"......" I regret this moment so much.
Far cries of birds could be heard in the distance as I stood alone...in the middle of nowhere. That's right, ladies and gentlemen, I'm lost in the middle of a forest...unfortunately I didn't bring any communication devices with me nor do I have any proper survival skills whatsoever...
I crouched down, holding my head. "I'm gonna die here..." Now that my head is clear from the emotional stress suffered earlier, I'm cursing myself so hard right now.
The feeling of getting lost in the deep and dark forest—yeah it's still daytime but I meant dark as eerie, is sending chills down my spine. I even felt eyes watching me but I'm doing my goddamn best to ignore it. 'Don't make any eye contact and they won't disturb you...just play dumb' those words ran through my head like a mantra.
Okay ignoring the eyes in the bloody woods issue, I have two options here. One, I could where I am and wait for help to eventually find me...but there's the chances of wild animals and beasts attacking me and eating my barely juicy bone. The second option would be to continue to walk into the deep and scary forest until I find a way back or find any help.
'Ahhh the pros and cons', I scrambled my hair in thought. Though, I don't wanna be a meal for any hungry beasts out there so walking ahead is my only option.
So I forced my trembling legs to walk onward and as I did so, I felt something hard fall onto my head. "Shit...." I winced at the pain of whatever that just fell on top of my head.
"What the fuck?" I blinked in confusion. Apparently what I am looking at is a fat looking butterfly. Yeah, you read that right. It looked like it could barely fly, probably why it fell from the air and painfully hit my head. Looking at it more closely, I noticed it was made of pure glass?
"Whoa..." I said in awe. So that's why it hurt so much. 'A glass butterfly? Is this a type of butterfly species in this world?' As I pondered on this new creature I have encountered, I didn't realise someone was really watching me.
~ Third Person's P.O.V ~
"Yikes...." An older girl grimaced at her ugly creation. "I may have rushed on that one" she watched the younger girl poking her fat glomp of an icicle butterfly through another ice butterfly that she had made. Thankfully this one was perfectly made to spy on the young Claremore heiress.
"Luna?" Her cousin knocked on her door before opening it. His brows furrowed at the dark lit room with the only light reflecting from her crystal ball. "Why are you doing in the dark?"
She merely smirked at him, "Oh nothing, just some observation~" she traced along on her crystal ball. Her cold icicle crystal ball that she was using to spy through her nimble icicle butterflies.
Anthony sighed, "well, I could care less of whatever you do in your free but Father had asked for you to actually join for lunch...as a loving family" he clicked his tongue at the phrase.
"Alright~" Luna hummed before glancing back at her crystal ball. "I'll be sure to join you two later. If that is all you have to say then..." She interlaced her fingers as she rested her chin upon them. "...I wish to be left alone" her lips curved upward, smiling with her eyes closed shut as crescent moons.
Knowing better than to disturb his older cousin, Anthony simply left without another word, shutting the door behind him. Now with her cousin gone, Luna diverts her attention back to her crystal ball.
Cynthia was still poking the fallen monstrosity of a butterfly. Luna sighed before snapping her fingers. Though a smile returned to her face as she watched the younger girl panicked when the butterfly she was poking suddenly melted before her eyes.
"....this girl seriously lacks the ability to sense danger...." The older blonde rubbed her temple. Cynthia was completely distracted by the deformed butterfly, the girl had entirely forgotten that she was lost in the middle of a forest. One moment she was panicking about being lost then the next, she's poking a deformed-looking butterfly without a care in the world. "...she's a ball of mess is what she is...she has moderate symptoms of bipolar or has difficulty handling her emotions" Luna mumbled as she had observed and diagnosed her possible future disciple. She recalled back to the numerous outburst such as the earlier fight between father and daughter. Yes, she was watching for that long...
She felt that the girl could be too much to handle if she were to take her underneath her wings but...a smirk grew upon her face. She does crave a challenge and this girl has proven to be quite intriguing.
No wonder her dearest cousin had been so invested in his little fiance. "Oh what fun~" her sky blue eyes glinted in anticipation. She kept her eyes intensely on the girl as Cynthia continued to venture deeper into the forest.
