I had to stop and think for a second. Feliza was only two years old?! But- how- what-

I couldn't understand! She was smart enough to be able to talk to me and Sally, she was smart enough to become best friends with Esther, and she was strong enough to kill a wolf with her own hands?

How could that be possible? Such a person doesn't exist at all! The only kind of people that could hold such strength and power were if they were demons, and I was one hundred percent certain that Feliza wasn't one?

What was going on? Was I in just a nightmare, and all of this was some kind of strange thought process I had?

Someone help! I'm completely lost here! I can't understand anything that's happening right now!

"All of you, calm down!" The doctor shout. Instantly, all of us stopped our thoughts and turned towards him.

"I understand you're all shocked and confused, but there is a reason why none of you were supposed to know!" He said, as he got up with some blood on his arms.

We waited there, ready to receive the reason for this, when he turned to his assistant without giving us the explanation we so desired.

"Alexander, make sure everyone is inside and has a cup of warm tea to help with their nerves." The doctor said, "I'll finish up here first, then go ahead and talk to them."

"Understood, sir." With that, he walked up to us, and began to escort us towards the cottage. "This way."

None of us argued, and just followed him inside the house. After all, there wasn't any reason for us to fight against this guy, nor was there any desire to do so.

One look at his arms, and I knew that I did not want to get into a fight with him. In fact, I wasn't even sure my brothers, as strong as they were, could beat this guy even if they teamed up.

The aura he gave off and the bulging muscles he had were enough to act as a deterrent for any hostility.

Before long, we found ourselves inside the doctor's house. We were led to a couch, where all of us proceeded to sit on, using some of the fluffy cushions and the warm blankets to make ourselves cozy.

"Alright, I'm going to go and get you guys a cup of some warm tea. Just stay seated and relax." After saying those words, the big man grabbed a nearby large bucket and headed out of the building, possibly to get the water boiling.

The seven of us just sat there, waiting in the silence that was currently dominating the air. None of us could find the words to describe this situation.

It was too far unnatural. I just couldn't understand what the heck was going on.

"She's only two years old?" Sally asked, with complete shock in her voice, "That can't be..."

"I can't believe this," Verdent said softly, "Why would her parents send her to the village center if she wasn't the right age? Isn't that against the customs of our village?"

All of us silently looked at each other, not willing to say what this entire situation meant. Even I knew what the customs of the village were.

When a child reached four years of age, they were sent to the village center to talk to kids their age and socialize. They were to spend an entire year going to the center so that they could relax and gain connections that would help them in future years.

However, for a person to send a kid younger than that age was heavily frowned upon. No, not just that, but there was a silent rule to this situation.

No one should send their child to the village center if they weren't four years old without good reason.

With Feliza breaking that unwritten rule, there were going to be consequences for this kind of action. And to be honest, I couldn't help but feel genuinely worried for her.

What was going to happen to her family? Will her parents be alright? Was she going to get punished?

Then again, she is friends with Esther... wait. Wait a second!

Could it be that Esther knows that Feliza is two years old as well?! After all, she is the village elder's daughter, so she would be able to know that information.

Since there was no way that anyone could lie to the village elder, then that meant he must have known as well! That meant the entire village elder's family had been keeping us in the dark for no reason!

"Wait, hold on! The village elder had to have known about this!" Verdent shouted suddenly, shocking the rest of us, "Was he hiding this information the entire time?"

That was the exact same thought I had! I couldn't help but feel proud about figuring that out on my own so quickly.

"Maybe, maybe not. Who knows?" Suddenly, we all heard the deep voice of Alexander once more, and we turned around to witness him carrying a large tray with seven steaming cups of tea.

"Here are your drinks," he said softly as he put the tray down right in front of us, "Careful. They're still hot."

"Thank you," we all said simultaneously as we grabbed the cups and lifted them to our laps.

I looked at him in his brown eyes, and I couldn't help but feel a bit relaxed. There were no signs of anger, hostility, or even danger; the only thing that were inside those orbs was tranquility.

