Rachel and Justin were sitting side by side on the slope and talking when they heard a shriek from behind. “Aaaahhhhh—”
At once, they turned, stood up, and hurriedly ran in the direction where they heard the scream, only to see Regina fall into a half-human tall pit screaming in utter terror, “Aaaahhhhh—”
The proprietress could not find Rachel because of how huge the forest was, but Regina’s scream helped her locate Rachel accurately. A few minutes later, the three of them worked together to pull Regina out of the pit as she continued wailing in pain even when she finally sat on the ground safely. “Sis, I think I have a broken leg.”
“Where? I feel like you might have twisted your foot, but let me check.” Rachel sat down next to Regina and started pressing Regina’s ankle gently to see which part of the bone was fractured. No matter where Rachel pressed, she still cried at the top of her lungs.
“No, my leg is broken; it hurts so much.” Regina felt so much pain that she gasped and repeatedly mumbled the same words. However, Rachel thought it was more likely that Regina was still in shock due to the fall.
Rachel had no choice but to let Justin carry Regina on his back. Nevertheless, she planned to have Regina check her foot in the hospital after they arrived at the town.
Even on the way down, they could still hear Regina grunting in pain from time to time. “Is it really that painful?” Justin could not help but ask; in fact, he was not a patient man except toward Rachel and his own children.
Regina was very dissatisfied that he doubted her that she yelled at him, “Try falling into a pit! Then, you’ll know if it really hurts!”
“I won’t voluntarily jump into a pit; I have eyes,” he retorted.
“As I said, the pit was being covered initially!’
As the conversation heated up, Rachel frowned and interrupted, “Okay, that’s enough. Stop arguing and rest for a while.”
Rachel’s response made Regina feel aggrieved, so she pouted and asked, “You’re my sister; how can you help outsiders?”
Rachel chose to ignore Regina—she never admitted to being Regina’s sister. Instead, she turned to the proprietress and asked, “Ma’am, what’s the deep pit doing there?”
The proprietress explained, “Well, it is a hunting trap set by the villagers in town to catch hares and other small animals. That’s another reason why we locals don’t recommend tourists to get into the mountain—for safety reasons. Also, this area is not developed; if you’re unfamiliar with the area, you’ll often miss your footing and fall into the pit.”
Rachel nodded in response. “I see.”
Once they reached the town, the proprietress guided the three to the town hospital. By then, Regina’s ankle was already swollen; Rachel was right in her assumption that she had twisted her ankle during the fall.
Justin saw her swollen ankle and was surprised. “So, it’s real?” Regina’s face turned red in fury due to the surprise in his voice. “Do you really think I would lie about things like this?”
“Don’t move.” Rachel saw Regina getting agitated, so she promptly held Regina’s shoulder to make her stay still so that the doctor could apply medicine to the ankle.
“Done,” the doctor said calmly after applying some medicine. “It’s not a serious injury, but try not to walk with this foot for the next two days. I have prescribed some medicine to promote blood circulation, so the bruise would fade over time. One is to be taken orally, and the other is to be applied externally. Rest for a week or so.”
“Thank you, doctor.”
“You’re welcome.”
The three left the town hospital with an extra wheelchair. After Regina hurt herself, she was listless compared to how she was in the morning; she was sitting in a wheelchair, looking like a wilted flower.
“Where are you both staying?” Rachel asked.
Justin raised his chin in the direction of the motel. “There. What about you?”
Rachel looked surprised. “Seriously?”
Just as he was puzzled as to why she was that surprised at his choice of accommodation, she revealed the reason behind her astonishment. She pointed at the motel opposite Justin’s and said, “I’m staying here.”
“I want to stay with my sis! I want to switch motels!” Regina turned her head to Rachel and voiced her request in a bold and spoiled manner.
Justin silently looked at Rachel and asked for her opinion; Rachel didn’t hesitate to agree to Regina’s demands. “Sure thing. Her foot is injured, and it’s inconvenient for her to live alone.” Regina immediately nodded incessantly at Rachel’s words.
