Neri woke up early in the morning, the bed was so comfortable.
"So it wasn't a dream," she whispered.
She sat up and looked around, the room was very spacious.
Had they been waiting for her all this time? Everything was beautifully decorated.
She was about to crawl off the bed when she accidentally stepped on something.
"Ouch!"
"S-sorry, I didn't see you."
Nathan sat up while rubbing his eyes "Where are you going?"
"I'm.." she hesitated, remembering the last time she asked for food she was sold off.
Nathan held her hand "Neri, that woman isn't your family. She just pretended and lied, you can ask for anything you want here. If you're hungry just ask for it. You're safe here."
He hugged her "We're very happy to have you back. We missed you a lot."
Her brother took her hand again "Let's go eat."
She stopped as they walked past a reflection in her room.
"That's a mirror." A mirror?
She had only been able to see herself in the reflection of the water, but it was never clear.
She touched her face and the mirror copied her. "Wow," she said quietly.
She looked at Nathan through the mirror "We look alike, don't we?"
She nodded.
Their eyes were very unique, they reminded her of a sunrise.
"Nathan, why do we look alike?"
"That's because you two are twins, you have the same birthday."
They both looked up at their father who appeared in the mirror.
"It's so early in the morning, why are you two awake so early?"
Suddenly a rumble sounded in the room.
She looked down in embarrassment.
Her father and brother laughed "I take it, someone is very hungry?"
Her father lifted them them both up with ease "Let's go have breakfast."
She looked at the mirror one last time before leaving.
A family, she really liked it. Nathan smiled. Why did it feel like he could always read her mind?
They arrived at a large room with a big table in the middle.
"Joel, have the head chef know we'll be having breakfast early."
Her father sat her down next to him and Nathan took the seat beside her.
"NERIII!" A boy came running in.
He had light brown hair like her father and purple eyes like her mother.
He ran towards her and lifted her up. He spun around once and hugged her.
"Neri, do you remember me? I missed you so so much!"
She scratched her cheek, "Um .."
"Of course, she can't remember you, Duffus. She was only two years old when she last saw us."
"Keir!? Weren't you supposed to arrive tomorrow?" Alen exclaimed as a young man walked in.
He looked very similar to their mother. He took her out of the young boy's arms.
"Hey! I just got-" He silenced Alen with a glare.
Indeed he was like mother.
"Hello little Neri, I'm your brother Keir. You've grown some since I last saw you."
Her father spoke up before she could. "Keir, how are you here so early? We just sent the letter yesterday at dawn."
"I set out as soon as I read it, I traveled without stopping."
"Keir!?" Her mother walked in. Keir set her down as her mother ran to hug him.
Alen quickly came and carried her again.
He walked to the table and sat her down as some people brought them plates of food.
Alen sat next to her, Nathan ran over and sat on the last empty spot beside her.
"Darling, what happened? Joel told me you came in alone, drenched in water."
"It rained on my way here."
"Why didn't you stop and rest?"
"He traveled since dawn without stopping." Alen quickly added while eating.
"You did what!? And it was raining? Where are the knights?"
Keir sighed "I told them to rest for the night, I would come alone.
I changed as soon as I arrived and came to see Neri.
Don't worry Mom, you probably would have done the same in my situation."
Father stepped in, "Akana love, Keir must be tired. We're all glad to see Neri safe and sound."
Neri, Nathan, and Alen had been entertained watching Akana scold Keir as they ate.
More people came in carrying plates of food, as they all sat at the table.
"Neri, weren't you sitting next to me first." Her father looked at her with puppy eyes.
"The one who should be complaining is me, I barely even got to hug her." Keir huffed.
Neri couldn't help but giggle, it felt nice to be all together like this.
She looked up and realized everyone was staring at her intently, their eyes lit with joy.
"My baby is so cute!" Her mother exclaimed.
Neri ate many plates of food, she sat back and let out a sigh of satisfaction.
She noticed a woman picking up plates. She began to gather her plates but Nathan stopped her. "Let's go play Neri."
She looked down at the plates "I'd love to, but I haven't washed my plates yet."
The woman who had picked the plates up rushed over. "Please leave it to me, Miss. Neri."
She smiled at the lady and gave her a quick bow "Thank you, ma'am!"
The lady gasped "Oh my! Please Miss, no need to be so formal! It's my honor to serve you." The lady gave her a warm smile.
Nathan grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the dining room. "Let's give you a tour."
Nathan gave her a tour of the mansion, which had 9 rooms in total - 3 on the first floor and 6 on the second.
There were two additional large buildings connected to the mansion. One housed a spacious ballroom with a few guest rooms, while the other featured a grand indoor garden.
Navigating the entire building was like a maze, but fortunately, she had a good memory.
"Our rooms are located on the second floor, comprising of six rooms. The first floor houses the waiting room, office, and a glass-room, which we call the tea room. Both floors have a kitchen, dining, and living room."
"Why are there two of each?"
"Sometimes we have guests, the ones on the second floor are family only." Alen's voice came from behind them.
Nathan jumped, "When did you get here!?"
Alen burst out in laughter "I've been walking behind you guys since you guys left the tea room. It seems Neris here is braver than you."
She shrugged "I thought you knew he was behind us."
"What'd I miss?" Keir's voice suddenly appeared from behind them, Alen and Nathan both yelped.
Neri still hadn't even batted an eyelash
"What's with the screaming, not even Neri is as jumpy as you guys."
Keir lifted her in his arms "Have you shown her the training grounds?"
Nathan shook his head
"I just finished showing her the whole mansion, except the globe building."
"Great, let's go see the training grounds."
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