“Thank you for having me,” said Rania; her lips had curved into a smile and gratitude was written across every inch of her face. Her small hands held on to the card she’d been given and with a deeply solemn bow, she bid her farewell to the staff of the doctor’s office she had been working for and with for the past month. Time flew by, and Rania ended up being in Marigold Town for longer than she had anticipated. It wasn’t a bad thing by any means, but it had also thrown her out of the routine she otherwise valued so much.
Rania belonged in Magnolia, where she had been working and living peacefully, by herself, for a few years now. And she was happy there–or so she thought. The Paladin had come across a few interesting people during her time in the small farmers village, each of which had made her question whether she was ready to explore a newer, more different path in life.
With the card in hand, the young woman headed down the streets. It was late in the afternoon, past 5pm if she had to take a guess, and the streets were populated by men and women returning home from work and children playing with one another. The scenery was picturesque; it calmed Rania in this moment of uncertainty, when she didn’t know what she wanted anymore. She stopped by a winery and bought a bottle of red for herself to enjoy why she continued to think about the future. There were many routes a person like her could take; a quiet life in the countryside seemed ideal at this point, but also too uneventful. Rania was a Sorceress with significant talent and potential and she didn’t want all of that go to waste either.
Equipped with a bottle of wine, Rania returned to the apartment she had rented out for the time being. The owners were a friendly elderly couple who didn’t bother her too much and even granted her access to their porch and garden. Their establishment was, conveniently, not too far from the city center and the woman often spend her afternoons outside in the garden with a drink, silently watching what kind of people were walking by. For a town this small, Marigold surely had a lot of visitors after all. She took a seat by the garden table, poured herself a glass and heaved a sigh.
Rania had taken a peek at the card before, but now that she was able to properly read it, the content did end up making her a bit soft. The nurses and the doctor all had been incredibly sweet, but her time with them was over now. Rania took a sip from her wine and carefully held the piece of paper between her fingers; from her magic, a flame sparked and within seconds the card turned into ashes to be swept away by the incoming breeze. No need to dwell on something like that, she told herself. It was just then when the Paladin caught sight of a familiar face walking up the street, not too far from where she was sitting. With a curious head tilt, Rania stood up and waved at the Sinese male from afar.
“Jan Ren? Care to join me for a drink?”