"Riya, can you help these people?" After Aditya explained the whole situation to Riya, he asked her this question.
"Let me give it a try." Riya clasped her hands together and started chanting spells in a low tone.
A bright green Aura covered Riya. The bright green Aura attracted the attention of the people who were standing in lines and the people who were walking on the street. The Aura around her only got brighter and brighter.
"Oh.....who is this girl?" Someone from the crowd asked.
"I don't know..."
"There is something holy about her......!!!"
"I feel like I am in the presence of a Goddess." Little did he know that he was in the presence of an actual goddess.
[Elements of earth, fire, sea, and air,
Gather your might and this burden share,
With sacred words, I now implore,
Heal the cursed, their light restore.]
Suddenly a green Aura enveloped the people who were standing in lines.
"What is happening?"
"Suddenly I no longer feel weak and fragile."
"Suddenly I am full of strength."
The people who were previously feeling sick, and really weak suddenly felt that their bodies were full of energy and their health had been restored. The pale expressions on their faces disappeared.
"All of this was done by her."
"Just who is she?"
"She is a Goddess."
"Thank you, kind lady."
"I can't thank you enough for healing us."
One by one, all the people who were healed by Riya bowed their heads to her. She just smiled. "Please raise your heads. There is no need to thank me so such small matter."
Meanwhile, from the crowd, the girl whom Aditya previously spoke to was staring at Aditya and Riya.
"Should I also.....?" The girl didn't know if she should approach Aditya or not. After hesitating some time and seeing that they were about to leave, out of desperation, she ran up to Aditya and called him.
"Mister.....!!!!"
Hearing this Aditya and Riya stopped and turned around.
Riya looked at the girl who appeared to be around Lara's age. Although she isn't as beautiful as Lara she is cute and her appearance would improve if she took beauty pills or if she was a cultivator.
"Aditya, who is she?" Riya became asked in a slightly aggressive tone.
'This womanizing bastard is too much. It hasn't been even an hour since he went out. I can't believe, he is already with another girl.' Riya clearly misunderstood the whole situation.
Aditya quickly held her hand to calm her. "Her name is Huda. She showed me around and told me about the situation of this city." Aditya quickly explained so that Riya wouldn't misunderstand the situation. After all, Aditya can't forget that Riya can be slightly Yandere sometimes.
"What is it, Huda?" Aditya kindly asked. He felt nothing but sympathy for this girl after understanding how difficult things were for the common class feast folks of this city.
"I have a request, sir....!!!" Huda bowed her head. Seeing this Aditya and Riya looked at each other.
While all of this was happening, a few men from the Tigrine clan were looking at Riya from a far distance. They had been looking around the whole city in groups to find the person who was responsible for the rain. They happened to witness how this mysterious woman managed to cure everyone of their curse with a single spell.
Scene change____
"Please come inside." The girl brought Aditya and Riya home.
The condition of her house wasn't that good. Everything was old and shabby-looking. There wasn't even any bed in the house. As they stepped in, Aditya and Riya saw her parents. Her parents were lying on the blanket. Their faces were pale and their bodies were really skinny just like how the people who were cursed looked.
Seeing this Aditya looked at Huda. By now the girl was on the verge of crying. "I didn't have enough money to cure them but Kind sir, could you please..." She didn't need to continue as Aditya put his hand on her head and patted her hair.
Aditya was impressed by this girl's courage. She was courageous enough to go out and use whatever she knew to earn money to heal her parents.
"So when did this happen?" He asked while looking at her parents who appeared to be sleeping.
"Around two weeks back." Huda replied while sobbing.
"Don't worry....!!!"
"I will heal them for you." Riya did the same thing that she did to heal the other cursed people.
"Heal........!!!"
Huda's parents, who had been resting, suddenly opened their eyes, sitting up to see the unexpected visitors in their home. Their expressions shifted from surprise to a warm welcome.
"Huda, don't let our guests stand around. Bring some chairs for them to sit on, and fetch some water for them as well," her mother instructed with a kind tone.
Aditya had heard a lot about the hospitality of the beast-folk on the Beast continent before his visit. People had told him that the beast-folk treated their guests with the highest regard, almost as if they were deities gracing their humble abodes. This respect and kindness were deeply ingrained in their culture, irrespective of their economic status. Whether a family was wealthy or not, they would share whatever food and drink they had with their guests. This generous and humble approach towards guests was a well-known trait of the beast-folk community – their way of showing respect, kindness, and an open heart to those who visited their homes.
"No, no, please don't leave just yet," Aisha, Huda's mother, said, shaking her head with a gentle insistence. "It would be wrong for us to let our guest leave without at least offering you a drink or something to eat," she added with earnestness.
