Damsel In Distress (Arcana Famiglia FF)

Chapter 2: At the Mansion

"Is she gonna be alright?"

The gypsy hears a young feminine voice as she awakens from her deep sleep. Her eyes flicker at the sight of bright light. She felt her stiff hands move a little. She felt numb for a moment when pain soon came upon her side. She unconsciously tries to get up, but quickly decides to stay still when she heard more voices.

"Don't worry she will be." says a voice, possibly belonging to a man. 

She hears a sigh, "It's a good thing it wasn't that serious." The gypsy realizes that she might have been caught and quickly opens her eyes. She quickly sits up. Her eyes wander around the room and soon notices a pretty red-headed girl with long pigtails that reaches below her butt and she was wearing a suit, sitting by her bedside. By her looks, she could possibly a seventeen or eighteen-year old. And beside the girl was a man who was also wearing a suit but had a blue polo instead of a white one and shades. His fingers held a cigarette. The smell irritated her nose. A smile was on his face with that flirtatious look. Other than that he looked harmless. The girl somehow sensed her movement and turns to her.

 "Don't move so much." she says gently.

"What happened?" replies the gypsy, her eyes locking into the girl's. 

"You--"

"You were shot by the hooded man and lost consiousness. Felicita here and the others brought you here. And I--" he points at the wound, "performed surgery and removed the bullet. Also with a little alchemy. It should be better soon. I applied some ointment which should quicken the healing." The gypsy opens her mouth to say her thanks, but the man interrupts her with a wave of his hand and smiles while adjusting his shades, "There is no need to thank me. I simply just did my duty."

"Thank you anyways," she says with a smile. The gypsy turns to to the girl and says, "How long have I been here?"

"Twelve hours."

The gypsy gasps at her answer. Coming back to her senses, she quickly asks, "Why am I here instead of being in the local hospital? And--"

"I wanted to thank you for your kindness to the locals," interrupts the girl. Seeing the gypsy's worried look, she continued, "You don't have to worry about the man. You're safe now." She pats the girl's hand to reassure the gypsy. She didn't seem to believe completely in her words and tries to get up again. She soon finds herself sighing in relief. The red-headed girl smiles in relief as the man steps forward with his hands in his pockets.

"What happened to you? You look different." asks the red-headed girl.

"What did the men tell you?"

"Well, they told me that you were wearing aa amulet. And when the man cut it off--you changed appearances."

"That amulet was made to alter once appearance. I have been wearing it for a long time already that I have forgotten how I used to look like."

"But why?"

"I have been hiding from those men and successfully did for five, long years. I don't know how they caught up to me."

"Why were those men after you?" interrupts the man, changing the subject, in a serious, monotone voice. 

The gypsy looks at him with a change of expression and replied, "I don't want to talk about it. . . all the more remember."

This remark stuns the man. "Did something happened in this girl's past?" he thought. Felicita, too, was wondering the same thing. She recalls some details that Liberta told her on the way home.

*****Liberta's Flashback*****

Swords clashed as the man and the gypsy fought. She seemed quite intense by the look on her face. Libert remembers that it has only been two weeks since she arrived in Regalo. She came alone which was sort of weird since gypsies usually travel together. But even so, she has always had a that smile on her face. Liberta doesn't really know why, but he has always, somewhat, dazzled by her smile. Everyone smiles of course. But hers seemed special. Her smile seemed to say a thousand words without her lips even uttering anything. And one of those words were. . . joy.