Crimson shuts the tavern's door in front of Clarkson's face.
"It was good to see you too." He muttered, while keeping a fake smile printed on his face.
He looked at the tavern, measuring it, analyzing it in his mind, trying to remember every inch of it before turning away.
Walking slowly he recalls what Crimson said earlier.
-
"So, who is that little girl?"
"Just someone in my care, so don't bother."
-
"And so?
Have you finally weakened or what?
Don't you sense her energy?
She doesn't have that much of energy and she's weak as a butterfly.
There are other kids who might look like the girl you're searching for, but instead of searching for the appearance, search for the flowing energy as you can sense it easily.
But I'm guessing that you don't sense any at all, otherwise you wouldn't come at us and bother us throughout the whole journey."
-
"Making you talk a lot means that I overwhelmed you.
And when you are overwhelmed there's a part of it that is truth, and the other part of it is a lie.
Regardless, even if she is the kid or not, it's better to be sure than sorry.
You… really had to be involved, huh." Clarkson sighed, annoyed by the situation.
He looked straight ahead, getting much farther away from the tavern, thinking of various possibilities in his head, but all he could think of was how his sister got involved, and how it could be a nuisance to him.
'They might have changed her energy flow, but thanks to my sister there's a high chance that she is the kid we have been searching for.
You tried your best, sis.'
Clarkson knew his sister, as he tried to remember all the times, she lied to him back then when they were little kids.
Of course, as siblings who were always together, making them inseparable back then, they know each other so much that they can tell what the other sibling was thinking.
Clarkson walked away from the tavern, as the night slowly creeped in.
-----
Ms. Crimson was in a more devastated state when she read the letter.
She kept moving around, shuffling her hair aggressively, whining.
"Why the fuck did it have to be now?!" She loudly cursed, without having a care about me being in front of her.
I just looked at her, lost for words, as I was afraid to ask her what was wrong and where sir Exios was, not wanting to worsen the situation.
But I asked her regardless.
"Where is sir Exios? Did something happen?"
She stopped moving and looked at me dead straight into my eyes, which gave me chills.
I knew I should not have asked as her human figure was slowly fading away, becoming all pale and angrier, eventually leading her to-
"HAH! If i see an inch of flesh of that man, I swear I will tear him apart."
I gave a deep sigh and just decided to walk into the counter and make two iced teas, for both me and Ms. Crimson.
I grabbed two glasses near the sink and checked the container for a specific plant, which was the special ingredient of the original iced tea of sir Exios.
"Ugh, I'm having a headache.
First I met up with that bastard, then the other bastard is gone.
And then I have to take care of this little kid for one day, hoping for that asshole to come back by tomorrow night.
Otherwise I'll really be in a psychotic state."
Ms. Crimson mumbled as I hear her stand up and walk slowly near to the counter.
After shuffling the things in the container, I finally got a tiny sack which contained some dried Camellia leaves.
I got the tiny sack and closed the container.
Creeek
Ms. Crimson sat in front of the counter, in which I prepared the iced teas, she kept her head down to the table, maybe overthinking the whole situation, again.
I placed down the ingredients onto the counter and started thinking about how I should execute this perfectly.
"Ms. Crimson, I need your help please." As there was a chair in the counter, I got onto the chair before placing down the ingredients, so I was able to be at the same height as Ms. Crimson, to which I tapped her head a few times.
"Can you heat up the water? Wait until it boils, please." I said, as I continued to tap on her head.
She stayed motionless for a moment, then got up slowly, with her head still down.
She went in the counter and started firing the stove.
"Where is the kettle?" She asked in a gloomy tone.
"Under that cabinet." As I pointed it to her, I grabbed a small knife and started cutting an orange into thin slices, which showed such a juicy and orangey texture.
I could hear Ms. Crimson getting the kettle and filling it with water.
With just the right amount, she placed it on top of the fire, which was set at a high heat.
I grabbed a medium sized glass, which was half smaller than the two glasses.
In that glass I placed the plant inside, and for the two glasses, which were sitting there, I swirled in some honey syrup.
"Ah, Ms. Crimson can you also make ice cubes? Sir Exios would always make ice cubes appear out of nowhere in the glasses." That was right though, I always wondered how he did it, but he told me that it was too complicated for me to understand and that when I grow older like him, I would be able to do it too.
Even though he did say that it was pretty dangerous to use it outside, and that it should always be used in secret.
So he never uses his 'magic' in front of other people, but neither to me.
He only showed me the ice cubes as a form of magic.
"Yeah, sure." She instantly made six iced cubes, three to each glass, with a brief wave of her hand.
"Woah." I was amazed at how she did it.
"Thank you!" I said as I put two slices of oranges and two mint leaves on both the glasses.
I grabbed a thin spoon and waited patiently for the water to boil.
"No wonder he asked me to take care of you, god." She muttered, looking at me with those tired yellow eyes.
