The soft sprinkling of rain was what brought Bremira back to reality. The light of day and the rain caused her to squint. She brought her hand to her head only to find her arm was wrapped up tightly in a cloth. A sharp pain shot through her arm. Bremira groaned. Where the hell was she? She hadn't remembered where she went. The flying was a haze to her. All of a sudden she heard some rustling from some nearby bushes.
"Oh, good, you're not dead. "
A young child with golden messy hair popped his head out from between bushes.
"One less problem for me to deal with."
He went back to his dealings in the bushes.
"Where are we, who are you? What happened to my arm?"
"God, you're noisy. We are past the border, you came flying and nearly hit me out of nowhere and broke your arm." The boy replied a tinge of agitation in his voice.
Bremira stayed quiet for a moment trying to readjust herself to her surroundings.
"What are we doing out here?"
"Mm, no. Not we. What are YOU doing out here? I know what I'm doing" The boy replied still fixated on the bushes.
"I...." Bremira started before trailing off. "I don't know." She started remembering everything and the pain hit her again like a wave.
"That's weird. You're suspicious."
"You're weird. What are you doing out here anyway?" Bremira decided to try and focus on her current situation for the time being wiping away her oncoming tears that threatened to start again with her good arm.
"None of your business."
Bremira decided to push. "You're like, what Seven? And you're this far out of the boundaries? Shouldn't you be in classes right now? This isn't safe at you're age to be wandering off like thi-"
"I'm not seven, I'm ten. I'm trying to find something for someone right now and that's more important to me... Again, not that it's you're business."
Bremira sat for a moment and decided to do some sleuthing. She looked around, there wasn't much for miles in these bare fields aside from some bushes, plants and a few trees spread out here and there. There wasn't much for a kid to do out here but get lost. Besides maybe... She had learned from her Grandma that there was an herb that could only be found out of the boundaries. One that was good for lowering harsh fevers... What was it called again..?
Ah! "Boneset!"
The rustling stopped. The boy came out finally acknowledging her.
"What did you say?"
"Boneset. Are you looking for it?"
"Yes! D-did you find any?" The boy asked a bit frantically.
"No, but I can help you look. Do you know what it looks like?"
"Um... I just know that it's white."
"There are a lot of white plants. You need to be careful because you could possibly get something poisonous. Boneset kind of looks like little white flowers bunches together."
"You'll help me find it?" He asked.
Bremira got to her feet as she began to feel the full soreness of her body. She finally got a better look at the young boy standing before her. He was dirty and seemed a little to thin with a few leaves sticking out of his hair and a pair of broken glasses on his scratched up muddied freckle filled face. His hummingbird-like wings still had a tiny bit of fuzz left on them, so he most likely walked out here. Most kids don't start flying until they're twelve.
"Of course, I've really got nothing better to do." Bremira lightly joked.
The boy beamed a toothy smile. That was the first time she had ever seen anything besides annoyance or focus on his face.
The two set off scouring around for a few hours tiredly searching for the herb. Most of the shrubs were just that. The dry thigh high grass that plagued the whole area scratched at their ankles and as the hours passed the day began to wear of the both of them. A few false alarms from the boy and a run in with a venomous snake that luckily didn't go south, they happened upon a small hidden cluster of boneset.
"God, I thought we were going to die before we found this!" Bremira stated finally sitting on the ground in relief.
The golden-haired boy ran up carefully pulling it out of the ground by its roots and placing it in his satchel. He giddily walked back over to bremira almost skipping. She smiled in turn. She raised her good arm up to him. He high fived her happily.
"No, I mean, help me up please." She laughed
"O-oh, right." He mumbled back slightly embarrassed.
After helping Bremira up the two began their trip back. There was a ways before the two had to part. Bremira decided to walk back with him. She could use the company and she didn't find that leaving a child alone out here was a very good idea. They walked in silence for a bit. Bremira faded into her own thoughts about everything that had transpired. The letters, the apothecary. What was to do after all of this? The idea of going home made her feel sick. After a while the boy spoke up.
"It's for my sister."
"Hm?" Bremira who had been lost in thought was brought back to reality.
"The herb is for my sister, I thought you should know since you helped me this much." He didn't meet her eye's as he spoke, he just stared at the ground wearing a tired, angry expression. It wasn't the kind of expression that she thought suited a kid.
