Because of me

Chapter 5 - Snow

She opened her eyes slowly, only to find herself in a room she was not familiar with.

'Where am I?'

She looked around a little bit and found herself in a small room, it was decorated like an infirmary. She wanted to look around more but....

'Judging by my condition, I probably should not try sit up just yet.'

She began to looks to her surroundings and found herself staring at an antique stopwatch, she began to reach for it but,

"I see you've awoken...." A girl entered the room, she had a fairly high-pitched voice, brown eyes, and she wore a hood, covering her hair. "Is this your's?" She asked picking up the stopwatch. The girl in bed nodded in agreement and was handed the stopwatch.

"Thank you." She clutched it tightly to her chest.

'A woman, she's probably around the same age as me, but why am I hurt so badly?'

"I suppose you'd like to know what happened."

She nodded her head in agreement

"A fisherman caught you within his net. He'd planned on selling you for your extraordinary hair color but I took you and ran." The maiden sat down at the foot of the bed.

'That's right, I was with Zen on The Claw of the Sea's ship and then....'

"They don't know you're in my custody, but you're hair... It really is unique." The girl in bed flinched at her words, "Oh no, I didn't mean it like it was weird or anything I-"

"It's okay, I hear that frequently."

"Oh by the way, I didn't get your name."

"It's Shirayuki, and yours?"

The girl removed her hood, revealing her long, snow-like hair, "My name's Yuki." She gave Shirayuki a warm smile. "So what did you do before you came here?"

"I was an assistant court herbalist."

"Oh wow! You're a healer too!" Shirayuki nodded her head, "So that makes two of us."

'I still don't know where I am... Should I.......... Ask her?'

"So Yuki, where exactly am I?"

"You're currently in a small town called Alousia. We're not a very famous town but I work here as the town's healer, I'm not very skilled but.... I'm getting there! Oh, I am really good at sword fighting and...."

Shirayuki zoned out in her own thoughts, 'Alousia, never heard of it before. I need to get back to Clarinece, I don't even know if Zen's okay!'

"Are you okay? You're beginning to looks little pale."

"I'm fine." Shirayuki replied firmly, she began to sit up.

"Careful now! I may not be skilled but I know you shouldn't be sitting up considering your condition." She forcefully tucked Shirayuki back in, "You were shot by an arrow in your hip! It's a miracle you even survived. You were asleep for so long I thought you might not pull through."

"How Long.... Had I been unconscious for?" Shirayuki asked, in a concerned tone.

"........About three weeks." Yuki answered.

"Three weeks?!" Shirayuki knew she had been asleep for long but she didn't think it would be more than a week.

'I don't even know where I am... Or a thing on Zen's condition. For all I know, he could be dead! What do I do?'

"Hey Shirayuki," Yuki asked, "how about we exchanges skills. You teach me more about being an herbalist, and I can teach you a little about swordsmanship! Deal?"

'I should ask her about Zen, maybe she doesn't know.'

"Yuki, did you hear anything about a male, the same age as us with white hair and blue eyes?"

"There was something, about two weeks ago, right! The same fisherman said they found a male and,-"

"-Where is he! Is he okay?"

"Well, the thing is, they found him but, he had already left this world."

'Zen....... Could that really be him?' Shirayuki began to sob.

"I'm so sorry for your loss. I tried to help him but.... It was already too late."

"Yuki, you know that deal which you had mentioned a while ago?"

"Yes. What about it?"

"Well I agree. I'll teach you more about herbalism so please, teach me swordsmanship."

"Okay but not immediately. We'll wait for you to recover a bit, and then get started on training. But before any of that, I'd like to know, what made you change your mind so suddenly?"

Shirayuki looked up and revealed her face with tears streaming down her cheeks. "Because I was always so weak, others had to go out of their way to save me and I grew dependent on them. I'd like to grow stronger so that that never happens ever again and so that the people around me don't have to suffer for the sake of myself. I'd rather be a strength to the people around me than a burden so please," Shirayuki's cheeks began to lift up into a smile, "teach me swordsmanship."

"Okay then."

'Since Zen is no longer with us because of me, I should learn how to take care of myself. This red hair, most people think it's a gift to have such beautiful hair but it's a curse. Because of it, because of me, I won't be able to see Zen ever again.'

"So Shirayuki, when do you plan on going home, and where are you from anyways?"

"I don't plan on going home, I'll stay here for the time being. But just curious, are you familiar with a town known as Clarinece?"

"Yes, I am?"

"Great then! How far is it from here?" Shirayuki asked.

"Not too close but not too far either. If you travel South-East for about a week, you should reach there. But why do you ask if you have no intention of returning?"

"No specific reason, I'm just curious." Shirayuki lied.

'I don't want to face them. I can't, not yet. They'll only think of me as a burden, which is why I want to make sure I'm as far away from them as possible, so they don't find me.

***
Dun Dun DUN!
I'm so sorry I uploaded this chapter late! I made this chapter ever so slightly longer to make up for it!

Also, I apologize as I may be posting my chapters less frequently, I was given THREE ASSIGNMENTS today. I can't say when the next chapter will be, it'll probably be on the weekend but I'm not sure yet.

Until next time then, BYE!