Tangled By Fate

Veronica shared her opinion, "It still would be great to share these fruits with others."

The Head Priest told her, "It's not that other Saints and Head Priests didn't think of that. Actually, our ancestors did share the fruits. But then, something tragic had happened. The king back then became greedy. He wanted to take control over the Rosemary Temple. Since the beginning of this kingdom, the king ruled the country and the priests protected the temple. Two powers shouldn't clash.

Saint Ava added, "The priests tried to stop the king from snatching the temple but they had to pay the price with their blood. There was no one to stop him. What could some monks and nuns do against a weapon and the power? They could only pray. Until one day, our savior arrived. He defeated the king, ended the lives of his families and supporters, and then became the new ruler of this kingdom. He is the ancestor of the new royal family."

Veronica understood. "That's the reason why everyone loves and supports the royal family. They are our savior, Henry." She was a bit shocked to find out about this country's dark history from them. When she was reading books, she didn't find anything against the royal families. That's why she didn't know how to react.

Saint Ava responded, "For generations, they had done nothing but being kind to us, the citizens. There is no reason for people not to love them."

"Is it because of the war the priests stopped ushering the fruits? Nowadays, not even normal priests can enter this temple," Veronica mentioned.

Saint Ava monotonously replied, "That is true. King Henry and the remaining priests planned together and burned all the records of this place. Only some of them are left and they are in the forbidden area of the royal palace. Not even the current king can have the right to go inside that area. The keys of the forbidden area belong to me and Head Priest."

"Head Priest promised to let me enter the forbidden area of the library. I can't wait to find out more!" Veronica was excited about that.

"!!!" Saint Ava gazed at the Head Priest. Her expression was saying that she couldn't believe that it was true.

The Head Priest awkwardly scratched his head and said, "I will let you read the books there only if you become a perfect healer. And, you cannot tell anyone about it."

"Why not?" Veronica asked curiously.

"That's because there are plenty of bad people out there, trying to get their hands on the books of the forbidden area. They might try to harm you to get what they want."

"Oh… I see." Veronica's face paled. The word 'harm', reminded her of those people in black clothes chasing after her. She didn't want to save the same danger ever again.

"Don't get too happy just yet," Saint Ava warned her. "If you don't manage to learn properly, you will be kicked out of this place. I don't want a lazy bone around me."

"Yes, of course," Veronica nodded.

How could she not agree? She wanted to master her skill as quickly as possible and then leave this place for good. She had made up her mind.

Starting from today, she was going to give her best!

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"Veronica, my arm hurts. Heal me," Saint Ava suddenly said. After the Head Priest bid them farewell, they became alone. To find out the youngster's ability, she decided to test her.

"Oh, okay." Veronica placed her hands a bit further from Saint Ava's right arm and shut her eyes. She poured the last of her energy to concentrate on healing her. However, no matter how much she tried, no light nor power came out of her palms.

She began to wonder, 'That's weird! Why isn't my power working? Is it because she is trying to test me and not injured? What am I thinking? She is the Saint for Goddess's sake. It looks like I've become more doubtful after meeting Arthur. I better concentrate.'

After trying for several times, she gave up. She carefully glanced at the stoic Saint and ten hurriedly looked down. "I'm sorry. I can't use my power for some reason," she apologized.

"I'm well aware of that." Saint Ava didn't seem to be offended. She went back to her room and Veronica followed her. She saw Saint Ava took a sharp blade and sliced her arm. A trail of deep red colored blood flowed from her wound.

Veronica gasped and covered her mouth. Her emerald pupils were quivering in horror.

"You know," she heard Saint Ava speaking calmly, "when you don't have the ability to do anything, you shouldn't blame it on others. Rather, you must confess that you are incapable of doing it. It's a virtue to admit one's incapability."

Veronica shivered. She responded with a shaky voice, "I… I understand… but I healed someone back then and you sensed it right? You know I can heal people."

Saint Ava refuted, "But that's not enough. The power is controlling you. It comes and goes as it pleases. What will happen if someone you love is dying and you cannot heal them? Is this what you want?"

Thinking of Catherine and Arthur getting hurt she couldn't do anything to help them made her feel suffocated. She shouted, "No! I don't want it."

"Then you must learn how to be the master of your power, not its slave. Heal me," Saint Ava ordered her.

Veronica once again tried and this time, a pure light came from her palms. When the light was gone, she saw Saint Ava's bleeding had stopped. She smiled. But then she noticed the mark that was left on her palm remained.

Saint Ava furrowed her eyebrows. "The weaker your light is, the weaker is your power. A good healer can remove the scars as well."

"I'm sorry. Can you please heal yourself?" Veronica lowered her head.

Saint Ava raised an eyebrow. "Do you know that…