Chương 5: Book 1; Chapter 4; Lucky Encounter (1)

The following morning, Anniet woke up early. The sun was rapidly rising in a sky promising another glorious day. For a little while, Anniet contemplated what to do next. Upon arrival, she was informed that this was a School and that she had been accepted as a student. She had never been a student before, but according to her knowledge, students are supposed to attend classes and learn new things. She wasn't sure how her short adventure ended up in a School when she didn't even have any desire to learn anything.

Anniet left the village she grew up in with a firm resolution to change her lifestyle. It was only two days ago, but somehow it was enough time for her to realise that she hadn't been happy at home. Ever. That was a discovery in itself, as up until now she hadn't given even a thought to it. If anything, she always thought she was lucky, as the people in the village were kind, patient, and forgiving to a very high degree, even when she herself was abrupt and rude many times, not very considerate of others' feelings.

She always tried her best, but as soon as she would speak up without thinking, she would hurt and insult others without intending to do so. Her mother used to say that she was lucky that people were still talking to her after such behaviour. And she believed it. She tried to speak as little as possible, especially when sharing her thoughts. But it was difficult because as soon as she would stop controlling herself, the words she said would bring unhappiness to others.

With time passing, unfortunate incidents were becoming rarer and rarer, and people were becoming less closed off around her. She was glad that she had finally learned how to communicate as normal people do, as before, in her childhood, it was a proper tragedy, as she had disheartened others so many times to the point that they would even beat her in distress. She could hardly remember these days, and she didn't want to.

There used to be a time when people around her wished for her not to speak at all, and she could do nothing but agree with them. Her mum said that she was lucky to maintain her tongue in her mouth after making people angry so many times. Yes, she was lucky. People in her village didn't give up, but united and firmly educated her, finally breaking up that strange habit of hers to say unpleasant things at the most inconvenient times. And life started to get better.

And then the big disaster struck, followed by the mists that unexpectedly covered all lands and lasted for a good while. The order of the village was completely destroyed – many people had disappeared into the mists, and more than half of what was left were seriously ill from this unknown and unseen disease that attacked them so suddenly, contracting and crippling them from within for many days. The rest of the community were not in a better state.

Despite not being affected by this illness, everyone was stressed and worried to death because of the lost or sick relatives and friends. When the mist moved away, they tried to seek help from nearby towns, just to find out that the same disaster had happened there too. From what they found out, the mist covered everything around for as far as the word could reach, and it was said that only with the power of the King it was chased away, but it took so much strength that even the King himself was knocked out.

The outbreak of the mist must have been related to the big battle that the King's Army fought at the very same time. It didn't go well – the King's son, Prince Angus, was seriously injured, and many in the King's Army were killed, and the Rainbow general was cast away by some unknown force. Such a defeat was unheard of and put even more tension in everybody's hearts. The nation was in turmoil, not knowing what to do. But help came.

Despite the great defeat, the King's Army wasn't disheartened and made steady but rapid progress in helping people: healing, consoling, rebuilding, even bringing back some who had been lost in the mist and somehow ended up in a different end of the world. When things seemingly started settling down, a new disaster struck. This time it landed on Capital, right into the heart of the Royal Palace.

The Rainbow General came back in a hurry, heading straight to the King to warn him about approaching danger, but she must have come too late, and no one was prepared for a new attack. Beloved Rainbow general was killed at the King's side, and even the King himself was deeply injured. Dark General had disappeared without a trace, never to be seen again. By now, it was believed him to be dead too. Prince Angus dashed out of Capital at incredible speed minutes before calamity struck.

There was division in people's stories about what happened to him. Some said that Pink General wasn't the bravest person and left the city in fear, as he didn't want to get injured again; some said that he chased enemies. On top of that, a horrible, unseen monster had risen above Capital, destroying and burning everything in its way, and only by the effort of the King's Army did none of the citizens of Capital lost their lives. But many houses were burned and demolished in a very short time.

Luckily, despite his injuries, the King stood his ground and defeated that monster, ending this calamity and restoring peace and order to the world once more. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. The peace in the world might have been restored, but not in people's hearts. Their beloved Rainbow general was gone, and her loyal servant, Dark General, was most likely gone too. The enemy had become so strong that it had destroyed what until then seemed indestructible.

Many of the high-ranked officers had lost their lives in the great battle or left their ranks and scattered across the world in search of a new purpose, not seeing a point to continue their services after their generals were gone. People would meet these extraordinary personalities wandering around and mingling with common people as if in a search for a new purpose in life. But order prevailed.

The King stepped forward, took control over his army into his own hands, and with his two remaining generals, Prince Angus and Prince Ragnar, retained the order. Days were passing, but neither Rainbow general nor Dark General's divisions were disbanded, and it became obvious that the King was going to keep them in honour and memory of these two officers who, through their lives, had done so much for the kingdom.

Such an act had woken up something brave and generous in people's hearts, and they had risen to join the King's Army in numbers no one had ever seen before. White colour was always popular among people, as it was attributed to the mixture of rainbow colours. Now, alongside white, a black colour had risen as never before in memory of Dark general. Not just in fashion, but as a symbol of strength, loyalty, and hope. Despite bringing despair, all these tragic events had woken strength in people.