"She has a really bad fever."
"You could have alerted your local herbalist instead of coming all the way out here, don'tcha think?"
"I did!" He looked at her now with anger in his eyes. "I did, they didn't do anything! They said to just give her water and put a cold towel over her head! But, I've been reading about what she has, I'm been around her the whole time since this started, I've written down all her symptoms and I know it's a bad fever for her age, it could kill her! I hate where we live. The people are so lazy selfish, they don't care when bad things happen they just let it! If it's not affecting them they won't do anything to fix it, to help. I tried showing the book to the herbalist and he said he knows what's best and that I'm just a kid..." Tears started streaming down his face as he ranted. "I swear I know what I'm talking about.."
"Well, you're a smart kid. I trust your judgment. You were out here looking for exactly the right herb and that's more than even some adults I know could get right. I believe you and I think that herbalist was foolish for not listening." Bremira smiled at him. She recognized that feeling of helplessness, she was tired and just wanted to collapse and sleep in a tree somewhere but if she could get rid of that sickening feeling for one person, how could she not?
"Tell you what, I'm an herbalist in my area. I live in the Granite District. You and I can go take care of your sister together. I'll make a tincture and we can see what else needs to be done."
The boy began bawling. Bremira opened her arms and he ran into her embrace loudly crying in her arms.
"What's your name?"
"Samuel" he said through tears slowly trying to wipe them away.
"My name is Ri-" She paused. That's right. Her real name wasn't Rina. She didn't want to lie to this boy right now. He was going through a lot and she herself just wanted someone to be real to as she was starting not to feel to real to herself. She'd worry about the consequences of him knowing her true identity later.
"My name is Bremira. Bremira Storm."
"That a weird name." He smirked as he finally gathered himself.
"You're a weird kid." She smiled back.
They set off, side by side sharing stories and joking.
When they finally reached Samuel's town in Pyrope Bremira put up the hood of her cape remembering that the red roots of her hair were still showing. She wondered if Samuel had Seen it.
They had to take the long way. A passage through the side of the mountains as he couldn't fly over the caverns. The way most cities were built in the kingdom had everything connecting from one side to the other via a pathway which was a fairly long walk but none connected from across the deep caverns. there were great tunnels going through the side of a mountain with whole systems of shops and snug houses built into the mountain walls. The best stores with the most business were visible when flying around outside the tunnels. Schools have been petitioning for bridges that connected across the caverns for the kids. People were split on it as some thought kids having to run the long way around more would help them grow stronger and "build character".
"Oh, I forgot to tell you, I live in an orphanage with my sister. A lot of the other kids are annoying or mean. but Steve is kinda nice. He's a bit weird though, he likes to chew on the cloth of new clothing he gets. I'll introduce you when we get there! Oh and the lady who makes our food is nice too! Her food kind of sucks though.."
He continued rambling endlessly about his life in the orphanage.
An Orphan... Bremira thought. I guess maybe one and the same. Maybe..
Her train of thought abruptly ended when a hoard of men ran past them with buckets of water in the tunnel all in a rush to get up ahead of them. Samuel had stopped talking at this point and looked very uneasy. A pregnant woman in a nearby shop was talking to a man,
"Hurry and go help them! " She yelled hugging him before he rushed off with a bucket of water.
Bremira and Samuel looked at each other before walking up to the woman.
"What's going on?" Bremira asked.
The woman had a very worried look on her face.
"There is a fire, and everyone in the city is working to put it out."
Samuel shot back quickly "A fire where?"
"At the Orphanage at the end of the tunnel-"
That was all that needed to be said before Samuel took off at full speed down the tunnel."
Bremira called after him but he was already gone.
The woman continued.
"I heard that one of the kids started the fire when playing with matches- Is that boy going to be alright?" She asked watching Samuel bolt into the distance.
Bremira still in shock quietly replied "That's where he lives." before limping as fast she could after him. "Stay safe, the both of you!" The woman shouted.
