Chapter 4

"I see. So she was just alone in the woods when you came across her?" asks Mabel.

"Yes, and then she drew her sword on me," Paul answers.

"But you calm her down, being her to the village, and then bring her to me because she can't talk or remember anything?"

"That is the gist of it, yes."

"Well, I will take a look at her then. Step outside for a bit, and I will let you know when we're finished," Mabel says.

"Of course."

With that, Paul's steps outside, leaving Mabel and the girl alone.

"Now then dearie, do you mind if I examine you? I won't do anything that might hurt, and if you want me to stop, you can shake your head at any moment. Is that alright with you?"

The girl thinks for a moment before nodding. That should be okay.

"Okay then. Tilt your head up just a bit while I look at your neck," Mabel says, tilting her own head up as an example.

The girl easily complies, and Mabel reaches her hands up to the girls neck, feeling all round it.

At first the girl felt completely fine with the idea, but the moment Mabel's hand just slightly touched her neck, the girls mind screamed.

Reflexively, moving on instinct, she jumps back from her chair, landing on the opposite side of the room while giving Mabel a fright.

"OH MY!" Mabel yells with shock, but she regains her composure much faster than the girl.

The girl looks utterly terrified. She is gasping for breath as one of her hands covers her neck and the other hovers over her sword. Where at first she wasn't sweating, now she is, and profusely. It was as if her body was completely against the idea of anyone placing their hands on her neck.

Why did Mabel do that!? Why did she touch her neck!? No one can touch her neck! No one!

"Paul, please come in, quickly!" Mabel calls, unsure exactly how she should proceed.

The next moment, Paul bursts through the door, alarmed by the sound of Mabels voice. Quickly, he works to figure out what happened. The girl is up with her hand an inch away from her sword. She seems terrified. Mabel on the other hand looks alarmed, but not scared. She seems more surprised than anything.

"Paul, you must calm her down before anything happens!"

Paul quickly put himself between Mabel and the girl. The girl's eyes seem unfocused, like she hasn't really registered that Paul is in front of her.

No one can touch her neck! No one! What was Mabel trying to do touching her neck!?

"Hey," Paul says, and immediately the girl's eyes jump to him. She looks terrified, and yet she doesn't seem to know why.

Paul? When did he get here!? Is he trying to touch her neck too!?

"It's okay, it's okay. Give me your hand," Paul says, reaching for the girl's hand that was hovering over the sword.

The girl's hand flinches as he reaches.

No, no one can touch her! She was wrong to trust anyone at all!

"It's okay, I know you're scared, but I'm not here to hurt you," Paul's says in an attempt to comfort her.

Why should she trust him!? What if he tries to choke her!? She doesn't want anyone to choke her anymore!

The girl breathes hard, but she refrains from drawing her sword.

"What can I do to make it better? Paul asks, desperate to deescalate the situation.

Make it better?

The girl's eyes seem to calm, losing the complete fear they had been holding.

She is thirsty... Maybe he could get her water?

Slowly, the girl moves her hand from her sword and points at the cup she had left on the table. Paul turns to see just what it is that can help.

"The cup? Are you thirsty?"

The girl nods.

"But you don't like the tea. Would some water help?"

Again, the girl nods.

"Okay, Mabel here can get you some water," Paul says, nodding to Mabel who starts moving to get some water. She quickly steps out to get some from the well. "In the meantime, how about you take deep breaths so you can calm down."

The girl nods a third time as she takes a really big breath. Slowly, she moves her hand down from her throat.

"Okay, that's a great start. Do you want to sit back down?"

Sit? But what if he tries to choke her when she sits down!? No, he would've choked her in the woods if he wanted to. Maybe she can sit down.

Extremely cautious, the girl nods her head.

"Okay, here, have a seat," Paul says, standing the chair she had previously knocked over back up on its legs and placing it in front of her.

Again, extremely cautious, she sits down.

A few moments later, Mabel come back inside, a cup of water in her hands.

"I think you should pass it to her," Mabel says. "I wouldn't want to cause another scare."

Paul simply nods, taking the cup from her hands.

"Here, drink this. This should help you feel better," Paul says as he hands the girl the cup.

Very slowly, she takes the cup from him.

Is it safe to drink?

She sniffs it. It smells like water. A quick look shows that it looks like water as well. Good, she doesn't like the tea.

Carefully, she brings the cup to her lips and takes a sip. She feels herself calm as the nice cool water quenches her thirst.

It's so good...

Without thinking, she quickly gulps down all of the water, not leaving even a drop within the cup.

"Okay, do you feel a little better now?" Paul asks.

The girl nods slowly, but without fear this time.

"That's good," Paul says. He then kneels down to her eye level. "Now then, what happened?"