Chapter 2-A Stranger in Paradise

As we entered the shop, Gabriela swiftly cleared aside a table, while I set the girl atop it. Her breathing was shallow, but it was there. A myriad of cuts and burns lined her pale skin. She had platinum blonde hair, almost white. Judging from the contours of her face, her almost almond shaped eyes, and her clothing, she looked to be half-Yamataian, and half-Bretonnian. The gi I could feel roiling within her veins, attempting to heal her wounds marked her out as a Cultivator.

“Alright, this is good.” Corazon muttered, her hands aglow as she used her Earth aligned gi. “There’s no demonic taint, and her wounds are all together minor.” Meanwhile Gabriela and I had gone to work getting a bowl of water and some gauze ready. Even if her gi and Corazon’s ministrations were mending her more serious wounds, some bandaging would help speed up the healing process.

Corazon grabbed a pair of scissors, cutting away the woman’s long coat to check for any further injuries, or if the fabric had gotten caught in any wounds. It was standard procedure, and I had helped her in the infirmary before. Granted, once the upper part of her torn tunic and her jacket had been removed, both Gabriela and I had to try and avert our eyes from the stranger’s bountiful assets.

After clearing her throat, Corazon gave us a piercing look, and a raised eyebrow, her lips curling into a faint smirk. “If you’ll focus more on her wounds than her breasts, she’ll be up and about sooner.” Our cheeks ablaze, Gabriela and I set to work, applying soothing balms to the cuts and burns, carefully and cunningly bandaging her wounds. Eventually, the glow faded from Corazon’s hands, Gabriela getting her a clay cup of water, which she downed. “Alright, now we let her rest.”

“She can stay in one of the guest bedrooms.” I mused, to which Corazon acquiesced and the three of us carried the unconscious woman upstairs, laying her in one of the spare beds, Gabriella pulling a sheet to cover her. Corazon offered to take the first watch, and she’d awaken us if anything happened, Gabriela and I leaving the room to retire to our own quarters.

“With Ading Corazon watching over her, she’ll be fine.” Kimlat said, nuzzling my leg, before he returned to his guard duties around the shop. With one final gaze into the other’s eyes, Gabriela and I prayed, her to the deity her fellow Cristoians venerated, I to Bathala for the strange woman’s recovery, and went back to sleep.

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By the time morning came, our guest hadn’t awoken yet, though Corazon had said she seemed to stir ever so slightly, before lapsing back into unconsciousness. It wasn’t until a few hours later, luckily when we had closed for lunch, that Corazon called us upstairs.

The woman was sitting up, propped up on two pillows and a wooden block, a clay cup of water held gingerly in her bandaged hands. “So, I have you to thank for rescuing me?” she asked in accented Avalonian. With as big a world power as the tiny island nation of Avalon had been, Avalonian had become a trade language, even among Maniolasians, mostly to spite our former Valuan overlords, who despised the Avalonish people.

I cleared my throat. “Yes, we did. Your ship ran aground on the nearby beach and so far, you’ve been the only person found.” I then realized it was probably rude to not introduce myself. “I’m Lobo-Kidlat Avelino, formerly of the Stormfang sect this is my dear future wife Gabriela,” Gabriela gave the woman a faint smile, “And my Sworn Sister, Corazon, she’s the one who did the brunt of the work patching you up.” Corazon laid a hand on the woman’s shoulder.

“Well, I am in your debt. Ah, I suppose it would be rude of me not to introduce myself.” She gently set her empty cup down on the small nightstand by the bed. “I am Lady Jeanne Hirata.” She said, placing a hand on her chest. So, she was half-Bretonnian, half-Nihonjin. That was rare, though Nihongo apparently looked down on half bloods of Europan descent less than others. She cleared her throat with her free hand, “I am the Young Mistress of the Unlimited Blades Sect.” My eyes widened, as did Gabriela’s and Corazon’s. While not the oldest sect, being only a few centuries old rather than the millennia of others, the Nihonjin based sect had gained renown for its versatility, power, and the number of tournaments and conflicts its Young Masters and Mistresses, as well as its Elders, quelled.

“So then, Lady Hirata, what brings you to our wonderful tropical archipelago?” Corazon asked, as she refilled Lady Hirata’s cup, this time with calamansi juice, a local citrus hybrid akin to a lemon, with some heated water and honey to make tea.

Lady Hirata took a sip of her team, breathing out slowly as she set the cup back down. “Yes, actually. The first is that I was tasked by one of my sect’s Elders, Elder Mangiarotti, to hunt down and eliminate a raider by the name of Mikael Elric, one of the leaders of the Crimson Scars.” While the name of Lady Hirata’s quarry alluded me, the Crimson Scars I knew well. They were an infamous band of pirates from across the world. Their leader was said to be a Cultivator in the second rank of the Spiritual Realm, the realm above Profound, and where your body really started to change, like your bones beginning to strengthen and your skin becoming more durable.

“Well, the Crimson Scars have been sighted around here, but as your current physician, I would recommend against hunting pirates, especially Cultivator ones, till you’re fully healed up. Luckily most of the damage should be healed, so you should only be bedridden for two to four days.” Corazon said, checking Lady Hirata’s bandages.

“That will be acceptable.” Lady Hirata nodded her head, laying back down against the soft pillows, “If you don’t mind, I’d like to rest a bit.” she said, as the three of us got up and left as her eyes fluttered close.

“Well, I’ll be heading back to report to the Sect, but I’ll check in on her, and you two, every so often.” With that, Corazon grabbed some food, hugged us, and left.

As Gabriel and I went back to work on the shop, occasionally looking in on Lady Hirata, we thought that soon things would go back to normal.

Let’s say Lady Luck wasn’t so kind.