I also looked at her, but I didn't ask any question or spoke further.
All I did was give her a smile, that was slightly shown on my face.
The silence was felt, and the two of us were waiting patiently for the water to boil.
Ms. Crimson sighed and turned the stove off.
"It's hot enough, where do you want me to pour it?" She said as she grabbed the kettle's handle.
I indicated the medium sized glass.
"Pour it in there, fill it in." I looked at her, waiting for the hot water to melt the dry plants.
"Oh, how I wish to put this on Exios's head." She poured in the hot water into the glass, maybe even imagining a scene where she pours it into sir Exios's head.
I ignored her threats to sir Exios's and just continued making the iced tea.
It was almost ready.
I stirred the hot tea and gently poured it on both glasses.
And there it was done.
The caramel orangey color, with the dazzling slices of oranges and the honey below that was slowly melting, but at the same time some of it was firm due to the ice cubes coldness.
I stirred both of the glasses and handed a glass of iced tea to Ms. Crimson.
"Drink it." Patiently waiting for her to grab the glass.
She first looked at me, still with tired eyes on her face, before analyzing the glass.
She slowly grabbed the glass and strangely sniffed it.
After doing so she finally decided to take a sip.
For a few seconds her eyes stared at me with a confused look.
"You. Made this?" She looked at me, then the glass with a suspicious look on her face.
"You just saw me making it." I said as I grabbed my glass and drank it.
She remained silent, as I continued to drink the iced tea.
"Not… bad." She said as she took a sip, and after that she continued taking another sip.
Fortunately, I kept her distracted from thinking of a way to threaten sir Exios as I made her the iced tea.
All we did that night was finish the iced tea.
It was a quiet night, but it was a good moment.
At least for me, I did not know what Ms. Crimson was thinking, except for the fact that she kept saying vulgar things out loud.
After that we both went to bed, she knew how the tavern was structured, so she stayed in the guest room downstairs, while I stayed in my bedroom.
That night I kept thinking of sir Exios's son.
But what I also wanted to know was what happened to the woman in the picture frames.
The woman who had such beautiful wavy caramel hair and a bright smile, in which the little boy definitely got from.
'Maybe she also disappeared, like the son.' I thought, but Amelyn never mentioned the woman.
-----
The first rays of sun rise beamed in a bedroom, with light purple wallpaper on the walls.
A small room, but the size is spacious enough for a person to sleep in.
The soft white bed was untouched, while Crimson was sitting on the wooden floor, with her back laid against the wall.
Her red wavy hair touched the sun's light, while her eyes rested.
The sounds of the birds chirping became more distinctive, a few people already started getting out to do their daily chores, such as: laundry, gardening, opening shops or restaurants.
Crimson was sitting still on the dusty wooden floor.
She got some sleep last night, but she was half awake for any inconveniences.
"Nothing happened." She whispered and slowly opened her bright yellow eyes.
She thought that maybe something would have happened to her and to the child, as they met up with her brother yesterday.
She carefully thought that maybe his brother might have caught on and analyzed any possibilities of breaking in the tavern.
But strangely enough there was no such thing.
Well, for now.
"Sighs." She touched her forehead, as she had a light headache all night.
"Why did I even step in." She touched both of her temples as she recalled what happened last night.
-----
As Crimson left the tavern, she looked around the shops before getting back to her tent.
She stayed in her tent and sat back on a grayish couch.
"Me? Taking care of her? Yeah, that's not going to happen." She sneered.
As she laid there for a while, she started thinking of the dull red amulet.
The one that she gave to Exios, the exact one that beamed a bright red color when the child played with it.
She recalled Exios performing something on that amulet, in which he placed it on the child's clothes.
'Maybe it is just another thing to weaken her energy, just like how he did to those iced teas he gave her. Embedding some type of magic to weaken or camouflage her energy.'
She remembered her talk with Exios, in which he was cleaning the child's glass and mentioning her undetected energy flow.
She shook her head intensely and closed her eyes, not wanting to think about Exios or the child.
"Ugh, get some sleep woman." She told to herself.
And in fact, she fell asleep easily and did not wake up for hours.
Until a loud ringing in her ears woke her up.
She stood up discomposed.
"The fuck." She said as she squinted her eyes.
Ahead of her was a bright sparkly red line, swirling and leading outside her tent.
"What the fuck?" She repeated in confusion.
She thought that maybe she was dreaming, but everything seemed too real, and the energy through that bright red line was clearly felt.
A familiar light sense of energy.
She slowly stood up to her feet and decided to follow the red line.
As she got out of her tent, following the red-light line, she noticed that no one could see it.
No one, but her.
After not too long of walking and following the line, she encounters three figures not too far from her.
The line directly penetrated into the little girl's back, who was talking with someone with whom she was clearly familiar.
"Clark?" She whispered softly, staring at her twin brother with her eyes wide open.
-----
I went down the tavern as I finished washing up.
