The dry land underneath her feet burned her flesh, yet she did not even had the willpower to protest anymore. Her long, black hair did not help either, as it drew in the scorching heat of the sun above her where her improvised cloth cover did not reach. It was of a far greater importance to protect her head than her feet, but it was not easy to move like this. Where her skin was not protected, it was burned and where it was, she could barely stand the heat. Her body was frail and she, herself having experienced life for only about two decades, was not prepared in the least for this journey, yet she knew she had to go through with it.

Her dry mouth opened once more and uttered softly:

"Spirits of water, no matter how scarce, please aid me."

From cracks in the scorched earth, small, blue spheres of light made their way towards her, each one of them entering and leaving her body, seemingly in a straight line.

Just with that the fatigue she felt until then had vanished.

"Thank you, and sorry."

With a bow to the orbs that now went back from whence they came, the girl resumed her long journey that had no end in sight.

"Th. w..te ..a.e? Are y.. ..re F….?"

"Y.., th..gh I ...d .t .dd, m...lf. The beast ..at ...led ..e First M….. Swordsman .o ..t ….one live… I am ….ed."

Through disjointed words and the annoyance of a bright blue light, she opened her eyes, though a bit cloudy and not knowing what was happening. Her thoughts gathered only after a few minutes.

"You shouldn't move. You are still in a critical condition."

"Even after you say all that, you are still tending to her."

"It's only nyormal. After all, she has not given up yet, so how could I?"

In front of her stood a red haired knight and a woman, or so it appeared, with flax short hair tied with some ribbons below her cat-like ears.

"Beast human?"

"For those to be your first words towards the one who is healing you, talk about rude." Even though as she said that, the woman flashed a mischievous smile as her tail wagged up and down. "My name is Felix Argyle, and the one that saved you, that red haired knight over there is Reinhard van Astrea. What's yours?"

Her small talk was an obvious attempt to keep her conscious. It made her smile.

"Faye. Just Faye… nothing more… nothing less."

The words made their way harder than she imagined. Just how long has it been since she'd spoke her own name, she wondered.

"Faye-chan, huh? Where are you from?"

She kept her questions short on purpose. Her concentration must be off the charts if she could heal such severe wounds and manage to talk too. Or perhaps…

"Divine Protection of Water… huh?... no wonder the little ones like you so much… "

"Huh?" Felix made a confused expression, slightly shocked. It was obvious that Faye's remark was unexpected.

"This dizziness... a clear sign I lost a lot of blood… and judging from the general discomfort I am feeling… my right arm is no longer where it belongs, am I right?" With a resigned smile she pointed her eyes to a nearby table where something was wrapped in a bloody cloth, confirming her suspicions. At this, Felix's face became even more pale than it was before.

"To talk about this… without a care… who are you?"

"Didn't I tell you already?" A smile spread on her bloodied face, as if she was genuinely happy. "I am just Faye… nothing more… nothing less."

"Felix! Where are you going?" Reinhard shouted at the figure of his fellow knight as it was about to disappear inside the intricate hallways of the castle.

"To that girl. I am going to continue her treatment."

"Isn't she already healed?"

"That's right… but it's still bothering me…" Felix made an expression that Reinhard could not comprehend. It was the first time he has ever shown it to him, after all. "I am worried."

"Could it be that you are curious as to why she knew of your Divine Protection of Water?" It was obvious that Reinhard already had the answer to that question, but Felix couldn't care less. Reinhard knew that she was special… and that someone like her could take even the title Rosewall currently possessed if she were to gain enough knowledge. Perhaps that thought frightened even him to an extent, but in the end he decided not to think about it and saw Felix off with a smile.

If she was an enemy, he had only to unsheathe his sword.

Felix, on the other hand, was more interested in why she managed to stay so calm, as if nothing in this world could possibly harm her. As if she would never die. For someone to think like that, in his eyes, was naive.

"Hello Felix. Again to check on me?" Faye smiled her usual smile. At this Felix could only show his mischievous side.

"Nyahaha, were you expecting me?"

