Chapter 1927 1927. Past Flames
"This is just a new home for you. You can be here for a short time or for a long time. But I promise, that this will be your home no matter what." the woman that held her as she carried Remey ion to the largest room of the orphanage tried to be soft and sweet while speaking. Every child that came to the orphanage would be hurt in some way.
The loss of family or just the feeling of being alone made every child hurt. It wasn't physical, but as the caretaker of an orphanage, it was something that was seen every single time. Not that seeing it over and over didn't still break her and everyone's heart. But Remey was one that clearly showed the most reliance.
Whether it was a tough face or just how strong she was, the caretaker left her with the other children. Remey was older than them by a few years ,making her a very central figure the moment she was brought in.
Having an older sibling join the orphanage was rough. However, they would be idolized as the older sibling by everyone as long as they were willing to speak to them. They were alone without family, but they all understood that they could build their own family here. This unspoken understanding was the start to their new lives.
a few small boys looked at Remey and decided to challenge her. There was also some form of hierarchy on a place like this. But when they looked at Remey and noticed she already had her fists balled up, they hesitated. This gave the little Remey a chance to push back.
That was the day that Remey gained her system and also took the lead of the orphanage. It was also the day that she realized they had almost nothing while there. All the money was spent on food and the basics. There were very little things left to use as medicine or bandages that could help the cuts and scrapes from brawling around.
This led her to the one place that she knew for sure had medicine. That every single person in the city of Diamond knew as the best place to find anything herbs or healing wise. Not a single person stopped Remey from leaving the orphanage. Even? with her small body, she would have eben easy to catch and turn around. But with only one person caring for every child, it was easy to sneak away.
The alchemy building was also not guarded well enough. The customers there took up all the assistant's time and attention. Therefore, not a single person noticed Remey sneaking in the back door and through the small shop.
When she walked up the many steps to the higher floors and searching through the many corridors, not a single alchemist or apprentice were noticing her. They were too focused on their tasks or on what they were working on. She was practically invisible while here.
When she heard a loud noise of someone yelling at assistant and apprentices for interrupting an important process to make a salve and an experiment, it attracted the little Remey's attention. She wandered in to a larger room where three people had just been kicked out of. The older man looking over the ruined concoction didn't see her while she wandered around looking at the many vials and potions.
On top of this, she recognized some older vials that matched what she had in the orphanage. The weakest and the cheapest potions for injuries that not even adventurers would use since they were only good for the smallest of wounds.
But when she saw the tea mixes, Remey knew instantly that they were good for her and anyone that needed a little healing. The smell of dried herbs was clearly an example of how potent and useful they were.
"What's this?" Remey asked out loud startling the alchemist working. However, when she picked up the team mix, she nearly walked right in to the highly heated cauldron. The alchemist jumped and pulled her back as her hand grazed it and burned her. But Remey didn't flinch. She just held the tea mix and looked at the burn. She was a brawler now, little injuries couldn't faze her.
"Can this cure fevers?" the alchemist looked at the little girl who had seemingly appeared from nowhere with a stunned look.
"Can this make people better if they have a hurt throat?" The questions were soft and sweet since Remey was a little child, but they were about the herbs in the tea mix. It wasn't something any normal child would ask, yet, here this child was.
"This isn't a place to play. You just got burned. Where are your parents? Shouldn't you be outside playing or something?" The grumbly tone showed that the alchemist was clearly frazzled. He had never paid any attention to children. Nor had he had one of his own. He was not someone to play with them either. He was an alchemist through and through. Research and work were all he knew.
"Can I make medicine here too? That's what alchemists do." The rough pronunciation of alchemists made the older alchemist wonder just what was going on. His questions went unanswered.
"How about I have your parent's come and get you?" He looked worried since the little girl still didn't move.
"I don't have those. Can I learn to make medicine still?"
The entire world seemed to get duller by the second. The alchemist heard this and wondered just how he would deal with this. An orphan somehow waltzed in to his alchemy lab. A place that even the most experienced alchemists knew they could not walk without risks because of the master that worked in this room.
"Let's get you fixed up and on your way. Since I should have locked the door and kept it safe for you, I will give you some quick remedies to help a sore throat and fever. After you have that burn treated. Alright?" the small nod from the little girls before him made the alchemist relax a little. He might not be so bad at this anyways.
However, the next day, the littler girl managed to appear again. This happened week after week. A little girl coming in and bury him in questions about herbs, potions, and medicines. It never stopped. His frustration sometimes burst out, but the little girl started to push back. Even when he locked his door, he would find her leaning against it waiting for him to come out. Sometimes she would even be asleep. Covered in bruises. Or even carrying a few fold that she had found on the ground to try and pay him with. She even showed up with a random herb she found growning in the cracks of the cobblestone street.
This didn't cease for years and years. Before he knew it, she had started to hand him herbs. Had started to talk more. Had started to ask him how she could change herself and stop being a brawler. If she could control the flames the same way he did. If she could make medicines.
This led the alchemist to teach her the basics to salves. Tea mixes. The things that even the most basics of basic people could do. These things that were not true alchemy but helpful to people. He saw Remey absorb every bit of this knowledge like a sponge.
Slowly explaining what she needed them for. Slowly explaining why she needed everything. Every day was something new and she learned it without worry. That was until she rushed in at the middle of the night.
It was an event that cemented the alchemist and Remey as a pair that was known throughout the alchemy guild. The little girl that burst in through a locked door with a fist that was stronger than it should be. The old master alchemist that left the alchemy building for the first time in months.
The two that rushed to an orphanage in the middle of a night full of rain and cool air. But what the alchemist thought he would find was not what was there. The higher fever and fact that Remey had hidden a large burn on her arm from spilling the tea she tried to use to help the little boy suffering had been what was there to see.
It made the alchemist worry immediately. A sick child on the cusp of losing a battle and one child who ignored her own suffering and pain to help another. Even injuring herself even more while already hurt.
"You are a handful of trouble. Drink this healing potion and stay away from hot water and fire. And let me do the work now." This was the first time the alchemist had found himself in this situation. Even though he had worries about these children, he felt pride. His heart had found a reason to beat other than for the alchemy that had consumed his entire life before.
The obsession that the child had found with alchemy had come with good intentions. A solution to problems. A reason for being. She had ignored the very basic fear of flames and heat just to help the other younger orphans. She had spent every day with an alchemist she didn't know. A stranger, just for this.
A determination that was with her since birth that outshined every single apprentice he had ever seen. This intense will to learn something that wasn't at all related to her system. The brawler that didn't have a family that fiercely learned and observed everything to become better to protect the little family she wished to grow.
"I will have to pay a little more attention to you before you go causing more trouble." This was the day that the old master alchemist decided that having someone else around might not be so bad.
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