Melione’s eyes shifted continuously from Auretta and the young man whose name is supposed to be Heron. Her shoulders were tensing from the silence, she decided to finally speak. “So… you’ve met each other before?”

Auretta slowly placed her hands behind her back, gripping them tightly as Heron nodded. “Yes… it was an incident,” he replied.

“I’ll… leave you two then, she has a request to be fulfilled.” Auretta felt her heart pumping faster–she wouldn’t want Melione to leave her alone with him, even if she could be rude. Who knows what Heron thought of her now? He probably found her suspicious.

Melione don’t leave me–those were the words Auretta wanted to say as Melione left, despite the girl being harsh.

Auretta gripped harder on the fabric of her skirts, staring onto the floor and then to her shoes. Heron cleared his throat, looking directly at Auretta. “I’ll be introducing myself then–my name’s Heron.” he said, earning an immediate nod from Auretta.

“I’ve heard…” she muttered. Heron tilted his head, keeping that neutral expression on his face. “So–what was the request Melione mentioned?” Heron asked, placing the box of tools as he bent down on the ground.

The pale pink girl’s head shifted left to right, finding the proper words to say to him. “Well… Jaemi has told me you could help me get back to Myrindel.” “Myrindel? For what?” “I know we’ve met at Andromedius, but please, it’s my business…” Heron sighed, shaking his head. “Sorry, my apologies.”

He opened the door of the cottage, gesturing for Auretta to come in. Auretta stood still, hesitating to come in for a moment. “We could continue speaking about this inside, I just have other matters to fix here,” he stated. “All right…” she mumbled, stepping in as Heron picked up his box of tools.

The smell of dust disturbed Auretta’s nostrils again, causing her to sneeze–twice. “Bless you,” Heron went ahead of Auretta, kneeling down next to a wooden shelf, filled with different boxes–boxes which contained different things such as papers, books, and different wooden materials.

“How’d you get here in the first place?” Auretta blinked, watching him rummage through the box full of papers. Auretta took a deep breath, smiling sheepishly at him. “I was kidnapped…” she replied in a lowly tone, having Heron to twitch his head, raising his brows at her.

“The typical criminals or-” “I don’t know–they could do some magic and who knows what more!” Auretta exclaimed with eyes wide open, remembering every detail of how it happened. It still gave her a shiver, running through her spine.

A sigh escaped the dark haired boy’s lips as he placed his palm onto his face. “And you want to go back?”

Auretta furrowed her brows, dazing at him. It was as if he was implying she wanted to meet the face of her kidnappers again despite them being dead–no! That wasn’t her plan.

“You’re getting it all wrong–I simply have other matters to deal with back there.” she choked on air, pulling onto the hem of her sleeves again.

Heron pulled out a worn out scroll from one of the boxes, placing the box with his tools onto the shelf. “I could send you back.” he retorted. “Thank you then–and sorry for the trouble.” she muttered, looking back at the interior of the cottage. It must be his home. “It’s no problem.”

The young man stood up on his feet, dusting off his dark pants. Auretta’s eyes lingered on him, from head down to his feet–she’s definitely met him before.

Who was he?

Who was he?

Who was he?

She bit her inner lip, eyes widening as his oceanic gaze met hers. “Is there something wrong?” “You’re the boy…” Auretta whispered. The boy who once saved her life on Lantern island. “Hero?” she added.

What surprised her even more was that a small chuckle escaped his lips as he crossed his arms. “I was waiting you’d recognize me,” he said. “Now, could you wait outside by the wagon?”

Auretta nodded, quickly passing through the door.

Standing outside, she leaned onto the doorpost, rubbing her chin as she delved deeper in her thoughts. He still seemed the same boy–quiet and composed. But Auretta remembered he told her he never had a name–she perked up.

“Hero doesn’t seem too far from Heron…” she muttered. He must’ve had his own reasons for saying he didn’t have one–or he got a new one.

“Are you ready?” he asked her, dazing at her as she snapped back into reality. Auretta softly nodded at him, catching up to her breath. “All right, just get on the wagon.” “If it’s just the two of us, why do we need a wagon?” Auretta questioned, staring at the size of the wagon.

He stared at her, raising his brows. She must’ve asked him a stupid question. She turned red, shifting her gaze quickly. “I have other things to pick up on the way.” he replied.

Auretta stepped foot on the wagon, assisted by Heron by the hand as she got on. It didn’t seem that big now that she was on. “Sorry–I got distracted by the kids.” a cocky toned voice said. Auretta flinched, turning her head to see Jaemi, yawning as he bumped Heron’s elbow.

Heron frowned, rubbing his eyes as he deadpanned at Jaemi. “If you’re looking for Melione she’s not here-” “So you’re bringing Arya back? How’s the wagon so far?” Jaemi asked, rubbing onto the surface of the wagon.

Auretta smiled sheepishly, resting her shoulders. “I might have to change it soon,” Heron responded, hopping onto the front, pulling the reins of the horse. “Farewell,” Jaemi grinned, waving at both of them. “Remember what I told you.” Auretta shivered, dazing off into empty space as Heron looked at her with confusion.

“Yea… I’ll remember what you told me Jaemi…” she replied. He is in fact friendly yet he wouldn’t hesitate to threaten you if it seems right to him.