Luminous Isle.
It had been a month since Daisy's death. Lucy continued with her training. In the meantime, Elrian had fallen ill. They had to spend some money for his treatment. Yet, no matter what illness came their way, it was still mandatory to go to the royal palace every single day.
Once a child turned ten, they had to go to the palace to work.
After the age of fifty, they no longer needed to go to the palace for work. But such fortune rarely came to anyone. In this entire century, only one person had escaped from that obligation. It was the old woman who lived next door to Lucy yet she never wished to reveal her name to anyone.
Lucy rose from her bed, and the first thing she tried to do was lift the cup that sat nearby. But a strange supernatural energy flickered around the cup's surface. Admitting defeat, she stood up slowly and walked toward the washbasin.
"Velra thanor arelion." She spoke the incantation aloud. Since Lucy had already memorized the spell, she didn't need to look at the wall to read it.
As soon as she washed her face, Lucy opened the door of her room and stepped outside. That day was when the household's supply of clean water would run out. So, she had decided to go to the market early in the morning. But then she realized that she had no money left in her hands, since she had given the previous day's wages to her grandmother.
The moment she reached downstairs, she awakened the clock.
"8:00 A.M."
The clock chimed three times before falling silent. With little time left before she had to leave for the palace, Lucy hurried straight to Elrian's room. As she reached his room, Lucy slowly opened the door. By then, Elrian was already awake. She knew very well that she couldn't open his wallet without him seeing it.That didn't mean Elrian would refuse to give her money. The truth was, the previous day Lucy had secretly taken two coins from his wallet without telling him. Since she had needed to spend two extra coins on his hospital expenses, she ended up short of the amount she was supposed to give her grandmother. To make up for that, she had quietly taken two coins from Elrian's wallet the day before.
Lucy had come into the room to take the money without him knowing, so that he would remain unaware of her dealings with their grandmother. But by then, he was already awake. She realized that now she could not take the money without asking him.
"What's wrong, sister, why are you pacing like this?" he said softly, rising from the bed and coming to stand beside her.
"I need a little money from you. That's why I came," she said, not lying. She had a reason for that. Five years ago, Lucy had told him a lie. His beloved doll, Kitty, had been given to a child from the neighboring house to play with, without his knowledge. It was only after four years that a child was born near her home. Lucy lived on the southern side of the island, where the climate was different from the other parts. The air there was polluted. She still hadn't been able to figure out the reason for it. The castle was located in the north, so the people living there had no trouble. The air around the castle was clean. The same was true for the eastern and western sides; the atmosphere there wasn't much of a problem. But the southern side, where Lucy lived, had polluted air. Because of that, the people living there were far more likely to fall ill.
Therefore, the people living in other regions called that place the "Slum." The area near the castle was known as the "Blessed Land," where it was rare for people to fall ill. The eastern and western sides were referred to as the "Fortunate Lands."
The reason was that the eastern and western regions were protected from the polluted air. In the Slum, the chances of children being born were very low because of the contaminated air. Newborn babies, lacking immunity, would quickly fall ill. Even with treatment, the chances of saving them were slim. For this reason, the Slum was the place with the fewest inhabitants.
Now, there were only 84 people alive on the island. Of these, only 18 lived in the Slum. Five years ago, a child had been born there. Lucy had taken Elrian's toy to play with that child. That child threw it down from their house. Because that child's house was at the very top of the tree, even though it was made of wood, that toy broke. That day Lucy came with it into Elrian's room. Without him knowing, she placed it on his bed. But he found it.
He could identify anyone who lied. This was because on his neck was the mark of a hawk, granting him exceptional intelligence and vision. The little child had fallen ill and died. At that time, the child was only one year old. No one was allowed to bury or burn the dead. This rule applied to all the people. The deceased were thrown into the sea, where they would later become food for the sea monsters. He only ate those who had lost in battle against the king; everyone else who died in other ways was simply cast into the sea.
Because Elrian had the power to sense lies, Lucy couldn't lie to him this time. Elrian took out his pouch and checked it. He realized that two coins were missing.
"Where did these two coins go? The shops here open at eight, so Sister couldn't have spent this money buying goods. We always go to the market together, and besides, the market only opens at eight. Last night I was with Sister. After ten in the morning, the shops close, so there's no way you could have gone at night. Until the moment I fell asleep, every single coin was still in that pouch. Sister, you're hiding something from me. I need to know what it is you must tell me."
Lucy had no other way left. She was forced to tell him about the contract with Grandma. However, she revealed nothing about the mystic power.
.....
After Rose had fallen into a deep slumber, the second day arrived.
The sun rose from the east. Because of the thick veil of mist, the sun's rays were being blocked from reaching the island.
That morning, everyone woke up filled with fear and doubt.
Rose's eyes still remained closed.
She had a steady pulse, but her body seemed trapped between life and death.
The cold on the island had not lessened at all.
The chilly wind kept blowing around the island in the morning.
By early morning, everyone was sitting around the fire.
Normally, they would not light a campfire in the morning.
But under the present circumstances, they could not avoid it.
Robert handed out the morning tea into everyone's hands.
As the hot tea touched their lips, a small comfort arose within them.
"Why would the weather suddenly change like this?" Robert said to everyone while drinking tea.
"We cannot predict the weather, Robert. If we had been able to predict it correctly, none of us would be trapped on this island now," said their captain, Daniel.
As they drank their tea, Daniel's words brought back into everyone's mind the flashing image of their ship meeting with disaster.
"Today we don't have any particular work to do. We also have enough meat for tomorrow. If we are to do what the professor suggested, it can only be done after tomorrow. Let's call everyone again when it is time for breakfast. For now, all of you can go back."
The tea cups were washed by each person with the water given to them and then handed back to Robert. After everyone went back to their tents, Robert went to his cooking spot to roast the meat. Daniel went along with him to help.
This time, it was Francis who first sat on guard. Professor Charles was with him. The fire they kept burning gave comfort to both of them. Yet for Francis, the greater comfort came from his cigarette. They did not talk much with each other. But at one point, Francis extended his cigarette toward the professor. Within a moment, he refused it.
From the shore, Doctor John went straight to Rose's side.
He looked at Rose's face.
The guilt that he was the reason Rose had fallen into this condition was haunting him.
If anything happened to Rose, a fear grew within him that the people on the shore would never again trust him.
Each one was immersed in their own tasks, killing the time.
To be continued....