Eden ushered Mark into her home, shutting and locking the door behind them. Lighting on the candles, she quickly scurried around to find something to help the shivering boy. Mark stood awkwardly in the doorway, not wanting to track any mud into her house. Her home was surprisingly nice, even bordering elegant, compared to the other houses of Zebulon. From where he was standing, he could see a large, spacious living room and a staircase leading to a second floor. Overall, the home was neat and tidy, but large for only one person.

Eden returned with a towel in her hands. She had changed her dirty, soaked red dress into a different red nightgown. Mark figured she just liked red for some reason, and didn't spend a second thought on it. Seeing the poor boy standing there uncomfortably, a look of pity crossed the girl's eyes.

"Are you okay?" she asked slowly. "You looked terribly concerned."

"You have a nice house," Mark spoke without thinking, internally slapping himself for sounding so stupid.

It took her a few moments to overcome her surprise. "Yes...I do..." To avoid the awkwardness, she quickly changed the subject. "Take your shoes off and leave it at the door," Eden instructed. "And then you can come over a sit on the couch."

"I'm sorry, I...I don't want to get your things dirty," Mark said slowly, not moving and inch from where he was standing.

Eden let out a small chuckle. "It's no trouble at all. I'll just clean it up later. You look rather tired and I think you should get some rest. It seems like you've had a tough day," she tilted her head. "Considering I found you getting beat up in the streets, you're probably not feeling your best right now."

Without a word, Mark removed the heavy work boots he was wearing and discarded them at the side. He quietly took the towel from her outstretched hands and wrapped it around his shivering shoulders. He must have still looked hesitant because Eden gently took his hand in hers and led him deeper into her house. She sat him down on the couch and before backing away.

"You don't talk very much do you?" Eden asked, letting out a soft laugh.

"I...I don't know what to say," Mark replied quietly.

"I figured," Eden replied, running a hand though her blond hair which was still wet from the rain. "You've been staring at me the whole time with an expression of either shock or of fear. And I'd honestly rather it be the former rather than the latter because it's not a good feeling to know that someone's afraid of you, you know?"

"I'm not afraid of you..." Mark spoke slowly. "I'm just surprised is all."

"Are you okay though? Because it seems like you've never seen a girl in your life."

"I've seen girls before, but just not any girls like you," Mark began, immediately regretting his word choice as soon as it left his mouth. "I don't mean that in a bad way. You know..."

Before he could babble and trip over his words any longer, the girl cut him off with a smile and her cute laugh. "Don't worry, I know what you mean."

Mark sighed. "Thank you...for doing all this. I'm sorry I didn't say it earlier. I was just overwhelmed I guess...Thank you sincerely for doing all this."

She smiled. "I told you that it's no trouble. Are you hungry? Do you need anything to eat?"

Mark hesitated but slowly nodded his head. "If it's not too much trouble..."

Eden shook her head. "You're sweet, but it's really okay. Just let me help you. Want anything in particular?"

"Ah...I don't know...bread?"

"Only?"

"Yeah...that's all I need."

"Alright then."

She returned a few moments later with a quarter of a loaf of bread. She handed the food to the boy who thanked her repeatedly. She couldn't help at smile at his behavior. It was quite endearing to her. She settled down on the opposite end of the couch and watched him silently for a few moments.

"So, what's your name? You haven't mentioned it yet," she spoke.

Mark stopped eating and his raised his eyebrows in surprise. He quickly swallowed before replying. "My name is Mark."

"Mark," the girl repeated, as if tasting the sound of his name. "It suits you."

"What did you say your name was again? I'm sorry, but I forgot."

"Eden. Like the garden of Adam and Eve."

"And the serpent?" Mark asked.

A small smirk grew on her face. "Yes, exactly." she hummed to herself. "So, Mark, what brings you to Zebulon?"

"I'm looking for my sister, Addie. She was taken by the Healers and I've been searching for her for a few days now," he paused briefly. "Speaking of, have any Healers passed by here recently? Did they have a little girl with brown hair with them?"

He looked up when he heard no response from the girl. She seemed to be either spaced out or just in shock for whatever reason.

"Are you okay?" he asked cautiously.

"Yeah, sorry," Eden replied, shaking her head and running a hand through her hair. "You said the Healers took her? As in kidnapped her?"

"Yeah. They wanted her joy and when I tried to stop them, they took off with her."

