Reverse of the Rain

“We accept,” Ella said. “Acknowledge yourself as a living being, and you can keep your life, Rain, The Cursed Child. And you will follow us to the north, but your life is your own concern. If you become a burden, we will leave and let you die, that’s all,” she then turned and left.

“Thank you, Miss Holy Saint,” he replied.

She paused for a moment, “Just call me Ella, Cursed Child,” she said and continued walking.

“Yes,” he said. Are you still calling me the cursed child? You don’t even look at me directly. Nah, that’s not something I should concern myself with. This is good enough. I can continue living.

I should find some plants around to heal my feet and arm. I can also use the Eye of Truth to learn about the effects of certain plants. But before he sat up, “Rain, right? Can I call you that?” Faye said, offering a greeting.

“Yes, and miss?” he greeted back.

“Giggling, look at you, you already knowing my name. A smart man like you. Okay, okay, I should do a proper one. My name is Fayleain Carran, but you can call me Faye, just like that. I’m not a fan of formalities. Let’s keep it easy, okay?” she said.

He smiled at her smooth talking and said, “Okay! If there’s anything I can help with, please call me. I’m good with any labor work.”

She smiled and replied, “With those broken hands and feet, you will help us a lot.”

A wry smile appeared on his face, then he said, “Ah, don’t worry. I’m tough. I’ll look around and see if there are any herbs or grass that can help.” He looked around and tried to sit up, but pain struck him, causing him to grunt and blood to seep out.

When she saw him struggling, she hurriedly said, “Easy. If you move like that, you’ll widen your wound. Here you go!” She threw a bag at him. “There should be some herbs and potions in there.”

He caught it casually with his hand. It was a small sachet, which he opened to find a bottle of green liquid and some bandages. He felt warmth inside, knowing that someone was giving him what he needed.

“Keep it, take care of yourself,” she said.

“Thank you, I mean really... Thank you,” he bowed to her.

“Ahh, that will make me look good and shine in your eyes, right? Your heart will bloom like a flower, receiving a gift from a beautiful maiden. But sorry, that sachet isn’t mine. It’s from our Iron Maiden. Don’t tell her I called her that, okay? I want to keep my head on my shoulders. What a slippery tongue I have, telling you this,” she said playfully.

Then he looked around and found Aria in the distance, busy packing things around the camp.

“We’re running late. Late from her scout duty, she asked me to give you a sachet. Thank her later, okay?” she said. “We’ll leave in half an hour. Pack your things and be ready. Oh! Did you bring anything from your dorm? Like a lucky stone or a good luck charm? You’re going to need it, just like me. Look, I have lots of jewel rings for good luck.” She showed him her hand, adorned with black gloves and rings on every finger, and then gently touched her beautiful earrings.

He tilted his head slightly, confused. What did she mean by that?

“We’ll talk later. I still have things to do. Take care, Rain.” She left.

He watched her go and then applied the potion to his. It caused a sharp pain in his veins. Argh! Is this even give me a pain, how intent of this potion? His wound split apart, blood oozing out, forming a scab that quickly healed, but it tear again and again, the cycle of pain continued. He gritted his teeth and endured the agony, finally covering his hand and foot with bandages. He let the healing process continue inside.

Meanwhile, time passed for Aria. She finished packing the tent and the rest of their belongings.

Tent? Check. Camp kits? Check. Food and water supply? Check. Everything was done. I’m running a little late, but there’s still sunlight overhead, that still has enough time if we hasten the pace. Let see around. Everyone should be ready and waiting for me.

They had all already take off their heavy cloaks, were now wearing the attire of a saint cloth, a white shawl draped over wide shoulders, reaching the elbows with a split in the middle, paired with a white tunic and white pants. This will not restrain our move, easy movement during a fight. Only Ella wore a white pintuck skirt. that it wasn’t suitable for such a harsh journey. But it suited her well, giving her an aloof and beautiful princess with a wild, grassy thorn appearance. As always, Eons looked clean and neat.

Then she looked at Rain. He looked so contrasting, like a creature emerging from a long-forgotten grave. His wet and tangled hair covered his face, and his tattered clothes and numerous old wounds made him look eerie. Only the spark in his blue eyes proved that there was still life in his bruised body. How could he live in such a condition? At least his arms and legs covered with bandages, white color of bandages made him tidy and collected into pieces, feel little safe from dark danger. I hope everything will be okay inside.

Looking at him, he tried to sort through something in the sachet I had given him. I wondered if there was really that much inside. It should have only contained a bandage and a potion, right? He noticed my gaze and so I asked politely, “Are you ready?”

“Yes, thank you...” he answered.

I nodded in response, wanting to turn back and rejoin the group. However, he stopped me with a word.

“Just a moment... This is all I could find for now. Please take it... as a thank you,” he said, softly tossing the sachet back to me. I caught it and noticed that it felt heavier than before. Curious, I opened it, and my eyebrows shot up in confusion when I saw its contents. It filled with a mix of grasses, weeds, strange-looking dirty rocks, and numerous flowers, some white, blue, and green, randomly thrown together. What was this? How strange.

