"Would you believe me, Adriel?" Meyara asked once again. Her hesitant voice sounded pitiful in the silent atmosphere. The chirping of birds, crowing of chickens, and the sound of other animals waking up in the morning faded away, as if giving the two teenagers a chance to resolve the looming misunderstandings. “I'm sure you wouldn't. All this time you’ve seen me as a stubborn girl who always acts as she pleases without knowing the situation. You should never lose sight of the fact that things have changed. Not only is my magical power gone, but also my courage that has always been present with it.”

"But you never said—"

“I used to be your teacher! Or at least I should’ve been the one, but I never did anything useful for you because I was just a selfish girl and I still am now. And if there's one thing I've learned from our short journey, it's how tragic and comedic my life has become! I can't lower my pride even when I have nothing to be proud of anymore.” Meyara could not breathe properly at the end of her speech, so she took a deep breath before saying her final sentence. “Do you really think that I can easily reveal my helplessness to you?”

Meyara's words slapped Adriel on the head. Making him realize what he had done. All this time he knew that the source of his annoyance was none other than the feeling of uselessness that hit him after what happened to them. If only he had been a more agile, intelligent, and powerful mage, perhaps they would have achieved quicker and more satisfying progress than this. But in the end, his brain refused to admit this and chose to believe the next reasonable and understandable reason, that he was really worried about Meyara. That none of this would have happened if only Meyara cared a little more about her own safety.

Adriel knew Meyara better than anyone. It was not in her nature to pour her heart out to anyone, no matter what. Now that the girl had just openly admitted all her weaknesses, Adriel didn't know what to do. He mentally cursed himself for acting immaturely and took out his frustration on Meyara who was doing nothing but trying to survive as best as she could.

When the young man was still having difficulty moving his stiff lips, Meyara took a deep breath and walked quickly away from him.

“We just wasted our time crying over spilled milk. Let's get going. If there's still something you want to talk about, save it for later after we make sure my mother is okay," said the girl without looking back.

“Aren't we here to pick up something you left behind?” Adriel wanted to say that. Reminding the girl of the fake excuses she had made just to cover up her soft heart which was worried about her mother. However, he decided against it because he didn't want to trigger any other bad emotions from the girl.

“Your mother will be fine,” he said instead. He wanted to elaborate on his positive beliefs further, but the rest of his words fell silent once he caught up with Meyara. Every fiber in his body froze, just like the girl standing still right in front of the gates of Deterville.

Most of the wood gates were destroyed, the fragments spreading into the inner side. Meanwhile, the houses lining the front seemed tightly closed, quiet without any signs of occupants. After walking further, they saw several horses lined up in one row, saddles with 'Oxcross' written on them looked particularly eye-catching.

Meyara's eyes were wide open while observing her surroundings carefully. She approached one of the horses and touched the name of the tribe she had just met.

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“What did they come here for?” She didn't ask anyone in particular. Her brain was gearing up, trying to remain rational in a situation that could easily make anyone panic. “Even if they had needs, why didn't their leaders say anything to us when we visited their territory that day?”

"I don't know anything, I swear!" Adriel answered in a split second. He raised his hands to the side of his head, defending himself from the non-existence accusations.

His strange attitude invited questions from Meyara who then narrowed her eyes on him. However, the girl decided to carry out further examinations instead of interrogating Adriel who didn't even dare to look her in the eye.

"We'd better get out of here. Continue our postponed journey. I'm sure nothing bad has happened here." Eventually, Adriel frowned at his own words which sounded less and less convincing after he saw the fragments and debris. "Uh ... maybe there was a small typhoon passing through? Whatever it was, I'm sure it's nothing serious."

The more Adriel spoke, the more suspicious he sounded. When Meyara didn't respond, he tried to close his lips tightly so he would stop spouting nonsense.

Finally, they arrived in front of Meyara's house. Seeing that the situation in that place was also quiet, Adriel started to consider going to his own house to check on his father's condition. However, he put that thought aside after realizing how panicked Meyara was, banging on the door of her own house.

“Mom, it's me! Open the door!" the girl shouted as her fists pounded relentlessly on the poor old wooden plate. "Hello? Is there anyone inside? Mom, don't scare me!”

No matter how many times she called, there was no answer. Panic welled up in his heart when he saw that the rows of lilac flowers that usually grew abundantly in front of her house had now withered. The yard looked dirty as if it hadn't been swept for a long time. There was so little sign that the house was still inhabited. Meyara, who couldn't wait to meet her mother, took a few steps back. Preparing her steps before finally running to destroy the door.

However, Adriel quickly prevented this by catching her body. The young man's two strong hands remained unmoved even though Meyara struggled hard to escape. “Stop before you hurt yourself!” he demanded.

"Are you serious? This is not the time to worry about that!”

“You can't act carelessly! Your mother won't be happy about that!”

"My mother can scold me as much as she likes after I find her!"

With one swing, Meyara hit Adriel's head with the back of her own. The poor young man groaned in pain, unconsciously releasing his embrace to touch the tip of his nostril which was bleeding a little. Meanwhile, Meyara was back in front of the door, ready to exert her strength.

Just as she was about to kick the door, it opened. A woman stood up hesitantly, her face looking exhausted with slightly red eyes. Her hair sticking out and her pajamas in disarray showed the reason why she was late in opening the door.

“Meyara?”

"Mom!" Meyara immediately threw herself into Brenna's arms. Her eyes had flooded with tears from all her bad thoughts. “Where have you been? I almost lost my mind and bulldozed my way through that door!”

“I was just sleeping …?” Brenna answered a little hesitantly. She had no idea what had made Meyara so hysterical, not until she remembered what had happened a few days ago and what the current situation in Deterville was. “I’m sorry for making you worry. Is that why you came home early?" Brenna looked at Adriel who was still standing quietly near the entrance.

"You can say that." Adriel answered for Meyara because the girl was still having difficulty stopping her crying.

“Was the trip here safe? Have you seen Warren?”

Adriel seemed utterly bewildered by the questions. He frowned. “Is there any reason why our journey could be unsafe? And ...Warren? What happened to him?"

***