Lady Maria

It was nighttime when Karla woke up. The fair lady noisily dragged a chair and sat beside her. "Foreigner, we have found you on the verge of death in the woods in an area outside the city." Karla fixatedly looked at the woman, her gaze unfaltering. The woman's melodious voice was enchanting. Karla had immediately forgotten the rage she had towards Gavril.

"Are you a hunter?" asked Karla. The lady revealed a gentle smile as she answered: "So are you my dear. As I said earlier, we found you in the middle of the woods. Your injuries were grave so we decided to break the rules and admitted you for blood ministration. The fact that you recovered and you're able to speak to me at the moment is proof that you have successfully become a hunter."

Karla knew that these people had saved her in order to question her. Her sudden and mysterious appearance in Yharnam wasn't going to go unnoticed. She was pleasantly surprised to have kept the memories from her comatose experience. Not only that, but she also deeply remembered Gavril's last words.

At the moment that strange pendant broke, Karla felt that she had mysteriously regained consciousness. It was as if she'd lost consciousness and awoke several minutes later. What had actually happened was a mystery to her. She still remembered that man's last words however. "Bring me back my summons." She didn't know what he meant by that, but she was sure to find out eventually.

The fair lady was still looking at Karla, expecting a reaction from her. Karla quickly cleared her throat. "Thank you for saving my life, I don't think I can ever repay you for your kindness," she said in a low tone. It felt like she was apologetic. "There's no kindness in administering blood to a foreigner. You do not know what a great burden it is to be a hunter. We saved your life because we need answers."

Karla was surprised by the bland tone the discussion had taken. The woman's previously smiling face turned into an emotionless one. No wrinkles or features indicated what the woman was feeling or thinking. Karla was good at reading people's faces, but this one was just impossible to read through.

"Answers about what?" she asked. "For starters, where did you come from? And why were you heavily injured and sitting on a chair in the middle of the woods?"

Karla had already prepared an answer for the question. "I come from the country of Caylind." That was her country of origin. Every lie has a bit of truth in it. Karla decided to go with that in order to tell her story. "I was ambushed by a mad man. He had a grudge against one of my companions and decided to kill every person related to him." Karla's heart ached as she remembered the slaughter. "It was a massacre. To all of us, he looked like a demon in a human body. The moment he saw blood rush out of poor Mikhail, he madly laughed as he seemed to have gone into a trance." Karla's hands trembled and she clutched the bed sheets tight.

The fair lady looked at Karla and smiled at her. "It seems you have survived the worst. If it was around Yharnam, I would've thought of Cainhurst. But since you clearly look like a foreigner, how would you explain your appearance here? The one who ambushed you wasn't around when we found you." Karla could clearly see that her story wasn't solid enough.

"I escaped during the ambush. I wasn't injured so I travelled as far away as I could from that fiend. Our ship was attacked at sea and I somehow drifted off to the shore nearby." Karla had studied the geography around Yharnam with Surgit before they set sail before. It was stated in the books that Yharnam and other countries around it formed an archipelago. Since she didn't remember the names of neighboring countries, she decided to risk it by lying about the ship sinking.

Karla's mind raced as she started making up her story. She desperately wanted to avoid telling them that she came from the future. The idea alone seemed farfetched. If Karla hadn't experienced it herself, she wouldn't believe anybody with that claim. She also wanted to find a way to get back to Yharnam. That chair was her clue but she didn't know where it was. If the hunters here concluded that she was insane, she'd be automatically executed. She knew that they didn't tolerate failure.

"When I arrived to the shore, I didn't know where I landed. I aimlessly wandered, looking for civilization. On my way, I encountered a man clad in armor. He elegantly greeted me and offered his assistance. He pointed towards the woods and told me that there was a village beyond."

Thanks to her out of body experience, Karla had heard about where and how she was found. She collected some information about the area from their speech. What she was saying didn't arouse the lady's suspicion. "As soon as I reached the forest, I heard howls and screams in the distance. I was scared, but the moment I tried to investigate them, beasts came rushing at me.

"I fought them off ran and, but I sustained heavy injuries. I don't know what made them lose interest in me but that allowed me to get away from their grasp. I thought I had died when someone appeared and dragged me around in the forest. At that moment, I had lost consciousness."

The lady listened to Karla intently as she told her story. Something was off about what she told her but she couldn't press the matter any further. Her story was solid. She couldn't refute the facts she was given. "Do you remember the person who dragged you?" the fair lady asked. Karla shook her head and said, "I thought it was one of you. It was only when you told me about where I was found that I knew I was wrong."

The fair lady smiled at Karla and extended her hand towards her. "Welcome to the Order of Hunters, my name is Maria. I will be your master from this day on." Karla shook the hand that extended towards her. "I'm Karla." Lady Maria nodded then went on: "From today onwards, you will answer directly to me. Would you join us in hunting some threatening beasts?"

Karla knew that she had no other choice in the matter. She nodded then stood up from her bed. "Go on, feel how different your body is after the ministration." Karla's physical prowess was extraordinary even before becoming a hunter. Now that she felt her body and realized how much had changed, she couldn't help but smile.

Her heart ached since she dreaded the use of blood the moment she arrived to Yharnam. She had become a hunter against her will. That frustrated her a little. But seeing the effects of blood ministration on her, her view on the matter started changing. "Are you good with weapons?" Lady Maria was still looking at Karla with a smile on her face. That smile started weighing on Karla. She didn't know what that smiling face hid underneath.

She knew hunters to be ruthless and bloodthirsty. Looking at an Old Hunter who was respected by everyone, Karla could only imagine how much blood was on that woman's hands. "Yes I have trained on the use of broad and short swords. That was how I managed to survive against those beasts earlier." Lady Maria approvingly nodded then said: "The attack of the beasts wasn't earlier. It was three months ago."