Tangled By Fate

The carriage was unsteady and jerked a lot in the muddy road. At first, Veronica was loving it as the carriage moved in the bumpy road. However, she began to feel uncomfortable after a while and soon ceased enjoying the night scenery.

A black-haired girl saw Veronica's condition and asked her, "Hey, new girl, are you feeling all right?"

All the ten remaining healers turned their heads toward Veronica.

The red-haired girl with braids commented, "She doesn't look good. Maybe it's the first time for her to be in a carriage. She is having motion sickness."

The black-haired girl questioned Veronica again, "Girl, do you feel like puking?"

Veronica had a hard time replying, "Yes."

"Just as I said," the red-haired confirmed. Afterward, she suggested, "You can eat lemon if you want. It should make you feel better."

Veronica shook her head, refusing to touch any food. They needed to reach the Govin Desert in fifteen days. They wouldn't be able to stop unless the horses needed rest. They took three carriages for carrying healers and the other three carriages to carry necessary items such as food, herbs, books, notebooks, and essential things for camping.

If she ate fruit for the sake of her illness, one person would have to starve for a day. She didn't want to do that. It was against her nature to do so.

"Let her be. It's not like she will die just because she didn't eat lemon," someone else spoke curtly.

Veronica didn't even have the energy to look at the rude person. She slowly closed her eyes and everything soon blacked out.

When she opened her eyes again, the carriage wasn't moving anymore. The sunlight hit her face with all its might and she frowned. She looked around and found out that she was lying down.

'Why am I lying down? Wasn't I sitting with the other healers?' wondering about that, she sat up. Her body didn't have enough strength. She couldn't move her fingers.

"You are up," a voice spoke. "You almost made us all worried. I thought you would be sleeping for another two days." The person entered the carriage and handed her a pouch of water with orange. "How do you feel now?" she asked.

Veronica glanced at her. She was the red-headed girl who was talking about her motion sickness. She was wearing a white garment with a sky blue-colored belt. It was a healer's uniform.

"Thank you," Veronica showed her gratitude and took the water pouch and drank a mouthful. Her throat was completely dry. She coughed while drinking and resumed drinking after she was done coughing.

Later, she took the orange and began to peel with his quivering fingers. "How long was I sleeping?"

"Two days!" the girl answered. "This is the first time I saw someone sleeping while sitting in a crowded place non-stop without moving. I guess you must have been feeling really sick."

"I was," Veronica didn't lie.

The girl suggested, "Come out. Fresh air will help you to get better. Nothing is better than mother nature."

Veronica did as she said. They walked to the nearby tree and sat down under it.

"By the way, my name is Leticia. I'm a healer who lives in the palace," the redhead with braids finally introduced herself.

"I'm Veronica. I live in the temple. It's a pleasure to meet you," Veronica introduced herself as well. But, she hid the fact that she was living in the Rosemary Temple just as Saint Ava had warned her before she left.

Saint Ava told her, "If you don't want to be a laughing stock, dare not say that you are a healer and are living with me in the Rosemary Temple. You will ruin both of our reputations in one go. So, be careful what you say."

How could Veronica not obey her after this? She had her pride too.

Most of the healers were wearing white uniforms with sky blue colored belts around them. They all gathered around Veronica seeing that she felt better.

"Girl, how are you doing?" a black-haired girl asked. She was the girl who noticed her odd behavior at that time.

Veronica answered, "I'm feeling much better. Thank you for caring for me and I apologize for any inconvenience I have caused you."

The girl answered, "You haven't caused any convenience. To be honest, you didn't bother us at all, you were so peaceful for two days that we almost forgot about your existence."

"Ahahaha…" Veronica dryly laughed. "As long as I'm not a bother."

Someone else questioned her, "Where is your uniform?"

Veronica replied, "I don't have one."

"How can that be?"

Others were surprised to hear her answer. Veronica suddenly felt embarrassed for the first time not being able to have a position in the temple. Only people with positions in the temple had uniforms, not a girl who was never in a position.

"So, you have lived in the temple since when?" someone else inquired. They wanted to know why a person with no position was with the healers. They were curious about her.

"Since I was a child. I don't remember," Veronica responded. She couldn't help but think, 'Why is everyone giving me so much attention all of a sudden?'

"You lived in the temple for so long and yet you never had a position. That's very unique," another healer commented. This time, it was a guy. "Just how many times did you break the rules and get punished?"

"Um... that's…" Veronica couldn't finish speaking. She was truly feeling guilty this time.

At that time, as if to save her, a senior healer declared, "Everyone, go back to the carriage post-haste. We are leaving shortly."

The red-haired girl stated, "The horses were fed. Let's prepare to leave everyone."

Veronica took this chance and quickly headed toward the carriage.

On the sixth day, they crossed the border of Utahil that was in the Alss. There was a huge gate beneath the mountains. They had to pause several times because of the bad weather.

On the fifteenth day, they finally reached their destination, the Govin Desert.