It was Justin’s turn to be unwilling; he didn’t want Rachel to get too exhausted from caring for this so-called sister, but he did not say anything further.
Thus, Justin and Regina checked into the motel where Rachel was staying. It was noontime, and the proprietress asked the three of them to join her, her employees, and her two children for lunch.
“What’s this?” Everything on the dinner table looked new to Regina; she was poking everything on the table with her fork. Being a real-life noble princess who was brought up abroad, it was expected that she had never seen a stew in her life. She did not know why they would differentiate between plates solely for dried side dishes and sauces, let alone recognize any stew ingredients, except for the quail eggs which she thought to be a type of egg.
The proprietress was shocked that Regina had never seen stew. “Have you not had stew before, Miss?” Regina shook her head.
“Are you kidding me? You never had stew!” The employee was equally shocked.
The princess got embarrassed and annoyed at their reactions. “Why? Feeling superior for having eaten stew?” Although Regina was a distant relative of the royal family, she was still considered a noble; therefore, she never had a chance to dine outdoors easily. Instead, she had her own private chef cooking unique recipes for her at home. This trip to Riverdale was the first time she ever traveled like an ordinary citizen, though she was also accompanied by a large group of people, including the cook.
The proprietress smiled as she smoothed things over. “Nothing to be shocked about. We have different customs across the world. Don’t be angry, Miss. Let me explain; this is our local specialty mushroom stew, and it’s known to have great health benefits.”
Even though she still had an arrogant expression, she couldn’t help but feel curious about the ingredients in front of her. “How do you eat this?”
“It’s simple. Just add the last few ingredients into the stew. Wait for about five minutes or until they are cooked, and you’re good to go! Then, you can dip the cooked ingredients into the sauces. The more ingredients we cook with the stew, the better the stew becomes in terms of taste, so remember to serve yourself a bowl of delicious stew.” Regina looked as if she found a whole new world when she saw the proprietress dip-boiling the tripe in the pot.
At the same time, the proprietress reminded everyone to start eating. “What are all of you waiting for? Try my mushroom stew!” As everyone at the table began dip-boiling the ingredients in the pot using their own forks, Regina was stunned and immediately questioned, “What is this? Why are all of you eating in the same pot? This is so unsanitary! You’re dipping your saliva in the broth!
The moment she said that, the atmosphere got awkward, and everyone at the table was unsure how to react. Rachel and Justin looked at each other and wished they could bury their heads in the sand. The proprietress kindly asked them to have lunch together, and who knew that this princess would speak as if she was disgusted at everyone else? It was really rude of Regina not to be appreciative of their kind gesture.
Justin tried smoothing things over by saying, “Don’t mind her; she grew up abroad and is used to individual serving.” Nevertheless, everyone was still embarrassed; they dared not start eating.
“When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Don’t be too fussy. If you think it’s disgusting, don’t eat it.” Rachel glared at Regina angrily for causing the awkwardness before turning to the others and tried apologizing to ease the tension, “Don’t mind her. Let’s eat now, shall we?”
Regina felt wronged and embarrassed after being scolded in public, so she immediately threw her fork away and huffed angrily, “Fine! As if I want to be here!” After she spoke harshly, she turned her wheelchair around, went back to her room by herself, and slammed the door.
Bang! The strength almost trembled the whole building. The proprietress specifically changed Rachel’s and Regina’s room to the ground floor because she knew it would be inconvenient for Regina to be moving up and down the stairs due to her injury.
As soon as she left, the proprietress said with a worried look, “Let me cook another dish for her.” But Rachel immediately stopped her. “Regina can handle herself. She’s no longer a kid. But, Ma’am, I’m sorry for the commotion she caused. She has never had the chance to travel around, and sometimes she causes trouble. I hope you don’t mind.”
The proprietress was an amiable person; she merely smiled and said, “She’s still injured, so she gets a bit of leeway when she causes trouble. We won’t take it to heart. Plus, she’s beautiful; it’s normal for pretty girls to have a feisty temper.” Her employee nodded in agreement.
Out of nowhere, someone asked Rachel, “What’s your relationship with Justin, by the way?”
