The detective, standing at a distance from Yael and still very much under the effect of earlier encounter with the Lord, watched the caravan approaching them at snail’s pace with his big, wide innocent eyes peeking from behind the veil around his face and head. Twisting and turning his fingers painfully until they turned red, DJ tried to press down the building anxiety in his system while he gathered his wits and courage to face not one but many people at a time. He held his heart and crossed his fingers while the moans of animals and the jingles of bells and shells echoed around the gravel path, filling the otherwise silent atmosphere with some kind of life other than nature.

Honestly, DJ had no real hope for the situation he found himself in. Lost in the thick forest with nothing to eat nor to drink and that too with a grumpy Lord, the boy half expected another problem that could arise out of the blue at any odd time, like their previous adventures, and leave them empty-handed once again.

It would be no surprise, of course, if something like that happened since he was facing problems after problems after all that the detective had even far gone nicknaming himself ‘bad omen’. But then, to DJ’s utter amazement and astonishment, his miserable, static life took a strange turn, and the scenes in front of his eyes played a totally opposite skit compared to what he had expected.

The caravan hadn’t reached completely close when Jerry saw Yael bracing himself, as the large and stout man squared his broad shoulders and straightened his back, before proceeding a walk of dominance towards the edge of the path where the large group of people were approaching. The lord of Pyro then raised his hand in the air with oozing confidence, Jerry was aware that belonged to the act of being a noble merchant and waved in a way to send some sort of signal to the upfront carriage, most probably leading the caravan, to catch their attention.

And the attention he caught

DJ watched with wild anticipation as the front most, biggest and the brightest carriage reached right in front of Yael and halted in its tracks with its tyres squealing on the dirt road roughly. The door then opened and out jumped a large-sized man, tan in complexion and muscular. A moustache resting over his widely smiling lips made the man look friendly as he approached the lord carefully yet welcomingly. He reached his hand out for a shake and for a second DJ thought that Yael wouldn’t reciprocate the gesture but then the day couldn’t get any better because the Lord did shake the hand of the offering man and soon they indulged in a conversation DJ had no clue about.

But he was curious…..oh so curious.

With speculative gaze, Jerry looked at the two men engaged in a conversation, one talking while smiling and nodding his head apparently in understanding while the other as nonchalant and serious as he was before, as they discussed some things deeply. At one point, Yael tipped his chin towards Jerry subtly, gesturing towards him, as he talked some more while the other man raised his gaze towards the detective too, staring at the boy for more than Yael’s liking and making the younger go all squirmy under the sudden attention.

The boy bloomed pink behind his guise, heat rushed from his neck to his cheeks and a ragged pattern of breathing started to surface from his throat. Before his situation could turn into an anxiety and then a full-blown panic attack, DJ lowered his gaze and turned his heated face away from the lord and the man only to face the now scattered caravan a few feet ahead of him.

Calm and peaceful yet chirpy and loud

The caravan was not immensely huge but was large enough to accommodate and cater to sixty to seventy people, including families, single or group of traders that were all travelling to Malia for the festival. Small and large carriages, which made up most of the population, were volunteered by each trader on the journey that held the emblem of their merchandise or some sort of symbol in the form of a flag at the top. A generous amount of domestic animals like hens cows and even horses that travelled along were also a part of the crowd as they were hollered to the side by some patrolling men.

The mixed voices of children giggling over animal sounds, women calling and talking and large commanding men murmuring portrayed a picture of a huge family.

An instant smile adorned DJ’s features when he heard a little girl and a little boy mimicking the sound of something they heard and giggling at each other, he didn’t notice when Lord Yael closed the distance between them and breathed at his side face suddenly making him turn to the older with a jerk and a gasp. The boy’s hand flew up in startle, leaving whatever luggage he had in his hands to the ground, and his eyes went wide like a soccer ball. But before his small rounded fists could hit Yael in the face, the older griped both DJ’s arms in his hold, stilling the boy in place, with his face stoic and eyes dark.

“L-lord…” the boy whispered in a miserable attempt.

