The following morning, Riven arrived at the training grounds nearly two hours before sunrise, as after spending three miserable days without receiving a single Red Aether Pill, he had found himself waking long before dawn and making his way toward the field almost immediately.
However, the moment he arrived, he realized that he was far from the only one, because despite darkness still blanketing the valley and the sun remaining hidden beyond the distant horizon, dozens of recruits had already gathered near the training grounds while waiting impatiently for Garron’s return.
Some paced back and forth restlessly while rubbing their arms, others sat quietly on the ground while staring toward the road Garron normally used when arriving each morning, while several more looked visibly irritated or exhausted, as though the previous three days had affected them far more psychologically than physically.
And although nobody openly spoke about it, Riven could immediately tell that everyone present was thinking about the same thing, because after spending three days without receiving a single Red Aether Pill, the anticipation hanging over the training grounds had become almost tangible, with many recruits repeatedly glancing toward the distant road in hopes of spotting Garron’s silhouette.
Naturally, Riven found himself doing the same, however while his attention remained fixed on the road at first, something else soon caught his eye, as standing near the edge of the field were two familiar figures whom he had not seen for the past few weeks, as Mary and Stacy returned to training.
Upon recognizing the sisters, Riven found himself blinking several times in disbelief while staring toward them, because compared to the condition they had been in the last time he saw them, the difference was nothing short of astonishing.
The bruises covering their bodies had almost completely disappeared.
The swelling around their faces was gone, and even Stacy, who had previously looked half-dead and incapable of standing without assistance, now appeared healthy enough to participate in training once again, as although she still seemed to walk while being slightly hunched, as though the injuries around her ribs had not fully healed, the rest of her body seemed to be doing fine.
’How is this possible...?’
Riven wondered, as the severity of Stacy’s injuries had been burned deeply into his memory, because at the time he had genuinely believed that she would require months to recover, yet barely a few weeks had passed and she already looked almost normal again.
However, as he continued staring toward the sisters in confusion, it was Mary who eventually noticed him first, and the moment their eyes met, a bright smile immediately appeared on her face before she began walking directly toward him without the slightest hesitation.
’Oh crap, why is she coming my way?’
Riven wondered, as for reasons he could not properly explain, he immediately found himself feeling nervous, because ever since arriving in Ashfang Village, very few people had ever willingly approached him with friendly intentions.
"Riven," Mary said warmly as she stopped before him. "I never properly thanked you for helping us that night, because everything happened so quickly afterward and we never really had another chance to speak."
She continued, as the sincerity in her voice immediately caught him off guard.
"If you hadn’t stopped to help us, I honestly don’t know whether Stacy and I would have survived until morning. So before anything else, I wanted to thank you properly for saving our lives."
Mary said, as she placed both hands neatly before her waist before lowering her head into a respectful bow.
"Thank you. My sister and I will never forget what you did for us that night.....
We understand that slaves like us don’t usually have anyone willing to help us when things go wrong.
So the fact that you did go out of your way to help us, means a lot more to us than what mere words can describe."
She continued, while Stacy quietly nodded beside her in agreement.
"I also know slaves don’t have many people willing to watch their backs in this village, but if you ever need help, then Stacy and I will watch yours."
Mary promised, as the earnestness in her voice immediately left Riven feeling completely unprepared.
Because ever since his mother’s death, nobody had spoken to him with that much warmth, nor had anyone ever looked at him with that much gratitude, so listening to Mary sincerely thank him for something that he personally considered insignificant made him feel strangely flustered.
*Cough*
Riven coughed awkwardly, as heat gradually rose toward his cheeks and turned them deep red.
For a moment, he could not think of any words to respond, as he instinctively rubbed the bridge of his nose and looked away awkwardly while struggling to figure out the correct words for this situation.
"I... didn’t really do much."
Riven muttered quietly, as his eyes remained firmly fixed on the ground beneath his feet.
Mary’s smile only widened.
"You did enough."
She replied gently, as for a brief moment, a comfortable silence settled between them while Riven continued trying to process the unfamiliar feeling growing inside his chest.
However, unfortunately for him, the moment did not last very long, because before either of them could say anything else, an angry voice suddenly erupted from somewhere nearby and immediately drew the attention of everyone standing within earshot.
"You fucking lowborn slave bitch!"
The shout caused Riven to instinctively turn toward the disturbance, where he immediately recognized the speaker as Aaron, the same boy whose jaw Stacy had shattered several weeks earlier, as he now marched directly toward the sisters with fury written plainly across his face while Lydia and several others followed closely behind him.
"How dare you raise your hands against me?" Aaron demanded furiously. "Because of you I spent days barely able to eat, speak, or even sleep properly, and if Garron hadn’t given me healing herbs, I might still be suffering right now."
His eyes locked onto Stacy.
"So don’t make the mistake of thinking our feud is over."
Aaron warned, as the resentment in his voice seemed to intensify with every word.
"You got lucky, because if I touched you right now, Garron would break both our limbs regardless of whose fault it was, however Garron won’t be around forever, and sooner or later I’ll get my chance."
His expression darkened.
"And when that day comes, I’ll make you pay for what you did with your life."
The threat lingered heavily in the air between them, as almost immediately Mary moved closer to her sister while several members of Lydia’s group stepped forward beside Aaron, causing the two sides to face one another once again beneath the dim pre-dawn sky.
The hostility between them was impossible to miss, because it lingered in their expressions, their posture, and the way their eyes remained locked onto one another, as though both sides were only one bad decision away from another violent confrontation.
Yet despite the hatred visible on both sides, nobody actually made the first move, because whether it was the fear of Garron’s punishment, or the fear of losing access to the Red Aether Pills, nobody seemed willing to risk crossing that line anymore.
And so, after several tense moments where neither side backed down nor advanced, the confrontation gradually dissolved on its own, as both groups eventually turned away from one another while silently waiting for Garron’s arrival.