Day 5 already?

When Lilin finally awoke, she was in a strange hut. This wasn't the room at the inn, this was...
Shit, this was that stupid witch's hut, wasn't it?

Memories flooded back to Lilin as she slowly came to. She started to sit up- then yelped as she felt sharp pains through her entire body. She looked and saw countless needles piercing her body. Her eyes went wide, and she very slowly, very carefully laid back down. Even taking it so slowly, the pain was intense. Finally, somebody started making their way to the room.

"Lilin! You're awake!" exclaimed a familiar voice. It didn't take Long for Lilin to identify it.

"A-Annie?" Lilin couldn't quite believe her ears. "Why the hell are you still here?"

"What, did you think I'd just leave?" Annie said, sitting near Lilin. "Now, stay still. You shook up the acupuncture quite a bit...."

Lilin didn't quite listen to the instructions, turning her head to look at Annie. What she saw was something very different from the Annie that she knew. Her face was beginning to wrinkle, and her arms were sagging. Her hair wasn't a brilliant blonde anymore, now sporting streaks of grey and a somewhat faded color overall.

"Wh-What the hell happened to you?!" Lilin asked.

"Oh, right... Well, I'm not sure I fully understand, but... Six told me I had some Mana deficiency, or something." Annie's voice was a bit unfocused as she carefully adjusted the needles, doing her best not to hurt Lilin any further.

"Yeah. I could tell when I met you, your Core was all clogged up." Lilin tried not to react, but she could feel every time Annie so much as breathed on a needle.

"Well, dear," Annie said as she slowly backed away from the needles to appraise her word, "Six said that people manifest different symptoms when they are running low on Mana in their Core. It turns out... I seem to be aging quite fast now."

Lilin tried to bolt upright again, but thankfully Annie held her down. "Shit, how long was I out for?!"

"Well, dear, this is our last day in the town."

Lilin's eyes went wide, flinching when she went to move her hand to her face. Putting it back down, she verbalized her reaction. "Oh, fuck... I-I... I blew it. I completely ruined our chances of ever getting the damn taxes...!"

Lilin started to curl her hands into fists- only to stop before the needles could hurt her again. She frowned, feeling herself starting to tear up again. She started to breathe heavily, tears welling up in her eyes as she realized what she had done. She had thrown a temper tantrum, made a massive crater in the town, and now they were screwed. And she couldn't even punch something about it!

"Now now, dear, don't cry." Annie said, smiling at Lilin. "I think there's something I might be able to do."

"Wh-What the hell could you possibly pull off at this point?" Lilin asked. "There's absolutely no way you could earn back their favor."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Annie replied. "But, you need to understand something first."

Annie at up straight and sighed, scooting closer to Lilin's face. She made sure she was fully in view before she spoke.

"You learned how to do things like the Demon King. You can see that your way didn't work."

Lilin scowled, but didn't interrupt.

"If my way works, then I need you to promise... That you'll hear me out on what comes next."

Lilin looked at Annie, turning her head slowly. Her voice was quiet, it was cold.

"What comes next?"

Annie took a deep breath, preparing herself for Lilin to lash out.

"Next... We have a plan to take the Demon King out of power."

Lilin's reply was immediate. "If you're asking me to fight my damn father, you've got another thing coming to you."

Annie shook her head, frowning. "I would never ask that of you, Lilin."

"Then what ARE you asking of me?"

Annie looked around. Euwelyn wasn't here, so she took a deep breath. She leaned in a bit closer, hushing her voice. "Lilin... The plan is to kill the King, but... I want you to help us. I know you believe in him. If there is anybody who could talk him down, it has to be you."

Lilin nodded, slowly putting things together in her head. "So... You want me on board because... You want me to talk my father down from the throne?"

"Exactly," Annie replied with a smile. "Would you be willing to give that a try?"

Lilin took a breath, but didn't speak. Agreeing to work with people trying to kill the King was absurd, but... Somehow, this plan felt different. The other times people had tried to kill the King, they failed, but it was always headed by some crazy powerful people like one the generals. This time, though, Annie was part of the plan. A person who had no magical prowess, barely any combat experience, and no right being any kind of strategist. If Annie was here, if she was a part of the plan, then something was definitely different.

"I... I can't," Lilin finally said. "I can't just agree to that. You're gonna get yourself killed, there's no way you can pull that off."

Annie smiled. "I knew you'd say something like that, dear. That's why I didn't want you to agree to it yet. After all, there's something else I should do first. Something to prove that I can do more than you think."

Lilin glared at Annie, a challenge written on her face. "Alright, fine. If you can somehow turn this town around, I'll hear you out- but that's ALL I'm gonna promise until I hear the plan, got it?"

Annie's smile relaxed, finally hearing what she wanted to hear. "I wouldn't have it any other way, dear."

With that done, Annie slowly stood up, brushing off her dress. This had gone down far better than she had thought it would. Lilin seemed to be changing faster than she had expected. She couldn't figure out why, but... Maybe Lilin was naturally good. Maybe that's why Aramasa had selected her to be the sidekick to the original hero. Annie had no idea what was truly going on in Lilin's head, but she couldn't focus on that right now.

"Euwelyn will be here in just a bit to take out the needles. Just wait here and prepare to be amazed, my dear."

Annie tilted her head, cracking her neck a bit. She felt the aches that came with the motion set in quickly, and she groaned. This body was still very able, but things weren't quite as nimble as they were at the start of the trip. She stretched a bit, sighing. Youth was wonderful, but it was also temporary. Change is inevitable, so you have to be ready to chase it- especially if your time is limited.

And boy, did she feel her time getting limited.