He sighs and gives me one last kiss on the forehead before bringing me out of the room. Huh. It's a little house. Its lime green walls and wooden shingles look like they need a repaint.
She lives here? Or rather, lived here? Why is it only one room?
"Ria!"
I snap my attention back from the house to look at the people waiting for me. They all look well-rested and groomed. No more bird's nests or scuff marks. Thank god. Lowell even has a tiny smile on his face that's similar to his previous serene smile.
Still...Something's off about him, too.
Nolan stands out among the crowd not only because of his height but because my feral brothers are practically hanging off of him. The triplets use his body like a jungle gym, he silently stands there accepting it without any sign of complaint.
Kissae looks a little tired, but that's to be expected. They're all ok. But someone is missing?
Yuchen notices my wandering gaze and correctly guesses who I'm looking for."If you're looking for Mother, she's busy. Someone had to explain that we're all ok to everyone back home."
Yusheng swung from Nolan's outstretched arm and announced. "By the way. We're all grounded for life!"
Yucheng groans and climbs onto Nolan's shoulder. "You too, Ria. She's so upset."
What! I didn't even do anything. Silently, I prayed for her to stay occupied while I'm here. What does grounded even mean here? Is it house arrest like what happened to Derrick?
Kissae limped over to me, and tears dripped down her face. I froze and was about to ask when she beat me to it.
"They took my jam! And that one keeps calling me fish girl! They tied me up just for having scales! How dare they?! Do something!" She pointed behind her and cried out her grievances. I awkwardly patted her head while Eric cleared his throat and gave her a reproachful look. An older woman from behind Nolan walked forward. Her chestnut hair was tied up in a bun behind her head, and had streaks of white mixing in. No veil?
Her dark green eyes measured me up and refused to let me go. I tilted my head as a strange sense of déjà vu overrode my senses. "Come with me."
Have we met before?
Somewhere…Somewhere…cold.
She turned around and headed out of the trees into a valley. I turned to Erichean, and he just shrugged. That's scary. No introduction or explanation, just a straight-up demand. "Who's that? What does she want?"
"I don't know. Let's do as she says."
"What? Don't you know anything else about her?"
"I think her name is Hypatia." He taps his fingers against my side, and I pinch his fingers.
"You think?"
"Mhmm." He followed after her, and down the small forested hill we were all standing on. Wooden rickety stairs creaked every time he put his weight on them, and I winced. At some point, he started pressing down on purpose, and I sent him a chilly glare.
Once we were finally on solid ground, I opened my eyes to see a new world. A valley bathed in the full glow of the moon and several hanging light sources that pulsed intermittently from jagged rocks above our heads was home to several people dressed in black. Pixies darted from side to side and cast warmer light on the simple houses built into the mountains and hills of the valley.
Below us, at the very center of the valley, lay a plain grassland. I could see larger log cabins that had chimneys spewing smoke from their hearths. It's so much warmer here than in the forest. Occasionally, a cold breeze that carried the scent of salt and burning meat skated over the rooftops and blew my hair in my eyes.
Erichean followed blindly after Hypatia, and she led us downwards again. To a ledge holding only one simple house. Grass grew wildly overgrown and untended. Mushrooms sprouted in every possible nook and cranny.
Judging by the structure outside, I could see that it at most had three large rooms, and despite its neglect, it was in a much better state than Niathe's. No cracks in the structure, vines crawled up the walls onto the roof, and provided fluorescent green and blue light, a couple of steps away, a stone brick well stood silently. The mouth is sensibly blocked with a wooden cap.
"This is yours. I'll be back soon. Be ready."
She leaves those words and no further explanation. I blink and look between her departing back and the house.
I questioned aloud."This is mine?"
"It seems so. By the way we're sharing." Erichean threw it out there so fast my head spun.
I recoiled."What, why?" Why can't he get his own? I've already been exiled to boarding school. The least the universe could do is not give me roommates.
His free hand opened the door, and we stepped over the threshold into the house. "There are no men here, Miseria. They made us sleep in the tents outside. The tents! The bugs almost ate us alive!" They even made Kissae sleep outside due to some bias against Kelpies.
That's not cool.
He complained while resting his chin on my head, and I rolled my eyes. "Poor baby."
