Danica looks at the couple, laughing. "He's very handsome." She remarks in a matter of fact tone. "He was a total stranger yesterday, and now he's sitting next to me, telling me stories." she says looking at him, narrowing her eyes.
"But I think he'd be more handsome if you didn't have that stupid moustache," Danica comments with an amused smile.
The women both start laughing, looking at each other. They laugh for several minutes before they calm down.
"I guess you're right," the woman in red agrees. "It would be much better without the hair," she adds with a sigh.
Feng Huan raises his eyebrows in confusion.
As they're laughing Feng Huan notices that the woman he met in the edge of the woods named Danica seems to be fiddling with a wooden object on her hands, making a soft but clear clicking sound.
"So how has life been treating you lately." the man in black finally asks him.
"Fine."
He pauses for a moment thinking of how best to phrase his question.
"Have you heard any news from the outside yet?" He asks bluntly.
"News? No. Not really. I've been staying here all on my... with him." Danica says, eyeing him, mystery swirling in her eyes.
Her face immediately turns serious, but the end of her lips are tugging upwards.He furrows his brows and tries to make sense of everything.
"You mean to tell me that this man is actually in your house?"
"Yeah. Well, I'm supposed to share this house with the old hag that I mentioned previously." Danica chuckles. 'There it is!' Feng Huan sighs. The clicking is getting to his nerves.
"Are you going to introduce us properly?" The man in black gestures towards Feng Huan.
"Right, yes. This is..." She takes one look at Feng Huan and says, "Waldo B-Bowman, the new resident here," Danica gestures with her hands.
"Buh Bowman?" the Man says, raising his eyebrows.
Danica glares at the man in black, causing him to shut his mouth. He looks at her questioningly.
"We just call him by his first name." Danica answers instead.
"So, how does it feel having someone living here with you? Are the chores any easier?" the woman in red asks, her voice dripping with curiosity. She places her hand on her hip and leans forward in her chair.
"It's manageable." Danica says, closing her eyes and exhaling from her nose. "It doesn't seem like anyone is looking for me though so there is no need for me to keep cleaning up after him when we're alone."
*click click* She laughs, opening her eyes again to look at Feng Huan. Feng Huan finds himself in a difficult situation. He can't understand what is happening and why he's here. If he was still in his home world, he would think this was a trick.
He feels completely lost, unable to make his mind work.
"Well I'm glad you've made friends already." the man speaks up. "Now that things are settled I would like to ask a favour."
Feng Huan watches as the woman's face morphs into a frown. "What kind of favour?" Danica asks, folding her arms across her chest.
"The Queen back in the Capital misses you dearly. Come home soon." the man says.
"And she will get angry?" Danica questions with a hint of annoyance in her voice. The man hesitates for a second before nodding his head slowly. "Yes. But I'm sure she won't harm you too badly. You could give her some good news." he says smiling.
The woman looks over at him, glaring at him. "If she asks, I don't care whether you want to give her good news or not. It's none of your business anyway." She states. "Why should I come back?" she finishes, turning back to look at Feng Huan.
"Baby, let's go back home...~" Danica, with a click of her wooden clave, weaves her arm around his. She looks at him with her beautiful bubblegum pink eyes, which twinkle under the morning sunlight.
Feng Huan closes his eyes for a moment.
"We'll discuss this later, Danica." he murmurs in reply. They then leave the inn and the two they just had conversation with.
"Where are you going?" he hears behind him.
"Getting away from the Queen's dogs." Danica says, without skipping a beat. She grabs hold of his wrist, pulling him along.
…
After walking around for a long while, they stop in front of a street stall selling steamed yam buns. A large crowd surrounds it, talking and laughing loudly.
"These are delicious. Here, try one!"
Danica pushes a buns into his hands. He smiles at the sweet taste on his tongue.
She reaches into her bag and pulls out two more buns.
Feng Huan doesn't know how she got those.
"What's up with those two?" Feng Huan asks.
"That's just them." Danica shrugs, "They're always hanging around these vendors."
"No I mean-"
"You don't need to know much, 'Waldo'." Danica scowls. "Just eat and enjoy yourself," she orders, placing the bun in her own mouth. He takes another bite from his bun and stares at them for a moment. He wants to know more.
A part of him just wants to go with the flow, but another part of him wants to know... But Feng Huan knows what he wants. He wants to go with how the story goes, let events happen. He doesn't want to meddle, but neither do he want to stay quiet and watch.
He bites into his bun again and keeps eating. Danica's face lights up once again as she sees him enjoying his food, with his eyes closed and a small satisfied grin on his face.
She reaches out and ruffles his 'stupid' goatee slightly, before letting her fingers rest there gently. His expression changes instantly, but he doesn't stop chewing.
