Violet carried me for quite a while through the soft green plane, until we reached a small stream with many old and crooked trees along the banks. Without announcing her thoughts, she grabbed the tired me by the collar and threw me into the cold water. I screamed in shock and wailed in the shallow stream until she joined me, washing of the blood stains I had left on her body. Embarrassed, I calmed down and did the same. My white robes, dyed in deep red, were beyond salvation. Not even the best stain remover could wash out the amount of dried blood on it. Lucky for me, Violet had some extra robes I could wear. They were made for an adult, so she tore off the lower edges.

Let’s find people, I felt her convey to me somehow. I nodded. Together, we walked along the banks of the stream until we actually did find a small place. They were wary of Celestial beings, given how they closely scrutinized Violet. Oh-ho-ho, little me was pretty jealous that these adults were glancing at her! I remember positioning myself in front of her, hands on hips, and pouting aggressively. “She’s not a toy to look at!” I guess, I broke the ice there, for the inhabitants immediately burst out into laughter, and welcomed both of us.

Violet let me deal with the villagers. If she felt the need to steer my questions in the right direction, she would convey them to me the way she always did. As it would seem, nobody seemed trained enough to perceive the thoughts of a goddess, so they simply thought Violet was a mute Celestial. After all, why would a true full-blooded deity be doing in the middle of nowhere, without fanfare and entourage? Moreover, during our short stay there, she actually helped the people there. And every villager knew that gods would let practitioners do the dirty work for them!

For example, the roof of an elderly couple needed fixing. Violet would easily carry a stack of wood planks on to the roof by jumping along the walls like a ninja. Not only was I impressed, but the entire village came to see the spectacle. I was already on the roof, and along with my new adult friends, I would drive the nails through the wooden planks with rusty hammers. When the herbalist needed help on restocking herbs, I was there to assist. Since I knew a lot of herbs, I was able to help the old guy with gathering. And these villagers showered us with free meals and a roof over our heads. They were truly thankful since they rarely received any outside visitors. And helpful ones at that!

While enjoying the company of these people, I tried to find out where I was and what the best way was to reach Capilla. Unfortunately, all I found out was that I was somewhere in the southern border of the duchy. Where Capilla lay, nobody really knew. Somewhere north. This place was so remote not even practitioners dropped by. Anything further than a day’s trip from the village was considered “unknown” territory. After all, people who dared to leave the village rarely returned to tell the tale. By the love of Nu, I really don’t want to know how closely related the village inhabitants were.

On the third day, Violet and I finally decided to leave. We stuck to the vague instructions the villagers had given us, however, we didn’t get very far. At the end of the day, we had passed the same lonely tree stump for the third time. Disappointed, I sat down on it, pouting as I gazed at the seemingly endless green plains. To the south, the tall mountains were merely dark blue shadows set upon the fiery orange sky. Throw in a few happy little clouds and you had the perfect Bob Ross painting.

My priority had always been to escape the temple, but now that I was out, I had no clue how to get home. Violet scoffed as she threw one of the practitioner’s sheathed blades at me. Because I didn’t pay attention it hit me in the head and I fell backward on to the soft grass. I picked up the blade grudgingly and gave her a glare, which amused her even more.

Ever since I had brought her out of the barrier, I had felt her emotions more vividly. Because I didn’t quite understand what was going on, I therefore often confused them for my own. Only when our emotions drifted into opposites, such as now, could I properly discern which feelings truly belonged to me.

Violet took the second sheathed blade and pointed it at me. She then began to slice the air with fluent movements, dancing elegantly in the pale sunlight. The only rhythm I could perceive were the noises the blade made whenever it cut through the air. It was as if she was playing a song for me, so I closed my eyes, paying attention to the timings. After a while, I could make out a pattern and began to imitate the rhythm by swinging the blade up and down.

When I opened my eyes, I saw that I was the only one dumbly swinging around. Violet had taken my place at the tree stump, watching me. Embarrassed, I immediately stopped. Go on, I felt her convey. Reminded by how she guided me through a pitch-black maze, I closed my eyes once more. I slowly lifted my blade and swung it to the right, turned around, swung it to the left, then up and down, another turn, and so on. My movements were definitely not as smooth and refined as hers, but I’m pretty damn sure they resembled her moves. If I did make an error, I felt a slight sharp pain penetrate my skull. It was actually not really noteworthy, but I felt it nonetheless and it was evident that she used it to point out a mistake.

She made me practice until the sun had completely disappeared. You can guess pretty much that I was very exhausted. Using just a small piece of dried wood, she conjured up a warm flame for the night. Needless to say, I was a child that yearned for human warmth after such a long abstinence, so I cuddled right next to her. Unfortunately Violet is a goddess. And therefore she did not radiate any body heat at all. On the contrary, it felt as if I was hugging a massive ice block during a Siberian winter. Now the surprising thing was - I slowly felt her body temperature rise, as if she knew that was what I needed. And before long, I fell into a deep slumber.