We continued to advance without stopping, exploring the wild jungle carefully... but also with a growing fascination for its beauty. Everything went smoothly until we reached a truly picturesque spot.
We crossed a particularly dense stretch of trees and vegetation, pushing leaves and branches... and suddenly emerged into a wide, silent, and surprisingly clean clearing. No trees or shrubs were invading the ground. Instead, there were flowers. Lots of flowers.
In front of us stretched a natural tapestry of colors, although an almost absolute white predominated, like a carpet of snow in the tropical jungle. Sporadic splashes of violet, light blue, and yellow appeared among those tones, like playful brushstrokes on a green canvas.
It was a beautiful image... almost unreal. A beauty worthy of a painting, but strange for this environment. And too large to be natural. The jungle vegetation was fierce, incapable of allowing such a wide and orderly space without reclaiming it for itself. It made no sense.
It seemed clear to me that this must be another one of Castelobruxo's study points, perhaps a cultivation or preservation area for species. Human, or magical, intervention would explain the perfection of the place.
While I analyzed the logic of the scene, Hannah was captivated by the beauty. Her eyes shone with the reflection of the dew on the petals. She couldn't help but grab my sleeve and gently pull, looking at me with that pleading expression that needed no words.
I knew exactly what she wanted. And honestly, a break wouldn't hurt us. Besides, that inner feeling that was pushing me toward an unknown destiny had subsided, so there was no rush.
First, I made sure there were no hidden dangers: a couple of spells, some magical perception, a sweep with my abilities... nothing. Everything seemed perfectly safe.
I nodded.
Hannah let out a small squeal of joy and, without hesitation, ran towards the sea of flowers like a child discovering a new world. Technically, it was.
I watched her move her feet among the petals, almost floating between them, admiring every floral oddity with a mixture of childlike curiosity and reverential delicacy, careful not to damage any of those "works of nature."
I advanced more slowly. The place was beautiful, but it wasn't the first wonder I had seen in my life. Still, I couldn't deny that this clearing had something... inspiring. I even thought about recreating something similar in my Fief: one guided cultivation area and another completely wild, to see which one thrived better.
Meanwhile, Hannah was completely immersed in her little floral world. So I sat down to wait. It was adorable to see her like that, amidst so much beauty, and the setting further highlighted her sweetness. Again, that possessive instinct inside me stirred... but I limited myself to observing her with curiosity.
I noticed she was holding her wand and that a thin thread of light was falling from the tip. With her other hand, she collected some of the prettiest flowers and placed them on that thread, which gently adhered them as she molded something with dedication.
After a while, she came back to me, radiant, with a crown of flowers on her head and another in her hands.
"Red, take this," she said, extending the second crown to me, unable to hide her excitement. "The girls in the dormitory taught me how to make them."
"It's beautiful," I replied, leaning down so she could place it.
When she saw me wearing the crown, she smiled with a mix of pride and embarrassment. Then she sat down beside me... just as her stomach growled, betraying her. It was obvious we needed a break.
I took some sandwiches from my inventory, and we had lunch right there, in the middle of the sea of flowers, both wearing floral crowns. And, seeing how perfect the moment was, I took a picture.
When I showed it to her, her face turned completely red. To her, the scene looked like two Elven princes resting in an enchanted clearing. Her imagination soared away... too far away. But she still managed to control herself; she didn't want to ruin the magic of the moment.
We chatted for a while longer, enjoying that almost unreal respite in the middle of the jungle, but finally stood up. We couldn't stay there too long; if we delayed too much, even though we didn't know what happened to the rest of the group, someone would surely report our disappearance. Our parents might find out... and I wasn't sure I wanted to face that problem. Or perhaps... perhaps it was the perfect opportunity for some plans I had in mind.
I narrowed my eyes, reflecting. But this wasn't the time to stay distracted.
We resumed our walk across the sea of flowers. Hannah walked, supported by my arm. It wasn't an intimate gesture in itself... although the blush she tried to hide suggested otherwise. She just wanted a little support, some contact to cope with the anguish of being lost. She wasn't going to betray her friend, of course; she kept telling herself that this was merely a necessary gesture of affection to stay calm. The problem was that this place seemed to awaken dormant emotions... and both of us knew it. Even so, Hannah trusted that, upon leaving there, everything would return to normal.
We reached the end of the flower field, entering an area where the vegetation began to reclaim its dominance. Even so, the ground was covered in grass, and only a few scattered flowers broke the green monotony. Walking on such clear terrain was a relief; even the sound of birds, small animals, and insects conveyed a calm that the dense jungle never offered.
Upon exiting the floral sea, Hannah quickly released my arm and pretended it hadn't meant anything. We continued walking, not exactly distant, but letting her move freely across the open terrain. Every few steps, she stopped to examine a new plant or flower. She seemed to absorb every detail, every color, every shape. She was taking advantage of this trip to learn as much as she could.
