A few hours later, when her exhaustion was catching up with her, a knock suddenly came on her door. Alaenor opened her eyes slowly, blinking as they adjusted themselves to the light.
"What?" she answered, her voice hoarse due to lack of use. Her throat felt extremely dry and dryness had caused a cough to form deep inside her chest.
Someone cleared her throat lightly. "Good morning. Are you feeling better today?"
The young girl blinked a few times before she managed to locate the source of the voice coming from the doorway. It belonged to the old woman she met earlier. A wave of relief washed over her when she saw Euphemia standing by the entrance of the room.
"Yes, I'm fine now," she answered and the elderly woman smiled warmly at her. Alaenor could see a lot of wrinkles in Euphemia's wrinkled skin, reminding her of linen crinkled after prolonged use - perhaps the old lady was weary and grew tired of the world's shenanigans. Either way, Euphemia seemed pleasant enough and Alaenor could not help but trust her instantly. "Is something wrong?"
"Ah, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to disturb you. How about some breakfast?" Euphemia asked politely while gesturing towards the door.
"Ah, thank you," Alaenor replied, getting up from her bed and following behind Euphemia.
"By the way, I thought that you might be interested to learn more about Starfall City's history," Euphemia mentioned.
Alaenor nodded, "Yes, please enlighten me."
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After the two women entered the kitchen, they found an assortment of dishes already prepared for breakfast.
"Let me introduce myself properly, my name is Euphemia and I'm the village healer," Euphemia introduced herself cheerfully. "Now eat up!"
Alaenor smiled at Euphemia's kindness, deciding that she really liked this woman so far.
Two hours passed and Euphemia finally told Alaenor her story. Apparently, she was orphaned since she had lost her family shortly after she was born. According to Euphemia, her father and mother had perished in an accident, leaving their child behind, and had left her with no relatives whatsoever so Euphemia raised her for herself. As she grew up Euphemia became more and more aware of the dangers of the world which made it difficult for Euphemia to continue living. She had been fortunate enough to find a job as a midwife and nurse for several wealthy families, but her work paid well and gave her enough money for a modest home and a comfortable lifestyle. However, Euphemia knew she could not stay in the village indefinitely and began traveling throughout her country to find new homes to settle in. After searching throughout towns and villages, however, Euphemia had discovered this small, but vast city hidden away between mountains.
It was far out from the rest of the city, making it easy for people to avoid detection due to a large amount of mountain ranges. This had helped her make it here quickly. However, it had cost Euphemia quite a bit of money as she was not used to such things. But things turned out well once she had moved into the new city surrounded by mountains and starry skies and ever since then, she had been living comfortably and she was paid well for her job as a midwife until now.
When Euphemia was first assigned here, it was very difficult for her to get hired in the area for she was still young, and had not known much about being a midwife. In fact, Euphemia still did not know many things. But she had become used to her life, she enjoyed the peaceful surroundings, and most importantly, she was very passionate about helping others. She had decided to remain with the townspeople despite the circumstances they lived in and the risks that came with working there. She felt it was her responsibility to look after them.