Alysa pov:
Resting my chin in one hand, I held open the book I was reading with the other as I sat at the counter in the empty café. It was ten in the morning, just a little past the time I usually opened the café, and customers were yet to come in. Well, it's not that I had many customers, considering the small populace of Amzell, but I had enough business to not freeload off the townspeople anymore.
Most of the crowd came in the evenings after everyone had finished work on the fields and, in general, their daily work shift. The men and women enjoyed some leisure and light food before they went home for the day. In fact, milk tea and scrambled eggs with spicy sauce on the side had become the popular dish for the evening snack. Some preferred soup or sandwiches or a simple version of hotpot that I had come up with that was more filling than the other dishes, and that sometimes served as dinner. I also served juices of the fruits available in the town, coffee and sweetened milk with grated almonds for flavoring.
The café's ambience was pleasant and comforting and one that everyone enjoyed while they were here. Along with the interior lighting and simple décor of a flower vase on each table, I had also set up a small bookshelf on the side – the shelf itself was being thrown away by Mr. Luther and I had taken it from him, painted it neatly and kept it in the café. The varieties of books stacked in it were donations from the townspeople – mostly books they no longer used and that they wished to throw away. While they served as casual reading for me, they were nostalgic reads with tea and coffee for those who dropped by for a time of relaxation.
Though there was not much work for me even with running the café, Mr. Luther and Arran had insisted on having Lyle help me with cleaning every other day. He often dropped by early in the mornings before opening hours and helped with sweeping and mopping and cleaning any lingering greasiness in the kitchen. Both his help and his company were appreciated, and I suppose it was apt to say that I had come to consider him as a good friend despite him being a Zero.
After all, I didn't really have anything against Zeros like the others of this world, and did neither Mr. Luther nor Arran either.
Lyle and Kian were the only Zeros I had seen so far in Amzell. Arran had mentioned that there were only four others but I was yet to get even a glimpse of them in the time I had been here. Two of them worked in the fields while one worked in Rose's workshop and another served Uncle Hugo and Aunt Sohpia. The others disliked Zeros so much that they didn't want to have anything to do with them at all...that, and there was the fact that buying a Zero from slave trading wasn't easy or very affordable for anyone in this small town. The Zeros already here were ones that had been thrown away or given away because they were no longer as useful as they were before.
Two weeks had gone by since His Holiness' visit and the so-called awakening of my healing mana. I had only used it once, rather successfully, to heal a small cut that Callum had got on his knee when he was playing. It had made me even more the center of attention and adoration – though awkward and unnecessary, I had accepted it over time to an extent.
Arran's words had only been true in this matter – I had been silly to feel burdened by the words His Holiness had spoken about destiny. Despite suddenly becoming a healer, there had been nothing out of the ordinary that had happened to me. I had only settled well in Amzell, settled into the slow, leisurely lifestyle against the busy schedule I had been keeping up with in my world. However, I did miss my busy schedule, more so the painting part than anything else, and I wondered if there would be any time when I would be able to paint again.
The jingle of the bells I had hung against the entrance doors of the café had me looking up from my book. I greeted Mr. Albert with a smile – he was a kind, middle-aged widower who worked on the fields and was a regular in the mornings before he went to work, though there were occasional days when he didn't come. I suppose he found cooking for himself every day quite a hassle and was relieved and thankful about the opening of the café.
"Good morning, Mr. Albert. Shall I get you the usual?"
"Yes, please. Oh, but a little more sugar in my coffee today, if you don't mind," he answered, the wrinkles in his face getting deeper as his smile widened. He took a seat at one of the tables and spread open the thin newspaper he had with him – it was supplied by a postal service that came from the province's main office but was usually a day late.
"Of course," I answered and began to prepare the vegetable and chicken sandwich along with a hot pot of fresh coffee.
After serving him his breakfast, I got back to my book and read until Mr. Albert left. The café was usually empty until the afternoon at least so I had free time until then. Post some reading, I cleaned the dishes I had used to cook this morning and chopped some vegetables that I would use to prepare the dishes for the afternoon.
