The Scent of a kind Stranger
~
The Luna-dynn Cottage,
The rustic Village of Drift-Combe,
Kingdom of Velicia,
Darkling hours of Nightfall,
The Eighth Day of the Month of November,
Thirty Third Year of the Reign of King Jesse Crestings
Once Amelia had locked the door behind her, she felt safe. But she knew that Jasper was a lad that slept scarcely and would have awoken to the sound of the door.
And so, she hastened up the stairs like a thundering army of horses to change into more presentable clothes than a gown with a ripped bodice and an unknown man's long cloak.
Placing the novel, 'A Cry of War and a Plague', upon the bed side table, the damsel swept her long flowing curls of brown hair into a large upsweep and removed her garments.
She safely folded the coarse cloak from Lance and took a long sniff of his masculine scent in the fabric. It brought back the feeling of how he held her close, protectively, until she could gain footing and calm her nerves. It felt upsetting to think that his smell on the cape would soon fade and she wouldn't know where he was even from.
The thought made Amelia realise that she hadn't a shred of clue regarding his whereabouts, his origin or even where he hailed from or how long he would stay in the kingdom.
The damsel herself, on the other hand, had relayed to the stranger where her cottage was, that she was a part of the Reading Association, where to find her should he ever need any favours, had left her ripped cloak with him and so much more.
Just as she was pondering over what had happened, she heard Jasper's knock on her door, calling, "Mel? Are you back?"
"Yes, one moment please", the damsel called back to her brother, before quickly shoving the tall man's cloak into the closet and drawing out another simple gown. She dressed herself as fast as she could and opened the door to see Jasper sleepily leaning against the frame of the threshold, dirty blond hair dishevelled and eyes seeming annoyed.
"Why did you come?" he asked, striding into her room.
"You could be nicer, you know", Amelia rolled her eyes, thankful deep inside that she had put the ripped gown and the cloak into her cupboard where he couldn't see it.
Jasper folded his arms and stared at her like he was genuinely disappointed. "You know you're growing a lot more careless these days than you realise", he said, sounding stern.
The damsel did not say anything in opposition, for she knew he was right. Although she had needs, both times when she had been outdoors, she was caught in dangers she could not have survived, had she been saved by mysterious strangers.
The young lad went on lecturing her about the perilous things that could happen to her, and said, "What makes you think it wasn't pure favour that kept you safe all this time? Do you even know what people are capable of?"
"It's more than just favour", Amelia said, looking down at her feet. "It's divine providence.
Jasper perched on her bed and quirked a brow, wondering what she was talking about.
The damsel of brown hair knew that her brother would pulverise her if she told him all that had truly happened, but she knew that it was the right thing to do. After all, the found siblings never really held anything back from each other.
She took a deep long breath, before saying, "I was actually attacked by the enormous Hounds last night."
Jasper's gasp and his eyes as large as the mood was enough testimony that she'd shocked the senses out of him. "Y-you're jesting, right?" he stuttered, like he could not imbibe what she had just said.
The damsel, in response, shook her head 'no'. "I really was in danger, but some mysterious men came out of no where and slew the beasts. They saved me as well", she said, hoping her cheeks weren't growing ruddy with a blush.
Her brother still remained muted with shock. Then, when he had collected himself, he asked, "Does that mean the rumours about vigilantism are true?"
"Yes, they are. But the official news does not cover it", Amelia said.
"Maybe it is because that reflects poorly on the knights and so the Royals didn't want news to spread across the whole kingdom, tainting their internal system?" Jasper added.
It seemed quite valid, and his opinion must have been from his perspective given the fact that he was aspiring to become a knight or a soldier one day.
"But I believe the men who are vigilantes are knights themselves", she said.
"But why would they do their duties undercover for no credit?" Jasper said, sounding sensible.
"I know it sounds odd, but I truly do believe so. The Head Knight of our wing is the sort of man who would evade all credit. Perhaps he foredid the beasts because they needed to be slaughtered before they would rampage the village, but it wasn't his office to patrol the area and so maybe he did it undercover? After all, the men that saved me were in the gear of the knights, bearing the Castle's official insignia. So it wasn't false, they truly were knights on duty", Amelia reasoned.
"Well, their identity does not matter. I am glad they were there to save you, like they were God-sent", the young lad of blond hair said.
Amelia nodded. "Actually, I went to Duke Walterus' estate today on occasion of work and met him there. And he was excessively kind to me. I even joined the Reading Association Miss Charlene is running and he's a member there as well", the damsel said.
Jasper's brows shot up, "What?!"
His sister giggled in response, "That's where I got the novel. And I will be going there again for weekly meetings."
"You're jesting, right", Jasper asked, looking suspiciously at her.
"You wish I was", the damsel laughed, before tucking a hand under her blouse and pulling the card of membership out of her brassiere. "This is the pass I get to use to enter."
~