Yael blinked at DJ slowly and for a moment silence fell around them. The other man, who was with the lord a few minutes before, was now gone towards his carriage and the two were left alone. The older had come to deliver the good news of the settlement he had successfully made with the man but due to his lack of judgement, he had once again triggered his beautiful rescuer into a fit of anxiety.

“Breath……it’s just me” he muttered finally while he still held both of Jerry’s arms in his firm hold. The younger complied, or tried to comply as he stared at the older with the same expressions as the deer caught in the headlight. In his mind, the detective had started to count from one to one hundred, the moment Yael had held onto him, to not let his situation escalate and to his surprise was the outcome when his breathing started to get normal as he maintained eye contact with the lord.

Meanwhile, the lord was gobsmacked with the nervousness of those beautiful large orbs that were the only visible feature on DJ’s face considering his whole face was under the veil. The way those big eyes stared at him held him captive for prolonged moments and Yael felt betrayed by his mind when he wanted to dive in and make himself one with his zealous intentions.

What was happening to him?

“Lo-lord….I…” the younger tried to mumble out as he fidgeted lowering his gaze, he lightly squirmed in Yael’s hands probably uncomfortable and the lord involuntarily gripped the boy tighter and closer before quickly leaving him alone. The older was surprised at his own act, he was not hesitant in accepting the need of his uncertain thoughts about protecting his beautiful rescuer but at the same time he didn’t want to dwell on his mind only to get surprised by some hidden desires.

And so he pulled the reins of his racing mind back to its track.

“they have agreed to help us to reach Malia…..” the lord started with his gruff voice, he darted a quick look at Jerry’s hidden face and breathed in through his nose before he began again.

“….the man there with me was Orson, he is the chief of this group. I have talked to him and he said he would help us” The lord further explained the five to fifteen minutes’ discussion he held with the man while Jerry listened carefully. The boy took his leisure time to decipher the true meaning behind the delightful news as he, the self-critical boy titled Yael as the luckiest one of the two for the fortunate event for they were accepted in the caravan with open arms and wide smiles.

The world hasn’t changed for the worse yet….

Orson Wellman proved to be a kind man, Yael thought they had stumbled upon by luck when he instantly offered help after he believed the well-made story of the stranded couple that was lost in the woods because of some bad luck. The man was fast to deny any money the lord would offer in exchange for his kindness and told Yael to wait for a minute while he went to fetch someone from the carriage behind his own.

The detective was also curious now along with the lord as he and the older both watched the second largest carriage with wide keen eyes.

The fruit to their wait wasn’t far though

Because the next thing the disguised couple knew was a large woman, almost the size of the man Orson, who jumped out of the van and sauntered elegantly towards the now completely intrigued couple.

The woman was tall, slightly tan and had a big forehead. She was beautiful in her own way, a pair of large doe eyes, thick lips and a prominent nose had her facial features filled in all the right places. A flowy gown-type pastel pink dress drowned her from shoulders to her feet where she had worn classic strapped sandals made out of leather material.

The woman had an aura that surrounded her existence and showcased itself with her movement.

While Lord Yael scrutinized the lady with Orson sceptically, trying to discern her personality, the detective beside him scooted behind him subtly without Yael knowing and that too step by step. DJ was not very confrontational in nature and people that were huge already had an effect on his weak and anxious mind……and that woman was no exception.

She was huge as compared to Jerry and he was totally scared.

Orson introduced her as his wife Liliana Wellman, she was in charge of the matters when her husband was away or busy with other chores regarding their business. Unlike Orson’s happy and welcoming personality, Liliana looked mature and authoritative as her aura depicted her to be. Her hawk-like eyes were sceptical, calculating everything around her, but at the same time, she oozed motherly vibes.

Lord Yael’s experiences of life with multiple people told him that she was a kind and un-harmful woman…..well if not triggered for the worst of course but the small wifey of Yael thought otherwise. Regardless of her kind yet observing eyes, DJ felt the need to hide himself from that woman so he wouldn’t have to indulge in any kind of contact with her. The way she had fixed her dark, observant eyes over that petite boy made things no less than uncomfortable for the detective as he involuntarily bunched his fists around the fabric of Yael’s shirt from his back and tried to maintain the composure of his identity.