The usual crowd that came in during the afternoon tumbled in soon and were served their meals as cheerfully as usual. Mr. Albert was one of them, and so was Mr. Waldo. The latter came in with Kian and though he only wished to make his Zero starve like every other day he thought the lowly creature didn't deserve a meal because he hadn't worked hard enough on the field, I insisted on giving him food in the name that he would be even more unproductive on an empty stomach. Mr. Waldo agreed to that, though insisted that I served him only leftovers. I had agreed but gave him a good meal every day after seating him in the store room where he wouldn't be visible to scrutinizing eyes.
Kian spoke very little, or perhaps it was apt to say that he didn't speak at all except for a word of gratitude whenever he was given his meal. He seemed hesitant even to meet my eyes, though there was undeniable curiosity in his gaze when he did look to me...that soon seemed to be accompanied by gratitude as the days passed.
As I had guessed when I first saw him, he was only a year older than me – twenty years – and had been a slave all his life. He was covered in scars from abuse, most of which were visible on his arms and legs, and I could only imagine how many more he had under his clothes. Lyle had told me that Kian had served a noble in a neighboring town, a man who governed the province that included Amzell, and he had been even more abusive than Mr. Waldo – more so because the latter was old and had not much strength to abuse too violently. As such, Kian was rather happy serving Mr. Waldo and never thought much of the insults and abuse he had to put up with every day.
No matter how his past had been, I still felt bad that he was being treated so poorly even now.
I suppose Kian had been much luckier than Lyle though. Lyle had served at a pleasure house before he was thrown away here to Amzell because he fell ill and became weak and useless to the pleasure house. What's worse was that he had to serve both men and women alike, and it had been nothing short of horrendous for him. Just imagining such a life had me shuddering in disgust, it was no surprise that Lyle had nearly had a panic attack as he recalled his past when he spoke of it to me.
It was rather surprising to me that he had spoken of his life to me but he had confessed that he found me as pleasant company, a person he had come to trust, and one of the very few he was blessed to have known since he came to Amzell. The others were Arran and Mr. Luther – it seemed that I wasn't the only one who thought that the way Zeros were treated was unfair. The two of them had always treated Lyle like family, or as close to it as they possibly could when not under the scrutiny of the others of the town. Lyle was so grateful that he served them and not anyone else in the town, and was glad that he was friends with me.
His gratitude and honesty with me had left me a little awkward but happy. It had made me see Arran and Mr. Luther in a new light too, and I was glad that I had become good friends with him.
Arran's fluster when I had asked him about it was amusing but he too was happy when he found out that I was like him, and wished to treat Zeros as every other normal person was treated. He did, however, warn me to not express it openly in front of the other townspeople since they were not as broad minded. In fact, he and Mr. Luther had had to go through a time of hardship because of their ideologies, being shunned and outcast by the entire town. Things had improved now, but only because they didn't bother with any Zeros besides Lyle and resisted any desire to be the slightest attentive or aware of other Zeros. It explained why he had not done anything to help Kian when he was being abused by Mr. Waldo on the day he showed me around town despite seeming quite uncomfortable about it.
"Your cooking is as amazing as always, Alysa!" came a compliment from one of the townspeople, having finished his meal with a satisfied burp.
"Thank you, Mr. Trence," I answered, returning his smile and thanking him for the extra tip along with the payment of the meal.
It was half an hour later that the afternoon crowd had left and the café was empty again. I cleaned up quickly and got ready to head over to Rose's workshop – I spent a few hours there every day while helping Rose and her mother with molding candles that they sold for a living. It was easy work, merely pouring melted wax into wooden molds with wicks in them but was helpful to Rose in increasing production. She was thankful for the extra help and I was glad to have something to do to pass the time.
Just as I picked up my purse, the jingle of the doors echoed through the café. Looking to the door, I spotted Rose entering along with a Zero – a young girl of ten or twelve who was pale, and had her aquamarine eyes downcast while she chewed on her bottom lip in obvious nervousness. Her short sandy tresses were neatly combed with one part of it tied in a side ponytail.