"Hmm," she hummed in reply. "I have not seen any Healers at all recently. None have stopped by as far as I know."

"None? That's odd. I thought since Zebulon was one of the bigger towns of this area that the Healers would pass through more often."

Once again, it took her some time to reply. Mark quietly looked at her as she pursued her lips and stared down at the floor. It was difficult to discern what exactly her expression was. He couldn't tell if she was distressed or confused or shocked or melancholic.

"Have you had a bad experience with the Healers?" Mark dared to ask.

Eden finally looked up from the floor and her shining amber eyes met his. She bit her lip and twisted her hair around her finger tightly.

"Yeah," she said simply, her voice barely above a whisper.

"What happened?"

She sighed. "I...I don't really want to talk about it."

Mark's eyes widened. "I'm sorry," he apologized quickly. "I didn't mean to intrude."

She shook her head. "It's alright. It's just a touchy and personal subject for me. I haven't told anyone about it before, and..." she tilted her head. "I just met you, so, you know..."

Mark nodded. "I see."

A moment of silence hung between them, so Mark decided to change the subject again.

"How long have you lived in Zebulon?" he asked, then paused and continued, "I'm sorry for all the questions. If you don't want to answer it, you don't have to. I'm just curious..."

Eden cut him off with a light laugh. "That question is okay, I guess. I moved here very recently. I was 16 years old at the time, so about a year ago. I used to live in Cyfoeth, the largest, grandest city and the center of the realm. It's also...the main center where the Healers operate."

"Why move to Zebulon in particular?"

"My job calls for it," Eden answered simply, but did not expound further. Mark figured that it was another thing she wanted to keep private, so he did not ask for more.

"Where are you from?" Eden asked.

"A small village called Dyan," Mark replied. "It's so small, you can hardly call it a village."

"I'm guessing it was a destitute area?"

"Yeah, likely the poorest in the realm."

She hummed. "I see. That explains why you were surprised about the house."

Mark nodded. "Well, we do come from very different places."

"Perhaps I can learn something from seeing a different point of view," Eden shrugged. Sighing, she rose from where she sitting. "You should probably get some rest. It's been a long day for you and I'd hate to keep you up any longer."

"Okay," Mark acquiesced, rubbing his hand on his temple. "And thank you again for all this. I'll be leaving in the morning."

"You're leaving tomorrow?" she asked, unexpectedly stopping in her tracks.

"Yeah...is that a problem?" he questioned, confused about why she was so surprised.

She immediately shook her head. "No, I...I just thought you might say longer."

"I can't. I need to find my sister."

She bit her lip. "You'll never find her if you continue what you're doing now."

Mark sighed. "But what else can I do?"

"Have you ever been to any other place but Dyan before?"

Mark shook his head.

"Then how do you expect to find her? Logically, you can't just run into the unknown with no concept of where you are headed. You'll just get lost and—I'm going to be brutal here—you're going to somehow end up dead, whether it's from starvation or by other means."

Mark ran a hand through his hair. "I know the odds are against me, but I don't know what to do. You said Cyfoeth was crawling with Healers right? Is it far from here?"

"Mark, it's hundreds of miles away from here. And the whole realm is huge." She frowned. "Look, I'm not trying to make you give up, but I'm just suggesting you rethink your plan. Find a faster way of travel, gather more resources, and plan out a course before you go any further. Please."

"Alright," he spoke slowly. "But I can't just give up on her. I can't just sit around while Addie is out there somewhere all alone."

Eden nodded. "Your love for her is admirable and your determination is nothing like anything I've ever seen. Perhaps it will be strong enough to fuel you on. Just...please be careful. You seem like a really great guy, and I'd hate for anything bad to happen to you."

Mark nodded. "I promise."

"Are you going to leave early tomorrow?" she asked.

"I don't know."

"Stay a bit longer and I may find something that might help you out." She tilted her head. "And it would be rude to leave without saying goodbye."

"Okay, then. Goodnight, Eden. I'll see you in the morning."

"Goodnight, Mark. Sleep well," she replied before shutting off the lights and disappearing up the stairs.

Mark lay down on his back and stared up at the ceiling. He knew Eden was right. He knew from the moment he left home that he might never find her. But nothing was going to stop him from trying, he was sure of that.

"Hang in there, Addie," he whispered to himself. "I'm coming."