Chapter 3.6:

The night went by painfully slow. I wanted to be friends with Lady Mina, but I didn’t know what to say. I kept turning to her and opening my mouth, but I would lose my nerve so I’d just take a sip of water.

When everyone retired for the night, I just buried my face in my pillows.

Great. I was about as interesting as a door knob. Now she’ll never be friends with me.

The next day, I woke up extra early, and waited in the hallway hoping I’d bump into her somehow.

After an hour of waiting around on the floor, the door to the room they were staying in opened and my head snapped in that direction. Seeing that familiar deep hazelnut colored hair made my heart jump out. I immediately stood up.

The girl closed the door behind her and turned to me.

“It’s you.” Lady Mina groggily greeted me.

“Uh, yeah. Good morning Lady Mina.” I managed to stammer out. She was wearing her pajamas and I noticed she hadn’t worn any footwear.

“Good morning.” She replied while rubbing her eyes and heading towards my direction.

“Um… may I ask where you’re going?” I said while eyeing her feet.

“Oh. I’m really thirsty, so I was going to ask for some water downstairs.” She replied with her eyes half closed.

I held up my hands to stop her. “Lady Mina. Would you please allow me to get you that water instead?”

“There’s no need. I can do it myself.” She replied as she pressed forward.

I stepped back a bit and held up my hands again. “Please! I uh… I insist. Your feet might get hurt from a loose nail or a stray wood piece.”

Lady Mina looked down at her feet and she cocked her head. “I didn’t even notice. Alright then. I’ll wait for you here.”

“Right away! Just please take a sit.” I said.

Instead of sitting on the couch in the hallway, she sat directly on the floor.

I was a bit taken aback but I hurriedly turned around and ran downstairs to the kitchen.

When I returned, I handed her the glass of water and she downed it in one gulp.

“Thank you.” Lady Mina said while handing me back the empty glass.

“You’re welcome, Lady Mina.” I said while attempting my most non-creepy smile.

She stared at me long and hard and then she cocked her head. “You’re being weird.”

My heart sunk. “I-I am?”

“Yeah, you’ve been weird since yesterday.” Lady Mina replied.

“Oh…” I squeaked out. “My apologies, Lady Mina.”

“Why are you calling me that?” She said with a curious expression.

I looked back at her with confusion. “Um… because you’re a noble lady?”

“Hmm… Yeah, but there’s no adults around. You can just call me Mina.” She said with a serious expression.

“I-I wouldn’t dare, my lady. Your family are our benefactors. And… and you saved my life. I wouldn’t dare to offend you by being overly familiar.” I said a little rattled.

“Oh.” Lady Mina said as she turned around. “I see. I thought we could be friends since you’re only a year or two younger than me. I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable.”

She started walking back to their room. “Thank you again for the water.”

GAH. STUPID. SAY SOMETHING.

“I-” I called out a little louder than I intended. Lady Mina stopped and I froze in place again.

“What?” She asked without turning around.

“I want to be friends. I was actually hoping that I would run into you and try to talk normally.” I said shyly.

Lady Mina turned to face me and she cocked her head again. A strand of her hair nestled on the side of her cheek. “Okay. So we’re friends now.”

“If-if that’s okay with you.” I said as I tried to not blush.

“If we’re friends now. Then you won’t act like you’re scared of me anymore, right?” She said in her usual deadpan voice.

I got confused again. “I never acted scared of you, my lady.”

“Mina.” She said curtly.

“M-mina. When did I act scared?” I asked with genuine curiosity.

“Yesterday. When I first talked to you, you seemed like you wanted to run away. And when you were escorting me you were shaking a bit like my touch was painful. Then all throughout the dinner, you kept looking at me but never said anything.” Mina recounted.

I felt my face flush a deep red. “I… I wasn’t scared. I was worried that I would act stupid or say something dumb and you wouldn’t like me.”

“Oh.” Mina replied. “Well, I’m glad you’re not scared of me then. Mother and father will wake soon, it’s almost sunrise. I will see you later then, Adi.” Mina headed back to their room. She gave me a small wave before closing the door behind her.

I CAN’T BELIEVE I’M FRIENDS WITH HER!

Chapter 3.7:

After my encounter with Mina, I went back to the room to review my notes for the Banquet. It was still pretty quiet since both Abram and Paul were still asleep. I slowly crept to the open window near my bed where there was already a bit of sunlight streaming in.

King Aldwin Mithril II, Crown Princess Cecilia, Prince Engres, Queen Consort Eliza, Lord Arthur Fordgraine of the Heroes Guild, Lord Rudrick Helm of North Haven, Lord Tim Xander of East Watch, Lord Boris Trout of West Port, Lord Cayden Aegis of South End… or wait… was it Lord Boris Aegis of South End…?

I flipped through my notebook a couple more times trying to decipher my own frenzied handwriting.

Memorizing the most important figures was the bare minimum I had to do to prepare for the Banquet, but the run-down Paul gave me the other day was still a little confusing.

Soon, Abram and Paul roused and we began to get ready. The dress coats seemed to have survived the journey without much creasing but Abram showed Paul and me a trick of using steam to get rid of the more noticeable folds. I polished our leather shoes as Abram and Paul finished dressing.

As we exited our room, Abram told us to go ahead as he checked in on Lord Chase and Lady Vela. We watched him go down the hallway but before reaching their door, Lady Mina stepped out. She was wearing a dazzling blue dress with a small bow in front.

“Good morning my lady.” Abram greeted her with a bow.

