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Chapter 3 FALLEN STRANGER

Mystica rubbed her eyes a couple of times as she wasn't sure if her sight was playing tricks on her. Based on that loud, deafening sound and fierce ripples occured along the tree branches, she was certain that it was a tremendous object that falls heavily in the ground but why was it appeared to be a man?

'How could it be possible that a human creature could fall directly from the sky, creating a heavy impact against the ground? What was really going on here?' she thought curiously while staring at the unconscious form lying in the ruffled grass.

Meanwhile, the sky had been completely overcast by heavy clouds.

The surrounding areas appear to be getting dim as well. Being surrounded by a massive amount of trees, Mystica seemed to feel somewhat worried about her situation. Her cabin being at an outlying distance and she was currently in the middle of the forest with an unconscious stranger, how could she manage to go back without getting wet from the rain?

"This is impossible!" she murmured in defeat.

Crash!

Boom!

A loud deafening sound of thunder followed by the strike of lightning roared just above her head causing her body to tremble frightfully in fear. She hurriedly covered her ears to lessen the dread that she felt inside as she went over to the stranger's position.

"Hey!" She shook him off fiercely and shouted out. "Wake up! It's going to rain! You have to wake up!"

The unknown man did not budge at her; instead, he remained unmoving. His eyes were tightly shut and his breathing was unstable.

Mystica never felt this helpless since she woke up in Azure forest until now. She tried to check his pulse, anything that could help herself convinced that the man was still alive…

After being assured, she couldn't help feeling glorified. "Thank goodness! You're still breathing." She murmured under her breath and with that, she did not waste any more seconds.

She went to the nearby hill and began hauling off the weeds growing beneath the protruding part of it. Luckily for her, the space was enough to shelter two people against the rain. It won't get them soaked unless the wind blows in the opposite direction.

Upon cleaning the little space, Mystica dropped her pouch without hesitation and hurriedly went back to the unmoving stranger. He was tall and hefty in build whilst she was frail and petite. Apparently, she couldn't carry him as his weight was twice compared to her henceforth, she whispered something in his ear before she decided to drag him slowly towards the hill.

After what seemed like forever, she finally made it. She succeeded in bringing the man to the hill but she felt embarrassed because she had him smudged thoroughly in mud. Now he looked similar to a caveman dipped in a pit of soil.

The rain then started to fall laboriously just right in time…

Mystica watched the raindrops sinking in the ground with a deep and complicated sigh evading from her lips. This was the very first rain that she encountered since she had woken up and she couldn't help yearning to see the old couple. At the very least, she wanted to know if they're fine because she wasn't able to bid her proper farewell to the both of them.

After a brief moment of reminiscing of the past, she began to take out her spare cloth. But before that, she lit up her little torch and with the help of the dried twigs and leaves fallen from the trees, she managed to light up a fire to provide warmth for them as the atmosphere started to feel cold.

She drenched the little part of her shabby dress with raindrops and began skimming the man's face at first as she wanted to see if he was injured or wounded somewhere but then she found none. She sighed in relief.

Now that she had him cleaned, she clearly had the good sight of him and she couldn't take her eyes off him. She was captivated by his chiseled features such as his firm jaw lines and high-bridge nose… She stared at him intently, familiarizing every part of his countenance.

He has slight thick brows, long eyelashes and thin lips that look so pale at the moment. His hair was a little messy and blond in color…

Every detail of his face seemed to make her froze for some unknown reason and she wasn't able to define why… For her, seeing a man drop out of nowhere was something new and strange to her that is why she couldn't help asking herself…

'What was wrong with me?' she thought, baffled.

Her frantic heartbeat was the one answering her inquiry through her mind but she wasn't aware of it…

After a brief moment, she shook her head, pushing aside her odd thoughts about the stranger and proceeded to wipe the mud off from his naked torso. She was careful enough not to touch his skin too much as she felt her cheeks burning in shame. It was a mild torture to see his half naked body displayed in her view. How much more while she was wiping him off?

She was thankful though that he was still wearing his trousers all this time or she might have seen something that she shouldn't have or worse, touched his vital parts. With this thought playing in her mind, she felt a shiver running down her spine followed by the warm sensation forming in the back of her ears…

Mystica hastens her movements and when she's done. She covered him with the rest of the clothing and distanced herself away from him. She settled in the corner, curling into a ball…

She closed her eyes, taking a little rest to get rid of her exhaustion but then…

"Cold…"

"I feel so cold…"

The man was mumbling words under his breath followed by his shivering groans.

Mystica turned at a loss for words. She didn't know what to do at the moment. To get rid of the cold, she tried to add more branches to enlarge the little fire she created but still he demanded more…

"Blanket. I need blankets…" he mumbled pleadingly.

Mystica looked at the piece of clothing in her hand and the piece wrapped around him, those are indeed too thin. It wasn't enough to sustain him with enough warmth.

'What should I do?' she thought carefully.

After a while, she bit her lips and swallowed. She approached him, testing his forehead's temperature. Her eyes widened upon realizing that he was burning.

