A hidden message

"Hmph! What is that thing doing here? Why has he brought it here? Is he not afraid it would dirty the place."

At that moment, Wara stilled.

The dismissive and hostile tone used to talk about her was what made her still. She did not understand it. She looked just like them and without meeting her, they were already treating her like dirt.

In the Āsimati village, each and every Āsimati had different skin colors due to their Nik'sati. Yet no one was treated differently because of their skin color. She wondered why this race was different. She could tell it was because of how she looked that they treated her that way.

She then heard something else that struck her the wrong way. "Between the thief and the dirt, I would choose the thief anytime, anyday."

Ignoring the degratory comment, she turned to Sica who looked worried. "Theif?"

Sica turned to stare at her and found she looked nothing like what he'd imagined. She was not bothered by the comments but instead, she seemed to be taunting him.

Sica opened his mouth to explain then stopped. He wondered why he felt a need to explain himself when he really did not know her. If not for the fact that Nak had told them she was not affected by the Dies Lucis and the similarities between "she" and Wara. He would not have even acknowledged her existence.

"Where is this doctor? I am getting irritated by the petty behaviour." Her words seemed to draw him back to reality and he gestured to the best up house in front of them. "This is his place."

She stepped up to the porch and knocked.

The house was worn and old, the wood slowly rottening as the floorboards creaked and groaned with every step. There was a single rocking chair outside on the porch but it looked desolate and abandoned.

Seeing this, Wara turned to ask before knocking. "Sean are you sure someone lives here?"

Sica answered and then stilled, his eyes widenning. He opened his mouth to say something but Wara had already started knocking.

The door slowly creaked open with a loud groan and a nasaly voice called them in. "Enter!"

The interior was dark, so dark it seemed unnatural. Even the light from the surroundings did not get far as the door opened. This however did not deter Wara and she confidently stepped in.

As soon as Sica stepped inside after Wara, the door slammed shut on its own.

"Who are you?" The voice asked immediately.

"I was told you could help me heal someone dear to me." Wara responded immediately. There was no hesitation as she spoke.

"It depends on what it is. It is perhaps, related to magic?" The voice asked, seemingly excited.

"Yes."

"Show him to me!" The voice called and Wara immediately refused. "Show yourself first. What sort of healer hides amongst the shadows?"

Sica held his breath as the lights immediately came on. "You are a fiesty lady" the voice chuckled, revealing an aging man with a walking stick. He looked to be hunched over as he studied his visitors.

He suddenly stopped chuckling when he got a clear view of Wara. His whole demeanor changed but he immediately schooled his features.

Wara, on the other hand, who had been watching him sharply since the beginning noticed this and frowned. "Now that you have seen me, will you give me the special treatment your people seemed to want to give me?"

"Ah no!" He denied. Unaware his next words would worsen his predicament. "I just never expected a woman of your kind to be this bold."

"A woman of my kind?" Wara was incredibly confused. "What do you mean?"

The doctor seemed to understand that she knew nothing of what she spoke and waved a hand. "Do not fret about it. Where is the one who is ailing. Is it the theif?" He asked, raising his eyebrows as he stared judgingly at Sica.

"Theif hm?" Wara mumbled to herself, albeit not quietly so Sica could hear. "He is not here. He is in the forest as his predicament is quite strange. I came here to beg of you to follow me and help me."

"Okay." The man agreed immediately which Wara found strange but did not press on it.

As soon as the man left to gather his equipment, Wara faced Sica.

"What have you done to these humans for them to hold such spite?" She questioned teasingly and Sica groaned. It was basically a repeat of what had happened the last time. She had said the exact same thing.

"What business do you have with it?" Sica shot back and Wara chuckled. "Nothing, Sean."

That name seemed to make Sica freeze again and he remembered this was the second time she had called him that. He opened his mouth to ask her where she heard the name but the doctor reappeared and the lights went off.

"Well, shall we?" He asked once they had reached the door.

Sica lead the way back, although he was absent minded as he wondered why Wara knew the name.

The doctor found the entire journey strange as Wara refused to say a word and Sica seemed to be lost in thought. When he could not handle the silence anymore, "what is your name young lady?"

Wara turned her head and replied. "Wara." Her tone was curt but the man could sense a hint of worry in her demeanor. He did not say anything after that.

They quickly approached their camp and Fjammi came to greet them. The boy disappeared immediately when he saw the doctor in their midst.

Yhra came out of her tent and informed Wara that she had moved Zola to her tent so he could lie on her bed.

Wara felt a bit of warmth swell in her due to Yhra's actions and her respect for her increased. She decided it the woman was ever in danger and needed her help, she would do everything in her power to protect her.

"This way." Yhra guided the doctor and then after examining the boy, the man smiled softly to himself before schooling his features and turning to Wara.

"I have seen this before. I know what it is but I will need a few herbs from the forest we came from to concoct a medicine that would wake him up."

Wara was relieved to hear such and offered to go get the herbs. She had experience with them and even though she couldn't mix a few, she knew how to get them.

The doctor gave her a piece of parchment with the list of herbs he needed and Wara frowned. She stared at the parchment with a detached look and then schooled her features.

