“Help… Please, help me…” The words tumbled out in a rush.

Brown waves covered her face, while her small body made it clear how much the tears hurt.

The mansion's employees exchanged glances, and once again their worried gazes fell upon the young woman at the door, fallen, exhausted, and wounded.

"Take the girl into the drawing room while I speak with the Lord," the housekeeper whispered to one of the maids, her heart aching with pity for the young woman.

The housekeeper hurried up the stairs, passing through the dark hallway lit by sconces, as was the rest of the house with its few windows. At the end of the hallway, beside the large painting that marked the end of the path, the library door stared at her. The woman straightened her posture and brushed off her dress before knocking. Upon knocking, she received a brief reply, a low, unenthusiastic "come in." The door creaked, and the light from the hallway flooded the simple, yet valuable, library.

There he was, seated in one of his chairs, dressed in his dark dressing gown as he read a book, and the flickering light that illuminated him created shadows that obscured his features. The housekeeper bowed as she approached, and maintaining her posture, informed her Lord of the "visitor."

"What should I do?" Leni sighed, clutching her skirt, fearing for the girl.

The Lord's eyes drifted from his book as his pale face took on a perplexed expression. Normally, no one approached his lands, ancient territory he had inherited. Because most of the mansions were merely temporary refuges for their owners, many of those houses were abandoned, and therefore, few people passed through or even asked for help at one of them, his own included. So the fact that a young woman knocked there asking for shelter surprised him, and his heart was immediately touched by pity.

"There are enough rooms here for her to take shelter in," the deep, low, and normally calm voice had taken on an altruistic tone. "Let her in."

The housekeeper couldn't help but let a smile escape her lips as she bowed once more to leave her chambers.

“Thank you very much, my lord.”

In the hallways, the older woman sighed with relief and promptly returned to the room where she had indicated to the servants where they should take the young woman. Entering the drawing room, she saw her sitting on one of the benches, sobbing, and some maids consoling her and bandaging some of her injuries.

It was a summer night, cloudy, but not so cold for the girl to shiver this much, so the governess sat in one of the armchairs and held the girl's hands.

"My lord has allowed you to stay here, so welcome. My name is Leni, what is your name, miss?" the woman asked gently, with a smile on her face.

She stroked the back of the younger girl's hand, trying to comfort her.

The young woman's amber eyes met Leni's, her chest still heaving with sobs. After taking a deep breath and swallowing hard, she replied:

"My name is Talih, nice to meet you." Despite her fear and trembling body, the young woman smiled with gratitude.

Leni returned the kind smile, and after Talih calmed down, she thought it would be a good time to ask why she was so scared. Who or what wanted to hurt her?

“So, Talih, can you tell us what happened? Who wants to hurt you?

"I... I came from far away..." the younger girl's voice came out almost as a whisper as she clutched the hem of her dress. "From a tribe on an archipelago far from here..." The girl paused for long periods, sometimes drumming on her lap to keep calm. "They didn't like me, and since my mother passed, they came after me... and I ran away." She said between breaths that grew quicker with each passing minute.

Talih's brow furrowed as she shrank even further into the loveseat.

"I want to thank you and your Lord for letting me stay here. Thank you very much." The young woman's face was cheerful but still carried sorrow; she smiled with her eyes swollen from tears.

Leni returned the smile and sweetly spoke to the young woman:

“You can stay here as long as you need.”

Something clicked in Talih's mind; she quickly searched the backpack she had brought with her for the valuable things she had accumulated over time.

"I...I have money, stones, and some things that are quite valuable. I want to repay your kindness somehow!" she said, holding out a bag of precious stones she had found and banknotes she had saved.

"No, no, my little one, that's not necessary," Leni said, calmly pushing away the younger girl's outstretched hands.

"Just one question, miss, how did you end up here? As you said, you came from an archipelago, and the closest one, as far as I can remember, doesn't have a land route," one of the maids asked.

"I came by water," Talih revealed calmly, not understanding the sudden startle of the employees.

From there, the servants' hearts were even more moved with compassion, and amidst the murmurs, things like these were heard: "Poor thing! She must have suffered so much!"; "It must have been so difficult to get here, crossing that treacherous sea?!"; "I've heard stories of people close to me who have lost someone to the sea..."; "If experienced sailors already have problems with water, imagine such a small girl?!" Then, promptly, some blankets were placed over Talih, and one of the maids served a warm and comforting cup of tea.

Little did they know that the girl, in turn, understood absolutely nothing of their reactions. Was it an arduous journey? Yes, but not so complicated, since she had come from the waters and had known them for as long as she could remember... Or fish, as she was.

“Please tell us about your journey!” The maid, who was sitting next to her and who had brought her into that room, asked.

"Well, I swam across the sea until I reached the port, and then I moved away from the piers so that no one would see me…" Talih recounted her journey until she stopped, thinking that would be enough, but she saw the curious faces of the people in front of her, so she continued, "Until I found the mouth of the river! Then I swam along there until I reached the river, and then I hid on the bank and walked the rest of the way until I got here!" She recounted the end of her journey with a smile and was once again met with surprise from her listeners.

