The Phoenix's Maiden

Rest and Recover

The three injured Mystics is on a bed, each has their own wet cloth on their heads to make them feel cool, and fortunately none of them catch a fever. Amber is currently cleaning Arthur’s wounds since he is the one who has the most wounds among the three. He is totally fainted out that made it easier for Amber to clean his wounds. Kamandag completely dozed of off and she is now recovering her strength.

After that she went to Amaterasu’s side to tend her injuries, she’s still thinking about, who did this to her. It’s very random for her, she does not expect this at all. She always thought that nothing beats a god except for another god like Zeus, Odin, or Bathala, she is not certain if these three exists in this world. If possible is there another god in this land? She asked herself. If yes, she wants to meet that god.

She shook the thoughts off her mind and she sinks into her mind that she needs to focus on taking care of them. Overthinking will not help her instead it will just give her more problems, Amber is well aware of that.

“Just take care of them Amber, save the questions for later,” she said to herself while getting another wet cloth for Kamandag. She tore a cloth from one of her clothes from her baggage and went to a mini fall inside the cave where she washed it and squeezed it to remove excess water. After that she went to Kamandag’s side and wrapped the cloth around her snake body.

The snake felt the coolness from the wet cloth and made herself comfortable, the maiden was happy to see her friend snake happy about the cloth that she gave her. She heard a soft groan behind her and she immediately turned around to see the goddess is now conscious. She saw her taking the wet cloth away from her forehead and is trying to sit. Amber rushed to her aid and assisted the goddess to sit down.

“What happened?” she asked Amber and she raised one of her eyebrows.

“I should be the one asking you that, what happened?” the maiden returned the question to her and she spaced out for a couple of seconds and later on she acted like some electricity zapped her. “I was hit by a lightning-,“ she immediately cuts herself off, remembering that Amber must not know.

“Lightning?” she asked and the goddess smiled at her awkwardly trying to hide the truth from her.

“Uhm yes,” she confirmed. “It was from a storm,” she added and Amber grew suspicious of her actions. She can feel that the goddess is hiding something from her but in the goddess’s thoughts the maiden is not ready for that responsibility.

“A storm? That storm must be insane for not reaching here and making them injured,” she tries to squeeze out the truth from the goddess while pointing towards the injured knight,

“What happened to him?” Amaterasu was shocked seeing Arthur injured and unconscious.

“Kamandag carried you two here,” Amber answered her question. “Answer me,” she insisted. “What really happened?” she asked again wanting the whole truth from the goddess. Amaterasu sighed because the maiden is very persistent. She does not want this to happen, that’s why she is very careful with her actions.

“I am telling the truth,” she insisted with her reason because she knew that if she changed reasons the maiden will not trust her more. All she needs to do right now is to make her story convincing.

“Can you explain it to me?” she asked and the goddess took a deep breathe. Amber has the authority in this situation and Amaterasu can’t act highly towards the maiden because she is feeling the guilt of lying to her. She felt like that she is taking advantage of her innocence.

“There is a storm in this place called Mandarambong that randomly occur in this place but it just happens so rare that it happens once in a decade,” she made a story on the spot for Amber to believe her taking advantage of her geekiness towards myths. But Amber did not know about this Mandarambong storm, so the goddess’s plan is very effective. “It’s a small storm that has the power of the strongest storm that you encountered in your life, its lightnings can match the power of Zeus’s,” she included the thunder god of Greek to make her geek out more, so that she can forget about her suspicions.

“So what happened?” Amber asked and the goddess can see the excitement in the maiden’s eyes. She formed a small smirk on her lips because her plans are very effective.

“Well I am practicing one of my new spells that I recently thought of but a Mandarambong just appeared out of nowhere and caught me off guard,” she told her. “I did not have time to guard myself as that spell tires me out massively,” she added.

“About Arthur?” she asked again.

“About him? I don’t know,” she responded empty to her question. “Maybe Kamandag find us both injured like in this state and carry us here, after all I was unconscious the whole time,” she reasoned out more and this time she has a point for Amber to believe her. Her injuries really came from a lightning so she escaped her suspicions for now.

