Author's note: this is from Seraphina's point of view

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"Who taught you how to write?", I asked Zeiroi.

"Grandpa Inril", Zeiroi responded.

"Is he the fae you lived with?"

Zeiroi confirmed. "Grandpa Inril found me when I was a baby, and he took me in. He treated me well."

Ah, that explains the glyphs. I can imagine that faes are using them. Faes are ancient creatures and live in isolation.

Faes have powerful magic, however, they are pacifists in nature, so humans and other creatures hunted them for their beautiful appearances that come with dazzling wings and also for magic. I remember reading a book that said how even when captive, faes wouldn't use their magic against their captors. Unable to go against their essence, in order to preserve their kind, faes decided to isolate themselves and no one knows if they created another realm, or just used their magic to conceal their whereabouts.

But the guy in front of me came from that place, so maybe… "Do you know where Grandpa Inril is now?"

"In the Sanbourg Forest.", Zeiroi responded.

"Do you know how to get there?", I continued probing.

"No. Sorry."

I never heard about that place, but I was determined to look it up.

"Don't be sorry, Zeiroi. If I find out where that is, would you be willing to go back?"

Zeiroi pressed his lips into a line while thinking. It took him a while to respond. "Grandpa Inril was kind to me, but others weren't. I know that grandpa had hardships in order to protect me. If I go back, I will only be a burden."

I could see the sadness in his eyes and my heart tightened.

He was unwanted, clueless, innocent, without a place to go. How can I send him away?

I put my hand on his shoulder and gave him a squeeze. "Don't worry, Zeiroi, we will think of something. You can stay in the room you are in, and you are free to explore this area. You are safe here. The staff can tell you where the borders are, so you don't wander too far and end up in trouble. In the meantime, I will arrange for you to learn to read and write in human language and we can take it from there. Is that OK?"

He looked at me blankly for some time and then his eyes widened in disbelief. "I can stay?"

I smiled and nodded while my mind churned to come up with how the heck am I going to explain this to Aldus.

"I will do my best to be useful."

Zeiroi's statement pulled me out of my thoughts.

Silly elf. He wants to be useful.

"Focus on studying. I want you to learn about the world, and how to stay safe. Only if you can take care of yourself, you will be useful to me."

"How to stay safe?", he asked.

I pointed at his ears. "Unless it's a costume party, people will give you strange looks about those. I recommend that you grow your hair to cover them up, so you don't attract attention. And remember not to talk about magic or your ability."

"Are you hiding your abilities also?"

I was not sure where he was going with this. "My abilities?"

"That you can create wind."

I wanted to ask him how he knows about it, but then I remembered that while I was in kobold's den, I moved air in order to assess my surroundings. Zeiroi probably felt it.

Well, there was no point in denying it. "Yes. I'm sure you know by now that not everyone has good intentions. People are driven by greed for money and power, and some don't care what means they will use in order to accomplish it. Frac keeping you in that dungeon was not right."

"What makes you different?"

I didn't get it. "Different?"

"You said that people are greedy, and I should conceal my power so that they don't harm me, yet you don't want to use my ability. Why?"

"Maybe I have too much money, and I'm already super-powerful, so I don't think you are useful."

Zeiroi blinked and a second later, he shook his head. "Frac asked me to make more, no matter how much he had."

I exhaled helplessly. "Fine. Dogs are greedier than others."

"Why don't you say that you are a good person?"

Maybe I would say that if we had this conversation before I enjoyed watching Adele, Willow, and Ruby being in the middle of an orgy that was telecasted around the world.

Yes, I enjoyed their misery and I laughed with delight when I found out that their families kicked them out. Do I feel guilty about it? No. And that probably makes me a not-good person.

"I don't think that I'm a good person, Zeiroi.", I admitted. "You should keep in mind that everyone has a bottom line and things they care about. For me, that's my family and my lover. If someone tries to harm them, I will be anything other than nice."

"Grandpa Inril said that we should protect our loved ones.", Zeiroi said.

I agreed. "He is a wise man. Our loved ones give us joy and it's our duty to protect them because, like that, we are protecting ourselves as well."

"I will not tell anyone that you can make winds.", Zeiroi said solemnly.

"Thank you, Zeiroi. And I will not tell anyone that you can imbue magic into objects."

I extended my hand toward him, expecting a handshake, but he only stared at my hand in confusion.

"Put your hand in mine, Zeiroi…"

He did, and I grasped his hand and gave it a shake.

"Like this, we sealed the deal to keep our abilities secret from others."

He smiled. "Does that mean that you will protect me?"

Well, I guess… "Yes. By keeping it a secret, we are protecting each other."

"Alright. I will protect you, young Miss."

I rolled my eyes. "Please, call me Serina."

He nodded in agreement but didn't call me by my name.

We sat on the grass, and I started asking him about common things like his favorite foods and what he knows about life overall.

I also asked him to tell me about his childhood and life with faes. He told me stories about them living within trees, in harmony with nature. It was fascinating and I thought that I might write a book about it. Who knows? Maybe it becomes a bestseller.

I wanted to understand more about Zeiroi so that I can prepare materials for him to learn from. Even if he stays here long-term, he should not be ignorant, and Aldus doesn't like slackers.

The priority was on reading and writing, but until he figures those out, we will be stuck on videos.

An iPad with a headset will come first, and I will need to pick content that will introduce him to how humans live. Ah, there is so much to do!

In order to learn basic skills hands-on, I told him to accompany the staff, especially the cook.

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