Morning came faster than expected. Elena sat up from her bed and stretched before
finally taking in her surroundings. The old man took her through a small stairway that led to the
back of his home, away from where Calhoun was. She couldn’t complain, though, because where
she was kept was even more beautiful than the house entrance. The garden at the back was much
larger and consisted more of vegetables than flowers at the entrance garden. Not that it made it
any less beautiful, because the different scents assaulted her senses, even as she slept.
The man took them to a small bungalow at the back of the house, and despite how it
looked from the outside, it was much larger inside. He told them there were five rooms there, and
Elena and her friends could select whichever they liked. Forest was delighted with the
suggestion, and being himself, he took the largest of the rooms. Elion had just shaken her head at
his antics, though she couldn’t hide the indulgent smile she had for her brother. Though Elena
noticed a distance between them probably caused by how long they had to be apart they were
trying hard to mend it. She made up her mind to help them in any way she could.
She took in her environment as she hadn’t been able to when she arrived the previous day,
utterly tired from her journey. The old man had agreed to talk with her the next day so they
would go about how she would carry out her training. She couldn’t wait to start her practice. That
was the thing she had been looking forward to. Her room was spacious, though not as large as
the one Forest had selected for himself. There was a small hearth and a mantelpiece with several
woodworks placed atop it. Her room was flooded with light, and she stood up and walked
towards her window, which was behind her bed. The window showed her a glimpse of the
garden behind the main house, and she couldn’t have appreciated a more incredible view. She
smiled and walked to the bathroom on the other side of her room.
The bathroom was small but okay for a person of her size. She decided to take a long
bath. She had never wanted one as bad as she did then. With the amount of running around that
she had to do, she just had to take quick baths to wash the grime and dust off her body.
There was a wooden tub placed in the middle, big enough for her, and so she filled it with
water that ran through a pipe placed on the ceiling, directly into the tub. After she was done, she
gently removed her clothes and slowly entered the bath. She sat down inside it, moaning at how
relaxing it was. There was a vial of perfume oil right at the side of the tub. She took it gently,
careful to let it not fall from her hands, and she opened its lid, causing it to release a heavy
sensual scent. It smelt of roses and lemon, a strange combination, yet she found that she liked it.
She would ask the old man where he got it from. Adding a slight drop into the tub, she started
bathing slowly. She used her hands to pour water over her, slowly running her hands down her
body to wash away any dirt. She didn’t know how long she took in the bathroom, but she enjoyed
it severely.
Finally done, she came out of her room and walked back to her bedside utterly naked,
water slowly dripping from her body onto the tiled floor. She went over to where she had placed
her belongings and searched through them for what to wear. Picking up a decent garment, she
brought out her mirror and worked on her face. Her hair was still wet from her bath, and she had
forgotten to pack for herself some towels, thinking that they would be staying at an inn and there
would already be some placed for them. She mentally noted to ask the old man for some towels.
When she was done, she stood up, taking in the expanse of her room. It was bare, and for
someone like Elena, who thrived on interior decor, she would have to work her magic in the
room.
She walked out of her room into the wide expanse of the bungalow. From the outlining of
the building, she knew that a section of it was meant to be used as a living room. The old man
probably saw no need for that as he was the only one who stayed in his house. She walked down
to Forest’s room, placed her ears against his door to try and listen for any sound before she
knocked on it.
A few moments passed before a groggy call to enter sounded. Trust Forest to still be
sleeping at that time. She slowly opened his door and entered the room, taking in its splendor,
something she wasn’t also able to accomplish the other night. The room was huge, but just like
hers, bare. She would have to ask the old man if he cared for a bit of decoration. She walked to
Forest, who was currently sprawled across his bed, his feet up against the headboard and his
arms flung to both sides of the bed. His eyes were closed though his mouth was open, silently
breathing in and out.
She walked over to him and glanced at him curiously and weirdly. She had never seen
him asleep in his room before, but she doubted it was normal for someone to sleep like that.
“Do you always sleep like this?” She called out, breaking the comforting silence of the
room. Forest jerked a bit and looked around, trying to gain focus. He finally stretched his head
and looked at Elena, squinting his eyes.
“Do you normally sleep like this?” She asked again. Forest looked down at himself. He
wasn’t wearing anything except for the small cotton shorts he had quickly put on before going to
bed.
“What’s wrong with how I sleep?” He asked, his voice coming out groggily.
“So you do sleep like this?”
“Yes, and so?”
“Hmm,” Elena said, nodding her head. “Now I understand why Wazir always bully you.
I’m thinking it has always been him who had suffered, not you.”
“Hey!” Forest called out, rising from his bed. “You can’t say that.”
Elena looked at him weirdly, her brows raised.
