The sun was at its peak and cotton like clouds sparsely covered the blue sky. A sea of grass and flowers stretched before Alba's eyes until it intersected with the vast sky on the horizon. The sunlight hit her face revealing a delicate face. One could easily tell that she would look very pretty if the bruises were absent from her face.

Standing by the patch of flowers, Alba enjoyed the warm sun and cool breeze. The cruel episode seemed like a bad dream to her now. If not for the occasional nightmares, she did not recall it much. Though it was all over, the incident had left deep scars in her heart.

A week had passed since she moved to Trenni village with Vincent but the house was still lacking proper furniture and other essentials. It wasn't too inconvenient for her as she had lived in a similar manner most her life but Vincent seemed to hate it. He was specially repulsed by dirt and grime. It was hard to get what he wanted here and he had to ask Hubert to bring him the things he needed. The merchant agreed after raising the service and transportation fee quite a bit. Vincent knew he was being taken advantage of, but he didn't mind. He would readily pay more if it meant he could sleep in a bed and rest in a chair.

She spent most of her day working around the mostly empty house. If there was nothing to do, she would sit by and watch Vincent. The young boy spent most his time reading or training. According to her observation, he didn't have any other hobby except reading. Perhaps staring at a wall thoughtlessly was one, if it could be called a hobby at all.

The day had been pretty much the same as the previous ones until he suddenly called her and told her to go sight see around the village. He wanted her to go immerse herself in nature. Maybe the scenery would help her recover. Her physical injuries were almost done healing, he had already removed the splint from her hand a day ago. He wanted to help her phobia, but he had no idea how to do so. He was no expert when it came to trauma and fear.

"What about you master Vincent?"

"I am going to go hunt in the forest. Hopefully, the forest will have some useful herbs as well."

Alba nodded to show that she understood and watched Vincent leave with a crossbow and a dagger. There wasn't anything to do and she didn't want to go against his words. Maybe it was because of how she grew up her whole life as a slave, she had grown used to obeying orders. Though the space outside the house was a little disconcerting, she steadied her heart and took small steps without any destination in her mind.

The view before her was beautiful. She had spent most her life inside the cotton farm, never having taken a single step out of it until she was eventually sold. The slavers forbade any interactions and she hadn't seen much except the bushes and trees by the roadside when the merchandise were given a break to take care of their needs. The world had been so dark and ugly ever since. But now, for the first time in her life, she was looking at a scenery that could truly be called breathtaking.

Tears welled up in her eyes and dropped down her face. Alba was confused. She was only thinking how beautiful the field of flowers was when she started crying. She wasn't in pain but tears were constantly streaming down her face. She wiped the tears with her hands and sniffled. She was crying her heart out but for some reason, she felt lighter and free. It was like she had finally taken a deep breath after suffocating for a long, long time.

"Why are you crying?" A curious voice questioned.

Alba was startled by the sudden voice and turned towards its direction. A girl around fourteen was looking at her with eyes full of interest. "Nothing. It's just the dust. They got into my eyes."

She tried to act as if it wasn't a big deal but her voice broke and gave away her lies. She was a little embarrassed at her voice that cracked and stared into the young girl's eyes to hide it. The girl was a head shorter than Alba and still had baby fat in her cheeks. Some freckles and a pair of hazel eyes adorned her face. Though the girl could not be called pretty, she gave off a very amiable vibe.

"Did someone hit you? You look horrible. Look at all those bruises."

"No one hit me. I just got these from a fall."

"Don't lie, I have seen similar bruises on my mother's face when my father got drunk and beat her."

"No one hit me. You don't have to worry about it."

"Does the doctor beat you? You don't have to be scared, I can help you. Don't worry, he won't find out if you tell me. Sometimes, just sharing your story helps reduce the pain."

"No, the doctor didn't beat me. I don't need your help either. How did you know that I live with the doctor?"

"Hmm... well if you say so, I won't force myself on you. As for how I knew, it's pretty simple. You guys are the only ones who came to the village recently. I know everyone else that lives here. But your master sure is an oddball. He didn't come meet with anyone. All the newcomers visit each family and get to know each other."

"I need to go. Farewell." Alba hurriedly left the field. She felt uncomfortable around the girl and her direct questions.

******************************************************

Vincent was already in the forest for about two hours. The only thing he could show for his effort so far was a handful of gold beech mushrooms. It was a rare fungus that grew on corpses of magical beasts of plants. Though he only found about two meals' worth, it was energy rich and a great supplement for any warrior or wizardry training.

Vincent didn't have any experience hunting. Everything he knew about it was learned from a book and now he was realizing just how difficult it was to actually hunt an animal. Though he wasn't a skilled marksman, he had played around with crossbows alongside Brian and Rachel. Their childish competition to see who could shoot most accurately had given him a decent level of familiarity with the weapon.

The problem he was facing now was that most animals noticed his presence and moved away before he could get a clear view of them. It couldn't be helped as he was still in the outer parts of the forest. The animals here were ordinary and scared of humans. He was still a novice and didn't want to risk heading further into the forest where magical beasts could be found. Most magical beasts were very aggressive in nature and attacked humans if they came across one.

He was just about to give up and return home when he heard rustling sounds coming from a distance. He looked over and saw a herd of seven wild goats. The herd consisted of two doe, three bucks and two kids. The kids looked adorable as they followed behind their mother and tried climbing a steep rock. They failed multiple times and the does got down and helped them up. The scene was heartwarming.

Looking at the herd made Vincent hesitate a little. He wanted to hunt an animal so that he could eat more in the coming days. With enough food, he could increase the intensity of his training and breakthrough soon. He hadn't considered much before coming here, but looking at the peaceful scene before him made it harder to aim and shoot.

He had never killed an animal before. The two men he killed in the town of Opal still visited his dreams every night and haunted him. He felt terrible every time he recalled what he did and the current situation really tested him.

Vincent aimed at the nearest goat and steadied his breath. All he needed to do now was pull the trigger between his breaths and a bolt would fly and find its mark. His arm trembled as he struggled internally and finally put the crossbow down. He sighed and got up to leave.