(Author’s POV)
Brave was stunned to see her blistered, variegated hands. He felt guilty for pushing her away. "I am sorry. I~ .... didn’t know you were hurt as well," his conscience struck deeply. After all, above everything else, Elisa got her hands burnt because she was trying to save Myra, in one way or another. "You don’t need to worry too much about those culprits. Those people deserved that in the first place. I will talk to Chairman Larson myself about them."
"Uhh~ ... Mr. Everests~ ... umm~ ... can you please not tell him~ ... I mean Chairman Larson?" Elisa said her voice came out barely above a whisper. "He would fire me for this. I~ .... I don’t want to lose this job. I can’t~ ..." She sniffled.
This pricked at Brave’s conscience even more. Though outwardly he had a big and sturdy build, on the inside he was a soft hearted wolf, after all. "I won’t tell him~ ... he said. Then he added, "For the time being." He once again glanced at Elisa’s hands. Her clean skin and manicured nails were replaced by angry, reddened skin and patches. Holding his temples, he asked, "Secretary Queens, did you consult a doctor for your injuries?"
"I did. He listed some dos and don’ts and gave me medicine to heal the wounds. Though he said it might leave a scare," she told him while giving him a polite smile and then chewed her lower lip. She tried to showcase that she was bottling up her feelings. That she was pretending to be alright in front of him.
"You should follow his advice and rest for now," Brave suggested. "You have worked hard."
"No~ .... I can’t do that. I mean~ ... I am fine. I am doing alright now, Mr. Everests. This is nothing. And it’s my job. Plus, Ms. Miracle isn’t in the very best of shape. She might need me any minute. I have to be by her side," she said, trying to pose a brave, resilient front.
"You need not worry about that. I am there to look after her," he said without hesitation. Elisa’s eyes glinted with jealousy and malice. But she concealed it well in time. "How could you, Mr. Everests? I can’t dump my responsibility on you. In fact, you haven’t slept a wink and have been looking after Ms. Miracle. You need rest more than I. And also, she might not feel comfortable. To her, you are a stranger after all."
Brave was about to reply to her when, out of the blue, they heard a sharp shattering sound. It came from the room Myra was in. Brave dashed past Elisa, who was once again sidelined.
She looked at her hands, then at her feet. She was wearing long boots, but they were charred as well. Although none of that was because of the fire that occurred at the cottage. It was all the result of the Compendium of Enigma. It was the sacrifice she had made to gain her demon powers back. At least it was one of the many steps.
Now she was just using it as an excuse to gain sympathy from Brave. And it was working. For now, that was enough. She had got what she wanted.
Her mind flashed back to eighteen hours ago. At the forsaken wooden house, after Brave carried Myra out of the place and the forest, Elisa was left all alone.

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