They pulled out of the hug and May turned to me. "This is my brother Alester. Alester, this is Prince Dedrin." I remained silent and Alester's smile faded as his eyes rested upon me. Just then Xyler came in after us and closed the door as he spoke. "I'm very interested in learning about this quest you two are going on. Have a seat and you can tell us all about it."
May nodded cheerfully and found a seat at the table. She then waved to me and gestured to the seat next to her. "Come on, Dedrin!" I sighed and walked over to sit down. 'The food better be good.' Alester sat down in front of us and Xyler went into the kitchen. "I'll be back with the food." I noticed that Alester was irritated with my presence, but May didn't seem to notice as she talked about how good it was to be home.
Once the food was served I realized where May received her skill of cooking. Everything that her father made was a masterpiece from the baked potatoes and steamed vegetables, to the berry juice and creamy desserts. I didn't speak the entire time from how I couldn't go a second without their delicious food in my mouth.
Luckily I didn't have to speak because May was filling her family in on everything that happened to us. By the end, both her father and brother were in awe of her story. "And then we escaped into the forest before the Wrangwobblers could get us! Dedrin didn't even show a hint of fear as he faced them! It was amazing!"
Xyler then turned to me. "I've never heard of someone so brave!" Alester crossed his arms with an unamused look on his face. "Even braver than Damien." May paused for a moment then smiled. "I guess so! Speaking of, I should go see Damien! I can't describe how torturous being away from him for so long was!" She was about to get up when her father stopped her.
"Wait just a moment young lady, it's very late. Damien probably isn't even awake now, why don't you go see him in the morning? After all, this is family time." She laughed a little. "Of course papa. I guess I got ahead of myself." She then turned to me excitedly. "How about you come with me? I can show you around my village! I'm sure everyone would be so happy to meet you! Damien will be too, he's the nicest person in the universe!"
At that moment I noticed Alester rolled his eyes as I turned to May. "We don't have time for-" May interrupted me, too excited to wait for a response. "Oh! I should start packing for tomorrow! We have a big day ahead of us!" She then flew out of her seat and went upstairs in a flash. Her father then sighed. "I swear that girl has ADHD. Care for seconds, Your Highness?"
I had to stop my mouth from yelling yes as I answered. "Sure." Xyler nodded happily and then took our plates into the kitchen. I noticed that after he left Alester's eyes narrowed at me as he held his arms in a crossed position. "Hey." I looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "What?" He didn't move as he spoke to me. "If you hadn't noticed, my family has trust issues. As in, they trust too easily. My sister is my best friend and as her brother, it's my job to protect her. So I want to make sure that you aren't going to hurt her while on this quest of yours. Are you?"
I wanted to laugh at this child's attempt to appear intimidating, but my face remained still. "It depends on how annoying she gets." He shook his head. "I'm not in the mood for jokes." I was completely serious but didn't care to correct him. "Did Damien get this little talk of yours as well?" He nodded. "I don't trust him either." A moment later Xyler returned with the plates, and once he dragged May back downstairs we finished dinner.
By now it was very late and after everything was put away, Xyler gestured for me to come upstairs. "Our sleeping room is upstairs." May then joined in, hurriedly. "Oh, Dedrin would probably prefer one of the flowers for resting. Humans don't sleep together apparently." Xyler turned back to me in surprise. "Really? How do you fall asleep without the comfort of someone you love next to you?" I raised an eyebrow but said nothing. 'That's easy. I just don't love anyone. These fairies are getting more nauseating the more I look at them.' I thought.
May finished explaining that it's normal for other species, and then led me back outside. I followed her around the house to see many large flowers that grew tall and looked big enough to hold a person in their buds. May turned to me with a smile. "Which one would you like?" I gave her a confused look. "What do you mean?" She raised a hand to point to the buds above us. "To sleep in of course. They're so cozy and soft, and many of our visitors love their accommodations. They're like a mini hotel. So which one?"
I crossed my arms. "I don't care." She then turned to fly around them, looking at each as if she were trying to find the perfect one. I sighed and followed her to stop at the base of a blue flower. She smiled brightly as she tapped its stem. "Hi, Blue. Would you mind letting my friend sleep here tonight?" I had no idea what she was doing until the bud of the flower opened slowly, and the stem bent so the top reached the ground.
May spread her arms like she had just performed a magic trick. "Ta-Da! Thank you, Blue." I looked at her blankly. "The flowers are alive?" She laughed. "All flowers are alive, silly." She then pointed to the flowers around us. "This is Blue, that's Pinky, Red, Yellowie, Purple, Orangey, Violet, Augustus, and so on." I shook my head in annoyance and May turned back to me.
"I do suggest taking your armor off before going to sleep in there though. The petals cradle you like a blanket, and I'm sure that would just cause armor to stab in places." I hesitated. 'I haven't slept without my armor since before I was kicked out of Reinthoria. Sleeping in it is beyond uncomfortable, I can't imagine it being worse. But how would I protect myself while I sleep? I'd be completely vulnerable there. Well, it is very high up...'
The battle between comfort and safety was finishing with comfort as its victor, and I started to take my armor off, angrily. May then flew beside me to take the pieces I took off. "I'll put these in a safe place." I removed my chestplate and handed it to her. "You better not lose another piece. I haven't forgotten how you let my helmet go so easily."
She didn't respond and her face became surprised as she saw my bare upper body. I took off the metal from my black pants and removed my boots and sword from my belt. I handed them to her, and despite the large pile of metal in her arms she continued to stare. I put a hand on my hip and raised an eyebrow. "Enjoy the show?"