She was determined not to ask for aid from any of the people she was traveling with and instead, decided to tell the doctor.

"I cannot-"

"I will go with you?" Yhra offered, shocking Sica as she gently ushered Wara out of the tent. She grabbed a random basket and thrust it into her hands as she marched them both into the forest.

Yhra spoke after a while.

"I can see your worry and how you would do anything to help the boy. Also, I know you cannot read so I will help you."

Wara's respect for her grew by the minute as they walked into the forest. She did not question how the woman knew since it was quite obvious how concerned she was as soon as he had produced the parchment.

Yhra had no business defending her or covering the fact that she could not read. It was quite common for women to not be able to read but Wara had a feeling Yhra already knew about the special treatment she was recieving due to her color.

She decided to ask her later.

"What is the first herb?"

Yhra stared at the parchment and squinted, wrinkling her nose as she tried to read what was written.

"Hissup?" She finally said with a confused expression.

Wara stared at her for a while with an empty expression but then she suddenly realised what she was saying.

"Ah. You mean Hyssop? That is a common herb. Come."

Wara had suddenly switched to being friendly which startled Yhra and at the same time, amazed her.

They walked for a short while and Wara finally spotted the herb.

Wara picked it and showed it to Yhra. "It has quite a strong but pleasant smell."

Yhra agreed as she stared at the rather strange herb. Its leaves were evergreen in colour and we're quite thick while the flowers on it were quite colorful. It was about two feet tall and quite bushy.

A thought suddenly came to Yhra's mind. "should we not hurry?"

Wara paused but did not reply.

"What is the second herb?"

Yhra took a look at the parchment and seemed to struggle with the word again. "Ifidra."

Wara frowned. "Say that again please."

Yhra looked at the parchment and said it slowly "I fii dra"

Wara gave an amused expression and corrected Yhra. "Ephedra. It's pronounced Uh feh Druh."

Yhra was quite embarassed but did not read into it. She acknowledged that she was not well profersed with herbs. She became confused when Wara did not move but simply took a few steps forward to a four foot tall bush.

"What are you doing?"

"Oh. This is the herb. It's also quite common. If I had known the herbs were such common herbs, I would have made the cure myself."

Yhra nodded and did not say anything else. Both women did not find anything wrong with how easy it was to converse when Yhra and Wara sometimes struggled with others and failed to ponder on what Wara, who came from another side of the veil could find and recognise herbs on this part of the veil both were foreign to.

After plucking the herbs how she saw fit. Wara turned to Yhra with a smile on her face. She seemed to have forgotten the reason why she had been collecting herbs.

"The next herb?"

Yhra stared at it and pronounced it properly.

"Kalitin."

Wara blinked serveral times.

"I have not heard of such a herb. Does it say what it looks like? Perhaps it is rare..."

Wara suddenly paused and stared into the basket, seemingly pondering something. A dark expression seemed to crawl over her face and then she spoke, her voice hoarse and filled with urgency, startling Yhra once more.

"We need to go back, now."

She turned and dashed back after that without offering any explanation. She found it quite hard in the clothes which did not quite fit but endured it. She hoped and prayed in her mind that she was wrong.

"What is it?" Yhra shouted as she ran beside her, running at the same pace with Wara and not breaking a sweat.

"If I am right, we have been bewitched." Wara said nothing after that, leaving a surprised Yhra who had paused in her steps and stood, staring into nothingness.

Eventually,she shook her head as if to shake away her thoughts and ran, catching up to Wara almost immediately.

The two women ran for a while and it sometimes seemed as though they were running in circles.

Wara stopped abruptly and shrieked angrily, raising her hands and bringing them apart like she was tearing through the air. A ripple in the air appeared before her and a tear followed. Gushes of wind rushed out of the tear as it grew bigger. It rushed towards them as if to greet them. Wara grabbed Yhra and before she could protest, stepped through the tear.

As soon as both women stepped through it, it reversed and healed itself up as if it had never been there.

They both appeared in front of Yhra's bed but the bed was empty. There was no doctor and there was no Zola.

Wara let out another shriek that made Yhra grab her ears in pain.

When she opened her eyes, she found a letter on the bed.

Reading through the contents, her eyes widened with worry and she raised her eyes to stare at Wara.

Said woman was already staring at her, waiting to know what was in the letter.

"You love the boy and would do anything for him. I need something, you have something. Come to my palace and we shall talk. Bring her with you if you can. "

The message was confusing to Yhra but clear to Wara.

She had ,after all, figured out who was after Zola a long time ago but had no way to find them. Now, she knew, they had intentionally sent him to her, she just had to figure it out herself. They were expecting her.

Yhra could not see it but she could. The energy that was connected to the one who had written the letter. It acted as a beacon.

Without Warning, Wara disappeared from the tent and reappeared with a man. The man was the doctor she had come with before.

Her expression was calm but Yhra could see it, there was an unhinged and unbridled madness hidden in her eyes that had been unleashed.

She held onto the man's neck and squeezed tightly, asking in a dark and cruel tone.

"Where's my son?"