Zenia ate her fill and she felt like she wouldn't be able to eat for the next couple of days. All the dishes that Vaughn had suggested were all delicious. She never had such good food outside the manor before. She suddenly missed her mother's cooking.
Even though Zenia did not learn how to embroider properly nor did other things that most girls in Ishelon were trained to do, she could whip up a delicious meal. But, even the only womanly skill that she had may soon be forgotten since she rarely practiced it.
When they were young, it was Zekiah who did her embroidery and attended her class for the girly stuff that she was supposed to learn. She, in return, attended Zekiah's martial arts class. Their mentors did not notice anything off about them while they were in taking their lessons. In fact, they were constantly praised for doing a good job.
Ever since they were young, Zekiah was interested in learning the arts. Zenia had always been obsessed to learn the way of the sword and fighting. Luckily, they still grew up to be a normal boy and girl. Of course, their mother was there to make sure that they would grow up properly.
"Do you still want to try some more dishes?" Vaughn's eyes sparkled as he gave Zenia an affectionate smile.
"Big brother, I might not fit into my clothes anymore if I keep eating." Zenia flashed her winning smile that forever trapped Vaughn in a world that only Zenia could control.
Vaughn willingly allowed Zenia to control him in the palm of her hand. He knew that he would never get out of it since the day they first met.
"Do you want to walk for a bit?"
"That would be great. I will just take a look at my room first before we head out."
Zenia talked to the manager, and he personally showed her the room. Vaughn followed behind them.
"Gentleman, this is your room for the night. Please take a look and tell me if you need anything else." The manager was very polite when speaking with Zenia.
He tried his best to hide his evocative smile. 'The gentleman before must have taken a fancy to this young man. I can't blame him. Even I would fall for such a beautiful youth.' He chuckled subtly.
Vaughn guessed what kind of thoughts were running inside the manager's head. He glared at him when they happen to have eye contact. 'Don't let dirty thoughts ruin your mind.'
The manager turned pale. He understood the meaning behind Vaughn's stare. He couldn't help but admire Vaughn for being perceptive. Whoever married him would not be able to have a peaceful life. Suddenly, the manager felt pitiful for the unlucky future bride of the man with a menacing look.
Zenia's eye twitched when she saw the room. It was pink! The color of the room was pink. The bed cover, cabinet, rug – everything is pink. Zenia felt that her eyes were beginning to hurt. But, the room was undeniably cozy. When she looked out the window, she saw a stunning view of the night sky. She felt that the room assigned to her was not bad at all. Anyway, she wouldn't be able to see the pink color when the room turned dark.
"This is fine. I don't need anything more." Zenia gave a friendly smile, but she was thinking of something else. 'If I ask for anything more, you might give me more pink stuff.'
Vaughn's eyes captured every expression that Zenia showed on her face. He knew that Zenia preferred green-colored surroundings because it could make her feel she was connected with nature. For her, the color green could always calm her mind and body.
"If there's nothing else you need, I will take my leave." The manager wanted to run away at top speed to get away from Vaughn. He felt he might lose his head if he stayed a bit more and could not control his imagination from getting wild.
"I will wait for you downstairs if you're fine with this room."
"Sir, are you going to stay for the night in this inn too?"
Vaughn looked at Zenia and gave her a warm smile as he nodded.
"Why not call me Big Brother since we already had a meal together and become closer. I feel so distant when you address me like that. I think we will be spending more time together from now on."
Zenia thought for a while, and she decided that it made sense. The gentleman before her indeed helped her a lot, and there was a feeling of familiarity. She felt like she met him before and on several occasions, but she just couldn't tell when and where.
"Okay then, I will start calling you Big Brother Vaughn." She gave him the same smile as she did when she was little.
Vaughn blushed for a bit. 'Big Brother Vaughn…' It had been such a long time when he last heard it. Although the memory behind also bore an unsightly revelation, he got to admit that he had been waiting to hear Zenia call him that way again.
"So it's settled. I'm your Big Brother and you are my cute brother." Vaughn touched Zenia's nose lightly and chuckled.
"Cute brother? Isn't that a bit…" Zenia couldn't find the right words to complete her sentence. She wanted to say, 'A bit annoying and ridiculous. Who would call a grown man cute?'
"It's just a pet name that I will say out loud when we are alone," Vaughn reassured her.
"Okay then." Zenia scanned the room once more, and could not find any other color. She was just thankful that the color pink came in varying heavy and light shades.
She simply locked the door and tucked the key in her side pocket.