"Relax," he said gently, so much so that I felt like his words were made of feathers, "You all just went through something serious, and you're clearly not able to think fully. Just rest, drink some tea, and-"

"No!" Eurie shouted, turning towards Alexander. "The doctor just dropped something that big on us, and you expect us to calm down? We can't relax after hearing that kind of news, no one can! Why was Feliza allowed to go to the village center when she was clearly under aged? Why didn't the village elder bother telling us anything about this? And most importantly, how the hell can a kid of two years of age be able to talk like a normal person and kill a wolf all on their own?!"

"It's because she's unnatural."

We all turned towards the doctor, who was standing there with blood on their hands and sleeves. He sighed as he started to clean the blood stains out with a wet rag.

"If you're worried about Feliza, then she'll be alright. I got her shoulder completely healed, along with the other issues her body was having."

I could only blink as I heard those words. Other issues? What did he mean by that?

"What are you talking about? The little miss only had a missing shoulder as an injury, there shouldn't have been more damage to her body," Verdent said firmly.

"Yeah, I have to back up my brother. The lass shouldn't have had anything," Juni started, before pausing for a moment.

"Wait. She might have some strained muscles and maybe some broken fingers from bashing the wolf's head in with a rock, but she should be completely fine," he added quickly. He seemed to then lean back and scratch his head, before shrugging completely. "Yeah, basically as my brother said. Shouldn't be anything else."

"I know," the doctor said, as they put away the now bloody rag and grabbed a nearby chair. "However, there were signs of her muscles slowly wasting away and her bones somewhat deteriorating. Symptoms that tell me she being given enough rest, relaxation, and nutrients."

"What?" Verdent asked, with his eyes bulging out. "Are you telling me Feliza's family worked her hard and not give her enough food?"

"No, I didn't say that at all," the doctor stated firmly and harshly. "I'm just saying she has signs of someone that's been overworking and training too hard, without the proper diet and sleeping schedule. The fact that those kinds of issues are popping up is bizarre, since none of these problems should be rising up at all for a normal child."

"So... what does this mean?" I asked him, with my eyes wide with concern. "Does that mean Feliza's going to die?"

"There's a high possibility that had I not spotted this issue today, she would have most likely died, given enough time."

I froze at the doctor's comment. That meant that this entire time, when Feliza was playing and laughing with us... the whole time, she was suffering physically.

For these several days, she had been neglecting her health and doing her best to endure the pain, all just to have fun with us. To laugh and enjoy the moments we would have together.

Feliza... I can't help but be in awe of you. Truly, you are the best friend I could ask for.

"Wait," Eurie said, disrupting my thoughts, "That doesn't explain why a two year old went to the village center when it's obviously against the rules."

"That's because the village elder was willing to make an exception," the doctor said, "He was here when me and her mother both spoke to him, and we came to an understanding."

"What understanding was that?" Verdent asked. I looked at the doctor, hoping to learn what had been set in stone to decide that.

"It's the simple fact of a few things. The first one is that Feliza Feliza is an unnatural child by all accounts. Her eyes are completely black, which are a complete contrast to the rest of her family. She is smarter than the rest of her peers, seeing as she was capable of learning the alphabet from Esther."

I blinked. What? Was she that smart? Was that why she went out to go meet up with Esther from time to time? Not to play around, but to learn how to read and write?

"Not only that, but there's the fact that she's strong enough to bash a wolf's head into smithereens, if what all of you have said is the truth. Her nerves are out of whack, meaning that she isn't able to feel the sensation of pain at times. With all of these points racked against her favor, this just goes to show that Feliza isn't normal by any standards. She's not something that should exist, but currently is."

"What's the point of telling us this? To scare us?" I asked angrily.

I couldn't just sit here and listen to this person be rude to my friend. After all Feliza did, I couldn't just stand by and let her sacrifices mean nothing.

"No," he said simply and quickly, "I'm informing you on the situation, and I'm about to ask you something that would seem completely confusing."