Danica looks at him with a raised eyebrow and pokes his cheek. He makes a loud gasp as his lips part, causing his mouthful of bun to fall out.
She grins, and takes the rest of the bun out off his hands.
"Stop wasting food."
…
In a small mountain village east of a blackwood forest.
A man is wearing his silver cuirass and his triangular helmet as he inspects his surroundings. The ten or so quaint wooden cabins in this village and the firepit out in the open intrigues him.
Suddenly a voice sounds from behind him, startling him. "Sir, I have prepared the stables for your habitation." a woman says, bowing her head. She has a small face and a pointed chin, slightly thick eyebrows and puffy lips.
"Thank you, Ingle." he replies and gives her a polite nod.
He takes his helmet off and walks past her to go inside. She quickly follows him inside. "Sir! It's my honour to serve you!"
To that, the man in armour ignores her. He walks past one row of stalls and continues through the next. The woman who followed him enters the stable after him with her head bowed.
On entering the stable, they notice that there is a horse standing in one corner and another one lying down at its feet. The two horses are white, with a dark mane and tail.
"I'm sorry… if there is anything else you might require," Ingle says, her voice polite and eager.
"For now, no. Go ahead and rest. We will start tomorrow."
The knight turns towards the sleeping horse next to the other one and examines it for a moment.It looks like a normal mare with a saddle, bridle, reins and a blanket wrapped securely around it. The animal seems to be fast asleep, as it is laying perfectly motionless.
"Sir?" Ingle calls out to him, her voice is soft, contrasting to the ambience outside. Her eyelashes are fluttering like the figs during a slight upwind, "Do you need something else?" she says, hesitation clear in her voice as she faces from side to side.
"Stop doing that, it makes me dizzy." the knight says, command in his voice.
"Sorry." she apologises.
He gives her a curt nod. "Don't worry about it, Ingle. I only asked because there isn't any need for you to stand on ceremony." The knight turns away from the bedridden horse and walks further into the stable.
Inglesia stands by herself near the stable's doorway. Her boots are worn out from the long and constant travel from Kazoo Schloss. Her hair is messy, tangled and greasy, and her body is covered in dirt, mud, sweat and blood; all of them is dried on her skin and clothes. Her stomach growls.
"What a way to treat a lady, Sir!" Ingle mutters, putting her hands together and shaking them. The Papakha on her head is stained with water and mud, rotting flesh from the vast armies of the undead cling as chinks on her armor She looks terrible, dirty and exhausted.
She wipes her sweaty forehead, her pale blue eyes staring into the distance.
"I was only trying to do my job, Ingle." the knight mutters, continuing to examine the horses.
"I know." she sighs, before turning to walk back towards the firepit.
The knight continues to examine the horses in the stable. Their eyes stare back at him. They're cold and lifeless, their expressions void of any emotion.
He can only imagine the horror of living like this. This world is a horror to live in. With a heavy sigh, the knight sits down on a wooden stool next to the firepit and rubs his face with his hands.
The woman in armour enters the stable and sets down a bucket of clean water.
"Sir... please let me clean you." Inglesia kneels in front of him, the bucket of water in between them. She takes off his gloves and sets them down beside the bucket. The knight remains silent, as she removes the caked mud off of his face with soap and a sponge.
He watches as she cleans the dirt off of him. His eyes follow the action of her fingers. The knight had never thought much of himself. In his eyes, he'd been born ugly, with crooked teeth and weak muscles. He was an outsider, a bastard, a freak.
But with each passing day, he starts seeing things differently.
It begins with simple things like how the sun shines down onto the dirt, warming his face, making it feel warm; how the breeze moves his bangs, giving them some form of colour and life.
How people walk by, their footsteps echoing in the empty streets; how everything feels so vibrant and alive in the world. He finds himself watching people in general. He starts listening to conversations.
He notices the way people interact with others; the way they smile at each other, laugh, joke, cry. How they care for one another.
With every passing day, he begins to see the world around him in more depth and complexity. And when he thinks he understands, he begins to see a new piece of the puzzle.
One day the knight realises how little time he spends with her. How many times he's disregarded her, but her loyalty is unmasked, and she would be brash and would follow him everywhere he goes.
"Sir. Are you okay?" her voice snaps him back to reality, "Are you still feeling unwell? Did I do something wrong?" she looks at him, her eyes are glistening under the light of the torch hanging above her.
The knight shakes his head, "Not at all. You did nothing wrong, Ingle." he reassures her, "Just go get cleaned up. You'll be late."
"Yes, Sir." the woman says, but she stays put.
"Can I sleep next to you?" she asks.
He frowns at her, confused by her sudden question. "Why…?" he asks, not really wanting to hear the answer to the question.
