Louisa’s POV
When the first ray of morning sun woke me up, I stretched out my arms and murmured, "Uma…"
There was nothing in front of me except the relics of the bonfire.
I couldn’t see Uma anywhere.
I turned back.
The black wolf was still behind me, sleeping soundly.
"Uma…?" I raised my voice a bit and my throat was burning.
I was so thirsty.
Then, I heard some rustling sound coming behind a bush.
I was alerted because I thought it might be a snake or something.
So I pulled up a charred stick and tried to defend myself.
A hUman figure emerged from the bush.
It was a young man in Uma’s clothes.
He had got fair hair and a pair of turquoise-colored eyes.
He was holding a bowl made of bamboo stick, which was filled with water.
He was surprised to see me awake, so the water splashed a bit from the bowl.
"I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you up." he walked to me and said, "I thought you might need some water when you’re awake."
"Stop! Don’t come closer!" I held the wooden stick and pointed at him.
I didn’t trust him a bit.
He stood still immediately.
"Why are you in Uma’s clothes?" I asked.
"I’m a warlock." he said, "My Master asked me to change into Uma to please you."
"Who’s your Master?" I asked.
He looked behind me.
I turned back and saw the black wolf.
He was just awake.
He stood up, shook his head and walked towards the warlock.
The warlock kneeled on the ground and lifted the bowl.
The black wolf started to lick the water from the bowl.
"He’s my Master." the warlock said, "He has saved my life, so I swore to serve him."
I was confused and frowned at the warlock.
"I’ll get more water for you right away." he said to me and quickly disappeared into the bush.
The black wolf stretched his body and snorted.
Then, he licked his snout and looked at me.
"I miss Uma." I said to him, "But you don’t have to do this to me. It made me sad to lose Uma again."
He looked at me and shook his head.
Then, he licked my face.
I knew he was trying to make me happy, but I couldn’t smile at all.
The warlock came back and handed me the bowl of water.
I drank all the water in the bowl.
The water from the mountain spring tasted sweet.
I gave the bowl back to the warlock and said, "Thank you."
He took the bowl, lowered his head and said, "You don’t have to say ‘thank you’ to me, my Lady. I’m a servant to you. I’ll do whatever you ask me to do."
Nobody had ever addressed me as "my Lady" before.
I was just a nameless she-wolf.
"Please don’t call me that. You can call me..." I paused, "You can call me Lisa."
He looked at me and then he suddenly lowered his head.
I could see the bruise and whip marks on his neck.
I turned my head and saw that the black wolf was looking at us.
"Sorry, my Lady." the warlock said. He was obviously in fear.
"I’ll go and prepare some breakfast for you." he said and quickly walked away into the bush.
I looked at the black wolf and said, "He’s in fear of you. Have you hurt him before?"
The black wolf looked a bit disappointed and shook his head.
I bit my lips and said, "I want to have some honey and eggs for breakfast. Could you please get some quail eggs for me? I don’t dare to get closer to any quail nests anymore."
The black wolf stood there and didn’t move.
I gently pushed his body, but he still refused to walk away.
I sighed and said, "OK, I promise you that I won’t run around. I will stay here until you’re back."
He glanced at me for a moment. Then, he decided to trust me and jumped into the bush.
As soon as he was gone, I walked into the bush, trying to look for the warlock.
Following the sound of water, I eventually found him.
He was crunching down next to the creek, washing some fruits and vegetables.
From a distance, I saw that he was wiping something from his face.
And I knew immediately it wasn’t the water from the creek.
I knew he was weeping silently.
I knew it because I used to be him.
I approached him.
He heard my steps and turned back immediately.
"My Lady." he stood up and said, wiping the last drop of tear from his face.
"Do you need any help with the washing?" I asked.
"My Lady, it wouldn’t be necessary." he said, "I’ve almost finished…"
I didn’t wait till he finished.
I rolled up my sleeves and started washing the berries and leaves in the basket.
"My Lady, please let me do it." he said and tried to take the basket from my hands.
I didn’t give it to him.
Instead, I picked up a cranberry and put it in his mouth.
He was petrified.
"Taste it." I said, "Is it ripe?"
He was confused for a while, but then he nodded his head.
"Great. I can make a compote." I smiled at him, "Do you like compote?"
He swallowed the fruit and replied, "Sorry, my Lady. I don’t know what compote is."
"I’ll make you some and hopefully you’ll like it." I said.
"My Lady…"
"You told me that you’ll do whatever I ask you to do." I said.
"Yes, my Lady. Anything." he said.
"So why did you ignore my request? I asked you to stop calling me ‘my Lady’ just now." I frowned.
"I’m sorry, my L…" he said and then he paused.
"Lisa. Say the word. It’s not that difficult." I said.
"I’m a warlock. I’m not allowed to address my Master by their name." he said.
"I’m not your Master."
"You are. Master Finn ordered me to serve you. So I’m your servant now." he said.
"Finn. Is that his name?" I asked.
"Yes, my Lady." he said.
"Have you seen him in hUman form?" I asked.
"Yes, my Lady." he answered.
"How does he look like?" I asked.
"Master Finn is a very handsome man, my Lady." he lowered his head.
"What’s your name?" I asked.
"I don’t have a name, my Lady." he said.
"So what shall I call you when I need your help?" I asked.
"You can call me whatever you want, my Lady." he said in a low voice.
"How does Finn call you?" I frowned.
"Master Finn has called me a lot of names, but I don’t think it’s appropriate to mention them in front of your ladyship." he said.
Then, he looked behind me and said, "Sorry, my Lady. We should go back. Master Finn is back."