002. The Little Wildflower.

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ACT I, CHAPTER 2.

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"I told you! It's Angelico, not Roan!" The little child exclaimed, stomping his little foot in front of the lady.

Lily only chuckled at him. "Roan," she called him in a way to annoy him more.

The little child pouted at her. Let's just settle with the name she has given him since they're together now. Anyway, Roan marched his way out of their caravan. They've settled inside another forest for today. Their actual destination was still far from where they currently are, so they needed a lot of rest.

Normally, Lily and her other travel companions would reach their destination in about a day or two using her magical ability. But because they have another person accompanying them, Lily needed to be considerate of this child's fragileness. Or whatever you call that.

Roan have decided to gather small wooden sticks for their campfire tonight, so he went out, leaving Lily alone. A month has passed already since the two began travelling together and a month since Roan was able to sleep properly at night.

Lily moved her hand and a black shadow appeared, the leader of her ravens, Corvus, flew out of the black shadow.

"Help that little wildflower," Lily whispered.

"Yes, master!" Corvus answered then he flew towards Roan.

Roan glanced at the raven beside him. It was half as big as him that it will surely terrify anyone who'll see him, except for Roan. Corvus was hopping around, his wings flapping a little as he picked up a few wooden sticks with his beaks.

"Why are you taking my job away?" Roan scowled at him.

Corvus only looked at him and blinked then he hopped once again and continued to pick up more wooden sticks with his beaks. He'll fly beside the carriage and place the wooden sticks down then flies back beside Roan and picks a couple of wooden sticks again.

Roan frowned at him and pouted. The two had always hated each other's presence, always annoying each other whenever they're together. Roan stomped his feet as he trudged away from Corvus. He tried looking for another spot to gather wooden sticks, but Corvus followed him again.

Lily, who was standing at the door, was watching the two. She was chuckling to herself at their cuteness, a weird sight to behold. Levi will surely glare at him if he ever saw her smiling like this because of some human boy. And speaking of the devil—or a mystical creature—she received a call from Levi through her flower brooch.

Meanwhile, as the two continue to tease one another, Roan and Corvus were unintentionally going far away from their caravan.

"Go away!" Roan huffed.

Corvus stopped from his own tracks and he stared at Roan. He could see a weird creature behind the human boy.

"Caw!" It was like a scream of warning from him then he flew away.

Roan thought that he had won against Lily's raven, but then he felt a warm rush of air behind him. As if someone was standing angrily behind him. Roan frowned as he slowly turned around.

"Ahh!" He screamed, letting go of the wooden sticks he was holding as he fell on the ground, terrified.

A brown bear thrice as taller as him was standing behind him. His dark brown eyes stared down at him. The bear steped forward, slowly, approaching the fallen child on the ground. Roan was shaking, scared of what the bear might do to him.

The bear was about to attack him with his claws, so Roan covered his head using his arms. "Lily!" He screamed on his mind. His heart pounded against his chest as he awaits his end. But he felt nothing. No claws came to scratch him to death.

Roan jolted from his seat when he felt the ground shake and a loud sound came as something heavy fell on the ground. He quickly lifted his head and saw the bear lying unconscious.

"You shouldn't walk around so carelessly, Roan. You were about to become this bear's dinner if I didn't arrive on time."

Roan quickly stood from the ground and run towards Lily. Lily, who was supposed to scold him, was surprised when the little child hugged him.

"This child..." She whispered and a sigh escaped her lips.

She gently gave his head a pat and as if on cue, Roan burst out crying, soaking her black dress with his tears. Lily couldn't do anything, so instead of nagging him, she lifted him up. Roan hugged her by the neck tightly as she carried him back to their carriage.

It was weird, but she could feel something warm trickling within her heart.

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The fire was burning beside their black caravan and the three sat around it. It was only a small campfire that Lily made but it was enough to warm them up. Roan was still sullen as he ate the meat prepared for dinner. It was the meat of the bear that Corvus plucked out. Then they pierced the small cuts of meat with the wooden sticks and cooked it using the fire on their campfire, a method that Lily had taught them.

Lily was the one keeping the fire burning. She wasn't eating, something she stopped doing after she abandoned her former self. She had embraced her devilness and it took her remaining human parts away. Or it was that, Lily buried her former self.

Roan noticed that she wasn't eating, so he moved closer to her and offered her his own food. "Lily, you should eat, too," he said.

Lily glanced down at him, stopping her movements. She looked at the meet he was holding in front of her then to his pair of hopeful eyes. Corvus, too, stopped munching on his food when he saw the two beside him.

"I don't eat, Roan." Lily ruffled his hair, making him pout. "Go eat enough. We'll start travelling again tomorrow," she reminded him.

Roan felt a sense of curiosity to her. He wanted to ask what's her real name. If it was really Lily or if she has another real name. He wanted to know where she came from or if she has a family. The small child was starting to feel curious, but somehow, he could feel that the curiousness he feels won't bring him any good, an instinct he developed when he was still living in the palace. So he tried to supress his childish questions and continued eating.

The night was getting deeper. They have finished their dinner and they've already prepared their beds. Roan was already lying down on the bunk bed and Corvus stayed outside. Lily, on the other hand, sat on her desk beside the door.

Aside from not eating, Lily doesn't sleep as well, except if her trusted servant Levi was around. She busied herself writing on her huge notebook. It was a collection of data she had been gathering throughout her journey. Something she would give to Levi once they arrive to their destination.

Truthfully, the reason why Levi was away was because she had ordered him to find them a place they could stay, permanently this time. And when Levi found one, her next order was for him to acquire a house and a source of money. It has been their procedure whenever the two would move from one place to another.

They were wanderers who enjoys travelling. Wanderers seeking for a permanent place to stay with.

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