“Fine,” Forest sighed, rolling his eyes. “But he could have just told me he despised my
sleeping posture. I did not deserve the unwarranted torture he bestowed on me daily.”
“I’m thinking the torture forced you to sleep correctly for a while right?”
Forest frowned and remained silent, proving her right.
“I guessed as much. Come on, stand up. We have to go see Old man Porv.” Forest
groaned, lying back down on the bed and placing an arm over his face.
“I don’t feel like standing.”
“Don’t be lazy.” Elena lightly scolded. Then remembering something, she walked closer
to Forest and knelt next to him.
“How do you feel about finally getting to see your sister?”
Forest removed the arms from his face slowly, releasing a long sigh. He continued lying
flat on his bed, his gaze focused on his room’s ceiling.
“To be honest, I am very happy.” He started, his voice one of relief. “I knew I had a
sibling, but it had been so long, I was already forgetting how she looked like. What made me
recognize her though, was that necklace she keeps wearing. I can’t believe she kept it all those
while.”
“That necklace was the only thing you could remember?” Elena asked softly. Forest
nodded his head.
“Strangely, I do not know why I remembered it so vividly. Anyway, we have finally
reunited, but I don’t know…”
“You find it weird to rekindle your close relationship.” Elena finished for him. Forest
nodded his head, releasing another long sigh.
“Well, I totally understand,” Elena said, holding Forest’s hand. “I would find it weird to
suddenly become close to someone I haven’t seen or heard from for a long time, no matter how
close we were in the past. But then again, you and your sister have time now. You can rekindle
that closeness again, and I can even help you.”
“How?” Forest asked, curious.
“Well for starters, you can join me to learn sword fighting.”
“What?” Forest exclaimed, turning his head by the side to get a better view of her.
“I do not have the stamina, nor the slight interest in it.”
“Come on. I can’t believe you followed me all the way here to protect me while you can
barely protect yourself. For crying out loud you were kidnapped by a gang of cute women.”
“Still, I was able to hold out by myself!”
“Yeah, because you married all of them.” Elena teased.
“Ugghhh!” Forest groaned, getting out of his bed. “I knew you won’t let me live that one
down.”
“Who would? Wouldn’t you have done the same for me?”
“I’m going to have my bath.” Forest said, ignoring her as he walked over to his
bathroom.”
“Don’t take long,” Elena shouted behind him. When he had entered his bathroom, she
went out of his room and headed for Elion’s room. She knocked, and before she could blink,
Elion had opened the door. If Elena thought she was beautiful before, just then, when she opened
her door Elion looked divine. Mornings were wonderful for her. Elena felt a pang of envy at how
someone could be this beautiful. Clearing her head, she greeted Elion.
“Good morning. Just wanted to see if you were still sleeping, or awake, so we three could
head unto the main house.”
“Is my brother Awake?” She asked, stretching her head to face Forest’s room.
“I woke him up not long ago. He is currently taking a bath.”
“Okay. I am prepared though. I woke up earlier than most.”
“You have a hard time sleeping?” Elena asked, frowning.
“Naah. I have ways been like that. I wake up just at the stroke of dawn.”
“Wow.” Elena praised. “You and Forest are opposites. Come, let’s wait for him in his
room.”
“Okay,” Elion replied, leaving her room and silently shutting the door behind her. They
headed straight to Forest’s room and sat there, waiting for him to finish taking his bath.
After a while, the three finally came out of Forest’s room. They were all ready to face the
old man, so they headed straight towards the main house. Following the path they had taken the
previous day, they finally make it to the hallway where Calhoun had left them. They didn’t bump
into anyone when they arrived, and they continued their journey down the stairs till they reached
the living room. Sounds of voices and chuckling could be heard as Elena, and her friends made
their way to the living room. Upon seeing them, all signs of chattering stopped. Everyone turned
to face them, causing Elena to bristle a bit. She still wasn’t used to public appearances. The good
thing was she could finally study the faces of the people who stayed in the house. She already
knew Calhoun, and he looked at her intensely as he always did. The two men who came out the
previous evening to greet Calhoun were also seated in the living room, and besides them was a
woman with dark hair who looked at her curiously. The old man sat next to Calhoun, and he
smiled brightly once he saw them, walking over to where they stood with his arms open wide.
“Good morning, my newest guests!” He chirped, embracing all three in a tight hug. They
were all clearly uncomfortable, but they didn’t react otherwise.
“Good morning.” Elena managed to choke out amidst the hug. As she was the one in
front of the group, she had taken the full brunt.
“I can see you all are looking wonderful. The night rest must have been the best.” He
said, releasing them.
“Yes.” Elena agreed. “Thank you for your generosity.”
“Now, why don’t you join us for breakfast, and after a while, we can talk about the main
reason you’re here.” He said, leading them to where everyone was settled.