"Hey, Rose, I was just about to head over to the workshop," I said, stepping to her.
As usual, she greeted me with a beaming smile as she spoke, "You don't have to come over today, Lisa. Mum and I are heading over to Eindter to sell the candles we've made over the past few weeks. There's a festival for three days from the day after and it's a good chance for us to sell the candles and make some profit!"
"Oh, that's great," I replied. "So, I'm guessing you won't be in town for a few days."
"A week at least," she answered. "That's some free time for you. Anyway, this is Adele, the Zero that's works for us."
"I see," I answered simply and gazed at the girl who trembled under my gaze.
It was clear that Rose and her mother did not treat her well and she was terribly afraid of them, and so was afraid of every other person in the town. Her clothes were stained and patched up in several places, and she had been pushed into labor that had left her hands and arms burned in several places. it seemed to me that she could not use her hands properly at the moment, and the burns looked rally painful.
"Should I heal her?" I asked, and Rose raised a brow at my question.
"Why should you?" she asked with a scoff. "Slaves aren't special that they need to be healed with mana – she'll be fine in a few days."
"True, but it seems that she won't be of much use to you with how her hands are now. What if she's clumsy and ends up ruining some of the items when you ask her to move them?"
It was my desire to heal the poor child. I had to sound neutral though, or perhaps more supportive of Rose so I wasn't scrutinized and outcast. I had a way with words, I suppose, and I made sure I sounded like I was more concerned for Rose's comfort than Adele's.
"What you say is true," Rose mused, glancing at Adele with a sort of contempt. "Alright, you can heal her if it's not any trouble for you. I'll head back to the workshop to check up on the packing so hurry back when Lisa is done taking care of you, Adele."
"O-Of course, Madam Rose," the child spoke in a soft stutter. She tensed even more though when Rose left after a friendly word of goodbye to me.
With no one watching now, I kneeled in front of Adele with a smile. She was momentarily startled at that but surprised me when she shuffled back and fell to her knees with her head touching the floor. She apologized profusely for standing when I kneeled and begged me to forgive her and not beat her for being disrespectful. I was nearly speechless about her behavior, all the more because it made me know that Rose was far from the cheerful, bright girl she always portrayed herself to be – she had a side that was the complete opposite, one that was perhaps much more cruel than I had imagined.
Sighing softly, I stepped to Adele and tugged her up to stand with a gentle hold on her arms. She shuddered under my touch and whimpered with tears falling from her eyes under the expectation of being beaten again, but flinched and tensed when I only wiped off her tears with my fingers. She watched me with wide eyes, more so out of fear than curiosity.
"You don't have to be scared of me, Adele. I'm not going to hurt you," I cooed. "I said I'll heal you, remember?"
"Y-yes, my lady," she whispered, averting her eyes to the floor once again. "I-I'm sorry for upsetting you. I didn't mean to, I promise."
"I know," I answered while caressing her head, "and you should know that I am not like the other townspeople. I don't hate Zeros, and I won't hurt them. That means I don't hate you and I would never hurt you. Do you understand?"
She nodded but it seemed that she didn't believe me. I suppressed a sigh and instead proceeded to gently take a hold of her hands in mine. She flinched but watched with wide eyes as I closed my eyes and gave her hands a gentle squeeze. There was a surge of energy through me before warmth gathered in my hands along with a gentle vibration. Surely there was an ethereal glow as well but I didn't see it since my eyes were closed.
It was just a few moments later that I opened my eyes to see Adele in full health and no signs of abuse on her body. Adele's eyes were wide in stun as she looked over her hands after I had let her go. A spark of sheer joy came to her eyes at her healed state, accompanied by a few silent tears. She cringed when I reached out to wipe the tears away but didn't seem as nervous as before when she met my eyes curiously.
Smiling to remain friendly and calming to her, I said, "You're all healed now, and you can come to me any time you want anything to be healed. Now, before you head back to Rose's workshop, would you like something to eat?"
"To eat? A-am I allowed to have something to eat now? It's already past breakfast time though," she said in a small voice.
"Well, I don't know what rules Rose has you follow but I can give you something to eat now if you're hungry."
