The sunlight illuminated the hillside, greeting the tiny village nestled within with a warm and welcoming glow, smoke already coming from the chimneys of the small white wooden huts, decorated in small flowers and surrounded by wildlife. Though the morning had only just awoken, the village had long since been awake before...

Within a tiny wooden hut to the furthest edge of the village their bubbled a small cast iron pot above a fire, a clear substance within the pot which gave off a small flicker of steam as it boiled. At the door way, a twelve year old girl with white hair, semi plated in a crown at the back, held by a blue bow, sat down, putting on her dark brown woollen boots, cuffed with light brown fur. She wore a scrap made dress, made of patches of red, green, blue and white, small blue gloves being worn on her hands that matched that of the dark navy tights she wore. It seemed as though not a bit of flesh of this girl could be seen, as she remained faced to the door. The girl reached for a small brown rucksack to the side of the door, hauling it upon her shoulders as she then stood up, standing before the door. There came a light clink of glass items within her bag as she then looked back to her house... This house had been empty for many years after the incident... It was one that only she remained in, as a flare of light coming from the window at the front of the house revealed the white mask worn upon the girls face, completely covering it. Only two small slits being her line of sight...

"I'm delivering my medicines to peoples doorsteps now everyone..." she announced to the house, just as she did every morning. And just like every morning, there came no response as the girl quietly looked back to the door... Before she then opened it up... "Here we go..." she uttered, allowing the light from the early dawn to encompass the living room of her house momentarily...before she left, closing the door...

The girl headed down the small path leading out the front garden of their tiny shack, stopping momentarily by the doorway to look at small blue sphere that rotated slightly upon her existing, giving off a slightly green light.

"It looks like it'll be sunny today..." she noted to herself, before she nodded to herself. "I might be able to go scavenging later tonight for supplies..." she summed up in her mind, before she then continued on...

Even though people were still awake, at these early hours of the morning, very few people left the house. Aside from a few farmers, who were already out on the fields, the girl was the only one who was out and about. She went around the small village, walking through the trodden down natural path ways, worn down by the passing of feet and cattle over the years, quietly walking up to each house on that calm morning, delivering items by peoples door. For each door she left a small assortment of medication either beside their doorways or on their steps, before silently slinking back off on her path. It was usually easier for her when nobody else was walking about as she made her deliveries... Afterall it usually only made people uncomfortable to walk beside her at any part of day. If anything, the mornings were some of the most peaceful elements to her day...

She placed a small bottle filled with light green liquid beside the door of one house, just as their came a small creaking from beside her, followed by the sound of unlatching as the girl lifted up her head to look to her right, catching sight of a woman who was just leaving her house... The woman also caught sight of the girl, at first giving a look of shock as she backed up a little... before a stiff smile came across her face.

"Ah... morning..." she uttered slowly as the girl in the mask bowed her head to the woman, sealing up her bag.

"Morning mam..." she replied as she then hauled her bag upon her back, standing up straight. "I left some extra medicinals in there for your husband, working in the caves isn't helping alot with his lungs. So that should help a little..." the girl explained, turning to face the woman, who seemed to become somewhat uncomfortable as the girl looked at her more, the woman backing up slightly more.

"Ah, is that so... thank you..." the woman responded quietly, keeping her distance as the girl then walked off, bag upon her back.

"Divine blessings upon you this morning..." the girl said her goodbyes as the woman silently watched her walk off, the girl not having much to say about the woman's reactions towards her.

It was something she was used to afterall... As long as she could ever remember, this village had always thought of her as a curse...

The morning rounds for the girls medicine cycle had ended, the heavy pounding of metal sounding off in the distance by the local blacksmith  signifying a usual alarm for the village to come to life, the sun now finally having made it's ascent above the mountain ranges around them, filling the land in a pale yellow light. The sound of birds tweeting and the rush of water from the streams nearby helped to drown out the sound of blacksmithing in the area the girl now sat, eating her breakfast upon the embankment beside the the stream, having saved this loaf of bread for the end of her work. Up until three months ago, she had still only been an apprentice medic in the village, however upon being able to make a sufficient amount of medicinals, she had finally been promoted to becoming on of the villages very few doctors. It was a standard for most children to have started a job and start contributing to the village in some way by their thirteenth birthday, however she had officially started a job nearly half a year later than most children her age, she was now almost fourteen herself... the main reason for that was...

The girl lowered the bread load in her hand silently, her eyes now focused at her reflection in the rushing waters of the stream before her. Nothing but the distorted rippled image of a white emotionless mask staring back at her. This mask decided her entire being... Her existence as a person in this village, or much rather in this world... It also decided her future and peoples choices on her... People didn't particularly trust her, that was why it was hard for somebody like her to get a job in healthcare... But she genuinely wanted to help people... To make sure that nobody else in her life needed to wear the burden of her existence or any other pain ever again...

It was because of this, that ideas that she was cursed, the fear of her that stirred people away from her didn't bother her too much. This solitude was actually better for her, and everyone else involved.

