The Fallen Prince

⋇- 30: Plan -⋇

A sound of a blade hitting a board filled the silence as Arisa watched her grandmother grind several herbs. The low ponytail failed to keep most of her grandmother's short hair tied; Arisa could see several strands of gray hair slowly cover her grandmother's vision.

Arisa wondered if those strands weren't bothering her grandmother with the preparation of the medicine. But looking at how concentrated her grandmother was, Arisa guessed she was fine.

As her grandmother grabbed more herbs to cut, Arisa walked across the small steaming kitchen to check the boiling pan. Her nose wrinkled the more she approached the stove. Despite her grandmother having prepared this kind of medicine before, she still couldn't stand the bitter smell.

She examined the contents in the pan, spotting small brown blocks mixed with boiling water that was slowly finishing through evaporation.

"Grandma," called Arisa, glancing over her shoulder, "the water is about to finish. Should I add more or..."

"You can switch off the stove," said her grandmother. "That medicine has boiled long enough. It's ready."

"Okay." Arisa turned off the burning stove.

She quickly returned to the area where her grandmother was, placing her head on the open window by the sink in search of fresh air to camouflage the bitter scent she had sensed. Her grandmother chuckled.

"I see someone still isn't used to the root-based medicine," teased her grandmother.

Arisa didn't drop her head from the window. "With that scent, I think I'll never get used to it. I bet this one is extra bitter than the ones I consumed before."

"It could be," said her grandmother. "It grows one of the bitter plants known out there."

Arisa shrunk a little, imagining the taste of that medicine. She could feel the chills on her skin only by imagining that. As she had drank that kind of medicine before, she couldn't help but feel sorry for whoever would have the terrible fate to drink that.

As she examined the scenery behind the window, not far from the trees that would take to the woods, she spotted Garoh showing his Lunarian abilities to her grandfather. She also saw Thelma standing by Garoh's side. Despite the scene being far from her area, Arisa could see how amazed her grandfather was judging by his reaction. She smiled.

Ever since they returned to this residence, four days ago, her grandfather couldn't help but spend some time with the folks from other worlds. He was so fascinated with them that Arisa's grandmother teased him by calling him a child. 

Despite laughing at him, Arisa understood her grandfather. It wasn't every day you encountered a civilized being from another world and had a friendly conversation with them.

No longer sensing the awful smell of the medicine, Arisa returned her view to the kitchen that had white tiled walls. Spotting several jars on the wooden rectangular table, Arisa realized it had been a while since she last saw her grandmother being busy preparing medicinal herbs.

"Are you planning to sell some of your preparations?" Arisa gazed at her grandmother. "There are too many jars for two small families."

"Not really," said her grandmother, placing the sliced herbs in a small bowl. "Most of them are for stocking in case someone in the house falls ill. We had a case of Mimi being ill and had to risk going to town since we didn't have the medicine needed to treat her."

Arisa looked away. "I see."

She folded her arms, sighing. She wished they had already fulfilled their quest. If it wasn't for that, her family and Kazuya's family wouldn't worry about freely walking around the town to visit a doctor.