"Let's go Big Brother Vaughn."
The moment Zenia finished talking, she walked ahead of Vaughn. The Prince of Tissuria felt like he was walking on cloud nine. He could even see the flowers blooming around Zenia. He was in a daze, and anyone who had seen him at that moment would be creeped out.
* * * * *
Not far from the inn, two shadows found their way to the stables where Noir and the silver steed were being kept. They peeped through the slits of the stable's wooden wall.
When the short man saw Noir, he almost kicked the wall out of frustration. They finally found what they came for.
"That idiot almost ruined our plans. It was too difficult to steal the horse from the Crown Prince's stable and he just let his woman take it away." The short man with a wooden leg grumbled to a lanky guy next to him.
They traveled far, and almost non-stop when they heard that one of their men, named Roco, gave the horse to a woman named Merina. He met her when they arrived at the Principality of Ismund a year ago. He came with a group of mercenaries who came to Tissuria to try their luck.
They came from the Kingdom of Venetia. When the entire kingdom finally resolved their conflict through the help of Ovid Anisen, they were left with nothing much to do. The jobs they received were becoming scarce, and the life of a farmer was not for them. They left Venetia and began to check out other kingdoms that may offer them a job that they were good at doing – killing, stealing, fighting a beast, and anything but farming.
They heard from other mercenaries in other kingdoms about a secret mission to steal a horse from a certain noble house. The horse had a strange power that could cure a little boy's longtime illness. The pay was high, and they were excited that they were finally able to acquire a decent job after so many years.
They applied for the job and after a month, they received a secret missive instructing them to travel to the Kingdom of Tissuria, and a certain person would come looking for them. They must stay in the place where they first arrived.
They reached the Principality of Ismund after a month. Roco saw Merina and her mother selling some horses for farming. It was more like a trading post where a horse owner could sell his horse through the help of Merina's mother.
It was Merina and her mother who helped them know their way in Tissuria. They stayed at the Principality of Ismund for several months. At the time, Merina and Roco fell in love with each other. They planned to get married and have their own family. Roco wanted to separate from the group, but the man with a wooden leg told him to wait for a bit after they finished the job.
One day, the person they had been waiting for had finally met them. They knew that the man had a strong backing. They also knew that they were being thoroughly checked before handing them an important job. The work required stealing one of The Crown Prince's horses. What about the healing power that could cure a young boy?
The man with a wooden leg finally understood that it was just a made up story to cover the real reason for the job. They were offered a handsome reward – half now and the remaining would be paid upon the delivery of the horse.
After successfully stealing a horse, something happened along the way. Roco disappeared, and they knew that he betrayed them. They learned that Roco handed the black horse to Merina. By the time they were able to figure it out, Merina and her mother were no longer there. Someone told them that the horse had been bought, and the new owner was staying in an inn.
"Boss what will we do now? This inn's security is so tight. Causing a ruckus here may not be good."
The short man thought for a while and decided to stay for the night before taking their next course of action. They were about to leave when they heard two women talking. They instinctively hid behind the tree.
"Sister, have you seen the new guests at the inn?" A young lady in her twenties asked the pregnant woman who was the daughter-in-law of the hostler.
"Yes! If I'm not married and pregnant, I might have approached the taller man who has a cold gaze."
"I want the beautiful man with delicate facial features. He seemed like a woman, but I could feel that he is as strong as a mule." The young lady giggled.
"I heard from father-in-law that the taller man owns the silver steed and your beautiful man owns the black one."
"Ah, the black horse seems more graceful than the silver one. It resembles its master quite well."
The two women soon left the scene and the two men hiding behind the tree looked at each other.
"Boss, do you think that the Crown Prince came with his aide to retrieve the horse?"
"I'm not sure. From what I gathered, the Crown Prince had to wear a mask to hide his disfigured face. The woman clearly said that the owner of the black horse had a beautiful face."
From a distance, Zenia and Vaughn came out from the inn and walked in the direction where the two mercenaries were hiding. Vaughn felt a strange presence and became vigilant. Zenia felt it too, but she paid it no mind since there was no ill intent.
"Let's go over there, my cute brother. The view there is nice."
Zenia's eye twitched when she heard him call her 'cute brother'.
"I thought we agreed not to call me cute brother."
"I agreed not to call you cute brother when there are other people. Right now we are alone and no one else is here." Vaughn winked at Zenia and she knew that he too felt the presence.
"Okay big brother Vaughn." Zenia smiled at him once more and he felt his legs turned to jelly.