Ｃｈａｐｔｅｒ １７-𝕸𝖎𝖘𝖙𝖆𝖐𝖊𝖘

Lily offers Flora and mochi ice cream if they can stay by her side while she cleans. Not like Flora would've refused. She honestly didn't want to be alone after seeing the things she saw. The ice cream just feels like a bonus.

Flora took a bite of her strawberry ice cream from her cone. Mochi licks up his bowl, taking in the vanilla cream.

Flora: “Mochi… stop licking it up so fast, you'll get a stomachache.”

Mochi didn't stop, and the ice cream was nearly gone.

She sighs and takes his bowl, which makes him bark at her.

“ No. Bad boy. You will get a tummy ache.” She takes a spoon that Lily had given her earlier and gives a small piece to Mochi. This forces him to slow down a bit.

“ Good boy…”

She continues until he is done with his ice cream.

Lily: “You seem calmer now. “Lily says as she cleans the cemented hole on the ground.

Flora guessed that was where the water was supposed to be. It makes sense that it needs to be emptied for easier cleaning. She watches as Lily scrubs the walls.

Flora: “How did you drain it?”

Lily: “I don't. Shana and Flora do. They specialize in water magic.”

Flora looks curious

“Are they mages?”

Lily had a thoughtful look. “Something like that. They usually take care of the waters. I just clean stuff.”

Flora wonders if they are specifically water mages or a class that casts mainly water spells, if that's the case. Usually, mages can learn any elemental spells, but they can choose to learn an abundance of spells from the same element. Doing so can help the user master the element quickly. At that point, most would give them a title based on the element, such as Water Mage or Fire Sorcerer. And if that's the case, Flora would love to learn a thing or two.

Lily : “I don't know why you were with Madam or why you looked upset, but if you're concerned that you did something wrong, it's fine.”

Flora slowly looks at her.

Flora: “What do you mean?”

Lily: “Madam is such a kind person. So she's quick to forgive people. She gave me a home here, even if I keep making mistakes. She cares a lot about her family, and she doesn't turn a blind eye to those who need help.”

Flora: “You seem fond of her.” Lily nods while adding more soap to the walls and scrubbing it

Lily: “I was fired for being accused of something I couldn't do. No one would hire me in the village because of the rumors that spread… Madam was the one who asked me to work for her.”

Flora: “That must've been so hard. I think I know how it feels in a way,” she says, reminiscing about how she was ridiculed for being a useless mage even when her mother was a great hero.

Flora: “My mom was praised for being a hero. So people expect a lot from me. There were some rumors about me…from assumptions.”

Lily: “That truly sucks. I don't think that's fair at all. I'm sure your mom is happy with the way you are.”

Flora sat on the ground and put Mochi in her lap. Mochi lies there resting, finally low on energy.

Flora: “Was… She's gone now. I wish I spent more time with her, but that's why… I want to be like her. My mom made me feel loved, like I'm special. I love spending time with her. I feel closer when I dive into magic and spells. So… I don't want to disappoint her.”

Lily: “I don't think you disappoint her at all. We all have big dreams… It just takes baby steps. You'll get there some day. I have a dream too. I want to actually, um… I um…” She pauses as if pondering about the next thing to say.

Flora: “You don't have to talk about it… if you don't want to.” Flora has a feeling it was something personal, and she doesn't feel right prying into it if Lily wasn't uncomfortable.

Lily: “No… It’s fine. It's just that, if I say what my dream was… I would also have to dive into the rumors about me from before. And you're not from this village, so I don't think it affects you. You don't seem like a judgmental person, I think.”

Flora: “It's up to you. I don't mind knowing and not knowing.”

Lily looks a bit more comfortable

Lily: “Thank you…” She suddenly stops cleaning and sits down with Flora.

Lily: “Believe it or not, I used to work in a clinic. I would assist the village doctor with different tasks. I always find clinics fascinating. There are some things our doctor can do that healing magic cannot achieve. Certain conditions that can't be fixed unless you are there. Certain doctors can do many things, like surgeries, rare treatments, bandaging, stitches… There are few people who know healing, but they are not advanced. That kind of healing would take years and years to master, and most who do know often charge exorbitantly. But even so…healing magic cannot make someone walk again,” Lily utters those last words bitterly.

Flora wonders what could cause such a face.

Lily: “There was an elderly woman who came to seek our doctor. She had a walking stick with her. She was missing her left leg. She looked so frail and weak, like she had been bedridden for a long time. I could see she was having a hard time with balance just to come to us. The woman begged the doctor to help her walk properly again…bring back her leg. It wasn't something I heard that was possible… yet the doctor took pity on her to take a look and examine her.”

Lily looks down with a pitiful look

Lily: “That was what led to my mistake. I was tasked with bringing the woman to the room to be examined. I needed to bring her to a table, but she was more on the heavier side, so there was a struggle. Before I knew it, she fell and hit her head.”

Flora looks at her worried and hesitantly places her hand on Lily's shoulder. Lily looks surprised at first, but welcomes the touch

Flora: “Is she okay…?”

