An "Accident"

-----Yui's POV

Two days has passed since we left Azalea, and there doesn't seem to be any indication that the army is continuing their advance against us.

We did stop again yesterday for a couple hours, but Luna was still unconscious, which left her family in quite a bleak mood, so we didn't stick around for long. Today marks another break for us, as the forest around us has become a lot more dense than the previous days. I don't think I could see past maybe a few rows of trees until it's completely obscured. I can't help but wonder what lies in these parts of the forest.

Kaede: "Going to check on Luna again?"

Yui: "Huh? Oh, yeah. You coming?"

Kaede: "I think I'll pass today."

She says as Mell's once again clinging onto her. I suppose they have been away from each other for a long time now, so I understand if they just want to relax, but I'm still worried about Luna.

Yui: "Okay. I'll be back soon then. I won't be long."

Kaede: "Mhmm."

Mell: "Stay safe!"

Yui: "Haha. Will do."

I'm happy that she can feel comfortable talking to me now. Probably helped that I was there when Kaede and I was washing her back in Azalea.

And so, it was just Natalie and I walking down the path to Luna's caravan. As we pass, all the horses looked to be feeling a lot better as they're finally getting the chance to take these long breaks.

Natalie: "It's kind of scary, don't you think?"

Yui: "Hmm?"

Natalie: "The forest. We're so close to it, yet we can't even see what's lurking inside."

Yui: "Ah, yeah. I was thinking that too. I don't think we need to worry too much though. Apparently the monsters are frightened of Kaede, so they just avoid her altogether."

Natalie: "Even this far out? If that's the case, then do you think the monsters are communicating with each other?"

Yui: "Hmmm. It's possible. Not sure whether something like goblins could communicate with wolves though."

Natalie: "Hehe, true."

Yui: "!"

All of a sudden, I sharp pain assaulted my stomach as I immediately dropped to my knees. This pain is all too familiar by now...

Natalie: "Ellen?!"

I slowly turn my head back to where we came from, and just like I thought. I was now out of sight from Kaede. I completely forgot about this stupid thing with my body... Natalie is quick to pick me up from the ground as I use her for stability, but I feel like I'm putting most of my weight on her as my legs have quickly started to feel like noodles. With my free hand, I clench onto my stomach, trying to suppress the pain as Natalie keeps me up.

Natalie: "What's wrong?!"

Yui: "It's... Kaede."

Now it wasn't just Natalie who was worried, but in the corner of my eyes, I could see many others, including some soldiers who are now looking my way.

Natalie: "Is it blood? Do you need blood?"

Yui: "..."

I really don't want to answer that. If I say something like that, then Natalie will just put all the responsibility on herself. Plus I promised mom that I'd take care of her, so I really don't want to use her like that.

Natalie: "Then-"

I didn't see her do it, but now my eyes lock onto a dagger she's holding in one hand, before bringing the blade straight to her other hand. I go to try and stop her, but I'm too focused on using my energy just to stand up right. And in the next moment, Natalie slices her hand open as she she begins to wince in pain. Unlike Kaede who just made a small cut in her palm, Natalie made such a long cut in her palm as blood immediately began to drip onto the ground.

Yui: "St-"

Natalie: "Here. Drink."

She holds out her now blood socked hand that's still continuously pouring blood and brings it to my face. I still can't smell the blood, but I'm well aware now of how delicious Natalie's blood is... I fear that I'll just lose myself anyways when I start drinking...

Natalie: "Ellen, please."

Yui: "..."

The pain is only getting worse the longer I try and avoid this. There's no easy way out of this, is there? I could just deny it, but end up attack Natalie regardless, or just bite the bullet and just drink her blood, risking losing myself anyways. So after a moment of deliberating, I close my eyes tight before opening my mouth, and in the next moment, I could feel Natalie bring her palm to my lips as the taste of her blood immediately begins to fill my mouth. But thanks to the large cut she made in her palm, blood manages to spill from the sides, causes the blood to drip down my chin and even getting some onto my shirt.

The taste is exactly as potent as I remembered as I found myself drinking steadily from the palm of Natalie's hand. And when there was no more left, I began to suck more blood out directly from the cut she made, swallowing every mouthful I could get. The pain that's been radiating in my stomach soon was replaced with a sense of guilt as I continue.

Natalie: "It's okay! Lady Ellen is okay."

