Chapter 77 - THE LOCKET CARRIER

Veronica caught a glimpse of a familiar face and shouted, "Oh! You are that burned soldier!"

He was the man who had a locket with him that was similar to Sister Ruth's locket.

"Oh, Miss Healer!" The soldier also noticed her as well and came forward. "I've heard about your victorious deed. You are truly amazing, Miss Healer!"

"It was nothing at all," Veronica replied to him bashfully. "I haven't seen you since I came back. Where were you?"

The soldier replied, "I went to scout our trail to see if an enemy is waiting out there to ambush us or not. I came back and reported to Major General Orion."

Veronica questioned him, "Enemy? Haven't you already defeated the enemy?"

"We have more than Riverhill as our enemy. Please don't be concerned, Miss Healer. The road is safe. I've checked myself," the soldier assured her.

"Thank goodness for that," Veronica sighed in relief. "How's your scar? Do you feel pain anymore?"

The soldier shook his head. "No, no. I have been treated by other healers as well. I don't even have any scar left now."

"That's good to hear." Veronica hesitated before continuing, "I… was curious about your locket. If you don't mind, can you tell me what she, the owner of the locket, looked like?"

The soldier paused. He looked like he was debating inwardly whether he should tell her or not. When Veronica was about to give up, she heard him saying, "She was the prettiest woman I've ever met. Joana… semi-tall. She had shiny brown hair and a pair of light brown eyes."

Veronica's heart began to race. She probed, "What about her skin? Was she fair, tanned, or dark-skinned?"

The soldier answered, "Her skin was slightly brown but not completely tanned."

"Ah… I see. How did you meet her?" Veronica inquired further. She didn't notice that her voice was shaking slightly in excitement.

The soldier answered, "I was walking on the street when I saw her looking for some orphans. She said that she lost them. She was deeply worried about them. So, I agreed to assist her in searching for them. Never in a million years did I think that I would actually see someone worrying so much about orphans when even their real parents didn't care for them."

"She had the kindest heart. The thing that attracted me the most was the kind smile that she always had for the children." The soldier stopped there and smiled at Veronica. "Is there anything else you want to find out, Miss Healer?" He asked her.

It looked like she was in a daze. She came back to her senses and answered, "No… My name is Veronica. I forgot to introduce myself."

"The name's Felix. At your service." Felix bowed respectfully.

Veronica could barely reply, "It's nice to meet you, Felix."

"Nice to meet you too, Miss Veronica. I have to get my things. Please excuse me," Felix politely said and then left. His comrades were calling for him.

He was rather courteous for a soldier but Veronica didn't have any time to notice that. 'His… story matches with the story written in Sister Ruth's journal. Doesn't that mean, his Joana is Sister Ruth?'

She covered her mouth. She was shocked by her own discovery. 'Wait! If she is the one, why did he call her Joana? It means Sister Ruth lied to him. More than that, why an Utahill citizen fighting for Synetians? Is he a migrant?'

All those questions whirled in her mind. She had no answer for them.

She couldn't ponder more deeply as her shoulder bumped into someone. She stumbled forward and turned to see who had bumped into her. It was none other than Ivona.

"I'm sorry," Veronica apologized.

Ivona was displeased as she glanced at her. She rebuked, "Watch your step. You are in the middle of the road, blocking everyone's path. Don't just stand there like an idiot."

"I'm very sorry," Veronica apologized again.

Ivona turned around and walked away. Veronica saw her going further away.

"What's her problem?" Violet packed her bag and just came out of her tent when she saw this scene. She commented, "She is being all moody in the morning."

Veronica replied, "She was right though. Everyone is busy walking and working, and here I was standing without doing anything."

Violet said, "That's true but she didn't have to say anything rude. Will it kill her to speak more politely?"

Leticia reminded Veronica, "Veronica, aren't you supposed to go to your post? Your team will leave you behind if you are late."

The Synetian group was huge. So, Major General Orion divided this massive population into several teams. Each team would leave the desert at different times and would take different routes to reach the Synetia kingdom. Veronica was supposed to leave with the first team. Arthur and Major General Orion would be in the same group.