"No wonder you're not having enough warmth with my bonfire. You are sick…" she muttered with a deep sigh. She recalled that she had taken a little herb with her, so she hurriedly took it out from her pouch and began grinding them on her little cup.

She carefully helped him lift his head as she urged, "…come on. Drink this. It will help you feel better."

Hearing her voice and feeling her touch against his burning skin, he stirred in his slumber. "Cold… It's too cold…" he murmured while shivering but then Mystica ignored his mumblings and instead, she poured the herb extract on his mouth in one go.

That successfully shut him up and he began coughing hard. "Ahem! Ahem!" He was choking.

She gently rubbed his chest covered with cloth for a while to soothe him and it worked…

A few moments later, he went back to sleep.

In order to monitor his condition, she took a little space beside him but she didn't lay down with him. Her head was bent over her knees before she closed her eyes…

Mystica didn't know how long she had been sleeping in that position but when she opened her eyes, the rain had stopped and the surroundings had brightened up. She rubbed her eyes before she tilted her head sideways but something strange happened to her. She was laying on a piece of clothing comfortably and the stranger was gone.

'How come I was the one laying down on the ground? I was just sitting earlier… I'm sure of it…' she thought in frustration. She was about to stand up but…

Suddenly she heard some footsteps…

Feeling ashamed, she closed her eyes and pretended to look asleep but she sharpened her senses and let her guard up just in case the stranger might do something awful to her.

Whatever he was planning, she wouldn't just wait for him to kill her. She would definitely fight until her last breath! That was at least what she was thinking but then she froze when she heard his words.

"I know you're awake. Stop pretending to be asleep." His cold voice resonated above her head.

'Was he staring at me since he entered here?' she thought.

Left with no choice, she opened her eyes. What she saw astonished her. His face was so close to hers!

Alarmed, she abruptly rolled on the other side and hurriedly stood up in a vigilant stance. She glared at him and spat, "... whatever you are thinking I suggest you stop dreaming about it. I am not afraid to die!"

He shook his head, chuckling. "Whatever you are thinking, drop it. I'm not interested in you." He was obviously showing how sarcastic he was. By the looks he was giving her, she was certain that he was mocking her in his mind.

Somehow, Mystica felt comforted with his words. She breathed a sigh in relief patting her chest as she retorted, "...good to hear that. I'm not interested in you either so perhaps my duty as a good Samaritan here has finally come to an end." She took her pieces of clothing from the ground as well as her remaining belongings, shoving them back to her pouch before she stood up and added. "You don't have to thank me. Anybody would do the same…" with that, she passed by him and left without looking back.

The man's gaze softened but he frowned, staring at her silhouette getting farther from his sight. After contemplating for a short while, he ran after her.

"Hey! Wait for me!" He shouted.

Mystica clenched her fists and tilted her head over her shoulder as she spoke with annoyance. "What do you want?"

"I just want to thank you for saving me. That's all." He muttered helplessly while blocking her way.

Mystica sneered in retort. "You're most welcome. Now please get out of my way. I'm going home now."

"Can you take me with you?" The man blurted out, pleadingly.

She shook her head firmly and said, "No! I'm not taking any stranger in my home! What if you try to kill me along the way? I may not be as hefty as you but I'm not stupid either. I'm sorry but I don't trust you!"

The man was displeased hearing her blatant remarks. If he was able to define his location, he would have let her go but he couldn't. Since he fell into this forest, he wasn't able to use his abilities. He couldn't shift either to his original form thus whether he liked it or not, he had to endure her temper until he found his way back. With this thought form in mind, he calmed himself down before he spoke helplessly.

"I didn't mean any harm..." He began to explain. "If I were the same person as you think of me, I would have killed you during your slumber but I didn't. I just need a place to stay until I get better. You took care of me yesterday and you know I just recovered from high fever. I can't sustain living alone in this forest without your help… I promise to help you whenever I can…"

Mystica sighed heavily yet her eyes remained sharp, stabbing right through him. "Fine. I'll take you in for the meantime but after you get better, you must leave." She murmured frankly.

"I will. Don't worry." Was all he could say to assure the woman but deep within, he was annoyed.

If they are currently in his territory, he would have called some of his guards to throw her out or better yet, he would be the one to throw her out of his sight to teach her a good lesson. How dare she talk trash about him? Didn't she know that she's talking to someone superior to her? He is the next to sit on the throne called the Aerouant kingdom in just a couple of days yet here he was ridiculed by a mere human, the lowest type of creature in this Mystical realm.

'How unfortunate he was!' he thought grimly.

His blood was boiling in rage yet he managed to grip himself together so as to not cause any trouble between them because he badly needed her help. She was the only person that could help him get out of the forest therefore, no matter how hot tempered she was, he had to consider himself over and over again but that didn't mean that he would forget what she said to him. He swore that he would get back at her whenever he found his way home.

"Follow me. Let's head this way." She demanded coldly upon noticing her clues on the trail.

"Right behind you…" his voice softened automatically through his gritted teeth.

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