When the sky was just turning white, Broken Sword was already completely awake.
She stood up, walked to the window and pushed it open. The slightly chilly morning breeze suddenly poured into the room, bringing with it a chill of melting snow, with the fragrance of the coming spring. The faint blue sky was not yet completely illuminated, but from the sparse clouds, it could be seen that today would be a good day.
After putting on her clothes, she walked to the living room and discovered that a plate of roasted nuts and a can of vegetable soup were already laid out on the table for four people—amongst them, Annie always got up early, and would not only be the first to finish washing, she would also occasionally make breakfast.
After they officially joined the Witch Union, they moved from the Foreign Affairs Building to the Witch Building and could have their meals anytime at the castle, but Annie still chose to prepare breakfast herself sometimes. In the first month after receiving her salary, she went to the convenience market to buy cooking materials such as firewood, butter and salt. She also went to the wild to collect some wild fruits and vegetables every week.
Broken Sword curiously asked why she did so, and Annie's answer was simple. She said survival in the wilderness
was a skill, and if not practiced for a long time, it would be forgotten. If it was time to escape again, how could they ensure survival?
Broken Sword could not understand why Annie was always ready to wander. But having said that, occasionally tasting these wild fruits was not bad.
"Good morning." She sat at the table and pulled at her nuts. "Are you going to the factory today?"
"Yes." Annie nodded and finished the remaining hot soup in the bowl. "There are some big objects that can't be pushed out by the workers. The machine can't plug in that big thing, and it can only be joined by small iron pieces. Miss Anna was doing it all before, but it's all up to me now."
From her voice, Broken Sword could hear a trace of vague satisfaction and sense of accomplishment, which was probably the most significant change since the four came to Neverwinter—their ability was no longer something meaningless. Working for His Majesty and getting paid was like a craft. The experience of relying on oneself instead of swindling or relying on the charity of others gave Broken Sword a sense of being reborn. She believed that Annie had the same feeling, or she would not get up early every day and be the first to head to the factory, even without any pressure to survive.
But today was a special day.
"Don't forget that today Hero..."
"I know." Annie looked a lot more serious. "Rest assured, I'll finish my chores earlier and come in time."
Broken sword became more relieved. "Well, she can feel more at ease with you around."
"Then I'll make a move first." She got up and left.
"Go, I'll take care of Hero."
"The hot water is in the kitchen and the rest is up to you." Annie did not speak much and quickly left home.
Broken Sword went to the kitchen to get a basin of hot water after eating her share. She crept lightly into Hero's bedroom. As Hero had lost her legs, she would still sleep with Annie even if there were enough rooms. In the daytime, the other three witches would take turns to take care of her. Miss Iffy and Lady Wendy would also come to help sometimes.
What was surprising to her was that Hero was already awake and sitting on the bed. She was looking out at the brightness through the window. The soft shimmer of her lilac hair and fair complexion made her look extremely pleasant. And under this light, it was hard to imagine how brutal a treatment she had been subjected to.
However, Broken Sword quickly regained her senses and realized that Hero might not be as calm as she looked on the surface. That could be why she woke much earlier than usual.
"Good morning," she said.
"Ah... good morning," said Hero, as if she was recovering from a daze, and said apologetically, "sorry to trouble you again."
"It's no trouble at all," said Broken Sword, sticking out her tongue. "No one would think so. And maybe after today, you'll be able to do it yourself."
Suddenly, Hero's eyes flashed a very complex look of tension, anticipation, fear, and excitement... After a while, she managed to control her emotions and forced herself to smile. "I don't know if I can—I have forgotten completely the feeling of walking, even if in a dream, I..." She bit her lip and continued, "I can only crawl forward."
"So you can learn from the beginning. It's not a big deal," said Broken Sword, pressing on her shoulder. "Even God's Punishment Witch can do it, and surely you can as well. Come, try to raise your legs."
Hero took a deep breath, opened the quilt, and saw two thin, branch-like legs exposed—they were different from a few months ago. Her legs which had been severed from the knees grew much longer, almost to the ankle position, and the ugly scars had also become smoother. They looked crumpled and different from normal legs and seemed as if they could snap off at any moment. But at least, they were much better than before.
This result was the joint effort made by the Witch Union.
At first, Nana could only recover minor wounds such as severed fingers, and the regrowth of the whole limb could not be achieved until the four witches joined the Witch Union. Broken Sword followed the instructions of His Majesty Roland to complement Nana with her strengthening ability and achieved a breakthrough—holding a sword which Broken Sword transformed into, Nana's healing ability had been fully upgraded, and even a hunting dog with broken feet could grow new claws.
This new discovery brought a ray of hope to Hero's recovery.
However, the test that started later was not that easy.
First of all, Nana's healing effect only took effect on the wound, and Hero's broken leg had already healed. If they wanted to recover her legs, they had to create new wounds in them. Secondly, even with Broken Sword's magic, treatment could only last for dozens of minutes, which meant that the recovery process had to be carried out in several stages. The combination of these two points posed a formidable challenge to both the healer and the patient.
Hero had to repeatedly suffer the pains of wounds in her broken legs, and Nana had to cut her legs several times to make them grow. This treatment program was problematic from the beginning.
Fortunately, Lady Wendy noticed this problem and mobilized the entire Witch Union.
Broken Sword realized for the first time that they called each other sisters and this was not just a term, but they felt like a family from the bottom of their hearts. Though the four of them came from the Kingdom of Wolfheart, and joined Neverwinter not too long ago, they were not stingy about their affections for each other.
Miss Leaf used a special plant called the sleeping fern to cultivate unconscious herbs that when consumed, one would not wake up for hours. Thus this helped to relieve Hero's suffering.
Cutting was carried out by Miss Anna. Under the sharp Blackfire, the formation of a new wound could be completed instantly, and Nana only needed to focus on her ability.
Finally, Marquess Spear Passi, the lord of a city, did not return immediately after the meeting at Fallen Dragon Ridge because of Hero. The previous treatments had been cautious—Nana's magical powers had been depleted every time to recover sections of legs which were as short as a half of a finger. Once her ability had been exhausted, the open wounds would have soon become lethal. Therefore, the recovering process had been extremely slow. With the help of Marquess Spear, recent treatments had made considerable progress.
If everything went smooth, Hero would regain her full feet after today.