When she finally rounded the corner and saw the light at the end of the tunnel she began to feel the heat emanating from the exit. It was unwelcoming heat. Her heart pounded, scared to see what was on the other side. When she exited the tunnel and entered back into the light of day she saw it. A tall building engulfed in orange flames that flicked at the sky and created black clouds that stained the already grey sky. Men and women flew at safe distances throwing water on the fire doing their best to keep in under control.
On the ground tons of scared crying screaming children gathered with what seemed to be the staff of the now burning facility most of which were holding babies while trying to calm down the children. Some kids walked around in a daze, possibly to traumatized from the incident to know how to properly react. Bremira wondered if any of them if any of the kids in that crowd was Samuel sister.
He seemed to be thinking the same thing as he while panicking rushed around calling out a name that wasn't audible over the screams and crying of the crowd.
Bremira began limping to him. She saw him talk to an elderly looking woman with brown wings she couldn't make out what had been said. His eyes widened and he stood frozen before screaming and rushing at the burning building. One of the men trying to put the fire out on the ground level noticed him and restrained him before Samuel could go any further. When Bremira reached them She saw his struggling against the man's grasp. He was fighting so hard against the man he was genuinely struggling to keep him from running off into the flames. His glasses slid off and were crushed in the craze of the moment. Bremira picked them up and stood watching his struggle. He screamed his hate and disdain at everyone for not saving her, he scratched and bit, the man tried to reason with him but it was no use. Bremira truly didn't know what to do.
His sister, she was gone. None of the kids had followed instructions when the fire started and some of the kids went missing in the panic. One of which was her. Unnoticed, she was left to burn in the building, no one hearing her cries for help, no way to get out of it alone.
after an hour he was too weak to fight anymore and just cried and screamed nonsensically. The man handed him off to Bremira. They sat on the ground clutching each other. Eventually, she began silently crying too. She couldn't tell who it was for, was it for her, for him? For his sister? Maybe it was all of it. She let out everything, every emotion consumed her at that moment. It consumed both of them.
Eventually, the fire was put out and darkness set in. The people who helped put out the fire volunteered to take the kids in until they could figure out a final solution. Samuel didn't fight back when Bremira began taking him to her secluded apothecary. He didn't say anything the entire way there.
They both fell passed out on the floor out of exhaustion. Samuel didn't talk for days and those days turned to weeks. When he finally started talking after a month all he could talk about was what he could have done to save her. If he had just known what the herb looked like or if he ran the whole way back or if he could have flown. What If, what if, what if... Bremira knew nothing could have been done. She knew he wasn't at fault. She consoled him but nothing worked. He just tore himself apart. So, on one of the days, he wasn't talking she brought out the box. The box with her grandma's final letters to her. And without any exchange, she sat at the end of the bed and gave it to him. She wanted to say something but after trying for so long to cheer him up or to help him understand that the situation wasn't in his control she couldn't. She had a hard time staying happy herself most of the time and she had felt like a hypocrite trying to be so positive.
At first, Samuel didn't know what it was about. He didn't care. After a few hours, a tiny bit of curiosity sparked in him and that was all it took. he opened the pain ordinary box and pulled out all the papers some of which were stained with what he thought might be tears. At first, he thought it was some story she wrote to cheer him up. But as she read he realized it was about her. Someone wrote this to her. She had lost people too. A lot of people. He finished in and mulled over the pages. Just like she had, he hoped she didn't feel responsible as he knew she probably felt that way after this story. And she realized that in the end it wasn't her fault and it wasn't his either. That sometimes things happen and we can't control it, or go back and to change the outcome. A deep sense of peace overcame him and for the first time in a a long time he felt like he could sleep in peace. The next morning Bremira woke up to a sound in the kitchen. She walked out of her room and saw Samuel sitting at a table eating eggs and bacon. He looked up at her.
"There is still some in the pan, but you are going to have to make your own plate." He mumbled with food still in his mouth.
Bremira laughed and sighed relieved. It felt like she had been holding her breath for so long, and now she could finally breathe again.
After breakfast, Bremira gave an offer for him to live with her. She'd fill out the adoption paperwork and he could learn under her care and become her apprentice.
"You mean, that wasn't the plan already? I figured, this place was already mine at this point."
Bremira Laughed. "Of course that was the plan. Weirdo."
"Say's the real weirdo with the weirdo name."
They both smiled, and a duo was born. 232Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUQbyIbV3LZ