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"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"
Cynthia screamed as she was being chased by a wild monster-looking boar. It was the biggest boar she had ever seen with two enormous tusks accompanied by two pairs of small tusks on each side. Its red beady eyes gaze upon her with great hunger as it chases her deeper into the forest.
"Why the heck is this forest so fucking dangerous?!" She cried, running her dear life. This forest is just behind her family mansion. She never realised that so many beasts and dangers lie deep in this forest. Although what Cynthia never knew, the Claremore Mansion had a magical barrier surrounding it until so much into the forest. A barrier that protects the mansion from the vicious beasts lurking within the forests.
'I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die!' She chanted in her mind. 'I'm gonna die eaten by a fucking pig!' Cynthia wept, running her hardest yet the beast doesn't stop chasing her.
"Huh?" Far further before her, a girl near that of her age stood there.
"Run run run!" Cynthia warned with the beast gaining closer and closer to her. "Run! Don't just fucking stand there!" But the girl was frozen by fear at the sight of the large monstrous boar. Cynthia internally cursed but grabbed the girl by the arm, making her move.
She spotted a large tree with lower branches. "Climb up that tree!" Cynthia pointed at the mentioned tree. "Quickly!" Cynthia helped the girl climb before climbing up herself. The two girls managed to reach higher ground, escaping the beast's reach.
Unfortunately, they weren't out of danger yet. The persistent beast was slamming its tusks against the tree. 'It's trying to bring the tree down!' Cynthia panicked, looking down at the ginger beast. They were trapped high up on a tree with a monstrous boar below them. Remembering she wasn't alone, the blonde girl turned to see the poor girl that was dragged into this. 'Roselyn?!' Cynthia gaped as she turned to see none other than the famous Heroine herself. She was trapped on the tree with the bloody Heroine. Out of all the time to meet the Heroine, it gotta be on a tree with a giant pig trying to eat them.
The orange-haired girl whimpered as she clung to the tree tightly. Cynthia glanced at her in sympathy and gritted her teeth. She just wanted to scream her lungs out for help but she knew that no one is gonna hear it at least before the beast could bring the tree down. She needed to do something or they both are dead.
'I-I can do magic, right?!' Cynthia stared at her hands. 'C'mon! Do something!' She shook her hands around, trying to get some action. "My element is also fire, right?! Goddamnit please let me roast this one of a bitch!"
"Ignite globos ignis"
Amongst the chaos, Cynthia heard a faint whisper. "I-Ignite globos ignis?" she furrowed at the foreign words. Though as she spoke those words, multiple balls of flames appeared before her. The blonde girl gaped even more as those fireballs aimed straight at the monstrous boar and touched it alive.
"What?" Roselyn's eyes widened as she watched the beast get burned alive.
"Did I do this?" Cynthia turned to her. Roselyn slowly nodded. "Y-You even spoke the i-incantation"
Usually, a mage can upon their elements on will without the need to speak any incantations. However, wielding your magic while speaking of its incantations, helps the mage have better control over it and even enhance it. But most mages prefer wielding their magic without speaking the incantation because even the slightest misconception can cause dangerous effects and there's no guarantee that the spell would work even if you had said the incantations.
"Um I think it's safe to get down now" Cynthia awkwardly smiled, gesturing to the now burned corpse of the beast. She slowly climbed down the tree and helped the orange-haired girl down as well.
"You saved us!" Roselyn exclaimed once they reached the solid ground. The orange-haired girl grabbed both of her hands and smiled with great gratification. The blonde heiress nervously laughed, "well I was the reason you were involved in this mess" 'plus I didn't even know that incantation! But I can't say I heard someone or something saying it, she'll think I'm mad!'
Roselyn simply shook her head, "it doesn't matter. Knowing that such a scary beast was lurking close by, I would still be in danger regardless of whether you were the cause or not"
Cynthia felt less guilty at her explanation. Though recalling back, she couldn't help but wondered what a girl like her we're doing in such a dangerous forest.
"Oh, I was just collecting some herbs for my grandmother" Roselyn smiled, showing the wooden basket that she was carrying.
