A few moments later, in the medical room,
“What happened to Alexa? Why did she get like this?” A woman wearing a white dress asked seriously. Her face already looked worried. The injured girl was laid on the bed and began to clean the dried blood that had remained in the lip area.
“Odessa hurt her. That crazy girl pushed Alexa and sat on her back.” Samuel answered the question, causing the woman who had just cleaned up the remaining blood to be shocked. Even her lips slightly parted as if she could not believe the information she had heard.
“What? Was Odessa the culprit? Why was she getting more and more outrageous by the day? Was there no one to help her?” A woman who had a mole on her cheek, as well as on the right side of her nose, asked the opposite sex again. Samuel exhaled heavily, then shook his head in response, which made the questioner frown and almost lose concentration on treating Alexa.
The chestnut brown-haired teenage girl moaned softly when the woman touched the lip area. The Healer seemed to understand the patient’s pain. “Ah, I am sorry, Alexa. It is going to hurt a little, but you will be fine in no time.”
“Thank you, Madame Ethnia.” That young lady said softly and still in pain, but she tried not to complain.
“You are welcome, Alexa. Just relax because you must feel bad whenever you are feeling soon, especially when I am trying to treat you. Try to endure all the pain unless you can’t take it anymore.”
“Yes, Madame. I will try to do it.” The hazel-eyed girl could not imagine what would happen, but she had no choice. Meanwhile, the thirty-seven-year-old woman rubbed Alexa’s right hand as if trying to soothe the girl hurt by Odessa’s bullying.
“Good!” That grey-eyed woman resumed her work, trying to heal the poor patient.
The atmosphere in the infirmary was quiet again. The four teenagers who helped the Chosen One get there consisted of two boys and two girls. They looked at each other. Those four seemed to want to express something but could not do so.
“I can’t believe this.” A chubby young man opened the conversation among them, so the three friends simultaneously looked at him.
“Odessa’s behavior was beyond normal. I thought Odessa deliberately wanted to kill Alexa. Too bad we were not with her, so we could not have prevented that unfortunate event from happening.” A woman with long, black hair replied to Samuel’s words.
“I can’t believe that Odessa would go that crazy! She was such an idiot!” A girl with short hair the same colour as Adaline’s accidentally swore quite loudly, making Madame Ethnia turn towards her and frown.
“Who taught you to swear like that, Aileen?” scolded Madame Ethnia, who was glaring at the young girl.
“I… please forgive me, madame. I was upset with Odessa.” Aileen stammered as she said this, and the Healer did not want to prolong it. She turned back to Alexa and then resumed her delayed work. The Messenger of Goddess Magia was happy to see that her friends were there and that they even defended her.
I did not expect Sam, Aileen, Adaline, and Aiden to help, even if it was a little late. At least they brought me here. When Odessa attacked me, I also fought back. I do not want anyone to underestimate me. Not anymore, Alexa thought as she endured the pain caused by Madame Ethnia’s healing energy.
“Why is Odessa always bothering Alexa? Is it just her jealousy because our friend is prettier, or is there something else?” Samuel could not get over the girl who always bothered their new friend. That was why the young man deliberately asked to get answers from the point of view of his three familiar friends.
“I do not know. Maybe Odessa was jealous of being less beautiful. Only she knows the real reason why she could do such a cruel thing.” Aiden was the first to answer the question. Samuela seemed to nod, but her expression still looked dissatisfied. Meanwhile, the two young ladies remained silent, and Aileen stared at Alexa, which made the twin sister do the same.
“What is it, Aileen? Is there something interesting there?” asked Adaline curiously.
“I was thinking, it must be really hard being Alexa. People shun her just because her hair and eyes are a different colour. On top of that, she was tormented and treated cruelly, even though she had never done anything wrong to them. I wish I was not an orphan, so I would like to ask her as my foster sister. Alexa is a good girl,” Aileen replied honestly.