Fine. I guess we can share. The house itself is probably made of stone, wood, and mud bricks. So it should be pretty warm and spacious. How is it so much colder here than in the duchy and the capital?
Nevermind. Maybe we're close to the sea? I did smell salt on the breeze.
Fine. The three rooms are already furnished and just need someone to move into them. Honestly, it reminded me of the house in my mind, but a little sturdier. With glowing vines as well. Interesting light source. I didn't see any lanterns or torches. They must only use fire for cooking or bathing.
Speaking of. No bathroom. I guess we'll have to do the do in the outdoors. Camping huh? Is this how the rest of the world lives?
"So what is this room?"
I took in the room, reminiscent of a yoga studio. It was the biggest in the house and had a bunch of blankets with strange patterns woven on their surface, covering the floor. Bowls and wooden sticks rest against the walls. An incense burner steadily puffed out mist that smelled of mahogany and spices in the far corner of the room.
Is that where Niathe gets her habit from? Only Hadrian, Meng Jialin, and Mother use incense regularly in the house. Freesia was set to teach me how to make it for myself before long.
Erichean stopped at the doorway of the room and refused to move any further."I think it's a prayer room. We should avoid it if possible. Let's check out that kitchen." He veered away from the open door to the simple kitchen. Is he afraid of witchcraft or something?
"You're hungry?"That's not normal.
"Of course. I'm not allowed in the canteen, so I've been roughing it for the past two days." He sighs to himself and shakes his dirty blonde hair out. It seems a lot darker in this lighting. We should put up lanterns around the house. Even though I can still see pretty well, the darkness provides a creepy ambiance.
That's off topic, though. "Why aren't men allowed in there, or rather here?" It's not a jab. I respect a business's choice to refuse service. I know plenty of clubs that excluded women and spas that excluded men. No matter how much it personally inconveniences someone or a group of people. No one is entitled to dine in a specific restaurant. That doesn't mean I agree with racism or discrimination. I just don't see the point in requesting service from a place that doesn't welcome you. However, there's usually a reason for such a policy. A bad one or a good one. There's always some kind of reason for a way a thing is.
"It confounds me, too." He shrugs and walks to the living room, and the first room we entered through. The smallest of the three in the house and the only connecting room. It features a small wooden dining table and a rather large kitchen. Although it seems a bit bare bones right now. A fire pit closest to a window and connected directly to a chimney takes up the corner closest to my room.
Two matching wooden chairs sit against the farthest wall, along with some of my suitcases.
They found my stuff! Praise be!
Erichean sits me on the dining table and raids the kitchen. Now that he's looking. "Hey Eric? Question."
"Ask away."
"Why do we eat regular food when we have blood? I'm not really hungry at all now after feeding from Lucian." It's true. Despite knowing rationally, I'm technically not full. I feel satisfied. Not even thirsty anymore.
"..." He closes a cabinet and sets a loaf of bread on the counter under it. Ooh. There is food in here! How sweet.
He cuts a slice and then another out of the multigrain loaf. "Well, let's think about it. Perhaps it's because, like most animals, we need fatty stuff to grow up. Although we do need blood to survive, we also need a bunch of energy to stay strong. Take meat, for example. If we only drank blood and avoided meat, I imagine we would become really skinny, and our bones would become brittle. Which isn't good, right?"
I shook my head no. That makes a little more sense, I suppose.
"This is Hawthorne, right? We made it? This place doesn't really look like a school. Why was I out for two days?"
He rests his hip on the wooden cabinet next to him and turns to face me."Are you feeling better now? You seemed pretty delirious up until yesterday." Concern bleeds into his tone, and I furrow my eyebrows.
Delirious? "I was? I don't remember. I guess I do feel pretty tired, and my legs feel like wet noodles. Did I really chase after you guys?"
He nods to my question and then shakes his head a second later."Hmm…They said that might happen...How long have you been experiencing gaps in your memory? Lowell told me that you didn't remember the first day we came here."
I look up and think back. Maybe? "I don't think I would know that." Gaps in my memory? I don't think so. Except for yesterday, I don't think anything like that has happened to me before.
He nods to himself and lathers the sandwich he's making with…Hey! "Is that my tea jam?"
He chuckles. "You mean our tea jam? Yes, I've been surviving off of it for a while. You're running out, by the way."
I growl at him. "Stop wasting food."