Cynthia sweatdropped, questioning the grandparent's sanity to let their grandchild go into a forest filled with vicious beasts simply for some herbs. A seven-year-old no less. "R-Right..." She said nothing else, worried she'll accidentally offend her.
"Oh look at you!" Rosalyn gasped, finally noticing the condition the blonde girl was in. "How about you come with me? To my house back to the village" the girl kindly offered.
"Um, are you sure?" Yes, Cynthia is grateful that she finally found the help she was so desperately searching for; however, it did concern her a lot that this girl could offer a stranger like her into her home. Someone teach this girl about some awareness.
"Of course!" Roselyn's smile didn't falter. "How could I not help my saviour?"
Cynthia twitched at the title. She just lit a creature on fire. She would be labelled an arsonist instead. Though she only slowly nods her head.
"Oh, I just realised!" The girl suddenly gasped. "I never got your name" her bright dark pink eyes gazed at her in anticipation. "My name is Roselyn Grace"
"A-Ah, you could just call me Cynthia" Cynthia replied with a smile of her own.
"Wait could you possibly be Cynthia Claremore?!" Roselyn stepped back in shock. Cynthia only responded with a slow nod. Was she that scary?
"Foolish of me, how could I forget?! Lady Cynthia was there at the Coming of Age Ceremony" the orange-haired girl hid her face in her hands in embarrassment. She couldn't believe she had acted and in front of a noble nonetheless.
"A-Ah! It's alright!" Cynthia tried to calm her down. "I don't mind!"
Rosalyn calmed down a bit and peeled from her fingers. "Okay, but what is Lady Cynthia doing in such a dangerous forest?"
'So she does know that this forest is bloody dangerous yet still enter here to pick herbs?!' Cynthia internally cried but still kept her smile on her face. "O-Oh, I...well you see...um..." The blonde heiress didn't know how to explain.
Seeing the noble girl struggled, Roselyn only smiled in understanding. "It's alright. Lady Cynthia, don't have to tell me. I shouldn't pry too much"
Cynthia wanted to cry in relief. Though she instead smiled in return. This girl is more considerate than she thought despite still being a young kid.
"Though I still think Lady Cynthia should come with me" Roselyn suggested. "At least let me help you as the sign of my gratitude"
That definitely had taken Cynthia by surprise. She was shocked that the orange-haired girl still wanted to repay her. "Are you sure?"
"Of course!" Roselyn grabbed her hand and immediately led the way.
~ Time Skip ~
"Um, Roselyn..." Cynthia cleared her throat, catching the other girl's attention.
Roselyn hummed in response. "Yes?"
"Why are we sneaking into your own village?"
"Well...you see.." Roselyn nervously laughed. "I am not really allowed out of the village"
"What?!" Cynthia gaped at her.
"Who goes there?!" A shout startled both of them. A man looked at them in suspicion before recognising the orange-haired girl. "Rosalyn? What are you doing out here? Shouldn't you be with your grandmother?" He raised a brow.
"A-Ah Mister Luis" Roselyn awkwardly smiled at the man. "Um well, the thing is..." She was stumped. Cynthia facepalmed beside her.
The man—Luis only sighed, "please don't tell me you were out in the forest again" he rubbed his temple.
"...then I won't tell you" she turned away.
"Rosalyn, you know you shouldn't go out of the village. It's dangerous especially for someone like you" Luis scolded the orange-haired girl. Meanwhile, Cynthia raised a brow at his words.
"B-But—" Roselyn whimpered at the scolding.
"And who's this?" Luis turned to glare down at Cynthia. "I've never seen you before"
"I'm—"
"She's a new friend I made! She got herself lost in the forest and needed help" Roselyn spoke over her, obviously leaving out the detail about being nearly killed by a monstrous boar.
"That's kind of you, Roselyn but you know most people of this village aren't too fond of outsiders" Luis huffed.
"But she helped me find some herbs for Granite the first " Roselyn sadly looked at him with her watery big eyes. "And the other kids would never be friends with me" she fiddled with her fingers. "And I-I thought..." She sniffed.