"I am hungry," Adele whispered, averting her eyes from mine uneasily.
"Alright then, I'll give you some bread and butter that you can eat before Rose sees you." I stood and stepped to the kitchen counter a moment to get out a bun that Mr. Luther had baked freshly this morning along with half a stick of butter. I spread the butter on the bun after cutting the latter in half and then handed it to Adele.
She stared at it with wide eyes a moment before taking it from my hands as if it was a bar of gold. Butter was, apparently, a luxury food in a way, and wasn't given to Zeros just like several other foods. In fact, Zeros' diets seem to only consist of gruel most of the time, though there were lucky days when they got to eat leftovers of what the family they served ate. But even leftovers weren't anything special – it was mostly bread and remnants of boiled vegetables that had only salt to taste.
Adele took a bite of the buttered bun only to close her eyes with a blush in bliss of the taste. I suppose it wouldn't be surprising if she had never eaten bun and butter before – her reaction said it all, in fact.
"So yummy," she mumbled and wolfed down the rest of the bun till there weren't the smallest crumbs left.
"Would you like some more?" I asked. The sparkle in her eyes seemed to intensify at that.
"Can I really?"
"Of course," I answered with a soft laugh. "Though you mustn't tell Rose or anyone else about it. We don't want to get into trouble, do we?"
She nodded vigorously before reaching out to grab my dress in her small hands. "Can I have a little more, please? I'm really hungry! I have eaten only lunch for the last three days!"
"Only lunch?" I asked in mild surprise while I got her something more to eat – some fruit and a glass of milk this time. "Why haven't you been eating all your meals?"
"Because I have to share with Ida! She's too small to work at the workshop so she fetches water and cleans the house while I go to the workshop with Madam Rose and Madam Violet." She paused speaking every now and then as she ate and drank what I had given her.
"Is Ida your sister? Is she going with you to Eindter?"
"Ida is my sister," she answered with a nod, "but she's not going with us."
She stopped eating after she spoke, seeming to figure something out. She appeared nervous as she bit her lip.
"If she's alone, she won't have anything to eat..."
It was a moment before I spoke, giving her a suggestion that I hoped would not get me into trouble with any others of the town. "Adele, would you like me to look after her while you're away? She can stay in the store room over there, but she will have to be very careful to remain hidden from the others of the town so that she or I don't get into trouble."
"Will you really take care of her?" Adele asked, sounding immensely hopeful.
"I guess," I said, still worrying that I was only getting myself into some sort of trouble by poking my nose in matters I shouldn't. After all, Arran had clearly told me not to bother with the Zeros if I didn't want to become an outcast in this town.
But I couldn't just stay silent when a child younger than Adele was going to be left alone without any food or proper shelter. I'm sure everything would be fine as long as Ida remained hidden and inconspicuous until Adele, Rose and Mrs. Violet returned from Eindter.
"Thank you, Madam Lisa!" Adele chimed overjoyed. "I'll tell Ida on the way to the workshop! Thank you, thank you!"
"You're welcome, although you should call me Alysa. Lisa is just a nickname that I'm sure the others won't like you using with me."
"Of course, Madam Alysa! You're really kind! Thank you! Thank you!" she bowed several times before sprinting out of the café.
Sighing deeply, I allowed my smile to fall as I mumbled to myself, "I hope I didn't just drag myself into something that will become messy..."
I shook my head, pushing the negative thoughts out of my mind since I couldn't change what I had done. I glanced around the café now, wondering what to do to pass the time since I couldn't keep occupied with helping Rose in her workshop. I decided to go for a stroll after Ida came, perhaps through the fields. I hadn't got more than once chance to see the fields where the other townspeople worked and this seemed like a good opportunity to do so.
It was only fifteen minutes later that Ida turned up at the back door of the café, peeking her head into the store room through the open door. She resembled Adele very much, though had darker hair. She was very young, perhaps only five, and had me wondering how she was putting up with any sort of abuse she was subjected to for being a Zero, let alone doing any sort of chores as Adele had mentioned before. She had a visible bruise on her cheek and curiosity rather than fear in her eyes as she gazed at me.