"What is it doctor? Can't be that bad," Alex said, while sipping his cup of tea.

"Don't say a single word about this. This information stays completely private."

Instantly, the entire room fell silent. There were no words that anyone could say at this demand made. Any kinds of arguments we wanted to make were stopped by the oppressing words that lingered in the air.

Then, my oldest brother broke the barrier with a single word.

"What?" Verdent asked, with complete confusion and dismay in his voice.

"You heard me. I request that you keep the fact that she is not exactly normal a secret." The doctor said simply and firmly, "After all, her family and the village elder's family does the same.

"Why?!" Eurie demanded, "There's no reason for us to keep this silent! The people need to know about this!"

"The villagers need to know about this poor girl and how she's not normal?" The doctor asked coldly. Instantly, the air began to freeze, and my brothers were unable to move in this chilling atmosphere.

"You want to go ahead and destroy her chances of having a possibly normal life? She just suffered an attack by a wolf, and you want her to be ostracized? How sickening."

The doctor's words were harsh and sharp enough to cut the air into two. Before I knew it, I watched as Eurie stood up, somewhat enraged.

"Now see here! That's not my intention, and you know it!" He shouted. "The people deserve to know about the fact that an unnatural child lives here! This is something that-"

"And why does everyone else need to know?" The doctor replied back quickly and harshly. He walked towards Eurie, causing my older brother to sit back down with a pale face.

"You want to ruin a kid's life and future because people need to know about their abilities? Why? What does the village gain from that information other than terror and paranoia? Tell me this!"

"Before you go on to lecturing my brother..." Verdent said softly. Instantly, Eurie and the doctor turned towards him, waiting for him to continue.

An awkward moment rang in the air, before the silence was brought down by my eldest brother coughing into a closed fist. Then, he cleared his throat, and continued.

"I just wanted to know. Why exactly was this understanding made? Who requested this agreement, and how do you plan to enforce this issue?" He asked simply.

The doctor and him stared at each other, before the healer sighed and sat down on his chair.

"The understanding was made between the village elder's and Feliza's families because of genuine concern. If you must know, Feliza's mother was the one who requested this agreement, since this was her child's life and future at stake," he said softly as he leaned back into his chair, "To be honest, they were as horrified and as shocked as all of you when they learned of her peculiar nature. I was not an exception to that rule."

"And the part about enforcing the agreement?" Verdent asked cautiously. I could only stare at him in disbelief. Why was he so caught up on that part? Was he really intending to tell the villagers about Feliza's nature and ruin her life?

"We aren't enforcing you to do keep quiet on this issue," the healer said, "I'm just requesting you be considerate. This is a girl's future at stake here."

The room filled with silence once more. All of us sat there, digesting the information, and sipping our cups of tea absentmindedly.

I couldn't taste any flavor. I just wasn't putting any thoughts to my drink at all.

I was too busy thinking about Feliza and what could happen to her from here on out. If all of these points were true, then that meant she would be in trouble if we said a single word.

I couldn't let that happen. She was one of the few friends I had, and I needed to be able to protect her from any serious harm.

"Don't worry, we will all keep quiet," I said firmly, as I looked at all my brothers and Sally.

They all turned towards me with a surprised look, before sighing. I noticed that Sally seemed to have her shoulders slumped for some strange reason.

"Come on Buan, I wasn't going to do such a thing. I was just trying to figure out if our family would be in trouble," Verdent said reassuringly, before getting up and patting me on the head.

"That's a relief," the doctor said as they relaxed and sighed.

"Well, we might as well let you tend more to Feliza. We'll go ahead and tell her parents where she is, and try to avoid the punishment that's at hand," Verdent said jokingly, and the rest of us couldn't help but chuckle at that sentence.

Those words brightened up the moody atmosphere and brought back some light to this dark situation. I couldn't help but feel completely relieved at this moment.

Feliza... you may be seriously unnatural, but that won't change anything. No matter what happens to you, no matter what you do...

Nothing will change the fact that we will be friends forever. I swear on my life!