Lily: “… Yes. She lived luckily. The doctor ran some tests on her. She just has a minor concussion, but her family got involved, and they demanded that he fire me…and the rest is… history.” She had a pained expression.

“I made many mistakes in life, but…nothing as big as this… I wanted to become a doctor, but after this…and the rumors spread, no one hired me for a time. I wanted to heal people, but instead I ended up hurting them. The villagers think I did it on purpose.” Flora saw tears flow down from Lily's cheeks. Lily sniffles a bit and wipes her tears.

Flora was at a loss for words. She felt it wasn't fair that the older girl lost so much for a mistake. She doesn't even get a reset.

Bark, bark!

Flora looks down to see that Mochi has climbed out of Flora's lap and stares at Lily.

‘Oh… is he going to comfort her-’

Bark, bark!

Mochi kept barking at Lily while keeping a distance, as Lily just looked at him, puzzled

Lily “ What… what is he doing?”

Flora gave Mochi a funny look.

Flora: “I um… think he's trying to comfort you.” Flora would love to say she can guess what Mochi wants, but at times, he kept surprising her. Flora guessed Mochi is comforting Lily, yet also keeping a distance because he isn't comfortable with her yet.

Lily suddenly let out a chuckle. She lifted Mochi up to hug him, at which he pushed her face a bit with his paw.

Lily: “I think you're truly blessed to have a familiar like Mochi. I kinda feel better already. I can see why Shana and Tanya were obsessed with him earlier. Ah hahahaha! He is a funny thing.”

Flora gave her a smile.

Flora: “Isn't he amazing? He's someone I treasure like my mom… I was so happy that my summoning worked, and it was Mochi that came out.”

Lily: “I think… you'll be an amazing mage.”

Flora: “I think you'll become an amazing doctor as well.”

Lily: “I hope so. Madam has been helping me boost my reputation. I don't know what I'll do without her. I'm not ready to go back to a clinic, but once I am, I'll give it my all. That's the best I can do for madam… Have more faith in yourself. I think Madam likes you. So whatever dispute she had with you, I'm sure she'll probably forget it in the morning.”

Flora chuckles.

Flora: “Thank you. I hope so.”

Lily: “You're one of the few I told this story to. It makes me feel lighter, so thank you, Flora… Mochi as well.” She gives Mochi back to Flora. “Oh…and…” Lily cleared her throat.

“Do you mind waiting for me to finish cleaning? I'll walk you to your room and get you snacks.”

Flora: “Just the walking together is fine with me.”

Flora felt a bit better after talking with Lily. She doesn’t know if it's because they have things in common or they were able to bond over stories, but it made her feel less worried about encountering Sherry. She decided she'll apologize the next time she sees her.

The walk to get back was quiet. Not that Flora minds. She felt she and Lily had their say. And it seems to reach a peaceful conclusion.

Flora was feeling ready to head to bed. She heard from her sister that tomorrow they will try the special massages and beauty treatments from Shana and Tanya.

Autumn warned her not to sleep late even if she doesn't have school. Flora always used to stay late all the time to read about spells until Autumn caught her one time and gave her a scolding.

“Young mages cannot function well if they don't have enough sleep,” Autumn would say as she had remembered it.

Speaking of late, Flora notices a clock in one of the halls as they walk. With a quick glance, she read the time as being 3 am. Flora guessed that, at this point, Autumn and Indigo were asleep. Once they get to her door, Lily turns to Flora.

Lily: “Thank you for earlier.”

Flora: “Of course. It's not a big—” She then notices something amiss. Her eyes made their way to the door with no numbers. It was barely noticeable, but she spotted a gap. The door was open.

“… I…um…” She suddenly had a bad feeling, remembering Sherry's words.

Lily: “What is it?” She follows her gaze.

Lily: “Oh…. We should close the door before Madam sees,” yet there was a look of hesitation in her eyes

Lily: “But…it's late at night. I don't think Madam is here now. We could take a look and close it after. The whole time I've worked here, I've never been in that room.“

Flora was about to talk against it, but it felt so tempting. She felt less afraid because Lily was there.

‘Besides… It's just a quick look. It can't hurt … right?’ she thought, but the dread only grew from there. She nods at Lily's suggestion but feels she regrets doing so.

Lily nods.

“Okay. Let's be quick then. Just a peek. It will be our secret.”

She and Flora walk to the door.

Lily: “I'll open it a little bit more… and we'll take turns taking a look inside. I'll go first.”

Lily slowly leaned towards the gap a bit, and suddenly her face turned as pale as a ghost. Her entire body was sweating, and she covered her mouth. Her pupils constricted, looking scared.

Lily: “I-is this…for real?. W-what is this?”

She backs away from the door. Flora could feel her anxiety rising, but she had to know what Lily saw. And slowly she peeked into the gap and suddenly wanted to throw up. Mochi suddenly barks. The door suddenly opens wider, revealing the horror behind it.