Luis sighed, giving in to the crocodile tears. "Fine, I won't say a thing but make sure your little friend is here..." He glanced at Cynthia. "...is not seen by anyone else"
Rosalyn gleamed at the older man, wiping her tears away. "Thank you so much, Mister Luis! We were just on our way to Granny"
"Then you should take the path in the back to avoid from being seen" Luis pointed in a direction. A path behind the village, leading straight to their destination.
"Oh thank you, Mister Luis!" Rosalyn beamed while Cynthia only nodded her head.
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"Roselyn? Dearie, where have you been?" An old woman greeted them as they finally reached Roselyn's small but quaint little cottage at the edge of the village. She wrinkled her brows, looking at her grandchild in concern.
"Oh, Granny!" Roselyn beamed at her before rushing towards her and hugging her by the waist. "I went to pick some herbs! I'm sure we can use them to make some herbal tea or medicine!" She showed her a wooden basket filled with the mentioned plants. She went through the herbal plants with great happiness.
But the same thing couldn't be said for her grandmother. The elderly woman only sighed tiredly. "Roselyn dear, please don't tell me you went into the forest again..."
Cynthia blinked at the same wording as Luis had used towards Roselyn. If she didn't know any better, she would think that Roselyn here was quite the rebel. Looking at the guilty face the orange-haired girl was making also made Cynthia sweatdropped even more.
Roselyn's grandmother also looked at the girl in disappointment. "Roselyn, I'm grateful for your effort to collect herbs for me but going into the forest is much too dangerous" she scolded. "Who knows what could happen to you, dear child?"
"B-But there are more herbs found in the forest" Roselyn tried to defend herself. "A-And I am just trying to help, herbs are getting more expensive and Granny—"
"And that is my problem to worry about" her grandmother smiled down at her in reassurance. "You should be worrying about making friends and playing, not my health or dangerous forest" she patted Roselyn's head.
"..okay.." The orange-haired girl could only nod her head. The elderly woman then noticed the other blonde child just lurking in the back. "Oh? Is this a friend of yours, Roselyn?"
Cynthia flinched a bit when she was called out. "O-Oh hi" she stiffly waved. She felt so awkward, waiting in the back while the grandmother-granddaughter was having a moment.
Roaelyn's smile returned when she turned to the blonde heiress. "This is Cynthia! She's that noble girl I've told you before!" She beamed while Cynthia sweat. 'She had been talking about me?!'
"Cynthia?" Her grandmother blinked. "And what is a noble girl like yourself doing in a small village like this?" She softly smiled at her.
"..I had...um," Cynthia found it difficult to lie to the elderly lady. Maybe because she never met her grandparents in both her current and past lives, hers had already passed away when she was just born. "I ran away from home..." Words flew out of her mouth before she could stop it.
"Ran away from home?!" Roselyn gasped. "Is that why I found you in the forest?" She looked at the blonde with great concern.
"W-Wait!" Cynthia scrambled, raising her hands around. "I mean that I just got into a fight and then I ran into the forest but got lost!" She tried to explain.
As the girl panicked, Roselyn's grandmother crouched down and softly smiled at Cynthia. "Cynthia dear, I'm not sure what happened but running away from your problems is never the answer" she advised the girl. "You'll only end up regretting it...and probably getting lost along the way" she lightly chuckled at the end. Cynthia smiled a bit at the old woman's joke.
"But since it's getting quite late, we could wait until tomorrow morning to send you back." There was a gentle twinkle in her eyes.
"Thank you..um"
"My name is Heather Grace but you can call me Granny Heather" Granny Heather smiled. "And let's get you out of those dirty clothes. I'm sure some of Roselyn's clothes would fit you" she gestured to the messy dirt stains on her blouse.
"Thank you again, G-Granny Heather" Cynthia nodded her head in thanks before she was pulled by Roselyn. "Here! Let me help you, Cynthia!"
"O-Oh okay"
Granny Heather smiled at the sight of the two girls. She had never seen her granddaughter so excited in a very long time.
~ Time Skip ~
The sky has turned dark and day welcomed the night. Cynthia is now dressed comfortably in Roselyn's nightgown and laying on a bed in a small guest room. Numerous thoughts ran through her head as she stared right at the ceiling.
