After that day, as we returned to the tavern at sunset, sir Exios carried a lot of bags, but it didn't seem to bother him at all.
While I only kept the bag in which contained the clothes that sir Exios bought me.
As sir Exios placed down the bags-
"Can I go upstairs and try on the clothes?" I asked impatiently, looking at sir Exios, as I wanted to wear the new clothes.
"Yeah, go on." He gave a chuckle.
As soon as he spoke, I turned my way to the door which led upstairs.
I hurriedly went up, got inside the bedroom and closed the door.
I took off the cotton bag that I was carrying all along and then took out all the clothes, placing them all on top of the bed.
"Woah…" My eyes sparkled in amusement.
One by one I tried each dress that sir Exios bought me.
"I like them all." I softly spoke, in a slightly cheerful tone.
-----
As Exios was quietly organizing the supplies that he bought from the shops earlier, his eyes met the bright yellow eyes of a woman.
The woman from the picture frame, whose eyes were filled with joy and life.
He paused, placed the supplies on the counter and slowly walked to the table that had picture frames of a woman and a child.
He stood still for a moment and with his hand, slowly moving, he touches the picture frame wherein the woman was smiling so brightly while holding her big belly.
He touched the cheeks of the woman in the picture, to be exact.
His eyes were filled with warmth and sadness.
He grabs the picture frame and stares at it quietly, cherishing it.
"I don't know what I got myself into, but… if it leads me to answers of what happened to you, then it's worth trying."
He looks at the picture again, with a deep stare.
Standing still and just holding the picture on his hand.
He gives a sigh before speaking again.
"But I'm afraid that she might be involved…
What if i get too fond of that child and forget about everything?" He shifts his eyes to the pictures where showed a little boy.
"She reminds me a lot of him, Lea." He paused.
"Well, everything reminds me of you."
-----
On a rainy day, a man covered in a heavy armor with a hint of light purple, walked fiercely and quickly, stomping on each mud on the ground with no hesitation.
'Fuck the training.' The man thought, while he aimlessly walked across the village, with the rain pouring and making sounds to each drop that hit the armor.
The village had many bars and taverns open at night, filled with drunk men shouting.
But the man tried to find a place where he can drink in peace.
He walked for a while and found a small Tavern, which inside was illuminated by a warm light, but no people in it.
He stopped and looked at it, as if he strangely found what he has been searching for.
He enters the tavern and looked around.
It had plants everywhere and very few tables and chairs.
But the lanterns hanging up where dazzling, which made the place look more comfortable.
As he takes a few steps, his armor made cackling metal noise, while it made the wooden floor, in which he was standing on, wet due to the drenched man.
"Huh? Welcome- "A woman appeared by standing up to the counter, as it seemed like she was busy organizing something by crouching down.
The woman had a light caramel wavy hair, with yellow eyes.
She stopped talking as she was surprised by the man standing still, all drenched.
"Wh-why are you not standing on the carpet! You are making the floor all wet!" She shouted at him.
The man gave no response to the woman.
A moment of silence filled the air.
Eventually the woman, flustered by the situation, took a deep breath.
"At least take off the wet armor. I do not want to have to clean the table and chair." She said as she got out of the counter and went inside a room.
The man, after the woman had left him alone, slowly took off his armor.
As he took off the helmet, it revealed his short red hair and brown eyes.
He silently looked around, as he was carrying the armor on his arms.
The woman then came back after a few minutes of waiting.
She walked towards Exios, while carrying on both hands two large towels.
She stopped and extended her arms to give him the towel.
But after a few seconds of waiting for him to take the towel, she realized that his hands were occupied, carrying all the armor he took off, and couldn't get the towel by himself.
"Ah." She realized.
She decides to put the towel onto his shoulder and then crouched and put the other towel onto wooden floor.
"Here, put the armor on top of this." She ordered him.
Exios instantly, and carefully, placed the armor on top of the towel.
Both of them were unknowingly crouching closely to each other, causing their eyes to meet.
Which made Exios get charmed by the woman's beauty, seeing her face up close.
Both stared for a while, but the woman began to blush.
"Is there something on my face?!" She uttered aloud.
She then stands up, touching her face, while walking into the counter.