She fumbled around in her bag a little, fetching out a small wooden cube from within it. It was then that she clicked a small button on top of the wooden cube, the cube springing open as the girl took the small loaf of bread and placed it within the cube, which had an almost frosty steam glimmer from it. It wasn't as though this girls life was filled completely with solitude though.

"So what contraption is it that you have there?" Came a voice from behind the girl which made her flinch as she almost dropped the box... When she then looked back to the person who spoke from behind her, who was leaning on the stone wall  that was sat before the embankment, their image slightly being obscured by the sunlight momentarily. However it was just by their voice that the girl knew who it was...

"Ah Trei, it's you!" The girl gave a cheerful tone from behind her mask, getting to her feet to greet the slightly older, seventeen year old boy behind her with blonde short hair and bright green eyes. She had a slight skip in her step as she wandered over to him. "How did the last expedition go?!" She questioned as the boy known as Trei gave a warm grin to her.

"It was quite interesting... though we didn't find any ancient structures like we hoped to last time..." Trei mentioned as the girl listened intently, Trei then pointing to the box in her hands.

"You didn't answer my question though, what is that you have there?" He then asked as the girl looked down to the cube in her hands... When she then held it closer to her, nervously looking around at their surrounding to check if anyone was around... When she then held the box up again, putting her finger up to her mask.

"If you promise to keep it a secret and sit by the river with me, I'll show you..." she told him eagerly...

"So you see, because of the chemical reaction that happens beneath the small panel here, it ends up making the surroundings of the empty box area above cold, which is great for preserving food" the girl explained to Trei, show a small compartment hidden within the box, that contained a white steamy powder within it, Trei looking to the box in fascination.

"Amazing..." he uttered as the girl laughed shyly to herself.

"I want to make a bigger one so I can preserve medical herbs better. It works way better than salt barrels..." she explained, before she then jolted a little, remembering something.

"Oh but don't tell anyone else about this! Especially village chief! He says that things like this are acts against the gods, and are not welcome here..." She the reminded Trei who nodded to her words with a chuckle.

"Don't worry, you already have my word remember" Trei reassured her as the girl nodded with a small sigh, holding the box closer to her chest for a moment, before then closing the lid of it.

"You are quite clever though you know... Maybe come a few years time you can use that brain of yours to come up with some tools to help us explore!" Trei then noted as the girl's arms raised up excitedly.

"Y-you really think?!" The girl questioned cheerfully as Trei nodded, the girl seeming to become alot more spirited from behind her mask, when then her mood suddenly died as she thought more on the matter... "ahh... but I don't know whether chief will ever let me do such a thing... He barely trusts me with scavenging and nursing..." the girl then muttered in a disheartened manner as Trei raised an eyebrow to her thoughtfully.

"Well if that's the case, I can see about talking to him..." Trei mentioned, before he then poked her mask. "Behind that mask is a clever brain that can be put to great use! Despite what they think here, this mask and the person in it could actually lead us to great things.. When he then smacked his knee's a little, looking up at the sun...

"Say isn't it nearing work time now?" He questioned nonchalant,y as the girl took a moment to register what he had said, before, with a panic, she leapt to her feet, almost flying off the ground as she hurriedly began to get all her stuff together.

"Ahhh, I'm going to be late!"   She cried, almost falling backwards as she clumsily began to hurry off.

"Hey, be sure to show me more of your creations soon!"' Trei called after her as the girl quickly turned around whilst still walking backwards to her destination.

"Shh, it's a secret remember!" She scolded him quietly, raising her finger up to her mask as Trei then laughed at her response, waving her off. The girl turned back with a wave, going to walk off, however it was then that she noticed that one of the female explorers were now making their way up to Trei, who seemed to greet his visitor warmly, the girl glanicing back at them quietly as she walked off... She gave a stare that perhaps was too long to give for most other people, however it was then that she shook her head hurrying off.

"Sorry I'm late!" The girl cried, running through the door to a slight,y larger hut than the usual you'd see round their village, the hut being made out of newer and sturdier wood, the walls being covered in numerous shelves filled with books. Looking at one of these shelves, back turned to the wall was a rather old and plump woman, who looked as though time was starting to turn her into a tree with all the wrinkles and grooves in her skin.

"This is the second time this week..." the woman noted as the girl ran over to a small rack of aprons, tripping over a pile of books on her way there, knocking them all over.

"O-ow-ow- S-sorry!" The girl spluttered, reaching over for her apron whilst hopping with her injured foot in the air... When she then fell forwards, grabbing the apron seconds before she dragged the apron and the small coat rack it was on down with her. Her small cry was followed by a loud clatter as the old lady staring at the shelves opened her eyes slowly with a dull look, not looking back at the girl.

"At this rate, you'll end up being one of the patients..." the old woman shook her head, walking from the large shelf of books and into a room behind them shaking her head, the girl giving an stuff laugh as she pulled up an apron from over her head.