Evelyn's POV:
"How are you two doing?" asked the vendor as we passed his fruit cart. "We are all good. And what about you?" I turned around and replied.
"I'm also very well, all thanks to you," he said.
"But I haven't done anything yet." I retaliated while looking over the mouthwatering fruits.
"Just say if you want to eat some. I will buy it for you." my brother voiced.
"Ohh! Really", my face turned bright.
"Yeah! If you like...." he said and took a bag full of gold coins out of his pocket.
"Where did you get that much money? I inquired with bulging eyes." Does it matter? Just pick the fruit you would like to eat...
Or should I simply buy the whole carriage?" says he, casually showing his naive side.
"My goodness! I never knew my brother was so rich." I tease him.
"Are you going to pick it or else I take back my money?" he called out.
"No! No! No! I will buy... I will buy it right now." I frantically replied as I wanted to quench my empty stomach.
Suddenly, hysterical laughter broke out in the air. We looked at the nearby standing vendor, surprisingly.
"It's so good to see a happy sibling relationship, once in a while," he said while wiping down the tears from his eyes. We simply smiled, in return.
Then, he packed the fruits in a bag and handed them over to me. So he spoke" Take these with you. And stuff your bellies with them. Moreover, don't even think about the payment. Just consider it a reward for protecting us. It's all because of you, knights, that we folk can sleep at night, peacefully."
We couldn't help but accept the feelings behind that generous act. After that, we thanked the old man and moved on to the next area we were meant to petrol.
"My brother does love me to the point of offering all of his saved money just to buy me fruits," I say with a chuckle.
He turns his head away in embarrassment, as we walked down the path to the seashore.
"You should not be concerned about these things. After all, you are a kid who doesn't even know how to tie her shoelaces," he says with a pat on my head.
"I am not a kid. You are just too old a man to say this to me, "I say with a blushing face, and then free myself from his warm grasp.
"Brother! Brother! Look over there! I frantically say while shaking him.
"W-What! W-Where!
I point toward the seashore and exclaim: "I guess someone is enjoying the cool sea breeze and even on the damp ground. Cool! Isn't it?
He smacked my head and yelled, "Idiot! Who in their right mind would come here in the middle of the night just to enjoy the so-called cool breeze, on top of that, on the damp ground?
Rubbing the sore head, I glare at him. "Why don't we check it out? I say, refusing to give up.
"You truly are a troublemaker? Aren't you?
"Hehehe...." I foolishly laugh and then we both walk towards the seashore.
As I reached there, the bag of fruits slipped through my grip. I couldn't believe what my eyes were showing me. A young boy, lying on the seaside, covered in terrible-looking gashes that blooded him everywhere, was taking his last breaths. The sound of sea waves, the blazing light of the moon glancing through the clouds and an injured body amidst it, despite having its charm, made me tremble with fear.
"Buckle up! We're gonna save him. Just like we always do." said my brother while patting my back as if trying to lift my spirit.
"Yeah!" I smacked my face.
Upon taking a closer look, I noticed many small tears on his body, along with a large gash that ran from the back of his hip to his mid-stomach. It was not deep, but indeed prone to infections. My brother tore his shirt into pieces and tried to wrap it around his wounds.
"We should immediately stop the bleeding, otherwise he might die from excessive blood loss," he yelled.
"Let me handle these wounds. You go and revive his breathing." I said while taking the shirt pieces from his hands.
As a knight, we were trained to do this. How to save the injured person was something that we practised again and again, until our bodies gave out. As far as we protect people by slaying demons, we also save people by applying first aid. After all, it was the only thing we wished to do..... I mean, protecting people by any means.
We tried our best to save the injured boy who, from the looks of his, was probably 14 or 15 years old.
"L-Let's...... take him.... to Miss Ann. I guess..... she will be...... available right now." said my brother, with his tired body and huffed breathing.
"Roger!" I replied.
Then we supported the injured boy on our shoulders and took him to Miss Ann's house.
"Hello! Miss Ann! I am Evelyn speaking. We need your help urgently. Please! Open the door." I shouted my lungs out.
"Coming!" the voice said, and in the next moment, the door flies open.
Standing before us, was the well-known herbalist, who up till now had saved countless lives with her skills and talent.
"Ohh! My goodness! Who is this boy? And How did he get this injured? Miss Ann questioned one after another.
"We don't know anything about this. We just found him wounded on the seashore and tried to give him first aid." my brother replies.
"Well done! You guys did a good job. Now, bring him inside and leave everything else to me. I assure you I will not let your efforts be in vain. " Miss Ann speaks out.
"That's why we came to you," he says.
Then we hand him over to Miss Ann and move on to wash our blood-stained bodies.
"It sure was a hectic day," my brother says while drying his hair with a towel.
"Yeah!" I reply, flopping on the soft bed, in the room Miss Ann gave us.
"Who do you think that boy is?" I asked, curiously.
"Well, judging from his appearance, he doesn't seem like no more than an ordinary boy. Did you see his tattered, darned, worn-out shirt? I don't think it belongs to a nobleman."He responds.
"Then, who would try to harm him to the point of death? I raised another question.
"I don't know. It might be the case that he is a slave and got punished for stealing his master's belonging. I have seen cases like these. " He responds.
"But his face doesn't look like a slave," I let out.
He chuckles. And I look at him. Then, we both start laughing.
"Who cares! I thought to myself. My eyes were giving up. My tired body forfeited. I could barely keep myself from falling asleep. Then, suddenly a warm, calloused hand patted my head.
"Sleep tight! My beloved sister! This brother of yours will keep all the nightmares away from you." a sweet, honey-like voice brushed my ears.
After that, I slept peacefully, not knowing that my life was going to change, for good.
ns 15.158.61.23da2