“Good morning sir Abram.” Lady Mina replied. “Don’t worry, father and mother are both awake already. They should be out shortly.”

“Ah, very good then. We’ll wait for the three of you downstairs.” Abram said with a smile.

Lady Mina nodded with her usual deadpan expression. She then looked in my direction. I gave her a small wave but she didn’t wave back. She just stared at me and cocked her head.

Um… Did I dream the part where she said she wanted to be friends?

I slowly lowered my hand and turned around in embarrassment, only to find that Paul had already gone down ahead of me. I quickly walked away in the same direction.

Paul was already waiting outside the inn. He had his eyes closed and seemed to be basking in the rays of the warm morning sun. I approached him and he opened his eyes.

“You okay little bro? You look flustered.” He said with a serene smile still on his face.

“I… I don’t know if I dreamed up the part where Lady Mina and I had a conversation and we became friends.” I said truthfully.

He gave me a quizzical look and I recounted to him what happened.

Paul started to chuckle and my face turning even redder.

“Don’t make fun of me. It was really embarrassing.” I gave him a small shove.

“HAHAHA” Paul continued to laugh. “Sorry, sorry.” He wiped away a small tear from his eyes. “You didn’t dream that little bro. That’s just how Lady Mina is.”

I stared at him as I processed what he meant. “Wait… so you had a similar experience with her?”

Paul nodded. “Ofcourse, I’ve known Lady Mina ever since she was born. Since dad is Lord Chase’s most trusted retainer, we were always at the manor.”

“Oh… so you’re friends with her too?” I said with a bit of envy.

Paul thought long and hard. “I guess we are. But we haven’t really hung out. She’s always had a rigid schedule and we only went to the manor for official business.”

I perked up at that.

“So you… you don’t like her?” I prodded trying to sound disinterested.

Paul started giving me a knowing look. “Oh-ho. I like her well enough. But I don’t think I like her the same way you do.”

“Shut up.” I said quietly.

“Don’t worry about me little bro.” Paul said putting his arm around me. “I won’t get in your way. In fact, I’ll help you in any way I can.”

“Thanks Paul.” I smiled at him. “So… uh… why didn’t she greet me earlier?”

Paul shook his head. “Lady Mina… she’s very complicated. She always looks emotionless right?” I nodded.

“Well… it’s not how she used to be.” Paul continued. “She has a lot of power. And when she was younger, she really couldn’t control it. It led to some… unfortunate incidents. It changed her.”

“Is she okay?” I said with concern.

“I think so.” Paul said sadly. “But she bottles everything up. She doesn’t let herself feel anything so she doesn’t lose control. She wants to have friends but she can’t ever just be herself around people. Especially adults… You’ve seen what Lady Vela is like right?”

I nodded knowingly. “But in the hallway… It was just dad. And dad’s nice to everyone.”

Paul shook his head. “It doesn’t seem to matter. She’ll never let herself show any slack with an adult present. And even if she was just with you and me who she considers her friends, she probably still wouldn’t show much emotion.”

I looked up to the second floor of the inn where the Valeras were staying and a deep sadness came over me. “I feel really bad for her.”

Paul patted my shoulder. “Aye. But it’s her lot in life. Just because she’s a noble, it doesn’t mean she doesn’t have her own troubles. The only thing we can do is to try and help her in any way we can.”

I nodded as I kept staring at the open window to their room.

After half an hour, Lord Chase and Lady Vela came out of the main door dressed in sparkling blue attire. Lord Chase was holding a long cane with a white gemstone at the hilt while Lady Vela was wearing her metal claws that were given such a thorough shine that they gleamed in the sunlight. Lady Mina followed directly behind them while Abram appeared behind her. I noticed that Abram was now wearing a monocle which I had never seen before. He also brought out Paul’s wooden club.

“Here you go, son.” Abram handed Paul the club.

“We’re bringing the artifacts?” Paul asked while tying the club to his belt.

“Aye, we just got word from a messenger that this year’s registration requires the invitees to physically present the artifacts bound to them. Apparently, the Royal Inquisitor will be heading the registration to ensure that everyone is forthcoming about their artifacts.” Abram explained with a dark look on his face.

As if on cue, Mortimer arrived with the Valeras’ carriage. The outside of the carriage seemed to have been polished with some oil since it was glistening, the insignia on the side glowed brightly. Even the horses appeared to have been groomed thoroughly. Mortimer leapt down from the front, opened the carriage door, and dislodged the small steps underneath.

“Good morning my lord and ladies.” Mortimer greeted in his deep voice.

“Perfect timing, Mortimer. Let’s go then shall we?” Lord Chase announced.

The Valera family climbed on to the carriage. Lady Mina sat directly beside the windows. She looked down at me and tilted her head by such a small fraction that I almost missed it.

Is she saying hi?

I offered her a small smile in return and she looked away.

We looked on as the carriage sped towards the center of the Capital.

“How are we getting there, dad?” I turned to Abram. “Are we walking?”

Abram shook his head. “Can’t afford to walk in this garb, son. It would embarrass Lord Chase if we arrived grimy and sweaty. We’ll take a hackney.”

Abram then hailed a man driving an empty horse-drawn wagon on the other side of the street.

The man steered his horse towards us. “Where to sers?” He asked with a small bow.

“To the Royal Palace, please.” Abram replied while handing him a silver coin.

We climbed onto the wagon.

“Right-o. Please hold on to the side and avoid standing while the wagon is in motion.” The man said mechanically.

There was a sudden lurch and we were suddenly barreling down the street.

I think I’m going to be sick…