Aeloria looked down at her almost naked body, then at the man. The simple motion of turning her neck sent sharp pain shooting through her spine and shoulders.
"Please don't move around yet," the man said quickly in a defensive voice. "I swear I didn't do anything to you while you were unconscious. Many of your bones were broken, so I had to take off your clothes to treat you properly."
Aeloria straightened her neck against the pillow as best she could. She wanted to speak, to tell him to stay away, but her throat refused to cooperate. Only a faint rasp escaped.
She never wanted to have anything to do with a man who showed her kindness out of the blue after what Ramai had done to her.
'Don't touch me. I don't need your help. I can heal just fine on my own.'
The words formed clearly in her head, but they couldn't come out.
The room was dimly lit by a single oil lamp hanging on the wall, casting long shadows across rough wooden walls. The bed she lay on was extremely soft—far softer than anything she had slept on in years. A thick curtain hid what looked like a small bathing area in the corner. A bookshelf stood against the opposite wall, filled with jars of dried herbs and a few worn volumes. It looked like an inn room, but smaller, more lived-in.
After grinding the medicine to a fine paste, the man filtered the thick liquid into a small cup. He set the mortar aside, then slipped one hand behind her head with the gentle care of someone handling something precious, raising it slightly.
"I know it's painful," he said, "but please bear with it."
He brought the cup to her lips and fed her the herbal medicine in slow sips.
'Don't touch me. I'll eat you.' If only the man could hear the terrifying thoughts in her head.
She no longer believed there was kindness without expectation. Ramai had been nice to her only because he wanted access to her body. After he had his way with her, she never saw him again. So was she supposed to believe there existed a man who was naturally kind? With the exception of Orin—who would rather knock her senseless than lay a hand on her in any other way—she had never allowed any man to get skin contact with her. So what this stranger was doing was extremely upsetting her.
"I'm sure you have your questions," he said as he set the empty cup down, "but please listen first."
He sat back a little, giving her space, though his hands still hovered ready in case she needed support.
"I was out in the hills by the Lonorith river earlier today, picking machnilla herbs. That's when I found the field burned down. The river itself was gone—evaporated, like something had boiled it away in an instant. Just as I stood there trying to understand what could do that, the water rushed back in with fury, filling the empty bed like it had never left. It's unbelievable, right?"
He gave a small, nervous laugh, then began to carefully undo the cloth and herb wraps around her body.
Aeloria watched in silence, her body tense.
"I'm sorry if you feel uncomfortable," he continued. "Apart from the fact that I don't have the funds to take you to a proper herbworker, there's something else. Your purple eyes with pupils split like a viper's, your hair colour, your impossibly smooth skin…"
He paused as he peeled away the cloth from her chest. He tried his best not to look directly, focusing only on the wounds he was checking, but his sight had to stay on her to see what he was doing.
"What I'm saying is," he finished quietly, "they would know immediately that you're Aeloria the Cannibal."
His hand trembled visibly as he removed the last wrap from her torso.
'He's afraid. But then why would he treat me when he was afraid of me?'
Aeloria thought curiously, trying to figure the man out.
"I told you before that I was by the Lonorith river earlier, didn't I?" he went on, his voice a little quicker now. "Well, as I was coming back, I found you lying on your neck in such a bizarre pose. I was terrified at first and thought you were dead. After I positioned you carefully, you opened your eyes for a heartbeat and closed them again. You can imagine my reaction when the person I thought was dead looked straight at me."
He laughed slightly, a nervous sound that filled the quiet room.
Aeloria lay still, watching him with an expressionless face.
He then paused removing the clothes wrapped around her. "It was then that I realised you were the rumored cannibal. I was so scared I couldn't move. I normally don't think much about rumours, but to every rumour there is at least a hint of truth, and the fact that even one of those rumours about you could be true terrified me more than anything. After coming to a decision, I took off your armor because the crest of Runevale is recognizable at first glance. This made it easier to sneak you into the inn." He explained, then started removing the clothes from her lower body.
'He knows who I am but he's still helping me? If he turns me in to another kingdom, he could make a firtune. Why go through all this trouble?'
"Your features will betray you if I hand you over to a herbworker. When I found you alone, lying in your own blood with no other soldiers in sight, I thought you were betrayed by your kingdom and didn't know if it would be right to return you back, so I decided to leave that decision to you when you get better. Don't worry, my grandmother was a herbworker so I know a thing or two. I used to take care of her in her later days, so rest assured. You may be uncomfortable, but please endure." He said, taking off the last remaining cloth. Aeloria now lay completely naked.
'What in the nine hells?
I've treated a lot of women, noble and regular, while learning the herbworking art. I've even bathed paralyzed women, but she leaves them in the dust. Why is she so beautiful?
This is going to make it a lot more difficult to be a gentleman. But wait, forget being a gentleman—I'm afraid out of my mind. Just what is going to happen to me after she gets better?'
He thought as he brought a bucket of warm water and a clean towel.
'I'm now completely naked. I feel so uncomfortable.
Now is he going to bathe me? And also why am I taking so long to heal?'
Aeloria thought.
The man dipped the towel in the water and Aeloria moved her finger. It seemed she could now only move her finger.
He stumbled back and fell. His face was twisted in terror.
'Just how bad are the rumours?'
Aeloria thought.
"Sorry, I'm not the most courageous person. To be honest, I'm quite afraid of you, even as you lay helpless. I'm afraid you'll eat me when you get better. I'm an awful apprentice, right? Just look at what I'm saying to my patient."
He walked back and continued to squeeze the warm water filled with machnilla herbs. He began by wiping her forehead gently.
"I'm sorry about earlier. I'm just not used to taking such risks."
He then began to wipe her neck, then her chest.
'Makes sense. Commander Orin was the strongest man in Runevale, not to mention he wielded the cursed tongue, so it's only natural he wouldn't be afraid of me.
Wait—Commander Orin. It didn't seem like they were going to pass through Runevale. If Blank and the man in black head to Jorm, then…'
Aeloria struggled and the man jumped back.
She was broken everywhere, but she forced herself to sit, then stand. Every bone burned like fire.
The man was terrified.
'I'm a dead man. I touched her chest and she's out for my flesh. Should I scream?'
But then he stopped and walked to the Cannibal. She had tears down her face. The all-so-terrifying cannibal was crying.
'Yoru was… I have to help Commander Orin. I have to inform him Šërēĺįťh doesn't work on them. For someone who was unbothered by a thunderstrike, it's safe to assume blades will be useless as well. I can't lose two people at once.'
Her legs buckled before she could reach the door and she fell, but the man caught her in his arms.
"I can tell you want to go somewhere," he said, holding her steady, "but it's been a month since I found you. Please, you need to calm down."
'A month… then that means…'
Aeloria cried into the man's shirt like a little girl.
'What in my grandmother's kitchen? She's just like any other woman. Why did people have to spread false rumors to terrorize us?'
Aeloria would like to believe the one she had accepted as her big brother would be able to defeat the man in black, but having fought one and fought beside the other, she already knew the outcome.
Now all the people who cared about her were gone.