My hair was wet and just dried it with a towel, a bit messy, but it has always been like this.
The first thing I see, entering the tavern, was Ms. Crimson placing down two plates on a table.
I walked into the table, to where Ms. Crimson was sitting.
"Sit down and eat." She said as she had already taken the fork and started digging in.
I sat down and looked at plate.
"Oh, pancakes." But they were a bit too burnt off the edges.
On my plate there placed three pancakes with maple syrup on top.
On Ms. Crimson's plate was placed only one pancake.
"Ms. Crimson, did you already eat two pancakes?" I looked at her then her plate.
She paused for a moment and looked at me in confusion.
"No, i was just getting started at eating the pancake.
Do you want more?" She said as she was about to hand me over the plate.
"No-no! I asked as there are three pancakes on mine, and you only have one."
"Ah, I thought that you might eat more, since kids your age tend to eat a whole feast." She started slicing her pancake with the fork.
"Oh, okay. Thank you." I replied as I gradually started eating.
While I was chewing the crispy pancake, with the maple syrup melting in my mouth, I thought of giving her a pancake.
But as Ms. Crimson finished hers in an instant, she drank a glass of water and looked at me.
She sighed and stood up, walking behind me.
"Is something wrong?" I continued eating, while wondering why she was behind me.
"Exios is a man after all.
Of course he doesn't know how to take care of a little girl's hair, nor give her anything to make her look decent, god.
Your hair is a mess." She easily swept my hair with her hands, while feeling little warm breezes coming from both of her hands.
"Are you using magic? Like you did yesterday?"
"Yes, but for little inconveniences like this you should use a brush." Her hands continued to carefully brush through my hair, as I kept eating in relaxation.
It was our first good moment together, and I felt happy inside.
-----
After a long journey, the carriage arrived at its destination.
A destination to which Exios hasn't been in a while but could clearly remember it.
A man, in a metal armor with a hint of light purple, opened the carriage's door, while bowing.
Exios got out and stood there still, while the breeze was felt through his body.
Exios was wearing the same attire that he wore yesterday, casual, and old clothes that were not fitted to the place he was standing in front of right now.
He reminisced the memories from when he used to stay there.
"It has been a while." He whispered to himself, while staring ahead at the massive open black metal gates, through which inside is a grass field that surrounded an enormous palace, not too far from the entrance.
But of course, Exios knew that the palace was bigger than it looks like from the entrance he was in, as it has other divided palaces, unseen from the entrance he was entering from.
As he walked in, the guards that were placed near the gate bowed to him.
But as he was halfway through the gravel path, a figure was seen walking at the opposite direction.
A figure that was different than Exios.
The individual wore a green formal tuxedo and was walking with their high head up.
As both came close to each other, both Exios and the individual stopped and looked at each other.
The individual briefly bowed his head down before looking at Exios with their green eyes.
"Denver.
You have grown so much and well." Exios spoke softly, while looking at Denver, recalling the last time he had seen him.
"You have aged well, your highness.
Have you finally decided to show up, at last?" Denver smiled at Exios, while looking at him from head to toe.
"I had no choice." Exios smiled gently at Denver.
"Yes, I heard you were running a tavern all this time.
But somehow you managed to keep your good old colleagues' mouths shut, it seems like you did not want to be found.
Let alone return back." Denver gradually walked forward, closer to Exios, before speaking again.
"I hope his Majesty is not going to plead for you to stay here.
After all his Majesty missed his younger brother so much that he kept sending you letters for years, while his highness sent none.
I am just being honest." Denver eventually started walking away from Exios, exiting the gate from which Exios came from.
Exios did not look back, instead he kept moving forward.
And as he kept moving, he kept his eyes ahead, staring at the Imperial's Palace door getting closer and closer.
Hoping for it to end quickly and return back home.
-----
While I was sitting on a table, the tavern that was supposed to be open during the afternoon, was closed due to sir Exios absence.
I couldn't go out and play with the other kids, since Ms. Crimson asked me not to go out, until sir Exios arrives.
So I was drawing as usual on the notebook that I had bought, while Ms. Crimson was sleeping on a chair near me.
After drawing for a while, Ms. Crimson opened her eyes and looked at the tavern's entrance door.
She was so quick that I got scared for a moment.
She was staring at the door for quite a long time, but then suddenly looked at me and stood up hurriedly.
"Go draw upstairs.
Lock the doors.
Do not come out, unless you know it's me." She said as she walked near the door.
I did not respond, but I immediately did what she told me to.
I grabbed all of my things and quickly moved towards the door that led through upstairs.
But as I was about to close the door, I realized I left my eraser, which fell down to the floor.
'I have to get it- 'I thought.
But Ms. Crimson opened the entrance door, and so I left it and closed the door.
-----
As the child closed the door, at the same time Crimson opened the wooden door.
She glared at the person that was standing in front of her.
The person who was almost identical to her.
"Hey, Crim." Clarkson happily said her name.