Ivona did some arm exercise after coming out of the office of Major General Orion. The casualties were fewer thanks to the healers but there was still no news about the missing healers.
She sighed and looked at the sky. The desert sky was clear. The stars were twinkling. She hoped for a bright and clear future just like those stars and the sky.
A sudden gust of wind carried sands. She shut her eyes out of reflex and shuddered. 'It's too cold at night. I can't stand this anymore. I want to go back,' she whined in her heart.
At that time, she heard something rustling, not too far away. She swiftly turned around. She had several experiences in the war camps. She was more alert than the rest of the healers she had brought with her.
She cautiously headed toward the source of the sound. She stopped when she saw a dark figure. "Who are you?" she questioned him. When the black figure neither moved nor spoke, she thought it was a spy from the enemy camp. She threatened that person, "Show your face before I call for the guards."
The person slowly turned around and took off his hood. His face was revealed in the camp light.
Ivona's eyes grew wide as she recognized that face. "Y-you!" her voice quivered with emotion. She quickly moved closer to him. "I knew you would come. That's why I came here. I wanted to see you. I missed you so much, my love."
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Meanwhile, Veronica was sleeping soundly. All of a sudden, the sound of screaming, roaring, and horns woke her up in the middle of the night.
Her eyes flew open. It was impossible to sleep in that noise. She nervously sat up and asked her fellow mates, "What's happening?"
"The camp must be under attack!" Leticia announced.
Violet began to change clothes. "The enemy has attacked us!"
Seeing that the dumbfounded Veronica still wasn't moving, Leticia urged her, "We must leave and go to the safe spot. Hurry!"
They were taken to the office room once and Major General Orion told them about a secret hideout where they could hide themselves during an emergency. They had to move there right now since this camp was attacked.
Veronica couldn't understand what was happening. She wasn't able to move as fast as others. She draped a shawl around her shoulder and peeked out of the tent.
The soldiers were running toward the front with their swords, bows, and arrows. Some of them hadn't had the time to put on their armors.
Clang! Clang!
They were already clashing swords with the enemy. Some tents were on fire.
Veronica's heart was racing. She just saw some enemy soldiers slash the soldiers she had healed previously. She knew she had to run but her legs were rooted on the spot. They weren't budging. Her slender legs were shaking.
"Find the healers!" someone shouted. "Gather them together!"
"Found one!" someone announced.
Veronica looked at the person with fear in her eyes. An enemy soldier ran toward her with a sharp bloody sword in his hand. His eyes had killing intent. She was too scared to dodge the attack. She shut her eyes.
Slash!
Ack!
"You, healer lady, you should run when you can," a voice roared in front of her.
Veronica was trembling. She opened her eyes and saw the cook named Adam was standing before her, blocking her from the enemies.
Adam told her, "You know the way to the secret hideout, don't you? Go there!"
"O-okay…" Veronica turned around and rushed. She ran aimlessly. Her eyes were tearing up seeing people dying everywhere. She could hear people's howl and cry. She didn't have the strength to move. The only reason her legs were almost flying was due to fear.
"Oh!" she stumbled on a dead body and yelled. Since she didn't have an ounce of strength in her body, she couldn't balance herself and fell to the ground.
"Ow!" she winced as she felt a sharp pain on her knees. Since she was wearing something light, her skin was scraped. She wanted to sit up when she heard someone groaning under her. She was startled and immediately moved away.
"S-save me… please…" a soldier growled.
When everything was burning, she could see clearly that it was an enemy soldier. His chest was sliced open and blood was gushing out from there. She felt pity for that man. 'Because of them, we suffered. But he is a human and I'm a healer. It's my duty to heal him.' As she thought that, she used her power to heal him.
After she was done, she stood up and dragged her feet. She stumbled here and there but still managed to run.
Just then, a tent on fire began to crumble down. It was falling on her.
Veronica's eyes widened in shock. She tried to move back but tripped on a dead body and fell. Her emerald eyes were reflecting the fiery tent. It was drawing closer.
Just when she thought that she was going to be burned alive, someone snatched her away from the sandy ground and moved somewhere safe.
Veronica panted loudly. She couldn't move. Her eyes were seeing a black cloak. She could hear her heart was beating fast. Just thinking about the tent falling on her made her scared to death. Her body began to tremble.
At that moment, she heard a deep sigh and a voice speaking above her head, "Honestly, whenever I meet you, you are in danger. If you are going to attract dangers like a magnet, you better not get out of my sight."
Upon hearing the familiar voice, Veronica's lips parted. Of all the places, she didn't think of meeting him here. She was longing to meet him after going to the town but fortune wasn't in her favor.
To think he would come and save her again at the most crucial time, was it fate?
She looked up and saw the face her heart was yearning to see. She called out in a quivering voice, "A-Arthur?"
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A/N: Hey guys, don't get discouraged by my previous announcement. Let's hope I can give you guys a good story. A good story will surely gain a number of readers, right? As long as I get 200,000 readers, I will continue writing. Please share this book to others if you think this book is worth a try. It's a humble request from your Happy-go-lucky Author XD