"Yeah… to be perfectly honest, yes." There was no discomfort in her words, but hesitation. "Even though I am already healed you come visit me every day..." she talked with a mixture of sadness and happiness that was unlike anything Felix felt in a long time. The true meaning behind her words was without a doubt simple curiosity.

"To be honest, you are a bit special."

"Special?"

"You were found buried under a carriage that was half destroyed, everyone except you dead." Felix cast his eyes to the ground. "Nyot only were you extremely lucky, but even then… you healed ten times faster than an average person. I even managed to reattach your arm without a problem, which would be almost impossible under normal circumstances."

With that Felix made his way to her, their faces centimeters apart.

"You are special, and so you are given special treatment. We might be able to find something new from you… it might advance medical magic forever."

Seeing Felix so pumped up about this, Faye showed a resigned smile.

"Then… if I am so special… I have a favour to ask of you."

"What could it be?" with that Felix took a seat next to her on the bed, leaning slightly back, his head tilted towards her.

"Could you take me outside? I want to know how the world around me looks like..."

Thinking a bit while touching his lips with the tip of his finger, he answered.

"Sure thing. I can even be your guide if you'd like." He said so while grabbing hold of her arm. "But… you have to come with me afterwards."

"Sure." Her answer was swift and immediate. He did not fully expect it, but it wasn't a bad response. With that Faye stood up, but all of a sudden she froze as if she'd been forgetting something that was of absolute importance and only now realizing it.

"...I am sorry to say this… but I have no clothes..." She said while blushing. It was true though, the only piece of clothing she had in her possession was tarnished with blood and ripped apart. It was in no condition to be worn. Right now she was in a nightgown that she received when undergoing treatment.

"I thought something like this might happen, so I prepared in advance." Felix said as he skipped to a nearby wardrobe and fetched a pair of normal looking clothes, but those were enough for the likes of her. She would not have any money for something more expensive and no matter how hard she might try, she couldn't repay the favor anytime soon. Felix managed to guess that part of her just right.

"Thank you… once again." Even though she smiled, she couldn't take her eyes from the ground. If she did, she was afraid she would start crying.

"Don't worry about it, don't worry about it."

"Thank you… I will try them on right now." as if finding new determination, Faye shot out from her bed and took the clothes that Felix had in his hands, and without hesitation she started undressing.

"What… WAIT! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

"What… I am putting these clothes on. It's pretty unreasonable to put them on with my nightgown still on." She said oblivious.

"I guess it was my fault since I never told you, but I am a knight." Taking a look at her confused face, he continued. "Knights can be only men. Figure it out already, would you?"

Even though from his word, he would seem to be angry, his facial expression didn't betray such emotions, though on the contrary, it seemed like he was having fun.

"You seem to like to tease people about your gender, don't you?" Faye laughed as she straightened her clothes and after a couple of seconds she flashed a mischievous smile for a second, a smile that Felix didn't notice. She stepped up to him, and gently caressed his cheek, whispering softly "I guess nobody teased you before?"

To her surprise he did not back away, but he still blushed. Seeing this, Faye bursted out laughing. It was for the first time that someone did that to Felix and he, himself, couldn't stop laughing. It was usually the other way around, but he guessed he was weak towards women.

"Then, wait for me outside." Faye said, her back turned to Felix as she waited until the sound of the door closing echoed throughout the room.

"What the hell am I doing?" she whispered to herself as she clenched her fists, small droplets of blood forming underneath her fingers. As if a mask was shattered, her expression was that of disgust. Not towards Felix, but towards herself. "Why do you act like a human being? Why do you deceive people so? Why are you still putting this facade even though you are the one who gets hurt in the end?" She spoke those words as if another said them. "Why do you keep getting attached to people?" Tears fell down her face and soon enough they were mixed in with the blood on her hands.

"Will he… run away from me like the rest? Or is he just using me?" She said quietly as she cleaned her bloody cheeks.

"Though I already know the answer… perhaps I just don't want to think about it." She wiped herself and before too long she was ready.