Veronica gasped as she remembered, "Oh, right! I completely forgot about that. I'm leaving first!" She ran toward her post.

"This girl is so clueless," Violet sighed helplessly. "She can't even understand that Ivona is being jealous of her."

Leticia mentioned. "Ivona is in the same team as her, isn't she?"

"Yes, but I don't think anything will happen. Arthur is with her after all. He will protect her, I think." Violet's voice was full of uncertainty.

Leticia frowned. "We can't be with her to support her. Since we can't go with her, we can only pray for her safety."

"Yes," Violet replied.

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"You are finally here," Arthur spoke as he saw Veronica running toward him. He was waiting for her for ten minutes. When she came closer, he asked, "Why are you running like that?"

Veronica panted and replied, "I thought the group would leave me behind if I was late."

Arthur took out a handkerchief and stated, "Wipe your sweat. Don't run in this weather. If you tire yourself now, you cannot keep up with us later on."

"Thank you." She wiped her sweat with the handkerchief he gave her and while doing so, she inquired, "Why can I not keep up with you in the journey? I'm not the one who is walking. The camel will."

"Back then, you had to use a camel because it was an emergency. The soldiers needed you, the healers, to heal them. It's not an emergency now. We are going to walk."

"What?" Veronica gaped at him.

"That's why you need to save your energy for the real battle." Arthur smiled and took her bag. He tied her bag with his and placed it over the camel.

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Veronica never thought that this journey would be like this. The sun was glaring at them as if they were Its biggest enemies. She placed her fingers under her armpits. Everywhere the sunlight fell, it burned her skin. After walking for a long time, her head was dizzy.

"Why are we walking while he is using the camel to travel?" Veronica asked. As for 'he', she meant Major General Orion.

Arthur lowered his voice and answered her question, "That's because he is the Major General. He has a higher status than us."

"But he is a soldier. He is trained. I'm not trained." Veronica tiredly dragged her feet as she complained.

Arthur told her, "Didn't you want to have an adventure? This is how an adventure is. Did you think having a servant serving you and sleeping all day are what adventure means?"

Veronica felt like crying. "I'm really ignorant."

"Now you know." Arthur didn't coax her.

In the evening, there was a sand storm. Everyone took over. Arthur covered himself with a huge cloth along with Veronica and his camel. The wind roared wildly.

Veronica stayed quiet in Arthur's arms. She didn't dare to make a move. The untamed roar of the wind shook her heart. However, she began to think, 'No one can control the wind. It can roam everywhere, anytime without restraint. That's what freedom is. The wind is so powerful that no one can hurt it. So invincible.' She admired the wind as much as she feared it.

It was night when the storm was finally over. At first, Arthur moved. And then, the camel stood up. Veronica tried to stand up but she felt a heavy weight on her body. When Arthur moved the huge cloth away from them, she realized that the sand covered the clothes and buried them in the desert.

She looked around and found no one except for sand. "Where are others?"

Arthur didn't have to reply because others began to get up from under the desert. They were also buried under the sand.

They set up their tents there and rested for the night at that spot. They started their journey at dawn. Every day was like that. Sometimes sand storms would stop them from going further. At that time, if they were unlucky, desert pirates would attack them.

Two weeks later, their eyes were finally blessed with green scenery. Everyone sighed in relief. There was even a fountain nearby. They set up their tents there.

Veronica went to take a bath at midnight when everyone was sleeping. She couldn't stand the smell in her body. It was like her body was itching. She took off her clothes and went to the pond. She swam for a while and enjoyed the cool water. Her fatigue seemed to wash away just by touching the water.

She relaxed her stiff body and looked up to the sky. Because of the trees, she could hardly see the sky. But, she could see the moon. It looked smaller than the moon in the desert. Even so, the moon generously shared her silver light with everyone.

She was enjoying the moonlight bath when she heard a noise. Right behind her. She casually turned around without even thinking and froze.

She was expecting something but the identity of the intruder shocked her.

She wasn't expecting THAT.