As I spent more time in this household, I couldn’t help but question the strange feeling in my chest. It has been a few days, now, that I’ve arrived at the Prnm household and I can say without a doubt that this is the most uncomfortable I’ve felt in a long long time.

It wasn’t just the fact that I couldn’t speak with anyone or that people were rude to me, there had been plenty of that in the orphanage.

It was more a feeling of emptiness. As though no one really trully lived here. An empty shell of sort where the people only existed temporarily.

I was free to roam the place as I wish and yet never did I encounter more than two people in the same room and even then, they barely ever did more than exchange silent greetings with each others. It was more reminiscent to a church library than it was of a house.

Although it wasn’t that they were rude to me. They brought me meals three times a day and I could ring a bell anytime I needed something… Although getting exactly what I wanted was sometime a bit of a challenge….

And to top it off, there was the worst part of the day.

Every night I had diner with the viscount, although that was far from the highlight of my day. We simply ate silently. Sometime he would glance up, show a dull smile before returning to his food, sending shivers down my spine

His expression bothered me. I couldn’t shake-off the memory of his brother, the man with a slit for a mouth. It felt as though if he was to smile ever so slightly more, his mouth would grow larger and larger until it engulfed his entire face… And then he would turn into that snake-like man…

I knew it was absurd. Judging a man by his appearance is against everything that I had ever been thought since leaving my past life behind, but I couldn’t shake-off my experience that day. I had felt as though I had been confronted with a monster, but not the type who had attacked me that day I was separated from my dad. Those monsters could be slain.

No, the snake man was felt much more than that… A true monster.

But the viscount didn’t feel like that, didn’t look like that either.

He looked lonely, in a way, but not in the same way I felt right now.

I felt lonely because I missed my dad and my friends. His loneliness was different. It looked hollow. As though he didn’t even realise and in so doing, must have though it was fine to feel that way.But it wasn’t something I could do anything about. After and before food time, He simply disappeared into his office, the only room to be locked behind key.

Outside of meal time, I spent my first few days just walking about, but as it was a pretty drab house to begin with and I had quickly grown bored of it.

With no one to play with and nothing to do, I had started spending my time in the library.

I don’t know why, but this specific room felt less suffocating than the rest of the house. It felt lived-in and busy despite being completely and utterly empty.

The butler, having noticed I spent a lot of time there, must have assumed that I enjoyed reading and brought me a selection of book, I assume were supposed to be easy enough for me to read…

Although they really weren’t.

My reading skills were horrible at the best of time, it was more guess work than actually understanding what each of those symbols were mean to mean.

[M– M… Mrkas– Mrkasr?]

“That doesn’t sound like a word… Maybe it’s a name?”

[You might be right… So would the next word be one too? Like a family name? Bathrn doesn’t sound familiar.]

“Maybe it means Bathroom?”

[Why would the knight need a bathroom?”

“He looked very tired on the previous page, so maybe he really needed to go and now he’s happy?”

[I’m not sure they write books about that kind of things Darkie…]

As i raised my eyes back from Darkie towards the book, I noticed a maid had entered the room and was trying to get my attention.

She bowed politely and indicated the door with her hand.

Was it already time for lunch? I hadn’t realise so much time had already gone by. They do say time goes by fast when you’re having fun… Maybe I enjoy this whole reading thing more than I realised?

I nodded and carefully stood up from the ground.

I headed downstairs but instead of being led to the diningroom, I was led to the main hall and just as we rounded the corner I was able to peak into the waiting room and saw him.

Lionheart.

Dad.

I was so shocked, that I froze.

Somewhere in my mind, I had given up on the idea of us ever seeing each other again.

Something in my head had said that perhaps he had given up. Accepted that I simply disappeared amongst the hills that day… Another part of me was much less kind.

It said that dad never loved me in the first place. That I had simply been a toy, a temporary distraction, a replacement for his wife and daughter… And now that I was gone, he would simply replace me this time.

Find another orphan. Maybe with white hair like his wife this time, or red like his.

One that could hear things and knew how to read.

One that wouldn’t cry over every little thing.

One that would smile brighter.

One who would act kinder.

A good daughter.

But when I looked at him right now… My gaze lazed on his face.

He looked tired. Dark circles hung underneath his golden eyes, creases had formed on his forehead and the skin of his cheek look taunt.

He looked tired. Sick.

A strange feeling was enveloping my chest.

Suddenly, Lionheart turned his head and our eyes finally met.

Neither of us moved, as though we had become stranger in the few weeks we had been separated. The feelin in my chest started to turn heavy and sour.

My eyes felt heavy and itchy.

Perhaps he really hadn’t cared about me, and this was all…

But then, I felt the world that had felt so big and empty until a moment ago shrunk and wrapped me up in a tender embrace.

It was dad. He hugged me so tight, I could feel all my worries, all my insecurities dissipate.

I was such a fool. A stupid untrusting fool.

Of course dad loves me.

He told me so many times, he proved it in so many ways and yet here, I had stood as though we were strangers. What a dumb stupid daughter I am…

I squeezed him as hard as I could as he lifted me into his arms.

[I missed you so much!]

I whispered into his shoulder.

And though I knew he couldn’t actually understand my words, I felt that I understood me as he continued holding me.

After our reunion it took a few days for Lionheart to recover from his journey to this place and during that time, he told me about everything that had happened during my time traveling with the troupe.

He told me all about the horrible monster that attacked us were actually part of a flock of warlocks and how he had thought they had kidnapped me and how they had stormed their castle and saved a woman from the evil master of the place.

I wanted him to tell me more, but he was hazy on the details.

Instead, he wanted to know what I had been doing all this time.

I told him about my escape from the monsters, my failed plan, but then my encounter with my new friends.

I told him about how we travelled from town to town, how I saw new things every day, how I saw their performances dozens of times, the adventures exploring old ruins, and everything else.

He asked question all along, curious about my friends and how I had fared throughout my journey.

-And what happened to your hair?-

He finally asked at the end of my story.

-I gave it to my friends!-

-Your friends?-

I nodded.

-I wanted them to have something to remember me by.-

An amused smiled drew itself on his lips.

-Well… I guess that’s very kind of you. But don’t give out your hair like that too often or you’ll go bald.-

A few days later, he had recovered enough for us to depart.

As we were saying our goodbyes to the viscount, this one interrupted the moment to dig something out of his pocket and handed it to me.

Curious I looked and was surprised to find the signet I had given him when I arrived here.

He said a few words before giving a nobleman’s bow.

-The viscount says that the Prnm family will always welcome you to their homes, whether in time of needs or of leisure.-

I nodded at Lionheart’s explanation before grasping the signet in my hand and giving a curtsy.

It’s strange to say, but I developed a form of respect for the Viscount. He was cold and lonely, but somehow healwayt maintained a sort of composure.

I don’t know if it was pride or family honour that drove it, but not only did he offer me shelter, food and protection, he also made sure my father would find me, and for that I was grateful.

Allthough his face still bothered me, especially when I was reminded of his so called brother…

We entered the carriage and I watched as the distance between us and this odd place grew. I turned to dad and looked at him happily.

-So we’re heading home now?-

He smile and nodded.

-We’ll be heading there soon, but first, we must rejoin with everyone else. We’re heading for an old friend of Mine’s. Count Aremein of Jillbeck’s Crossing.-