They didn't want to sit any longer and wait to be saved; they had risen to find a way to join the ranks of those who help instead of being helped. Anniet didn't participate in any of this turmoil. She was pretty good with medicine, and after that unknown illness had taken over, she had been spending most of her days helping people, first in her village, then in the town. This illness was very strange, and despite its severity, it didn't claim anybody's life.

It came suddenly but left very slowly and had a proper mental strain on people, changing their behaviour for good. Everybody needed so much help, and Anniet had her hands full. She herself wasn't affected by this disease. Also, she didn't have anyone close enough and didn't feel the weight of loss. Her mother had passed away a few years ago, and her bond with the rest of the community wasn't that strong after all. So she remained untouched by all this catastrophe and was fully capable of providing the help needed.

That's what she did. At first, she silently blamed herself for being cold-hearted for not suffering that much for the misfortune of others, but as time passed, she realised more and more how little in common she had with the rest of the villagers. Now, when under so much stress, people wouldn't react so harshly to her unnecessary remarks that would slip out of her mouth more often than ever before. Strangely enough, sometimes they would even find them to be helpful.

But it didn't bring any closeness; on the contrary, it made more and more clear that she had nothing to do there and no one to miss in a place where she spent her entire life. Days, weeks, and months were passing by, life finally returned to some sort of normality, and her help was needed less and less. So she felt that it was time to implement the idea that was slowly manifesting in her mind.

This calamity might bring misfortune to many, but to her, it brought an understanding of how little connection to her own life she had. People now were more friendly with her than she could ever recall, but even now they were so distant. She realised that nothing was holding her in this place, so she might with ease leave and seek something more, something different. She didn't know herself what it was, but chose not to get burdened with these thoughts and take from life whatever it would bring.

So the other morning, she packed her little belongings and silently left the village without even thinking if anyone would miss her or even notice that she had left. Anniet was prepared to withstand some proper challenges of a homeless life, but instead fate led her to the gates of this school, where people were friendly and a new home was offered without putting any effort or even asking for it.

She wasn't very brave and tried not to speak too much, so history would not repeat itself and she would not become hated in a new place again. Thinking about yesterday's encounter, she was very pleased with herself – she had a good time and managed not to say anything inappropriate. The way Anthony spoke was so unusual that she spent the rest of the day reflecting on what he said and trying to understand it. Now Anniet was wondering what she should do today.

As a good student, she ought to go and find out where these classes are and what this place is teaching. According to Anthony, who was once a student here himself, this place can teach many things. So what does she want to learn? She thought very hard and could not think of anything. Well, OK, she will go and see what is available or maybe even ask for advice from that lovely lady who met her at the gates. With that thought, Anniet left home with full intent to go and do some studying.

But after a short walk found herself leaving the town and making her way towards the mountains that looked so lovely the other day. Gosh, she really didn't want to spend all day in the library or class… Who was she trying to fool? Obviously herself, as no one else was involved. So she sneaked out of the town as guilty as a thief, trying not to look directly at anyone she met on the streets, and by the way no one was even interested in where she was heading.

Once out of town, her heart and mind relaxed, and she finally breathed freely." Well, it is still an early morning, and I can join classes after walking," she tried to reason with herself, silently knowing that it is not going to happen. The further she walked from the town, the less her thoughts were occupied with what she should do.

She looked fondly at the small cottage in the distance, secretly hoping to have a short glimpse at its owner if by chance he would be in the garden, but it didn't happen, so she strolled further into nature towards the mountains that were luring her as a fisherman would lure a fish. During her life, she had not seen such a thing. She had seen a few hills and a forest, but most of her time she spent surrounded by fields and pastures. Such mountains she had seen only in pictures in the King's library.

Now there was a chance to explore it, and she could not resist such a chance. The morning was sunny but not too hot, the birds were singing their songs all around in multiple voices, the flowers and grass smelled amazing. Soon, all thoughts about attending classes were left far behind, and Anniet was pushing herself forward, crossing fields and little woods, climbing hills and jumping over stones. After two hours of hard walking, she sat down to rest at the bank of the small river making its way down the hill.

She was tired but happy. Trees and bushes surrounded this place, and under the cover of trees all around was a brilliant green colour, every part of the surface, all stones and trunks covered in moss and other tiny plants. She sat there for a few minutes listening to the sound of running water and singing birds. It sounded very nice and pleasant to the ear. Birds living here must be a different sort than those she knew, as it sounded somehow very similar to someone singing.

With each passing minute, this impression became stronger and stronger until Anniet could not sit down any more and ventured to investigate. After some walking, she became fully convinced that it was a person singing. It was difficult to determine the direction because the echo in the mountains and sounds of nature, which she had been admiring not so long ago, didn't help with this investigation.

But the person who was singing must not be in a hurry, and Anniet had plenty of time to detour and get back on track again until she finally determined the direction singing was coming from and headed that way. It was clear now that it was a woman who sang, and her voice was very nice and soothing. Once on the right track, Anniet was making progress towards the singer very rapidly, but the closer she came, the slower she walked until finally she was creeping very silently.

For one, she didn't want to spook the singing person, and secondly, she wasn't sure anymore what to say when approaching. Her shyness and timidity had kicked back in, and soon she came to a complete halt, not daring to step into an opening in front of her and staying under the shade of trees.