Until she heard a soft knocking on the door, opening the door slowly, Roselyn peeked her head in. A happy yet nervous smile graced her lips. "H-Hi, sorry I did disturb you?"
"No, I couldn't sleep...you know staring at the ceiling, a total blast if you ask me" Cynthia joked as she rose up from the soft mattress. She patted on the bed, inviting the girl to sit beside her which Roselyn happily complied.
"So are you comfortable?" Roselyn asked, still quite worried that their bed wouldn't be soft nor fitting enough for a noble such as herself. Cynthia simply smiled, nodding her head which made the orange-haired girl sighed in relief.
So there they were, sitting on Cynthia's temporary bed in the dark. Unable to sleep, both began talking. First, it was a little about themselves, their families and so on. Then they had reached a funny topic as they recalled back to the earlier event of the monstrous boar.
The two girls had exchanged giggles and laughter. They had lost count of time as they were caught in their own conversation.
"...can I tell you something?" Roselyn suddenly brought up, fiddling with her fingers. "Like a really important secret, just between you and me", she looked at the blonde girl hopefully.
Cynthia furrowed her brows at that. "You sure about that? I mean we just met. Just because I had saved you before, it doesn't mean that you are indebted to me or something" the blonde heiress clarified, still uneasy with how the orange-haired girl was quick to trust someone she had known for a day.
Roselyn only smiled softly at her. "True but this is the first time I've spent some time with a person of my age. Like real quality time that we both enjoyed" her smile turned sad. "I don't know, I just felt you're more genuine than the people in this village..."
The orange-haired girl has always felt that the smile she received was laced with a motive and the praises given were nothing but empty words. No one in her village actually sees her as anything else other than her rare magic. No one except her grandmother.
Cynthia merely glanced at her before nodding, "if you feel like that then I'm here for you..." She softly smiled at the orange-haired girl. "My lips are sealed but my ears are yours..."
Soft giggles erupted from Roselyn's lips. She was thankful to meet the female Claremore. She felt so happy as she told the girl the truth. "...it's just sometimes I wish..." Roselyn bit her lips. "..that I never had this element..."
"You mean your light element?" Cynthia blinked at her. "Why if you don't mind me asking"
"It's just...yes it's great that I was gifted with such a rare element" Roselyn sighed. "I could help so many people..." She gripped her arms tight. "I could help my grandmother..."
Cynthia waited for the 'but', "but?"
"I just feel so suffocated" the young Heroine admitted, making the blonde looked at her in surprise. "Ever since the ceremony, everyone in the village had started to treat me so differently...it was most obvious with the adults" she grimaced as she recalled the eerie feeling she received from their forceful smiles and insincere interaction with her. "Other children look at me in hatred as their parents force them to play with me. Yes, I am greatly kindly in public but somehow...I felt like a trophy? I don't know..."
At first, she was immensely happy to have new friends and have so many people treat her along with her grandmother kinder than before but as time passed, she began to notice the fake smiles and glint of detest in their gaze. She even remembered a time when the village mayor had made her meet numerous rich nobles or other mayors from other villages. The praises he had given to her while the nobles had looked upon her greedily while the mayors glared back at him in envy. She hated it...feeling like a prize for the village to flock around and confined in a cage.
Seeing the girl in discomfort, Cynthia rubbed her shoulders before wrapping an arm around her in comfort. No more words were exchanged. They simply stayed like that in silence as they slowly ease to the land of dream.
From that little chat, Cynthia had found out that the Heroine had a more troubling life than she had thought even before entering the Academy. All her thoughts on how her own father was overprotective and suffocating were nothing compared to Roselyn's situation. At least her father did it out of love and care for her which Cynthia doubt the villagers in Roselyn felt the same.
Looking back, she guesses even the rarest of blessings can be undesired at times. Who knew...
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Author Note:
Well, that was a long chapter. Also, we finally have met the Heroine for real! An actual encounter between our Villainess and the Heroine.
So what do you think about Roselyn? Our little Heroine? （＾～＾）
Please vote and comment on the blooming friendship between Cynthia and Roselyn! 🌹
See you in the next chapter!
Bye~ ＼(─▽─)／