The Seventh Moon

Noble Mage-In-Training

If this is a dream, please let me wake up… ~ Stay With Me, Chanyeol (EXO) ft. Punch

xxxxxx

The young man who supported Risa from falling to the ground just stared at her with concern as her mind still tried to wrap up the situation she was in. At the moment, however, she needed to know how this man knew her name. She was sure she hadn't mentioned anything about herself to anyone at all. Well, she just woke up and now she had to deal with all these strange events going on around her.

"We'll explain everything later. For now, don't tell them anything. Do your best to rest your mind for a while."

Risa nodded in response to the young man's words. His suggestion felt alright for her since she still couldn't gather her wits yet at the moment. Even in her weak and confused state, she raised her head and faced the soldiers who threatened her and accused her of being a criminal.

"This woman you were accusing of as a criminal is my cousin who had just arrived from a faraway village. That criminal you were after tried to kill her when they encountered each other near the river. That's how my cousin got this injury on her head since she was pushed to the river. If I hadn't decided to find her and let her live with the Master Mage for a while, she would've been dead by now."

If Risa had to admit, it was quite a story. And it was probably what she needed to escape whatever nasty plans that the soldiers had for her.

"You made a mistake when you foolish soldiers hadn't taken a good look at the criminal's face. And now you've just dragged any injured girl that you'd see around these woods."

Despite the anger that Risa could feel coming from the Master Mage, she still couldn't help but look at him. She also faced the young man who was still supporting her by holding her shoulders. Normally, she wouldn't let any guy do this to her. She had no idea if it was her weak state or the fact that this young man was helping her escape a possible unjust execution that made her feel safe at the moment.

In the meantime, she had to figure out what truly happened to her to end up in this place.

"Please forgive us, sir!"

The soldiers, even the one who roughly grabbed her a while ago whom she also noticed was gripping his sword earlier, knelt and bowed deeply to the old man. The Master Mage must have been a truly respected man for him to get this kind of treatment from the soldiers.

Risa faced the young man after that and he nodded with a small smile. Her heart slowly started beating at a normal rate at the sight of that. Then this must mean her first ordeal was over. Now she had to figure out what to do next.

xxxxxx

"I'm sorry if you couldn't have a much more comfortable bed when you're injured like this."

But Risa shook her head and smiled a little. Her mind still couldn't comprehend what had just happened to her the moment she woke up. At the moment, all she could do was to have someone she could talk to so that she won't end up insane in this new place.

"I have other issues to worry about for me to think about the state of the bed that you let me use to rest."

The young man looked at her, concern in his eyes that, if she was going to be honest, it was enough to melt her heart. He reminded her of Hiro when worrying about little things.

"Mister... um... can I ask you questions?"

It had made the young man smile a little. "Questions? I can tell you have a lot to ask me. But I'll do my best to answer them, as long as I know them."

Risa nodded. It was enough for her. "First of all, what's your name? I felt like it would be rude for me not to refer to you in any name while I'm in your care."

"You can call me Jehan. My full name is Jehan Rafe Ellanher."

"That's a long name."

"When you're from a noble family, it's not unusual to have long names such as mine."

A noble family? With his ragged clothes get up? Could this be his disguise or something? But she decided not to voice out that thought. Instead, she proceeded to ask her next question.

"How did you know that my name is Risa?"

At that moment, Risa noticed that Jehan froze when she asked that question. Did she say something wrong?

It took a while for Jehan to say something, let alone give any reaction as a sort of response. But she waited patiently for his answer.

"The truth is... I just called you using my deceased cousin's name."

For some reason, Jehan spoke in a small voice. But it was still enough for Risa to hear. She frowned at that, though.

"Your cousin? What do you mean?"

"I have a cousin 12 years ago who died under mysterious circumstances. Until now, I still couldn't accept the fact that she died like that when she was just starting to live her life. She was 16 years old at the time. By the way, her full name is Clarisa Grace Everille but I'm the one who would usually call her Risa."

She nodded when she finally understood that. "She has a beautiful name."

"As she was a beautiful maiden, as well. It's just sad that I lost her too early. She was almost like a little sister to me."

"Well, as you've already mentioned, my name is Risa. Hatsuyama Risa."

"Is that how you were called back in your hometown? Your surname first before your given name?"

Risa smiled and nodded. "In the country where I was born, yes. But I can still address myself in the same way you would do so here when I moved abroad with my family. So my name is Risa Hatsuyama around there." It was then that she realized something. "But it seems that the surname I have now is not familiar with anyone in this... country, huh? Wherever this is."

"We're inside the Hareskoven Forest, one of the four forests surrounding the Kingdom of Revia. And as you've probably heard the Master Mage mentioned a while ago, this is the forest that's closest to the border separating this kingdom and the lands of the Nivalon Empire."

Even when Jehan said them, Risa's mind still couldn't fully grasp the fact that this was a different world now. But even when she pinched herself a lot of times already, she still wasn't waking up. So it meant that this wasn't a dream anymore.

How did she end up here in the first place? It was the question that perhaps, even Jehan won't be able to answer at the moment. But she had to do her best to find out the answer.

Risa asked more questions to Jehan that he was able to answer somehow. Of course, there were some that he couldn't but she was fine with it. Not everything would have an answer for her at the moment.

"By the way, is it true that this is one of the Master Mage's houses? Why did you decide to bring me here?"

"This is the only place that's near the river where we found you. The truth is, we have no idea why you ended up in the river with an injury on your head. That's why maybe you... could tell us the story behind that."

"Even if you say it like that..." How would she answer that if she couldn't even recall what had happened to her after she was about to get hit by a car?

Come to think of it, how did Risa end up in the river? Before she could stop herself, she touched the injured part of her head and closed her eyes as soon as blurry images started flashing in her mind.