"Whenever you are ready to order, please tell me." She said as her eyes were looking down, while covering her mouth out of embarrassment.
Exios finally decides to stand up, while drying himself with the towel that the woman gave him.
He walks to a table and sits down.
"Do you have anything to eat and drink? Possibly not beer or ale. I haven't eaten anything since this morning, so I would like something to satisfy my appetite." Exios spoke, looking at the wooden circular table.
"Of course, what type of food would you- "
"Anything is good, thank you." Exios cut her off.
"Oh, okay." The woman said briefly.
After a while of cooking and preparing, the woman walks towards Exios, with a plate where the smoke could still be seen.
She placed the plate down in front of Exios, which had two eggs, a bacon and a bread.
"Ah! I forgot the drink." She hastily got back to the counter and grabbed a glass filled with milk, where, afterwards, placed it next to the plate.
Exios stared at the plate, dumbfounded.
Then stared at the woman who was smiling from ear to ear.
"This doesn't seem like an afternoon meal or dinner." Exios spoke.
"Well, you said you had not eaten since this morning, so I prepared you breakfast. Because it is the first food that gets served every day after waking up." The woman smiled beautifully.
No one knew what was going on through that woman's mind, but for some reason to Exios it made sense what she said.
"Thank you for the food." Exios grabbed the utensils and started eating.
Even if the food seemed little, Exios felt satisfied.
After finishing the food, he was ready to pay.
He grabbed some gold coins from his pocket and placed them on the counter, where the woman was.
"Ah." She shook her head and smiled at Exios.
"I noticed that you might have had an unpleasant day. So, no need to pay, it's on the house."
But Exios left the gold coins on the counter and started walking towards the door, which led outside.
"Wha- hey!" The woman shouted.
He stopped to put his armor back on, which was now damp.
The woman took the chance to give his money back.
She grabbed the gold coins and walked rapidly towards him.
"I do not need this. As I have told you, it's on the house." She extended her arm, waiting for him to get the gold coins.
Exios was almost finish putting his armor on, only the helmet remained on his hand.
He looked at the woman's hand, where the gold coins where, then looked the woman in the eyes.
"What is your name?" He asked.
"Uh…" She looked at him with an astonished look.
"Leanna." She responded.
"Leanna Einar." She told him, again.
"Exios." He kept looking in her eyes.
"Exios Levine Achlys." Exios puts the helmet on and left the tavern, leaving Leanna alone, with her arm still extended.
"Levine… Achlys? Where have I heard this surname before?" She muttered.
After a few seconds of realizing who she talked down to earlier, she was appalled.
She slowly covered her mouth, which trembled a little, and then screamed out of embarrassment.
After their first encounter, Exios couldn't forget her for a few days.
Whenever he woke up, he trained, got scolded and walked around, he would always think about that light fluttering caramel hair and yellow eyes.
Leanna always seemed to run around through Exios's head.
As if it was love at first sight.
It was something that Exios never believed in.
Or something precious that he thought he could never experience.
And when he wanted to see her, he would visit her to the place where they first met.
And the place where Leanna worked all the time.
On their second encounter, Leanne apologized to Exios, bowing her head continuously due to what she said to him previously.
But after a while, when Exios kept visiting her again, and again and again, people started coming to Leanna's tavern.
It was because of Exios, who would sometimes bring a few of his colleagues from the training grounds.
And of course, Leanna always wondered why Exios kept coming in the tavern.
But she enjoyed their time together.
She enjoyed his company, even when he was always serious and stiff.
One night, one of Exios's colleagues brought a camera.
"Hey, hey! I'm going to start capturing some moments, so smile when I take a photo of you!" The guy who had the camera, shouted.
Everyone cheered and so the camera man started taking photos everywhere.
As Leanna looked at the guy taking pictures, she was hesitant about something.
After a while, while the camera man was looking at the pictures he took, Leanna thought that it was the perfect moment to ask him something.
"Take a picture of us." Exios came forward instead, talking to the camera man, while grabbing Leanna's shoulders closer to him.
Leanna, who was not expecting this, was flustered.
But what she wanted to ask to the camera man was manifesting.
A photo with Exios.
Tchick!
The camera made a sound, while Exios was standing still and firm next to Leanna, who was smiling brightly.
-----