Adela Gascoigne

Mable, as much as I valued the young girls' presence, needed to learn when to gossip and when to not. Both Mable and the twins seemed blissfully unaware of the man approaching the shop from behind Mable as she continued to babble on and on about the 'new handsome men' in the village. Ignorant to the arrival of said stranger. Though looking at the man I could see where she was coming from.

His skin was snow white and flawless, he had an almost ethereal glow about him, even in the overcast weather that seemed to transcend humanity. It was hard to place where this sense of otherness came from, he was surely just a man. His pale blonde hair was immaculate and much more lively than many of the townsfolk, who could not afford such luxuries as to spend excess coin on anything less than necessities. What was most noticeable about the newcomer, however, were his eyes. The rich crimson of them were striking against his otherwise pale image.

He walked with an inhumane sense of grace, his form was perfectly straight and poised as if he knew exactly what he was after. Looking at the babbling girl in front of him, a flicker of amusement crossed his blood-red eyes.

"I've always been taught that it's rude to talk behind someone's back"

His voice held no malice nor sounded irritated, but rather light-hearted, and Mable's incredibly startled squeak and flustered face only seemed to add to his entertainment. The young girl attempted to stutter out an apology as her brain seemed to short circuit, both at the scare of the man but also at the look of him. Jane and Alec were quietly snickering from their place behind me at her rather pathetic yet rendering attempt to communicate some form of apology to the blonde.

"It's fine, there is no harm done, though in future I would recommend keeping an ear out for others around you" He joked in response to the poor girl, who's already naturally pink cheeks were blazing in embarrassment. Nodding a quick thanks she politely excused herself and ducked into the storage room next door, out of sight, but close enough through the thin walls to know what was going on in the main room.

"Welcome, it's always nice to see a new face around here, could I help you at all?" I asked wanting to be both polite and helpful, only time would tell if he would be a regular patron of the apothecary, and after the mess that has already happened this morning, we didn't need any more embarrassing endeavours. Now turning his attention to me a contented smile graced his face as he began to speak. I was so entranced by the sound of his voice that I barely even heard Jane and Alec leaving to join Mable in the next room.

"Actually my brother and I are taking up a temporary residence not too far from here, seeing as this is the closest civilisation to us we thought it would be a good idea to introduce ourselves, we wouldn't want any misunderstandings as to why we are 'lurking' around the woods" He explained, putting a light joke on the idea of him and his family being in the woods. Either he had heard of the superstitions that haunted the forest and wanted to make light of those that took them far too seriously. Or it was a simple coincidence, but I can't imagine that he would have any ill intention. Why would someone take residence in the forest if they had any idea that they would be in danger.

Unless he was the danger.

But just as quickly as the thought came I dismissed it, it was probably nothing more than Mable's folktales rubbing off on me. "Well, I hope our humble town will be welcoming" I jested at the stranger "Heaven knows they aren't normally" I whispered the last statement beneath my breath as I let a smile naturally take over my face. If he had accidentally heard me then he made no indication of such. But looking at him, there was something about the man before me that just seemed comforting in a way that was impossible to describe, I was defiantly falling for Mable's whimsical stories, I didn't even know this man's name and I was already enamoured.

"Yes, one can only hope" he spoke just as charming as ever "Ah! excuse me where are my manners when in the presence of such a lovely woman, my name is Caius, may I ask of yours" he smiled with a gentle bow as he told me his name.

"Well Caius it is lovely to meet you, my name is Adela" I responded with a subtle bow of my own, but before we could continue our conversation Mrs Clement.

"Sorry to interrupt dear, but I've come to collect my prescription" The older woman was more often than not sweet and unsuspecting, and she would have been much more pleasant company if she too didn't believe the twins to be some sort of terrible omen, but at least she was curious enough not to do so in front of me.

"Of course, just a moment" and with practised ease, I went and gathered her premade poultice from the shelf below the table, making the transaction as quick as I could. Almost as quickly as she had come, Mrs Clement has left and Caius said his goodbyes as he went off to meet his brother. I felt like an adolescent girl fixated on an out of reach suitor as my cheeks lightly flushed at the lingering feeling of his soft lips kissing my knuckles before he took his leave.

However, the feelings faded away as I could sense the eyes burning into the back of my silhouette, turning around I could see Mable, Alec and Jane all peaking less than subtly around the door in height order, each with their own expression on their face. jane had a characteristic smirk on her face, Mable seemed elated and I could already see the fantasies playing behind her eyes, while Alec looked almost indifferent but I knew him well enough to notice the slight amusement behind his brown eyes.

"Oh my goodness" Mable squealed running out of the room before making her way over to me with a deceptive amount of speed.

"Don't you start young lady I am married" I was more trying to justify that fact to myself, pathetically and desperately trying to convince myself to drop my feelings.

"Oh who cares! This is so exciting!"

Thank you for reading~

Apologies for the slower update, but I hope it's enjoyable none the less~