Again, why did he always do things to annoy me? Why couldn’t he act politely like everyone else? Did he want to be my enemy? I had even given him a potion to help him heal, so why?

Without hesitation, I asked, “What does this mean? Are you trying to—”

“Let me see, let me see!” Red Witch, interrupt me. She walked over to me and looked inside the sachet.

Her face mirrored my confusion when she saw its contents. Then, she glanced at him and said, “Rain, I told you to ‘thank her later,’ but don’t you think this is too absurd?”

“Ah! Is It too little?, please be chill, no intense, no flaring, ok? I will look for more... goods, ok?” He said with apologetic tone.

More? More of these weeds? Ugh! What is going on in your mind? Why do I need more of these plant things? Why did you have to do this?

“Faye, have you really told him that?” I asked the red witch.

“Yes, I said it to him, but with good intentions and no bad intentions. I didn’t expect this to happen either. I’m sorry, Aria, for making you uncomfortable.” Hearing her apology, I felt my shoulders relax. At least he doesn’t intend to cause any trouble for me. Maybe this means something special to him. After all, he has always lived in a shadow box, imprisoned. It’s no surprise that he only knows about these things. I looked at him with a more understanding gaze and said, “Thank y—”

“Rain, I know you want to thank her, but please, this is too much... Are you trying to court her?” Red Witch interrupted with a serious expression.

“What!!” Everyone was shocked, even Eeon, whose face turned stiff. Rain’s jaw dropped. He tried to speak, but no words came out.

Red Witch continued, “give such a lovely four-leaf clover, not just one, but a bunch of them. Do you wish for her to never encounter bad luck in her entire life? And even Felly flowers included. Such a lovely boy. Think about pure love. Ah, even in the darkest world, there is still a search for light to shine into the alleys of the night, wishing to bring and turn its life. I can even fly with these gifts....”

As everyone listened to the red witch’s explanation and understood the meaning behind the objects in the sachet, everyone looked grim and stared at him.

He tried to clarify, “No, no, you’re mistaken. It’s just a—”

“How dare you! A lower being like you! In your dreams! No! Not even in your dreams! Know your place, you filthy worm!” Thorn Princess thunderous shouted.

He tried to correct himself again, “But that’s not—”

“Silence! Look at you! Sickly and tattered. Just return to the grave you came from!” Princess angrily interrupted.

“It’s a misunderstanding!” he cried.

This time, Marble Man spoke, “The Accepted, but that doesn’t mean you’re free. Your life is still hanging by a thread. Consider your position carefully.” The temperature dropped tremendously. Rain’s pale face turned ghastly. His eyes widened, and his body shook uncontrollably, shocked by Eeon’s threatening tone.

“Stop!” Aria shouted.

My face turned dark after listening to all this nonsense conversation. Looked at him nervous face, sweat ran all over his face... I couldn’t stand it anymore. Aria angrily grabbed Faye’s hand. “This sachet is your!” smashed it into her hand. Then I turned and left immediately, but stopped halfway and said, “When you’re done with your nonsense, just follow me to the hill. We’re already late because of all this pointless chatter,” Aria said.

“T-this, i-is not what I meant,” Faye nervously answered.

“I still have a scout, cook, supply, and guiding job to do. Just do your job, or I’m mistaken, your job is just talking!” Aria said.

Dashed out and grabbed her belongings before heading north. The last words I heard were him shouting, “It was just some herbs and ores I collected nearby and gave to you!”

Don’t take it to heart, just a little fuzzy day. Be calm myself, Patience mind, just move to the north and finish the day.

Meanwhile, the other white saints followed her, leaving only two people behind.

“Rain, could I keep the sachet?” she asked, looking at him as if nothing had happened.

“Hahh... Didn’t you know it was all for good deeds? Why would you say that? Are you bullying me?” he responded with confusion.

“Not at all. Instead, thank me. You know, our Iron Maiden had never shown emotion like that before. That was the longest conversation I had ever heard from her, even if it was harsh. That was something,” she said.

The two people looked at each other.

“Thank you, so you can keep it. I would find another one for her later, but it would be harder because of you. I couldn’t give her a flower-shaped one, Hah... That is easiest to find among the rest,” he said with a tired expression.

Instead, Faye looked at him, smiled widely, and asked, “Were your arms and legs ready?”

“Yes, like new ones,” he replied.

“Oh, that potion was so remarkably effective. Okay, let’s follow them,” she said.

The two started moving, following the rest of the group.

“Could I ask where we were going?” he inquired.

“Um, we were heading north. We would find the road and kill any monsters that crossed our path,” she explained. “Did that bother you?”

“No, it was just... too simple?” he replied.

“Yes, it was simply like that... too simple.” She gave him a dark smile. Made him shuddered.