Chapter 17 - Scarlet

She awakens to the sound of boiling water, bubbling in its pot. The room was dark, only lit by some dim lamps and candles. The only window to the room was high up in the wall and rather small for its size. Not even a child would be able to fit through it to get out. She hissed at the sudden pain when she pushed herself up into a sitting position on the bed. A wet towel slipped from her forehead, bringing its warmth with it, and landed on the thin blanket on her lap. Glancing down, she found that her open wounds were all cleaned and bandaged up, she was surprised to find herself waking up on a rather comfortable bed instead of outside on the dirty and dusty streets. She was still in her old hoodie that reeked of seawater, and her old jeans. Pulling the blanket off of her she slipped into her worn-out sneakers.

Not exactly sure where she is, or if she was in any sort of danger she quietly got up. The room was very small, and if she had stood on her tippy-toe, her head would have touched the ceiling. Among the piles of loose papers and old misty books stacked on top of one another, she was able to locate a single doorway that leads out and into this room. It had no doors, instead, there was a long piece of clothing hanging from the ceiling. She couldn't help but take a look at the papers that laid on the single wooden table just below the window. The words that were on the paper were not printed, instead, it seems to be written in ink. It was her first time seeing such beautiful words, they were written neatly as if they were written by someone in ancient times.

"Finally awake? I would have assumed that you were to be the last awake, but I guess you have a strong body."

She jumped when she heard the voice coming from behind her. Looking over her shoulder in panic, she saw an old man hunched over as he wobbled in slowly. He carried in his hands, a pot with a flower she's never seen before with its strange blue pattern on its petals. Although he was talking to her, he wasn't making any eye contact at all.

"Um...thank you for saving us." She said it was the least she could do. She knew she would have to repay him in some way, she couldn't get away free of charges but she didn't have any money on her either. Her eyes followed the back of the old man who stopped by the corner of the wooden table, shoving some of the papers aside to make rooms for the flower. He carefully placed the pot down and adjusted the table lamp.

"The people in this town have their own history with wizards like you guys, you'll have to forgive them for their actions, they're only doing it out of fear and to protect this humble home of theirs." The old man finally said, his voice was weak but there was a kindness to them.

From his words, she remembered how she felt when the people were gathering together. The anger she had felt when they treated her like some diseases, plus throwing objects that could hurt her friends. She had to admit that she did think of coming back to this town after her friends were safe, to give this town a taste of what she had felt that day. But now all the anger was gone, everyone had a reason as to why they do certain things, and it was not her place to get mad at them about it.

"Ah! My friends! They're-" She suddenly remembers the horrible condition her friends were in.

"Calm yourself, young lady, they're fine. They'll live." The old man cut her off, turning away from the flower when he was satisfied with how the light was shining on the flower. She relaxed her shoulder once more when she heard those words, looking back at the old man. Even though he wasn't living in great conditions, he seems to be rather ok with it. He had white hair just like any elderly would at his age, with old square glasses that seem to be a bit on the misty side. He did not wear any fancy clothes, instead of everything the old man had seemed to be either worn out or old. It made her feel worse about not beginning able to pay him after he had helped her and her friends. She glances down at her sneakers, thinking of something to say when what the old man said before came to her mind, her mind suddenly jumped at the word she had missed earlier, she quickly turned to the old man who was busy looking through some papers with a deep frown.

"What did you call us?" She questioned in bewilderment.

The old man stared up from his papers, his glasses had slipped lower on his nose, making him glance at her over his glasses with a frown as to what she was talking about.

"Wizards," She stated. "You called us wizards."

Upon hearing the words, he pushed his glass back up and glanced back down to his papers again as if it was no big deal and that her reaction was not that big of a deal.

"Why are you so shocked by who you are? Do you hate being a wizard as well?" The old man questioned, further confusing her.

"What? No, I'm just a normal human being." She exclaimed. She received another concerning glance from the old man.

"Well of course we all are, that's the only thing that keeps the wizards and normal citizens bonded." The old man said as if it wasn't clear enough, after a moment of silence, he placed his papers down. "Did you damage your head? Should I take another look at you young lady?"

She couldn't tell if it was her or if it was the old man who was making stuff up.

"No, I feel perfectly fine." She replied. "Just where am I?"

The look that the old man was giving her was starting to annoy her, she felt the frustrations that were slowly rising. Not only did she not know where she was or what was going on, but she also didn't know what the guy was talking about and it was driving her crazy.

"You're in Lacewood, the closest town to the big capital." The old man said slowly. "Are you sure you're-"

"Hold on, give me a moment." She interrupted. She needed a moment to think, no matter how many times she repeated the name of the town in her head she could not think of anything related to a town of such names. She may not know of all the town's name in the world but she was pretty sure if she wouldn't have drifted across the world, and as far as she knows she was pretty sure she never heard of any town that believed in wizards.

"Do you have a phone I can use? To call home that is?" She questioned.

The old man stared at her blankly, the question was already in his eyes. The frustration was getting to her head, it seems that the phone was not something the old man seemed to understand.

"If you're looking for a way to contact your family, you'll need an Estrell. They normally sell those in big cities and capitals, rarely in small towns like this."

"Estrell?" It was her first time hearing of such a thing. She had no idea what she was supposed to be picturing in her head. Was it a type of phone brand that she's never heard of?

"Yes, they're small bracelets powered by the magical stone that's mined from the caves below. They cut a piece of the large stone off and that much power can last at least 40 uses." The old man placed his glasses down carefully on the table along with his papers. "Just who are you guys?"

Her eyes were caught on the papers he had put down, the paper itself wasn't thick and with the ink on it, she was able to see the words clearly on the only side. She wished she hadn't as she grabbed for the paper, her eyes staring at the numbers written on the paper.

Year 196c was what was written.