The Princess And The Lord

1280  RUN!

Lory tilted her head as she listened to Lydia's story, it didn't take a genius to guess that they did something to all the healers, thinking about it Lory felt inexplicable feelings of stress and anxiety, She could only guess the worst thing had happened to all those innocent healers otherwise why weren't they allowed to contact their family and friends- after so long.

"How many healers were sent away all these years?" Lory asked.

Lydia frowned trying to remember then shook her head "A lot, at first they sent the selected groups every six months, then it became every four months, then every one month but now it become twice a month, usually each group consisted of four or five people but in the last two few years they have sent ten to twelve healers..." n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

"How could no one say anything about this? Garrof gasped.

"I don't know about..." Lydia's voice turned somber realizing this might be worse than she thought.

"I can't believe no one asked questions" Owen was stumped.

Lydia sighed weakly, "Having this power makes many people want to take advantage of us and sometimes from our own family," Lydia's smile was bitter. "Even after the dark war ended, it didn't improve the Healers' situation. Because many people got heavily injured, unfortunately, there were only few medical personnel left and the matter got worse cause medicine had become scarce therefore a lot of people depended on Healers, Later on, some people saw this as an opportunity they begin to recruit many healers and treated them like a cash cow, even some families did the same thing."

Lory's forehead creased closely, "Why the government didn't do anything...?" Lory didn't know much about the details of what happened after he left except for some things he read in the news, but he realized that was just the tip of an iceberg of the problems that occurred after the war.

"Because Governments do the same things, it is not like all countries have honest - dedicated officials that worked for the good of their people," Garrof snorted loudly.

"Well most of them wanted to save themselves first, the government became unreliable and some bad people took advantage of this situation which made things worse..." Owen said sarcastically.

"Thankfully, at that time, Harland, as the first country that was able to stabilize its country, was willing to provide assistance to several countries that needed help, which proved to speed up the country's recovery," Dan sincerely praised Harland's generosity.

"But not for free of course," Lory laughed, he knew very well that despite Lucas' good intentions to help, it was inevitable that there would be many countries who wanted to take advantage of that, therefore Fred, Fargo, and the others would likely give strict screening to ensure that didn't happen.

Garrof waved his big hand in the air "Well, that's to be expected, after all, Harland is not a charity organization so it's only natural that they would want benefits for their own country, but the agreement between Harland and the other countries is quite fair and I haven't heard anyone complain about it, except for a few haters who throw accusation without any evidence, or reasons"

"What about Luxemborough?" Lory narrowed her eyes.

Garrof's expression turned grim "They also get on their feet fairly quickly compared to other countries. I heard they also made cooperation agreements with several countries to rebuild their country. Maybe no one is aware but Luxemborough has succeeded in monopolizing the economy in the northern countries. and now with the weakening of Harland, they are trying to expand to the west and east"

Everyone's faces turned tense, usually, they didn't care which country was in power because it had no bearing on ordinary people like them but now after being hunted by Dragxtarn for several days, they realized how dangerous Luxemborough was.

"Could...could they do that, it's impossible right?" Owen smiled anxiously.

Lory took a sip and then let out a long exhale, "Luxemborough itself is impossible but with the help of the S.A.I.N.T. organization and the existence of Saintess it is not impossible" Lory calmly placed her water bottle on the table next to her, she took a deep breath then looked at Lydia.

"Please continue Miss Boyd," Lory said.

"Please call me Lydia, Your Highness" Lydia felt strange being treated so respectfully by an honorable person like the Princess of Lorient.

Lory chuckled "Okay,...Lydia, tell me what happened"

A happy smile bloomed on Lydia's face, "Yes, after the War most of the healers were persecuted even though there were only a few good people who wanted to help but that wasn't enough, in the end, we were all trying to start our lives again amid this chaos so when the S.A.I.N.T. organization came saving us from the clutches of evil people, we feel utterly grateful and feel lucky, for people like us they like a savior that save us from the darkness. Then, they offered us a safe place to stay. They even give us education and training so that we can maximize our healing power so we can help more people, therefore it is natural that we become loyal to the organization and its causes which is to make the world a better place"

"A better place?" Garrof scoffed, "A better place for who? That is the question"

Lydia smiled wryly, she never asked that untill now, she was also starting to question the true purpose of the S.A.I.N.T. organization.