"I don't know." she admits sheepishly "It's just that... I've always wanted to..." she looks down in shame.
"Go to sleep next to me?"
The morning that greeted them a few hours later starts with hard rain pouring down the sky. The wind howling in angry gusts across the valley floor, making the trees rustle and snap. There's no sound of birds chirping nor even the faint noise of the water flowing over rocks.
It's as though everything is muted, like a ghost of itself. The sun rises slowly in the horizon in bright rays of gold. Lights shine in windows, the sounds of people waking up echo faintly in the village, and everyone prepares for the day.
The Knight wakes up, his body feels heavy. He raises his head and looks to his side, seeing his loyal servant clinging to him, his hair falling over her face. A strand falls down onto his chest, tickling it slightly. Her face was buried in his chest. Her breathing is slow and steady, her breasts rising and falling with every breath she takes.
The knight looks down at her. She's beautiful. She has her brown hair scattered over her body. Her skin has a golden glow to it from the sunlight. Her pink lips look slightly swollen.
It made him wonder how deep her kisses would be. Her neck and shoulders curve inwards like wings. Her body fits perfectly against him, his arm tightly wrapped around her waist, pulling her close to him.
His hand rests on the left side of her chest, just below her shoulder blades. He gently strokes her soft skin with his thumb, feeling the rise and fall of her heart. The Knight closes his eyes and he forces himself up.
He gets up, his arms stretch, and he steps over the girl. He walks towards the window, opens the curtains, and peers out the window. The castle in the distance stands high and proud, its walls shining silver in the morning light.
Its roof is built entirely of glass, reflecting the light of the morning sun. He knows the Castle is hundreds of kilometres away, but it's so massive it can be seen from here. A castle so big and magnificent, that the city of Bergliez couldn't compare.
His mind wanders from there as his thoughts wander to the woman sleeping soundly in bed behind him. Ingle lets out a deep sigh, opening her eyes. Her body is warm, relaxed and comfy.
"Sir?" she asks as she gets out of her bed. "Sir?" she asks as she gets out of her bed. Her voice is groggy from sleepiness.
'I slept well." Ingle thinks to herself smiling.
"Good morning."
"Good morning, Sir" she greets him.
"Did you have a good night?" the knight asks while he grabs his helmet off of the ground. He takes a step forward, and turns his head to look at her.
"Of course."
...
Feng Huan is back in the spare room in the library, a bunch of papers are on his desk as a stern woman stands in front, looking over at his work.
"We have a problem here…" Stephanie looks down and squints her eyes at him, "These figures were completely different from the ones we used earlier, I think your calculations could be faulty. I suggest we take a closer look at the other two maps."
Feng Huan nods slowly.
Over the past few days Stephanie has been forcing Feng Huan to do paperwork. He's been in this world for a week, but he's still not winning. He has a lot to catch up on, a lot to read, and a lot of people to talk to. But there's not much he wants to do right now.
He was expecting some adventure or some rich heiress to marry him but now, he's here, slaving away writing all these papers.
Maybe he should ask someone else to deal with his paperwork. Goddamn, where is Rong when he needs her.
Feng Huan sighs. This is getting him nowhere.
Stephanie walks over to the table and places a small stack of letters down onto the parchment, "Here." she tells him, "You might want to start reading them first. Maybe they might contain something useful."
"Do I have to do this in order to get your help?" he asks.
"Yes." Stephanie replies, her hair swaying from side to side as she wobbles her head. She rests her chin on her hand as she sits down on her bed on one side of the side room.
Feng Huan sighs before picking up one of the letters in his hand.
"How many are there?" he asks, opening it. Making sure to not ruin the embroidered wax seal and the parchment envelope.
"Four hundred and forty seven." She replies.
Feng Huan reads through the first few pages. Totally foreign to him. He stops, looking up at her for a second. She seems serious. Not joking or laughing about something.
"... Is something wrong?" she asks, "Do I need to get something?"
"No, no, it's fine." Feng Huan reassures her, continuing to read. Once again, he doesn't notice the small smile forming on her face. She continues to watch as he reads over her documents. Occasionally he'll stop and write something.
His hands move quickly across the paper. Her right hand is covered with a white glove, and she hides it behind her back.
After about twenty minutes of staring, she finally speaks.
"So, what kind of advice do you have for me, my lord?" she asks.
He looks up, his eyes catching hers, "Well…" he looks away, clearing his throat and looking back up "What's this about?"
She lets out a soft laugh, her eyebrows raised in a slight arch. Her laugh sounded melodious as her eyes form crescents.
"Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't realise that my laugh might sound too annoying." She apologises with her left hand covering her mouth, "If anything, that made you look less bored!"