“Arthur’s injuries came from blades or sharp claws,” she said observing the knight sleeping so soundly.

“Maybe he overdid himself again,” she speculated trying to play innocent.

“I guess but he doesn’t receive this kind of injuries all the time he came back here injured,” the maiden speculated again. Amaterasu was terrified of Amber’s intuition, and if this goes on they will be caught. The goddess felt her strength and Aura in a tiptop shape again. “And he was injured earlier, and that’s very odd for him to go out back there and also Kamandag, I knew them very well,” she wondered.

“Maybe they decided to test their limits,” the goddess tried again to cover up the truth.

“No, it can’t be,” she rejected her speculations.

“We can ask them once they wake up,” she suggested. “For now let them rest and that includes me,” she added.

“Oh, I’m sorry for bothering you,” Amber backed off and she felt ashamed.

“No, no, it’s okay, we will answer your questions once we recovered from these injuries,” the goddess tried to make her feel better.

“I will make some soup for you,” she said and got out of the room to head to their kitchen. It came to her mind that suddenly, but in all honesty the maiden doesn’t know how to cook ingredients from this world. A soup might be easy, she thought.

“Oh silly me!” she shouted because of frustration. She told herself multiple times that no questions.

She reached the kitchen and she pressed her bac against a wall. She wants to take her words back, Amber really don’t know how to cook the ingredients in the kitchen.

“Can you hear me?” she heard Amaterasu inside her mind. “I think you might need help making that soup,” she added and Amber felt more ashamed but she needs to make this soup to redeem herself.

“Y- yes, I need your help,” she stuttered and it hurts her to admit that, but what can she do.

“My pleasure,” the goddess responded. “Now take that pot and put some water inside it,” she instructed the maiden and Amber went to one of the cabinets inside the kitchen and searched for a pot. The pots inside have a variety of sizes but she gets just the right size for the three of them. “Just three fourths of the pot, okay,” she added and Amber filled the pot just like what the goddess told her.

“Done,” she said.

“Next heat that water above the furnace, just lit the insides of it with your fire,” she instructed and the maiden went to the nearby furnace. She pointed her pointing finger to the coals inside the furnace and she produced embers that lights it up.

“Okay what’s next?” she asked the goddess while putting the pot above the furnace.

“Hmm, I want a mushroom soup,” she mumbled. “A mushroom soup will do, there should be a jar of mushrooms there, find the yellow ones as it can help us recover our strength quickly,” she instructed the maiden and Amber is on it.

“Jar of yellow mushrooms,” she whispered while opening the cabinets one by one, she saw a jar of salt and she did not expect for them to have salt. Now I’m sure that salt is a universal ingredient, she thought to herself. She pulls it out of the cabinet because she is certain that she will need that salt later. She opened other cabinets and she saw jars of mushrooms and it has so may colors inside.

She checked the ones in the front first but to no avail there is no yellow mushrooms, she pulled it out so she can see the other jars behind it and there she saw the jar of yellow mushrooms, she immediately pulled it out and puts it besides the jar of salt.

“Found it,” she announced.

“Now pour it to the pot, all of it,“ she instructed and the maiden grabbed the jar of yellow mushrooms and opened its lid. After she opened it, she pours all of the jar’s contents including its juices. “Now wait for it to boil and after that put some salt to it,” the goddess instructed. “After that serve it here,” she added.

“That’s it?” she asked in disbelief, she did not expect it to be that easy.

“Yes, the mushroom’s ingredients are already prepared by me so it’s easier for me to cook,” the goddess told her.

“Oh,” Amber stared at the pot waiting for it to boil. She is expecting it to be much harder so she can be much of use.

“I appreciate all of these Amber,” the goddess suddenly complimented the maiden as she can hear her thoughts from the room to make her feel better. The maiden smiled from that comment from the goddess.

After the soup boiled, she added a pinch of salt and taste it, the soup tasted so amazing and she can’t believe how delicious is this. She served it into a deep bowl and delivers it to the three.

-The Phoenix’s Maiden-