And she would have continued like this, had the path not been cut short by a small stream. It was barely a few meters wide, and the water was so clear that every stone on the bottom could be seen. Without much thought, Hannah took off her shoes and plunged her feet into the ice-cold water, letting out a soft moan of relief. The walk had punished her feet more than she imagined; I had used my blood magic to restore her overall condition, but I hadn't paid attention to details like that. Although we ran together in the mornings, I was accustomed to difficult terrains... she, not so much.
Finally, we decided to cross the stream by walking. Taking off her shoes wasn't really necessary, but I didn't say anything. We advanced slowly, with the water reaching just above our ankles. Hannah had to hold onto me to keep from slipping on the wet stones, but far from being annoying, it turned out to be fun. It seemed that an adventurous streak had awakened in her, an explorer's spark that the jungle had brought out. Everything amazed her.
It was a pleasant moment. Even intimate.
And it was abruptly shattered.
Because upon finishing crossing the stream, just a few meters ahead, we saw something we didn't expect to find in the middle of nowhere.
Another human being.
It was a huge surprise. We didn't expect to see anyone else in the middle of the jungle. We were looking for settlements, yes, but we imagined we would see them from a distance... not that someone had seen us and was waiting for us in silence, among that group of scattered flowers. Only then did I notice that my perception had been diminished, caused by the same coincidence of "destiny" that led me there.
We stood still, observing her. She was a woman... but not just any woman.
What we had in front of us was an imposing figure: tall, muscular, covered only by a fiber loincloth and a simple piece covering her chest. She wore tribal paint on her face and arms, rustic saddlebags at her sides, and her olive skin had that ancient tone, more typical of native peoples than modern Brazil. Her dark hair fell loose down her back.
"Hello?" Hannah said, almost in a nervous whisper.
The woman watched us seriously, stopping her gaze on my hair and the crown of flowers Hannah was still wearing. I had already put mine away to keep it.
"Hello," she replied, in Portuguese with a marked, firm, almost grave accent.
There was a thick silence. And as I observed her better, I noticed that she wasn't a Muggle. She wasn't a common human. She was a witch, like us. I felt it in her aura, in the way magic vibrated around her. She had her wand in her hand—if you could call it that: the craftsmanship was different, as was its general shape, longer and the same thickness from tip to tip, without the stylized form of European ones.
"I am Niara," she said without embellishment.
"I... I'm Hannah," the girl replied, increasingly intimidated. She clung to my arm, partially hiding behind me.
"Red," I said, showing no fear, only curiosity.
Silence returned. Neither of us made the first move; it was as if both were waiting for the other to reveal their intentions. I was ready to defend us, to incapacitate her if necessary, but it seemed I was overthinking and facing an unexpected situation.
"I'm here to find you," she finally said.
Hannah and I exchanged a look, confused. Had the school sent a rescue? She didn't seem to be part of the staff we remembered, nor did she resemble the sentinels we had seen before.
"Find us?" Hannah asked. Her Portuguese wasn't perfect, but she understood enough. Plus, she had the small translator device I had given her, which I got in my "space adventure" and modified with the Merchant.
"Did you come out of the flower garden?" Niara pointed behind us, toward the sea of flowers we had come from.
We nodded. That confirmed that the beautiful place wasn't as natural as we thought. Someone was looking after it. Someone was maintaining it.
"Let's go," she ordered, turning around and starting to walk calmly.
Hannah and I exchanged a look. Strange rescue, but a rescue nonetheless. We followed her.
"Did the school send you? Are the others okay?" Hannah asked, a little more relaxed.
"Castelobruxo did not send me," Niara replied, short and precise, as was her custom.
"No?" Hannah's eyes widened in surprise. I raised an eyebrow too.
"My tribe often helps the lost. You are not the first travelers to get lost in the jungle..." she looked at us over her shoulder, observing our uniforms, "...nor the first Castelobruxo students."
"Tri-tribe...?" Hannah stammered.
"Yes. We are the Amazons, the most powerful native tribe in this jungle," Niara said with complete naturalness.
"Amazons? Like... from the Amazon jungle? Tribe of warrior women?" I asked, restraining myself from mentioning a certain comic island.
"Those very ones," she replied, albeit with a hint of patience. "But we have nothing to do with those Greek stories. The tribe's original name was Icamiabas, but it changed over time, with the European conquest and then with new contacts. Orellana's expedition had too much influence. We adopted the name 'Amazons' because it was easier for foreigners. We evolved in certain aspects like the name, yes, but our roots are still there." Her tone was serious, but there was erudition in every word.
It was a huge surprise. Her wild appearance contrasted with how informed and articulate she was. Nothing about her presence fit the idea of a "primitive" culture.
"Don't look at me like that. I also studied at Castelobruxo." She shrugged slightly. "I was born in a small town in Pará. I had contact with the tribe since childhood through my grandmother, and I joined them after graduating."
And so, the image of a wild woman faded. In its place appeared something more complex... and much more interesting.