Kailen asked the staff at the inn about Celia's whereabouts, apparently, she was resting in her room. A member of staff sent a message from him asking her to chat, to which she accepted. Kailen arrived outside the door to her room, he knocked on the door before hearing her gentle voice replying.
"Please, come in."
Kailen opened the door and entered the room, his vision swiveled around the room not finding her present until he saw her through the thin pieces of cloth covering her bed. She was mostly covered by a quilt from what he could tell.
"I'm sorry for interrupting your rest."
"Don't worry about it, I've been awake for a while now."
Celia chuckled as she spoke, she then slowly removed the quilt and stood up from the bed. Kailen could make out her graceful slender body through the cloth though he couldn't see her body clearly just an outline. Kailen swallowed his saliva as he watched her slowly dress through the curtain, he assumed she wished to tease him so he showed no restraint.
After watching her dress for a few moments, she walked through the curtain and smiled innocently at him.
"Would you like some tea again?"
"Yes please."
Their routine followed a similar pattern with her pouring the tea before sitting opposite him, Kailen took a few moments to intake her appearance. Dressed in an elegant white robe that covered her body until just above her knees, her beautiful legs exposed below. The robe was partially open by her chest, accentuating her cleavage and white dazzling skin.
"So, what would you like to talk about today Miss Celia?"
"Oh please, just call me Celia. Hm, how about you tell me a bit about yourself? What are your ambitions?"
"I mean I haven't thought much about that, I merely follow what I desire."
"Hm, I guess that's a very unfettered way of living. Surely a long term goal provides guidance in life, don't you agree?"
Kailen took a few moments to ponder on her question before replying.
"That's true but deciding on a goal can restrict your actions. I'd prefer to set short-term goals, that way you can be flexible about the destination. And yourself? What's your long-term goal?"
Celia stared at him in silence for a few moments before answering.
"Hopefully, I can share my music with anyone who wishes to hear it and not just the upper classes. Where did you grow up?"
Kailen pondered over her seemingly noble goal, unable to understand her kind intentions.
"I'm an orphan from Cante in Cassar."
"Ah, so we have something in common."
Kailen observed her slightly lonely smile that seemed ever-present on her face, though when it came to her music she exuded a totally different aura.
"You're an orphan also?"
"Yes, though I'm from Yandar in Nictra."
A slightly awkward silence followed, though Kailen quickly broke it with a question to try and raise her mood.
"So how is it you got into music?"
Sure enough, her expression instantly brightened. Seeing her passion for music fascinated Kailen, plus he was curious how a poor orphan learned an instrument so well.
"Well, I happened to meet a very kind woman that took me into her house as a servant. As the Lady of the house, she took a liking to me and eventually started to teach me the harp."
Celia's smile turned kind and loving as she thought about her teacher, Kailen continued to quietly observe her. It seems her experience as a servant was much more pleasant than mine huh... he thought to himself.
Celia noticing a slightly distant look in Kailen's eyes proceeded to ask questions about him.
"So, tell me what happened to you growing up."
"Well, I was in an orphanage until I was eight then I joined House Avery as a servant."
Kailen refrained from describing any of the grim details from his time there, he didn't want to ruin the mood. Though Celia noticed the look of pain and hatred that flashed through his eyes mentioning the name.
"Hm, I see. How did you get freed of your service?"
Servants were normally servants for life especially for orphan kids that had little other prospects in life.
"I was sold to the Arena in Cante as a slave..."
"I apologize for bringing up a painful subject."
"Oh no it's nothing, my time there was much more enjoyable anyway."
It was there that Kailen developed his love for fighting and martial arts, it filled a void within him and provided his life with meaning. Though he faced life and death struggles daily and had no freedom, he felt in control of his destiny.
"And how were you released from slavery?"
"That was where I met my friend from the Oxford Family, they bought me and set me free."
Celia was puzzled by his last statement, though his smiling face seemed to show no falsehood. Why would a member of the Oxford family be in Cante... and why buy him? Her thoughts were spinning but no answers were found.
"Hm, it seems you will have plenty of interesting tales to tell..."
Celia and Kailen continued to talk for another hour before Kailen excused himself and headed outside the city towards a large open field and trained with his saber. He repeated the same basic attacks repetitively aiming to build better muscle memory and technique to his swordplay. Kailen continued until his arms trembled before cultivating and repeating.
The day flew as he returned to the inn as the sun was setting over the river, Kailen wanted to experience the nightlife of a city for the first time. He cleaned himself and changed into semi-decent clothes and searched for Kenneth, his only acquaintance in Lazar.
Kailen found him on the ground floor lounging around on a chair, he sprang to his feet as he saw Kailen and dashed towards him.
"There you are! I've been looking for you!"
"What's up?"
"You want to have some fun?"
Kenneth had a bright smile on his face as he excitedly pulled Kailen along after seeing his nod of confirmation.