Feyra heard the birds chirp in the morning. When she looked around outside, there was no trace of the death butterfly remaining. Even the crows were gone or only circled around areas, in which the dead already were.
She looked at the sky before looking behind her. Feyra had packed everything and left the tent orderly behind, before she went to the village to say goodbye to everyone.
Hilde thanked her and gave her a basket full of various things. It included a small soap, some potatoes and other necessities.
"How can we ever thank you? This is a small gift. I appreciate the work you put into helping me and also helping my friend.", she said, bowing down. Her dress looked tattered and stained, but it also showed the hard work she had put into the things she did.
"Thank you. I'll be leaving then. I await some incense sticks then.", she said, before finally turning and walking into the forest and further.
The forest was letting light through and the trees rusteled. A squirrel ran past Feyra and up a tree. It looked around for a nut but couldn't find any.
Feyra smiled, seeing the animals scurry around. It was truly a marvel, she was able to see all these beauties now.
A few months ago... If I hadn't gotten free... If I had stayed for the trial... Then I wouldn't have witnessed this. I would be either locked up again or I would be dead. This is how the Kingdom handles things.
She thought for a while, before she found a big area of grass, where flowers grew in all colours. Feyra went over and looked at them. She didn't know a lot of names for flowers, but she occasionally liked their smell and how they looked.
Flowers are one such beauty of the world.
Only while bending down did she notice that she hadn't changed her bandages again. By now, the wounds should've been healed.
I should look for the river and take off the bandages. Though these I won't be able to use anymore for emergencies.
She stood up again, looking a little longer at the flowers, before she walked over to the other side near the river.
The path through the forest was rough thanks to all the roots and the soft soil. She reached the river, without having fallen once luckily.
Feyra took off her shirt and removed the bandages. Underneath were no scars or wounds anymore. Everything had healed properly.
She took the bandages and put them next to her on the ground before putting on her shirt again. All that remained, from the events, were the seams on this shirt. This was a reminder for what had happened.
I should burn them... If I leave them here, someone may find them and want to use them. That wouldn't do them any good.
Feyra went further away from the river again, looking for an open area and some dry twigs and wood. After that, she found some stones and ignited a fire.
In summer, it wasn't a good idea to sit around a fire when the sun was already shining, but Feyra had no other option. She watched as it burned and sparks flew up. Strangely, she didn't break out in a sweat as much anymore as before. It was as though she got used to the heat.
Even in the evening, when it got colder, she didn't feel cold at all. She just felt like everything was normal.
Perhaps things change over time... Or does it have to do with me accepting more I'm a Fallen Angel? Before, I still felt more like a God. I was locked away as soon as I had become a Fallen Angel. I never got to experience how life would change or feel after that. So I guess I'll be able to do so now.
She watched until everything was burnt before she got some water to extinguish the rest of the fire. Now, she could move on and look around again.
That reminds me... I still have the mushrooms I found... Two sorts even... Guess I'm gonna make a varied mushroom soup then.
With that thought in mind, she gathered everything she needed and got some water in her pot. Feyra needed to start a fire again, but if it was for food she would gladly do so.
She picked out the mushrooms and looked at them. Some of the waterdrop mushrooms were already getting bad, so Feyra looked at them carefully before deciding which ones she could still use and which ones she had to put away.
The other mushrooms, she had only gathered lately, were all fine and would be the main ingredient. She cut them into pieces before looking at everything else she had.
Feyra decided to also cut some potatoes into small pieces and added them to the soup before she would use herbs and seasoning.
Hilde has given me quite a few things. Honey? I never heard of that. Let me see what else there is... The soap bar I had already seen earlier. Potatoes... Oh? This looks like a carrot. I can use that too.
She took out the carrot and cut half of it into pieces before adding it to the soup. After everything looked about to be ready, she tasted it and let it simmer for a while longer before she finally deemed the soup to be ready.
Feyra took her spoon and ate as much as she could. However, she still had some soup left and didn't know where to put it.
I have no way to carry soup with me unless I put my pot on my back again.
Without another way, she bound a string to the handle and a piece of cloth over the pot. This way, no insects could fly into the pot and the soup was protected.
I should eat the rest as soon as I can though.