It was no exaggeration to say that the employees were charmed by the young lady; she had such gentle mannerisms, a sweet voice, and a very beautiful smile. 

Talih could already feel the calmness blowing through her body. Although the attention was focused on her and her story, the staff's kindness brought her peace, and she also felt a unique, mystical aura in the place that made her feel comfortable despite her initial shyness.

The commotion she created alerted a certain person upstairs, his thieving steps as he descended the stairs were not heard by the servants, who were still captivated by Talih's story. The homeowner didn't want to cause a commotion and make the guest uncomfortable, so he refrained from showing up unexpectedly.

"Miss, your clothes don't seem to be completely dry. If you need them, we have extra pieces so you won't get sick," said one of the maids worriedly.

"Thank you very much, but don't worry, I have some extra dresses with me, I don't want to be a bother." She shook her head with a smile.

"Ah, you're a reader too, miss?" another maid commented, noticing books in Talih's bag. "I feel that you and Lord Manfred will get along very well!" she added, excitedly.

Upon hearing his name mentioned, the man decided to peek into the living room, hidden in the darkness of the hallway. He observes the room, trying to spot the girl.

"These are works by my favorite author! Unfortunately, the water must have ruined some of them, but I feel they're still legible," she commented, hugging her bag. "At least I hope so."

Her soft voice drew him in, like an echo invading his ears, intoning a magnetic symphony… Even though she wasn't singing… And when he finally saw her, his eyes simply couldn't believe what he was seeing.

He had lived for many decades and seen many things, but he could say with absolute certainty: Not even in his wildest dreams had he encountered a lady of such beauty.

Despite the comfortable atmosphere the living room had become, he could perceive that the lady was rather shy, her hands resting on her lap as she smiled timidly at the onlookers of this muse.

He didn't even know where to begin to describe her, perhaps by her short brown waves that reminded him of a stormy sea on a moonless night that framed her lovely face, with curls falling over her forehead that made her even more ethereal.

Or perhaps by her fragile structure, similar to that of a delicate porcelain doll, her gentle and still trembling movements that awakened in him the desire to hold her close and protect her so that nothing would harm her.

Perhaps by her dark skin, seemingly warm due to the heat it emanated, and a tone that reminded him of a cup of strong tea with two drops of honey, coincidentally the exact way he liked his favorite drink, it glowed beautifully in the candlelight, shining like polished bronze.

Ah... but her face was so angelic, her irises a deep golden brown, covered by fox-like eyes, slanted and downturned, similar to the engravings of the natives of the “New World,” as he had heard. But soon his thoughts were distracted by the young woman's full lips, resembling petals, which took on such an enchanting shape every time she smiled.

Everything about her seemed to come from a dream, and Manfred certainly did not want to wake up from it.

His pale face quickly turned a deep red, his purple eyes took on a mesmerizing glow, and he felt his heart wanting to burst in his chest and his stomach tingling as if it were dancing inside him.

Without realizing it, a small smile began to appear on his face, revealing his prominent canines; after slowly awakening from his trance, the man leaned against the hallway wall, returning to the darkness of the room, and slowly placed his hand on his chest, feeling his insides burn and throb violently.

He closed his eyes, resting his head against the wall, ruffling his pale blond hair. The new sensations bubbling within him made him stare blankly into the dim light of the house, a weak smile playing on his face.

Just one last look, just to see her one more time… That's what he thought. And peeking again into the living room, he saw that she seemed more comfortable; her hands had left the lap of her beautiful but worn yellow dress with small blue flowers, and her smile remained enchanting.

The lady's voice still had something different about it…attractive. And for some reason he didn't understand, he wanted to hear her sing… After processing his reaction for a while, he composed himself; after all, it wasn't polite to look at a guest that way, and it was disrespectful. However, he felt confused… Why did she attract his attention so much? As if everything about her whispered a hazy song, yes… it wasn't just her voice, everything about her hummed a song that drew him to her, like a sailor launching himself into the sea at the song of a siren, even knowing what his tragic end would be.

He could feel the waves lapping at his feet, the tide rising, and his heart flooded by the cold, cruel waters of the ocean.

Taking a deep breath, he calmed down, but his inner self continued to insistently yearn to dive in again, to have the young muse in his field of vision once more…

Then he thought about it for a moment: they would be in the same house, they would definitely see each other again, and besides, he would make sure to ask Leni to give her the best room in the house.

"Would you like something to eat before bed? We have Dampfnudeln!" offered one of the maids, lifting the young lady from the loveseat.

Talih smiled, a sparkle shining in her eyes.

“What is that?”

"It's a German-style filled bread roll; I have a feeling you'll like it," the maid laughed.

“Then I'd like to try it if it's not too much trouble.”

Talih turned her gaze to Leni, trying to find in the woman some indication of her own inadequacy.

"Absolutely not! Come on!" Leni replied, guiding the maid.

The beautiful young lady was accompanied by the maids and the housekeeper, who lovingly led her to the kitchen.

Manfred stayed there for a while longer, until his absence interrupted the incessant song coming from that lady.