catch it.

'Your Highness?'