"Hi there, you must Ida," I said with a smile whilst stepping to the door. She tensed, now fear evident on her face, and she hid herself more behind the wall. I kneeled on the floor a little away and coaxed her to relax, "It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you. Didn't Adele tell you that I'll be looking after you while she's away?"
She gave me the tiniest of nods, half her face still invisible to me.
"Great...why don't you come closer so I can heal that bruise on your cheek? I'll make the pain go away."
Ida silently stared a moment before she stepped into the store room and towards me tentatively. When she was close, I reached out to caress her cheek. She flinched slightly but wasn't as afraid of me as Adele had been. I suppose she was yet to see the true cruelty people portrayed on Zeros because of her tender age – Adele did say that she often remained by herself and did menial chores when no one was around. Still, it seemed she hadn't been entirely spared of abuse.
The bruise on her cheek was quickly healed and elicited a cheery giggle from her. It brought a smile to my lips as well.
"Now listen carefully, Ida, I need you to stay in the store room while you're here, especially when there's anyone besides me here. Do you understand? It's to keep you safe. You can't be seen by anyone."
"Ah-ah!" she mumbled with a nod in response. It seemed to me that she was yet to learn how to speak but she was sharp to understand the reasoning behind my words.
"Good girl," I said with a smile, giving her a pat on the head. "I'm going to go out on a walk so stay quietly in the store room, alright?"
She agreed with a nod again and I gave her something to eat before I left the café. I locked up and made my way to the fields with a basket of sandwiches to hand out to those on the fields as a snack – it was much appreciated by not just the townspeople but also the Zeros despite the mild scrutiny they and I received. Well, I was spared from much scrutiny because I had packed more than what all could finish and whatever remained was given to the Zeros because we didn't want good food to go waste.
The Zeros, three of which were ones I was seeing for the first time, seemed rather happy that they had got something to eat. They were hungry, and the sandwiches that I had given them were gone in a flash. While Kian had regarded me with the smallest of smiles for the first time since I had met him, one that was filled with gratitude, the other three had gazed at me curiously. They too had regarded me with smiles though, right after a few whispers were exchanged between them and Kian.
It made me a bit awkward so I excused myself from the fields and proceeded with my stroll to the outskirts of the town. A sigh left my lips when I made it to a beautiful meadow just outside the town – it was filled with a variety of flowering plants that attracted small birds and colorful butterflies. It was a beautiful and soothing sight to see.
However, the soothing feeling was short lived. Upon stepping to the center of the meadow, I couldn't help but notice splotches of red splattered over the leaves of the plants followed by damaged portions of the meadow. The splotches of red were blood, and had me feeling a shiver run down my spine.
I looked up with my heart racing only to feel my heart in my mouth the moment I spotted a person face down a few feet away from me. With a gasp, I rushed to him and slapped a hand over my mouth at the sight – this man, this Zero was bleeding profusely from multiple wounds on his body, was pale and heaving as if his body was about to give out, and seemed to be in so much pain.
"Oh my goodness! Are you alright? Hey, can you hear me?" I hollered whilst collapsing to my knees next to him and placing my hand on his shoulder that was not stained with blood.
He groaned a moment before opening his eyes halfway in a daze. But they were quick to roll back as he fell unconscious – it was a bad sign, all the more because he was still losing blood. Though my mind was reeling, I did the only thing I could at the moment, the only thing that seemed like a rational thing to do. Placing both hands on him, one on his head and another on his back, I let my mana burst out wildly to heal this man as quickly as I possibly could.
~~~~~~~~~~
Awwie, aren't Adele and Ida absolutely adorable? It's so sad that they're Zeros and being treated so harshly even though they're just children! Rose is a good friend but it seems she's no different from the other townspeople in the matter of Zeros...welp.
Yasss!!! Now it's time for some action and twists! Who on earth is the bleeding man Alysa has come across?! Let's all hope he'll be alright - well, he will be thanks to Alysa's healing right? But who is he and what does this meeting mean for our dear Alysa???
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