With that, she continued on her way to the harbour city.
A while later, she found a fork in the road, which also wasn't noted down on the simplified map she had with her. Feyra looked at the map and the paths multiple times before she decided to explore the left path first.
She was led into the thick of a forest with a few animals that looked at her.
Some foxes scurried around and squirrels climbed the trees. There wasn't anything special around, until Feyra saw a ray of sunshine that shone through the crowns of the trees.
At the end of it was a flower, growing tall and brightly. Feyra went over and looked at the flower. She recognised the shape, knowing this flower was rare and had some rare specialties.
This is... A glass flower. While glass flower usually describes a flower made of glass, this one is special. It grows like a normal flower but it doesn't wither. It doesn't die, but it turns to glass. If one takes a part of the stem off and takes the flower with them, then it'll grow the next year again. If it stays here, then even the stem will turn to glass and it may shatter at some point.
I'm in no need of money. As of now I have 427.200 coins. These flowers would usually sell for a lot of money. Yet... The best way is to take it with me.
Feyra took out her knife and cut the stem off. Part of the flower was already turning into glass. If someone found this flower in the next year, in this spot again, they could take another flower with them to get rich.
With that, Feyra went further and wrapped the flower into some cloth. She did so carefully, as the glass might break if she wasn't careful.
Further into the forest were some other mushrooms that were more common. She saw some Honey mushrooms as well as Parasol mushrooms.
Mushrooms were common on this planet and they grew all year round. While in winter, there were less mushrooms, in every other season though, the mushrooms would grow and also grew back if someone picked them.
Feyra went further after picking some of them and found a shrub, a small tree, with some hazlenuts, which were also ready to be picked. Just like mushrooms, they also grew all year round and were a good food source, not only for animals but also travelers.
Further ahead, she even found a walnut tree and took some of them with her. Most of them were falling down and Feyra found many of them.
Next to the walnut tree was another tree with pecans. Feyra also picked some of them before she looked around a bit more.
This forest seems to have quite a few sorts of nuts. That's good. I can eat some of them in between and could also dry some fruits to have a mix.
She went down an incline before she saw many plants that were growing near the ground. Feyra went through them and found some that looked familiar. She dug into the earth and found some peanuts.
Some of those are peanuts while other plants don't have anything. I need to distinguish them from each other if I want a few more peanuts.
Feyra did so, trying to find as many as she could. The sun was already painting the world in a slight orange hue, which told Feyra it was already evening and getting late.
I should head back to the fork in the road. These nuts should be enough for now.
Having made up her mind, she climbed up the incline again and made her way through the plants and trees, before she reached the fork in the road again. From this place, she was able to see the setting sun, as not many trees were around. It captivated her. Feyra wanted to look longer and looked for a stone nearby, where she could sit on. However, even after looking for a bit, she couldn't find one and decided to sit down in the grass to continue watching the sunset.
The sun crept slowly lower and painted the world in an orange hue until it became more red and later even purple.
When the sun was almost gone and already behind the horizon, the sky turned a dark blue with shining points, the stars.
Feyra looked up and decided to stay where she was for the night. This way she could lie in the grass and look at the stars.
Feyra smiled and traced the various constellations she knew of. "This is the small waggon and this is the big waggon", she said, before moving on.
"Over there is the knight and there is the princess. On the other side is a scale."
She continued doing so for a while. As the night was passing, more and more constellations revealed themselves and others went further away.
"Now I can also see the carriage and the horned wolf.", she said. Feyra recounted what she had once heard about this horned wolf constellation.
"The constellation was called this way because some looked at the sky and got scared. What they saw was a horned wolf made of stars. These people were thinking it was one coming from space, that was far stronger and an outer being. Yet, over time people found out it was merely a constellation and the stars standing this way.", Princess Loreen had told her when she was only nine years old.
Feyra and Loreen had been in the library, looking at a book showing the constellations, that also said when one could see them.
Feyra had looked at the starry sky whenever she had gone out in the garden at night. The Father never knew she had been sneaking out, just so she could confirm for herself that these constellations existed.
I wonder if he ever knew that I was sneaking out and around the whole time... Now I can just walk around. It's so ridiculous in the end.