"Marissa and I were also one of the people who were saved from evil people who used our powers for their own gain, we feel very lucky and grateful to the organization, we have no doubts at all, especially after meeting Saintess... her eyes lit up for a moment before gradually dimmed and her face engulf with sorrow. "I don't know if the Saintess is involved in all this?" Lydia lowered her head morosely.

Lory and the others didn't say anything, they didn't know what words could comfort him when everything he believed in collapsed before his eyes.

Lydia immediately snapped out of her thought, she shook the thought from her head and then continued the story.

"Then one day I got a call..."

"From who?" Lory's brows furrow.

"From Marrisa," Lydia answered briefly.

Owen, Dan, and Garrof gasped "Marissa called you!"

Lydia nods but she doesn't look happy "I got the news a week later from Ellias assistant..." Lydia's memory transferred her back to that time.

Lydia breathed erratically as she ran across the long street without paying attention to everyone's reprimanding expressions, she only slowed her pace when she got close to Ellias's young assistant.

Lydia wiped the thin layer from her forehead before knocking on the door.

"Cone on in!" said the voice behind the door.

Lydia opened the door and was immediately greeted by a young assistant who gestured with his hand for Lydia to sit down while typing on her computer.

Lydia takes a seat on the chair opposite him while looking impatient and a little anxious.

The young assistant finished typing and then turned to Lydia, "Miss Boyd, fortunately, Miss Winslow was finally able to make time from her tight schedule to contact us directly, so she told me to call me this exact time." he checked the watch on his wrist.

Lydia's face beamed with relief and joy "Thank you so much!"

The young assistant then picked up her office telephone and started dialing the number while Lydia subconsciously squeezed her hands with a face full of anticipation.

Soon the young assistant began to speak "Miss Winslow?" he spoke a few words then turned to Lydia "Miss Boyd is eager to talk to you...yes" he then handed the phone to Lydia.

Lydia immediately received the phone then pressed it to her ear and called hesitantly,

"Marrisa?"

"...Lydia, how are you?"

After hearing that familiar voice, a wide smile brimmed on her face "Oh my god Lydia, I miss you so much! Why didn't you call me?" Lydia's voice mixed with anger and relief.

The voice behind the phone chuckles slightly "Sorry, I make you worry"

"No, you're fine, that's all that matters" How could she blame her, Lydia was already so happy knowing her best friend was fine, she could finally let go of her worries and doubts.

"Of course I'm okay, what would happen to me?" she laughs in amusement.

Her laughter made Lydia remember the past when they struggled to survive together, even in that harsh environment Marissa's smile was always able to warm her heart, Lydia chuckled, "So, Marissa, you got apples and corn, right?"

"Eh, Apple and Corn?" Marrissa laughed out loud "Are you asking about what I eat? Not only that I also got steak, pasta, you name it! By the way, I heard you were also part of the newest selected group, right? Congratulations, this is good news, I didn't expect we would meet again so soon, this is good, stop worrying. I guarantee you will be happy here!" Marrissa said excitedly.

"...."

"Lydia? hello...are you there?" "Oh yes - yes, sorry..." Lydia turned her head away to avoid the Young Assistant's sharp gaze, "I'm glad you ate well..."

"Yes, don't worry about that, oh, sorry Lydia something came up, I have to go now!" Marrisa said regretfully.

"No, it's okay...goodbye Marrissa"

"See you soon Lydia"

Not long after she heard disconnected sounds, afterward Lydia returned the phone back to the young assistant. He then placed the phone back in its place while glancing at Lydia, "Now you have nothing to worry about, right Miss Boyd?"

Lydia nodded her head with a bright smile "Yes, thank you very much!"

The young assistant scrutinized the change on Lydia's face for a few seconds, later on, he let out a sigh: "I'm sure you have a lot of things to prepare, you can go now Miss, Boyd"

"Yes, thank you, sir" Lydia lowered her head politely then walked to the door and left.

He closed the door carefully with a small voice, she clenched her fists until her knuckles became white, and at the same time her entire face drained of colors 'That's not Marrisa!'

Lydia quickened her pace, she had to get out of Elysium as soon as possible before someone found her broke down and cried, she couldn't believe everything she feared had become reality, they were all liars, they had lied to her!

'I can't stay here, I have to leave quickly...I have to run, I have to find Marrisa!'