His request spurred confusion inside of me. My brows met as I grew more confused and nervous as well. I’m not sure where he’s trying to revert this conversation into but I’m starting to worry. Does he think I’m being a bad influence on Laura?

Am I a distraction to her?

Or could it be that he knows something about my true identity? Has he seen right through my disguise? Has he seen through the facade used by ancient immortals to keep us safe in their realm?

We stayed silent once more. After the silence became deafening, Grandpa Ben proceeded, “I know what you truly are. Your guards didn’t spend any effort hiding your true being the last time you visited this place”

My eyes widened. Was he referring to the little fiasco that happened the last time I visited this place? Did that ungrateful vendor continue spreading rumors about me?

“Also, the guard you sent to watch over us was quick to heal Laura when she accidentally cut herself whilst you were gone. That didn’t help as well,” he smirked as he teased.

My insides quivered with all sorts of emotions. I was worried, nervous, scared, everything in my body is in a panic. What am I supposed to answer to what he just said?!

I think Grandpa Ben sensed that I was shaking quietly on where I was sitting because he suddenly let out a laugh. “There’s nothing to worry about, Robert,” he put a hand on my shoulder, giving me a bit of a shake, “I just want to remind you that Laura is everything to me. I trust that you won’t let anything happen to her.”

“Grandpa Ben, the last thing I would want to happen is to put her in harm’s way,” I replied as soon as he ended his sentence. “I would protect her from anything, even me.” My words can be just words spoken by any other mouth but the moment I let my words enter his ears, I’m making it clear that Laura isn’t just someone that I want to play with.

“That’s good to know and comforting to hear,” he answered, satisfaction can be seen all over his face.

Moments later, Laura finally arrived with Leo walking right beside her, gently pulling him by his rein.

“Shall we go?” she asked as she walked towards us, leaving Leo with Lady.

I nodded, standing up with Grandpa Ben.

“I’ll have the herbal medicine ready when you return,” he smiled.

“Thank you, Grandpa Ben,” I said.

Laura walked to Leo with me behind her. As she was about to go up, I offered help by holding her on her left side and my other hand on her right arm.

“Thank you,” she smiled as she sat firmly on her saddle.

After checking everything on her and Leo, I hopped on Lady and turned to Grandpa Ben.

“Don’t spend too much time out there. Laura still needs to come back before noon,” Grandpa Ben reminded.

“I’ll make sure of that, Grandpa Ben,” I nodded quickly.

Laura and I looked at each other, sharing a nod of understanding. As we bid one more goodbye to Grandpa Ben, we proceeded to the hills, Laura leading the way.

♔♔♔

We’ve been sitting under the tree for quite some time now and all we did was enjoy the cool breeze with silence in between us. Our horses continued to frolic in the fields together, eating grass and enjoying each other’s company like we’re currently doing.

For all the while we’ve been here, I’ve stolen glances at her, trying to see if she’s going to start a conversation between us. So far, all I saw was her, appreciating the wind with her eyes closed. She seems to be enjoying our time together even though we haven’t spoken a single word to one another since we left the bakery. I want to talk to her but at the same time, I don’t want to interrupt her calmness.

I didn’t realize that I’ve been staring at her for too long when she suddenly said, “How long are you going to be staring at me?” Her eyes were still closed.

Her words kept me frozen because I wanted to move but I couldn’t.

She opened her right eye for a brief moment and smiled, closing it again, “Robert, if you’re going to spend our time together staring at me, you’re just going to strain your eyes and neck.” She added, “Also, it’s a bit creepy.”

I was able to bring myself back to reality. I gave my head a shake as I sat down firmly on my spot. “My apologies. I didn’t know that I’ve been staring at you too much.”

She giggled. “I know you’ve been staring at me ever since we got here,” she replied as she opened her eyes. “If there’s something you want to tell me, just say it. You don’t have to stare at me,” she continued, turning in my direction.

I sighed and laughed nervously. I’m not sure if she’s completely fine with what I was doing or she’s simply being kind and trying to brush it off.

The silence was beginning to come between us again when she suddenly sparked another conversation, “I want to apologize for overreacting a while ago.”

I frowned in confusion, turning to her.

“I know I overreacted when you told me about your injuries. I apologize if I caused too much commotion for you,” she continued, smiling her beautiful smile. “My reaction wasn’t needed and I guess it was because I worried too much about you. But still, that is unacceptable and I do hope you can forgive me.”

I smiled, moving closer to her. “With all honesty, you did overreact when I told you the whole story,” I answered, sharing a quick laugh with her. “I can take a good guess that all those passers-by were wondering why you were crying. I think some of them would’ve asked us what’s wrong. They might be thinking that I was saying hurtful things to you.”

“Don’t be such a negative thinker, Robert,” she playfully punched me on the shoulder. “I wasn’t that much of a crying mess.”

“But you were,” I smirked.

She tried to hold back her laughter but as I continued to tease her, she gave in and gave out another hysterical laughter, ending it with a soft giggle.

“I guess I was a crying mess a while ago,” she admitted, defeated. “I was just terribly worried especially when you told me the whole story about your journey.”

What she said gave me a sudden realization. “Speaking of story-telling, I’m still curious about how you became Grandpa Ben’s adoptive daughter.”

Her eyes widened. “I thought you’ve forgotten already. I didn’t know you still want to hear that story,” she answered. “And besides, it’s a long one. It would just be a bore for you.”

“I’m sure I can keep up,” I said with enthusiasm. “And the reason why we’re spending time together is to get to know each other, correct?”

She looked at me, begging me not to force her into telling. However, when she saw that I couldn’t be persuaded, she let out a sigh of defeat. “Grandpa Ben found me begging for food on the streets,” she started. “He simply took me in for a few days. When he saw that I have no one, he officially called me as his adoptive daughter.”

I smiled at the thought of Grandpa Ben taking in a stranger and making her a part of his family. Not everyone has that golden heart and Laura is very lucky to have him as her adoptive father.

“That was very kind of Grandpa Ben to do,” I replied. “But I do wonder: doesn’t he have a family of his own?”

“He did mention that the only family he ever had - or close to what a real family is - was the rich family he used to work for,” she explained.

“He worked for a rich family? I didn’t know Grandpa Ben’s life has so many doorways,” I remarked. “Can you tell me about that one as well?”

“I don’t… remember the exact details about that part of his life. I’m not even sure if I still remember the important parts,” she said, her lips in a firm line as she started to think about it.

“You can tell me what you remember,” I smiled. “I just think that it’s quite a story to tell.”

She began to think for a few seconds and started, “Well, he did mention that he used to take care of the children of that rich family. He treated them as his own and they treated him as one of them.” She continued, smiling as she told the story, “He even met the only woman he has ever loved within the household. That time of his life was his peak. Everything was going well for him.”

“If everything was going well for him, why did he leave?”