She must be talking to the people that saw me collapsed. God, Kaede just went and revealed herself to everyone, but I don't think I'm ready to reveal this part of myself. I know there's still people who are cautious of Kaede, so if they hear that Kaede un-intentionally made me like this, that caution of theirs will only grow more. I don't want to be a burden for her...

Surprisingly, I never drifted out of consciousness, and after a few more big mouthfuls of blood, I pry myself off of Natalie's hand as I find myself now standing comfortable on my own two feet. It still felt forced of me to stop as I could tell my body wanted to keep going, but I don't want Natalie to switch places with me. I wipe the rest of the blood that's been spilling down my chin before I notice Natalie's hand still continuing to bleed.

I quickly grab a long piece of cloth from my bag before wrapping it around Natalie's hand, making sure it's tight enough for the blood to stop coming out.

Natalie: "Thank you."

Yui: "...Thank you too."

Natalie: "Feeling better?"

Yui: "Mm."

Natalie: "That's good."

I can't believe I just did that to Natalie. I know she said its okay for me to rely on her when Kaede isn't around, but I seriously didn't think that a time like this would happen. If only I didn't forget about this stupid condition.

Yui: "Is your hand okay?"

Natalie: "It's throbbing a lot, and it does sting, but it'll be fine."

Yui: "We can have Kaede heal it when we get back."

Natalie: "Hmm? I honestly figured you'd try to heal it. Like what you did for Luna."

Yui: "That's different. I had Alice's supply of her water magic. I can only barely make my hand wet."

Natalie: "Hmmm. Maybe that's all it needs?"

She then extends her now bandaged hand to me, asking for me to grab hold of it. I'm still questioning whether it really was me that healed Luna, so this may be a good opportunity to test it. After thinking so, I take her hand in my own as be begin to continue our walk to Luna's caravan.

Yui: "I'll try, but don't expect much."

Natalie: "Hehe, okay."

I end up closing my eyes yet again, only this time to concentrate on my hand that's wrapped around Natalie's. I catch the tingling feeling in my hand as I focus on that feeling entirely, trying to drown out all the background noises around us. Natalie's hand is still bloody, so it already felt wet to begin with, but I feel like it's gotten wetter? I try to focus more on that same feeling, trying to wring out as much of it as I can before exhaling heavily whilst opening my eyes.

Moving my gaze to our hands, I could see that my hand was definitely wet from my magic as it slowly got absorbed by the bandage. I focus now on the water that has now built up in the bandage, making sure that it doesn't drip out onto the ground like the blood.

Yui: "Feel anything?"

Natalie: "Still throbbing. Did you want to take off the bandage and look?"

Yui: "No! If It didn't work, then your blood will spill everywhere again. We can check once your hand feels better."

Natalie: "Okay."

That said, I'll continue to focus on maintaining the water in the bandage, and if I can, maybe even add more as we go.

We finally make it to Luna's caravan. But to my surprise, Luna was not only awake, but is instead outside with her family, all stretching their legs. Luna seems to be a lot more stiff than the rest of her family, but I guess she has been out for a few days. Just then, Her mom catches sight of us before waving out to us. Seeing her mom's reaction, Luna also spots us as a big smile grew on her face.

Luna: "Ellen!"

She immediately goes in for a hug, wrapping her arms around me, forcing me to let go of Natalie's hand as I too wrap mine around hers. Although I do make sure not to get my blood covered hand on her.

Yui: "I'm glad you're okay."

Luna: "My parents told me everything. You saved me, right?"

Yui: "Yeah."

Luna: "...Thank you."

I end up embracing her tighter for a few moments before we finally break away from one another. There her gaze shifted from my eyes to my shirt. Her face quickly went from such a happy expression to a more gloomy one.

Luna: "That's not, your blood?"

Yui: "Huh? Oh, no."

Natalie: "My apologies. I had a little accident before coming here. Lady Ellen helped dress my wound."

It was Natalie who ended up giving an explanation in my place. It wasn't exactly a lie at all, but she did leave out a lot of details. I guess the only lie is that it wasn't an "accident." But the explanation soothed Luna's worried nonetheless as she was back to being all smiles once again.

William: "Be careful though, Luna. Give your body time to readjust."

Luna: "I know~"

Yeah, seeing Luna all happy like this with her family sure is a great sight to see. Her family looked so depressed recently, but seeing them now with great smiles on their faces, sure does soothe my heart.