The forest was still and only the rustle of her footsteps could be heard. By the time she left their house, it was almost dusk. Clutching the covered flask in her bosom, she walked stealthily in the woods. She lengthened her stride to match her hurried steps in the hopes of increasing her speed further. Every now and then she would look over her shoulder to make sure she was not followed.

‘You’re being paranoid Lia.’ They were the only ones living in this area. And all these months of living there, Lia had not seen a single soul except for Eldric. But then again, he was a special case. With him gone, there was only Lia and Tamara. Yet she could not shake off the feeling that someone was watching her. She threw another cautioned glance over her shoulder.

‘Stop. You need to finish things quickly then come back.’

The town was in a relaxed vibe when she stepped out of the woods. The townsfolk were coming back from their jobs, their postures drooping from exhaustion. Yet the same vigilant atmosphere permeated through the air like the last time Lia went to town. She did not slow down her pace but tried to act normal as she trudged through the main street, before slipping to the dark alleys, making her way to the back door of the store.

She knocked while keeping an eye over her shoulder. There was a movement inside the store and for a moment, she thought it was the guards, waiting for her and ready to throw her to the prison cells. To her relief, Frankie’s tired face welcomed her and ushered her in.

Frankie took a single glance on the object on Lia’s clutches and jerked up his chin to follow him upstairs. They went to the second floor of the store that also served as their home. It was a simple space with two bunk beds on one side and the kitchen on the other. In one of the beds, Lia found a feverish Yolly.

“Her fever lowered a bit when I gave her the medicine I got this morning and she woke up for a while, but she said that her head hurts so much,” Frankie told Lia.

Lia dropped to her knees right away and got to work. She found an empty container, the size of a shot glass, and used it to give the medicine to Yolly. They waited with bated breath.

After a while, Lia placed her hand over Yolly’s forehead. She was still burning but her earlier ragged breaths seemed to even out. She did not wake up yet but she looked a lot better than when Lia first came in. Lia released the breath she had been holding and nodded at Frankie. He took her mother’s hand and gave it a light squeeze.

Frankie brought her back to the first floor and gave Lia a cup of chocolate to which she accepted. When the medicine began working, her tension dissolved along with Yolly’s fever and now she was starving.

“Look, let’s not celebrate yet. My mother said that what she made was not a complete cure. Well, at least, not yet,” Lia said.

“But she’ll make it yeah?” When Lia nodded, he continued. “That was good enough. Do you want anything else?” Frankie rummaged through a cupboard before starting to come up to the kitchen. “I think we still have some–”

“No need. Thank you for this.” She gestured to her cup. “But I need to get going. I need to meet the general.”

Frankie looked at her, stunned. “The general? ‘The General?’ Did you really mean the guy from the capital?”

“Yes. We need to tell him what we know about this. My mother asked me to pass a message,” Lia added in haste.

Frankie thought for a while and went back to the second floor. It took him a long time that Lia was unsure of what to do and was about to call out when he came back down, now wearing a coat.

“I’m going with you. I can tell him what I know.”

Lia smiled. So he was not a totally clueless but rebellious teen. In fact, he was considerate and sensible. “I was about to ask you to come with me.”