Samuel and Aiden heard the two girls’ conversation and thought the same thing as Aileen. “I wonder something. Why is everyone always accusing our friend of being a witch? What was the proof that Alexa was a witch? Odessa and her friends are always spreading false news full of nonsense, and unfortunately, many people believe it.” The chubby teenage boy grumbled, not liking how the kids at the orphanage treated poor Alexa.
“We have to stay friends with Alexa, even though everyone is gossiping bad things about her. If Willy had not come towards the dining room while we were eating lunch and told us about the attack on Alexa, then we would have known about it. Even if we eventually learned about the news, he would have been brought here too late. Our friend could have died had Aileen and Adaline called Madame Aufrodine and Madame Loiston too late.”
When she heard the name of the head of the orphanage and her deputy mentioned by Samuel, Madame Ethnia recalled the memory of twelve years ago as soon as possible. At that time, Madame Aufrodine almost died because she dared to say something to the Goddess Magia, which angered the immortal goddess. The Healer took care of the fierce woman until she recovered.
Time has flown by. I did not expect Alexa to be a beautiful teenage girl by now, but what the children said was true because their new friend was not an ordinary girl. She is a witch. There is no way I am telling Samuel and his friends that, right? It is better for them to find out for themselves, to avoid trouble with Madame Aufrodine and Madame Loiston, Madame Ethnia thought. She resumed her pending activities as if all was well.
“Then, we should ask Madame Ethnia about how long it will take Alexa to heal. She is a Healer, so she must know about the health of those she has treated.” Adaline made the suggestion, so her friends, including her twin sister, turned to the target.
Without further ado, those four teenagers noticed that Alexa was already closed, as if the girl was sleeping. Meanwhile, a woman wearing a white dress had entered another room in the right corner. “Well, we can’t ask Madame Ethnia since she is already in the special place for Healers.” Aiden’s words broke the silence in the infirmary.
“Then, let’s go back after class.” Samuel proposed to them, but Aileen seemed to disagree with the idea.
“No. What if someone does something bad to Alexa while we are gone? Madame Ethnia might not hear someone coming in here, because she’s over there. There should be one of us guarding to ensure things are safe.” The one hundred-and-sixty-five-centimeter-tall girl refused to leave, as she was still worried about the condition of the first daughter of the couple, Tristian Varden Writh and Lavena Isolda Keira.
“If I am not mistaken, weren’t Odessa and her friends punished? When we left, I faintly heard Madame Aufrodine’s voice saying they were taken to the underground detention room.” A silver-haired young man replied to Aileen’s words and was valuable information for them.
“Do you know how long Odessa and her friends were punished in the detention room, Aiden? I hope they stay there forever and never come out again.” Samuel could not bear to express his annoyance at the people who had made Alexa suffer.
“As for how long the punishment given to Odessa and her friends was, I did not hear much about it, but they definitely got their comeuppance. Well … a detention centre, let alone an underground one, is not somewhere you want to go. They were lucky, though.” Aiden, who had a small pentacle-shaped birthmark in the centre of his back, turned his attention towards the door accessible to the public.
“They were lucky? Didn’t you say something wrong?” Aileen protested, causing Aiden to chuckle as the opposite sex misinterpreted the last sentence he had said.
“Yeah, I was so sure they were lucky. How could they not be lucky? They lived for a while in a detention room that was deep underground and was absolutely dirty, damp, and gloomy. It must be interesting to hear their experiences. Well, they would see by themselves.” The lanky young man reluctantly explained so the other person understood. However, Aileen had not forgotten Alexa at all.
“In that case, should we still leave our friend alone? Other orphanage children could not like Alexa coming to the medical room and could easily harm her because there is no one to keep her company.” The virgin with the mole on her nose was still firm in her stance, so Aiden shook his head and then focused his attention on her.
“So, do you want to stay here and miss class? We are already late, so we have to get back to class.” Aiden did not like being reminded of that fact, but he had to do it anyway. Meanwhile, Samuel and Adaline were only paying attention to their conversation and had no intention of commenting on either of them.
“Yeah. I will be here. Please tell… ah, shit! I even forgot the name of the teacher. So, whoever teaches the class, tell her that I accompany Alexa. I do not want her to-”
***