Tangled By Fate

"Will you think twice before you take action? How about this? In exchange for Urulas, I will be your teacher. I'll teach you how to fight and everything. What do you think?"

At his plea, Veronica was astounded. "That's not necessary. He is the one who is getting punished by being my teacher, not you."

Dastan insisted, "But I'm better at fighting than he is. I'll be a better teacher."

Veronica didn't change her expression. 

She said, "A bad student can be a good teacher. Since it's hard for him to learn, he knows the easy process to learn. He can teach me more efficiently. A genius can never be a good teacher.

"All the more, it's fine if he doesn't know too much. We can learn together."

Afterward, without giving him another glance, she left. 

She had become aware that she was a woman and in a man's eyes, she was alluring. Thus, she decided not to be too chummy with the men who insisted on being close to her for ulterior motives.

After chatting with Urulas and Dastan today, she realized that these two had some kind of connection.

Although she didn't know who Urulas's brother was, she could connect that it had something to do with Dastan. 

That was the reason she couldn't trust Dastan completely and believed that he had some kind of motive trying to be close to her. After all, he did try to kidnap her once knowing her identity. 

After Veronica set off on the journey, Urulas and his men tagged along. Before they started, they knelt before her and asked for forgiveness.

"You are apologizing to the wrong person," she coldly reminded them. "I'm not the one you killed. After we go to the human realm, you will go to their families and compensate them with all the illegal money you all have earned.

"After that, you will visit their graves and personally apologize. You also have to promise them to protect the good people from now on."

The elves raised their heads and stared at Urulas. As their master nodded, they bowed again and accepted the punishment. 

On the road, Urulas reminded her, "We are going in the wrong direction. It's not the path to the human realm."

"I know. Before I leave, I want to meet a friend of mine," Veronica stated. She was thinking of Rulas. She promised to meet him. 

With horses, it took them ten days to reach the village.

Rulas was playing with his friends. The moment he saw her, he sprinted toward her.

His small arms hugged her lean leg and then he exclaimed, "Ver! Ver! I missed you."

Veronica couldn't help smiling at the little fellow. She dismounted from the horse and embraced his little body. "I missed you too."

The young boy's fair face flushed in happiness. "I'm so happy you came to meet me. I kept your promise. Did you finish your work?"

Veronica's fingers brushed his hair as she replied, "Of course, I will keep my promise to you. And yes, I finished my work. It's time I go back to my house."

Her voice sounded empty as she thought about the house. She didn't have a home, nor an accurate identity. She was like a person who came to the world for a fleeting moment and would go away soon.

She didn't want to think too deep into it. She didn't want to be depressed about her existence. 

She was lucky enough to be born and wanted to enjoy her life to the fullest – she changed the direction of her thoughts and her mood lifted gradually.

She inquired, "Rulas, where is your father? I want to see him."

"Come, come," Rulas held her two fingers with his small hand and pulled her to his house.

The village chief was a famous doctor. He was taking care of a patient. He spotted a lady with his son. Recognizing the person, he was a bit surprised.

He did not expect her to come back so soon. After dealing with his patient, he came out of the chamber.

He politely greeted her, "Miss Ver, welcome back. What can I do for you?"

"Good to be back. I wanted to meet Rulas before I went back to the human realm, and I needed to ask something from you. Do you have medicine for back pain?"

At Veronica's question, the village chief slightly frowned. "Do you still have pain, Miss Ver?"

"Yes, and sometimes, it's unbearable."

"When is it unbearable?"

"A week ago, at night."

The village chief looked at the calendar and mentioned, "It was a full moon that night."

"Oh, I remember. The moon was unexceptionally huge. So, it was a moonlit night. But why will my back pain increase because of the full moon?" Veronica asked.

"During the full moon and new moon, many people's old pain surfaces. Yours isn't that old. I've already checked your injuries. They remarkably healed before you woke up. The same goes for your bones. But the pain…"

The village chief thoughtfully mulled over it. However, he couldn't come up with a definite conclusion.

In the end, he decided to give her some medicine. "Fine, I'll prescribe some medicine for you."

He went inside and came out with a small jar. 

He said, "It contains herbs that ease pain momentarily. Take a small amount and apply in the area you are in pain. Use it only during the full moon and new moon."

He added, "Find a good healer when you go to the other side and let them heal you completely. Having back pain at this age isn't good. You are still young."

Veronica took the jar and thanked him wholeheartedly. After bidding goodbye, she left the village with Urulas and his men.

"How are we going to the human realm?" she asked Urulas.

Urulas replied, "There is a lake down the road. There is a magic portal. We will use it to go out."

"Does that mean I came to the elvish realm using that portal?"

"No, you can't do that."

"What do you mean?"