The lord, on the other hand, felt the turmoil of his rescuer instantly. Reaching out, he circled an arm around Jerry’s waist and pulled him out of his hiding spot without thinking much, making the boy go still and silent before he embraced the detective flush against his chest.

It was their turn for introduction.

“I am Eugene and this is my wife…..Japheth, Japheth Eugene Hale” the lord introduced without a smile. The nonchalance on his face spoke volumes on its own but the heat behind that was directed to the man Orson, who had somehow fixed his eyes on the sweet wife of the lord and wasn’t really blinking out of his trance. Liliana wasn’t far behind either, although less obvious but the large woman also was awestruck with just how beautiful the eyes of that girl were.

Yael didn’t like it but he couldn’t blame them, since he was also the victim of that mesmerizing boy, but that didn’t mean someone could stare at the boy until they pleased.

Meanwhile, the detective against Yael’s chest was arrested in the web of his own problems. The first one was the woman that kept staring at him with uncertain expression and the second and most important was the close proximity he shared with the lord. The situation was comforting in all honesty because DJ’s heart wasn’t threatening to beat out of his chest because of the large warm hand around his tiny waist that also held assurance, but still, a man of Yael’s size breathing above his head had some triggering effect on the boy.

On top of that ordeal was his new identity ‘Japheth, a stammer wife of a merchant’ who was bound against his will because someone, Doukas’s, had decided his fate.

Curse them!

DJ had even encouraged himself enough to turn and stare at the lord keenly to show that he still didn’t like the idea of him being a wife. But then it all went to trash when the older didn’t register his efforts and kept a straight face.

How rude…

The silence had prolonged between the four, Liliana had her eyes fixated on Jerry as she waited for something to judge the veiled girl from while the boy looked at her like a suspicious child that didn’t wanna leave his mother’s embrace and have an interaction with the woman. But it was all until Yael pressed his large fingers into DJ’s waist and the boy yelped with a gasp. He looked up at the lord with complaining eyes and soon after that the couple got engaged in a silent conversation.

Liliana and Orson shared an amused look seeing that small empty worded banter and the latter nodded his head at his wife in some kind of understanding.

She nodded back subtly, amused while her husband smiled widely.

On the other hand, the lord had gestured something with his eyes, probably a strict request to his distressed rescuer not to bust the play by not speaking a word, and DJ widened his already big ones in return as he realized what was being said.

Fumbling with his hands and twisting his fingers, the boy turned to face the ‘Chief of Caravan’ couple as he tried to form a smile behind his veil. Then his eyes landed on Liliana, who was very much interested in his every move, and the detective totally forgot what he was about to say. The boy squirmed and Liliana found it amusing and intriguing at the same time, she knew she was intimidating and had an effect on the others she met for the first time. So, to lower the discomfort she assumed Japheth felt with her around, Liliana softened her gaze and a smile grazed her thick lips making her look like a sort of goddess.

“Your eyes are so captivating Japheth……it makes me wonder how beautiful your voice would be” Liliana started with a kind voice, she commented truthfully as she addressed what her husband experienced making him go into a trance and Lord Yael had been experiencing for a while now. Liliana stepped closer to Japheth and held out her hands towards her in an attempt of a friendly start like she was talking to a child while Jerry felt his heart picking up speed behind his ribcage as he stared at the invitation and contemplated for a few seconds.

It was difficult for the detective, to get engaged in something he didn’t feel secure about, but then who was he gonna make understand his situation,—not Yael of course because he was grumpy. The boy looked up at Liliana’s eyes and then her hands splayed in front of him, he then slowly and shakily stepped up until he was safely in Yael’s approach but comfortably in the welcoming woman’s reach before he placed his tiny hands in her larger in comparison ones.

“H-hello…..I-I…..am J-Japh-heth” the boy stammered out with utter difficulty, breath getting stuck in his throat DJ tried to maintain the eye contact with Liliana but what he didn’t expect was the reaction of the woman standing in front of him.