Aribelle did not return until well into the evening from the slums. Tired from a sleepless night and wading through waist deep water. It had taken all day in order to retrieve people and possessions from the flood she had caused. Still, Aribelle felt as though she would never be able to redeem herself.
Passing by the makeshift camping ground in the square outside of the Abbey, she noticed most did not possess any tarp or covering for shelter. The summer already nearing a close, it would be a bitter and cold night for many of them. Fortunately, elderly and vulnerable were moved inside into the space cleared in the refectory and pews of the chapel.
Stopping several times, she was pained by any expressions of gratitude she received and waved them off with feigned modesty. Only patiently listened to the requests for supplies from its occupants on her way back.
The Abbey relying on meager funds, it was able to provide each person with a bowl of broth with a few vegetables thrown in from their garden and a piece of bread. It was hardly satisfying, but it was a warm meal that people were thankful for.
It was as Aribelle had begun to distribute donated firewood and kindling to those outside that she regarded the sky. The setting sun had died it in vivid orange with broad strokes of red across it, filling her with a sense of foreboding. Please let me be wrong about this for once, she wished fervently to herself.
However, she had no sooner concluded this silent prayer, when a tremor was felt within the ground. Followed by deafening roar, the peasants around her began to panic. However, Aribelle froze in awe amongst them. Eyes fixed on the sky above them, she was completely captivated by the sight of a magnificent black dragon as it passed.
Fear rippled through her as she felt the beating of its colossal wings as it swooped overheard. Her wonderment then turned to horror as she heard its assault begin on the lower town. Still staring off into the direction the dragon had flown, she could feel her stomach knotting uneasily. Hoping they had been successful in evacuating the lower town she was tormented by anxiety now as well as guilt.
"Oh, thank the Heavens above!" exclaimed Sister Agnes "Mother Superior, Sister Clarence, she's here!" She yelled back to the other nuns standing on the steps of the Abbey.
Sister Agnes threw her arms around Aribelle tightly breaking her from her trace, causing her to drop the remaining logs she was holding. Aribelle released a tense breath, she hadn't noticed that she was holding. Aribelle did not realize how long she had been standing there. It must have been long enough for her absence to cause them ample amounts of distress and attract some curious glances from some of the other commoners in the square.
"Don't scare us like that!" Agnes reprimanded, shaking her as a few relieved tears rolling down her face.
"I'm sorry," said Aribelle "I must have made everyone worried."
Separating from her Sister Agnes still held on to Aribelle by her shoulders "We didn't know where you were. We thought you might have gone back down to the lower town." Aribelle replied with an apologetic smile the young Sister.
Joining the order when Aribelle was only seven years of age, Agnes did not conduct herself as reservedly as the other nuns. Often her tutor and confidant, her oval face was framed by short strawberry blonde hair, which poked out from her head covering. Spattered with freckles her face was a charmingly familiar sight to Aribelle, but her gaze began to distractedly return to the glow of flames now emanating from the lower town.
Sister Agnes turned Aribelle around, forcefully ushering her back into the Abbey. Aribelle had often spoken of events that had not yet transpired when she had first come to the Abbey. While she had not mentioned them past a certain age, she had always seemed to be blessed with the uncanny knack of being wherever chaos was likely to ensue. For this reason, the Sisters had been unwilling to let her out of their sights for too long. Keeping her busy with all that they could within the Abbey, they had successfully managed to keep her out of trouble for a time.
However, after seeing Aribelle look upon the dragon with such an openly blatant fascination, Agnes was filled with a sense of apprehension.