In their culture, sending guests away without at least a small offering of food or drink was seen as highly disrespectful and ungrateful. This time, it was Huda's father, Kareem, who spoke up, his voice filled with warm hospitality.
Both of them seem to have completely forgotten the fact that they were seriously sick just a few moments ago and were very close to dying if not for Riya and Aditya healing them. Yet as soon as they opened their eyes, all of their attention was on their guests.
Quickly, Kareem got up, despite his weariness, to fetch some water for their guests. Under normal circumstances, he would have also prepared a modest meal, but given their tight financial situation, even offering water was a significant gesture of their hospitality.
Seeing the genuine kindness in their actions, Aditya felt a deep sense of respect and appreciation. He decided not to refuse their offer, understanding the cultural importance of their gesture. Their simple yet profound act of kindness touched him, reinforcing the renowned hospitality of the beast-folk community.
"Thank you so much, Uncle Kareem," Aditya gratefully said as he received the simple earthenware cup filled with water. The cup, crafted from natural clay, felt cool and comforting in his hands.
Understanding the value of water in the Beast Continent, where it was often scarce and costly, Aditya made sure to drink the water thoughtfully, savoring each sip. He was well aware that for Huda's family, offering this water was a significant gesture, one that came from their limited resources. To merely take a sip and leave the rest would have been inconsiderate of their sacrifice and kindness.
Meanwhile, Huda seized the opportunity to express her gratitude to the kind stranger who had saved her parents. "Mom, Dad, this wonderful lady here is the one who cured you of your illness," she excitedly told her parents, her eyes shining with relief and gratitude. "If it weren't for her help, things could have been much worse for us. We might have lost you both forever." The gratitude in Huda's voice was unmistakable, and it was clear just how much the healer's actions meant to her and her family.
Aisha and Kareem, Huda's mom and dad, turned their attention to Riya. They bent their heads down, a sign of saying a big thank you to her. Riya saw them doing this and hurriedly told them they didn't need to.
"Uncle, Aunty, please don't do this. It's really not needed," Riya said, trying to get them to stop bowing.
"But we must thank you. If you hadn't helped us, we would be gone. Our daughter Huda would be all alone. We can't tell you enough how thankful we are," Kareem said, his voice full of thanks.
"Uncle, you don't need to do that," Riya replied.
Then, Aditya, who had been quiet until now, spoke up. "Uncle, I have something important to tell you," he said, and Kareem listened carefully.
"My name is Aditya, and I am the Emperor of a big place called the Istarin Empire. This kind lady here, Riya, she's going to be my wife. We came to the Beast continent to travel around without anyone knowing who we were."
Hearing this Kareem and Aisha were shocked. Just being shocked would be an understatement as their hearts were shaken. In their whole lives they always have thought that Kings, patriarchs, and emperors, such class people could never be kind and polite. They were people from the upper class, even stepping into poor families' houses would make them feel disgusted.
Yet the man in front of them was wearing very simple clothes. He drank the water that Kareem offered to him in the earthenware cup. Not only but also, but he and his fiance were super respectful and polite with their words. There was no trace of arrogance in their eyes. They were really kind.
"Uncle, I want to help you. If you want, I can pay for everything so your family can come live in the capital city of the Istarin Empire. There, you won't have to worry about food, a place to live, water, or money. No one will bother your family there. Or if you don't want to leave the Beast continent, that's okay too. We're leaving this city tonight and going somewhere else. If you want, I can take your family to a new city. You can start a new life there. But if you want to stay here in this city, I respect your choice."
Aditya waited, giving Kareem and Aisha time to think about his offer. He wanted to make sure they knew he was serious about helping them and that they had options for a better life.
When Aditya told them his plan, Huda's eyes got really big because she was so surprised. Kareem and Aisha, her mom and dad, also looked shocked. They glanced at Huda and then started thinking hard. All their lives, they had a tough time with not much money. Life had been hard for them. And ever since Zarim took over, things have become even more difficult. Before the family at least never had to worry about food but nowadays, they often have to sleep on empty stomachs.
But the thought of leaving their home, the Beast Continent, to live somewhere else was scary. They really wanted a better life and future for their daughter, but they were afraid to make such a big change.
Aditya saw that they couldn't make up their minds right away, so he came up with a different idea. "Uncle, Auntie, you don't have to choose right now. Why don't you all come with us on our trip? During the journey, if you see a place where you think you could have a good life, just tell me."
Riya really liked this new idea from Aditya. She hoped Kareem and Aisha would think it was good, too.
Kareem and Aisha thought about it for a whole minute. It was a big decision. In the end, they nodded, agreeing to Aditya's idea. They would go with him and see if they could find a better place to live during the journey.
Really Thank you very much to all those who send support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!
They are not just some background characters. Trust the process of character building!!!
