Anything For You
Chapter 81

Egon had been looking for Estella, since a long time. Even after talking to the native people, he didn't get any useful information regarding her whereabouts because everyone had the same answer to his question that they didn't see her, since last night. First he wasn't considering it much grave, but now he started to get worried. Roaming here and there even for an hour, he didn't get to see her. Although, they had been here from 3-4 days, and Estella was aware about the surroundings, but still, there could be dangers lurking anywhere. In this time, her being missing since the last night, was surely a worrisome thing. The level of his frustration was going up and up, for he started to panic and pull his hairs. Seeing him in this raged and agitated condition, Akhim left all what he had been doing, and approached him immediately asking,

"You... Egon, what happened? You look worried! Is everything alright?!"

Egon's worried face calmed a little bit sensing a known presence his trustworthy General Akhim besides him. The tensed muscles of his jaws and arms came to some relaxation. He opened his hooded eyes still wandering his gaze here and there, in higher hopes of finding that missing woman, but in vain.

"Estella is missing, Akhim. I am scared that something will happen to her. She is my responsibility. She came here because of me. I told her to accompany me. If something happens to her, I won't be able to forgive myself. Nobody has seen her since last night. I ... I am going insane. I searched for her in this whole village, but it appears as if she wasn't here at all in the first place. We... we have to find her at all costs, Akhim. We have to find her."

Witnessing Egon getting agitated to that level, Akhim sensed the urgency of situation, and proposed to look for the girl, before they both leave to seek audience with that rumored witch. And then both the men started looking for the girl in different directions. On the other side, Valor had also known about Estella being missing. He had also been searching for her. For whatever reason he had been herein, but still he wasn't a mean one. Also, Estella was the one who made friends with him here first. So, he was also worried for her safety.

Searching her, he reached near the other village, which was somewhat desolated with no humans around. It was giving off a remote look as if nobody visited it. First, he thought of leaving thinking that why would Estella be here, but then his mind urged him to just take a look, incase he may find her here only.

Like an iron piece getting attracted towards the magnet, his feet took him inside the village with lots of abandoned houses, as if everybody just left here on purpose. He wasn't able to understand and contemplate the things and thoughts running in the deeper cores of his mind, when he just heard the faint sobs of a woman coming from behind an old house.

Fear lingered in his mind, and was clearly visible in his angelic fairy eyes. Nobody knew that he was a fairy, except the elder lady in the tribe. He wanted to use his powers to know the identity of the owner of sobs, yet his heart stopped him. He slowly paced forwards with his palms rolled into tight fists, ready to leash an attack in case of any demon or danger hiding behind that house.

Approaching near the house, the sound of those sobs and whimpers was becoming even more louder by now. But he heard some whispers too. When it was confirmed that the woman was harmless, he opened his fists and sucked off his power back to his body, maintaining a more humane aura, so as not to get judged and caught.

Taking slow steps, he approached the sobbing woman whose back was facing him, and she had cornered herself behind one of the broken doors of that house. Her back was visible which was covered by her beautiful, lashing and c ascading hairs. It wasn't clear still as to who she was, and why she was here in that desolated place.

Valor gathered himself and placed a hand over her crunched shoulder, only to receive a strong punch in his abdomen, because of startling the woman. He landed on the hard, and hot ground with his back getting scratched a bit from that hard crash, groaning in pain.

The woman sensed a familiar presence around her, and composed herself wiping off her tears. She got up adjusting her hairs and clothes. Looking at the man lying over the ground, still groaning in pain holding his waist, as if he had fractured a bone or two, she felt guilty realizing the person's identity.

Crunching down to his level, she held his abdomen where she had punched earlier, with a huge frown over her forehead, and worry crept inside her eyes,

"Oh My God, Valor! What are you doing here? I ... I am so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. I was startled, and I just punched you without knowing it was you."

Valor was denying her to be guilty, because it was nobody's fault. He urged her to help him get up, raising one of his hands towards her figure, which she captured immediately and helped him to get up, and sit comfortably. He still had dived his other hand deeply into the abdomen, which was enough for Estella to know that he had been in much pain given the amount of strength she had used to kick him.

After a moment of getting settled, Valor looked at Estella, who appeared worried and dishelved too. Scrunching his eyebrows together, he made a questioning face to her asking,

"Estella, what are you doing here? I have been searching you since morning. Even Egon and Akhim are also searching you near the tribe. But you... what are you doing here, far away from the residence area, in this desolated place? And why do you look so dishelved! What... what just happened?"

Estella made him relaxed by patting over his shoulder. She hushed him with a gesture and then kept a hand over his wonder body part, closed her eyes. Within a moment, he felt good, and the pain also decreased. Valor was beyond amazed and surprised. Sensing his suspicion filled gaze struck over her face, she sighed, and replied taking a comfortable sit besides him,

"Actually, I was missing my family. After coming here, and looking over everybody being happy with their loved ones, I felt lonely. So, I excused myself for a walk at night. But soon, I lost track of time, and place, making myself land here. And... I was scared and alone here since last night, so, I was crying. You just startled me, and this happened.(pointing over his abdomen).

Moreover, I can sense that you are being suspicious regarding my earlier act of helping you out with easing your pain. So, let me tell you, when I was a little kid, my mother taught me some magical spells which could ease up the pain. I just used it. But.... I am not any witch or something."

Valor was being a great listener. He never questioned her in between her talks, and she kind of liked this about him. It had been ages since someone had heard her talk. Back then, it was her and the lone wilderness of forbidden land. But being with humans felt great.

Valor had also lost someone dear to him, so he could easily correlate to her. As this thought came to his mind, an idea popped up in his brain. Regaining his intentions of visiting here, Valor composed himself again, he put up a proposal which was enough to take away all the sanity, the woman in front of him possessed,

"Estella, what if you can live with your family, your loved ones again! If you are given that choice, what would you do? Would you take it up, or leave it!"

Estella's soul was shrieking inside the deeper core of her mind. Her only wish had been to be with her long lost family. She wanted her mother back. Her caring father, he friends, her childhood life. Valor had made her retrieve all those memories which she had buried deep inside her memory box, and Locked it for eternity.

But she also knew that it wasn't going to happen, since in those all years, nobody of her family had been with her. It was like they all had vanished into thin air, and her dead mother couldn't be brought back to life. A lone tear escaped the corners of her eyes, slowly relieving her of those ominous thoughts.

Before she could snap at Valor, for making her remember all the past, and all the pain, Valor raised his both hands in air surrendering himself,

"I think I can help you at least talk to your family. Look, I heard Egon and Akhim talking about a witch in the other village, who know all the answers to everyone's questions. She ... she can help you too, if you want to."

Listening to what Valor said, a string of Estella's memory was pulled, and she instantly remembered her mother mentioning about such a witch to her kid self. Composing herself, she got up immediately with full determination declaring, "Let's go. They are searching me."