Chương 2: II. Neighbor Boy

The pillow was soft, and the blankets covering me were warm. I rolled around, and my hand greeted me. There was no scar or even a dripping wound. The air smelled like chicken with garlic and cayenne. My stomach growled angrily, and I lifted myself up from bed.

"Ma?" Amaril was moving down the horizon, bathing the world in amber. The stars light flooded the upstairs through my now open window. It was morning when I was work–"Nah, Ashy," a familiar voice called back. I forced my eyes shut and bit my lip.

"Addy?"

"Yeah, Ashy?"

"What are ya doin' in my house?"

"... Cookin'?" I tried to roll off the… mattress? I was on Pa and Ma's Mattress, but I was in my alcove above. There was no spiderwebs on the ladder, and the lanterns illuminated the indoors. The dust was gone, and the air was clear – except for the smell of stewing chicken and spices. The roll didn't work. My stomach growled in protest, and I could only clench my stomach to keep it calm. My mouth began to salivate, and my muscles twitched and spasmed. Light footsteps came up the ladder.

"Amaril Above, you look like a [Night-Thing], Ashy," Adrian said. Even as an adult, he looked the same when we was younger. His boyish face, brown eyes, and messy brown hair. Except he was more angular… and lean. Of course, he was still short; I had outgrown him when we were twelve. Seems like the Good Protector Above made him stay that height. Though… He was wearing metal. Not linen or leather, but metal. He had epaulets and gauntlets, and even a chest plate.

I swallowed again, forcing myself to look at the emblem.

"... Addy, you didn't…" He walked towards me. He had two sheathes; one was a typical steel longsword used by the town [Guard], but the other was strapped against his back. It was made of Rhyvesta's Bane… silver.

"You needa eat somethin', Ashy," Adrian said, taking out the stew – and my wooden bowl he had used for it – from his inventory. His eyes were always so sanctimonious. I furrowed my brows and used [Inspect]. ADRIAN SKYE CLASS: PALADIN ROLE: HEAD INQUISITOR [Detailed Description Not Available] Adrian looked down at his chest, then back at me. He flashed me that smug smile.

"If you wanted to know, Ashy, ya coulda just asked."

"When?"

"When, What?" he repeated. I lifted my arm but it immediately collapsed. Adrian snapped forward – far too quickly for a [Farm Boy] – and grabbed my arm. Even through the gauntlet, he was as gentle as he always was. He lowered my arm down, and placed the bowl of chicken stew on my lap.

"Don' be coy, ya arse," I tried to shout, but my throat caught and I coughed. He produced a spoon and handed it to me. I threw it at his face.

"OW!" Adrian said, but it didn't hurt him. He was a [Paladin] after all. Adrian rubbed his head with that damn gauntlet and picked up the spoon. Faint traces of magic flowed over it, and he handed it back to me.

"Eat, Ashy. Or I swear on Ma, I will make you." The meat bobbed in the thick stew; mixed with potatoes, onions, carrots, and peas. Thankfully, there was no corn. Ma always made it with corn. I never ate that though.

"My Ma's dead, Addy. And your Ma is…?"

"Our Ma," Adrian said, and placed his ungloved hand on my shoulder. Before I could stop myself, I lowered my head atop of it. He didn't move away, but I quickly jolted back up and shoved my shoulder aside. Adrian kept his grip.

"My Mother is currently at Flowers-Home with Father, with the three youngest. It's only Seth and Claudia here now," Adrian said.

"And I did mean Ma, Ashy. She was just as much my Ma as yours." I lowered the spoon into the broth. It filled the spoon, alongside a few peas and a small chunk of carrot. I raised it to my lips – and it scalded my mouth! I spat it out, and Adrian snapped the bowl off my lap while my body spasmed.

"Easy now, Ashy. Do you wan' me to blow–""Adrian, why are you in my house? I mean, I am grateful for the stew," I said. I took a deep breath, and tried to speak seriously.

"But why are you in my… abode?"

"Well, if you must inquire Missus Hart of the Hart Abode," Adrian immediately responded – his own accent dropping to become 'Academic'. Except, his was far more natural.

"Yeah, ha. That sounds silly, Ashy. Anyways, I heard you jus' got back from the Academy, and I wanted to check in on ya."

"Okay, but why are ya in my hou– I mean, That may be. But why are you inside my house?"

"Well, I couldn't right leave ya alone like that on your fields, could I? I am the Inquisitor of this – " I slapped him. My arm screamed from the effort, but I stopped him from finishing that sentence. Adrian however raised his hand atop of mine. My fingers held onto his cheek, and my nails dug into his flesh. He didn't pull away.

"Ashy, are ya alright?" When we were 10, I had raised a milking cow named Penelope with Pa – and I guess Addy's – help. She was a good ol' girl. She would let you pet her and ride her if you gave her some hay. I entered her in the Oakheart Fair, and put all my time and effort into it. The Skye's bought Lady Moovia. She was a prized heifer that came from good stock. She won first place, and Penelope didn't rank at all. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

"Did your daddy get you that role too?" Adrian's eyes didn't move off mine. They watered, and he slid my hand off his cheek – and placed it back atop my lap.

"Are you still upset about Lady Moovia? I had nothing to do with that! And besides, we both tried our be–""And ya showin' your face here, all high and mighty like?"

"Ashley, you were unconscious and bleeding out on your own fields. You look like a skeleton, your house is a mess, and if I didn't [Lay on Hands] your ha–"" You did this?!" I said, raising my uninjured hand. The unblemished palm stood as witness to his atrocity.

"... Yes?" Adrian shifted his gaze, away from me or the uninjured hand.

"So you actually are a [Paladin]?"

"... Didn't you just read the [Tooltip], Ashy? Why are you ask–""'CUZ YA TOLD ME I COULD!"

"Amaril give me the strength to deal with this woman…" Adrian exhaled loudly.

"Yes, I am a [Paladin]. Yes, I came in to check in on you. Yes, I healed you, cleaned your house, planted your seeds since you for–""I DIDN' PLANT THE SEEDS?" I sprang off the bed, launching the stew up right against my lap. I closed my eyes, realizing what I did and bracing for the burn. It never came. Adrian was fast. Or I was slow and malnourished, both could be true at once. He held the bowl in his hand and blinked at me, and then pointed straight at the bed.

"Sit down. You need to eat. I already did it for you."

"Hogwash!"

"Ashley, I already am a [Farmer]. Well, not a [Farmer] exactly, it gets kind of weird when you become a [Hero] --""SO YA ARE A HERO!"

"... Yes? Didn't we just establish this?" The fields were tended and cleaned. The seeds were watered, and they had begun growing. Since it was still morning, it meant today counted, and they'd be ready in 3 days. But that was my work to do. I turned my head from the window towards him – and caught eyes on the study. Ma's journal, my book… were all neatly placed in the corner and my worktable was clean. It even had a new ink we–"You didn't read my Dia-Jour-Book, did ya?" He shook his head.

"I didn't go through your diary, no. I learned my lesson the last time." He did, however, hand me the bowl of stew again. It was warm and spiced, exactly like how Ma used to make it. The water mixed with the collagen and fats to become a thick broth, and the chicken was boiled and tender. I almost choked, but thankfully, Adrian let me right myself without helping. My stomach still growled, and I finally got back up to my feet. There was no pain, and my body obeyed me.

"Is there any more?"

"Downstairs, Ashy," he said, going towards the ledge – and jumped off. I cringed, running towards the edge. There was only a light little thud as he collided with the ground floor.

"ADDY! YOU BETTER HAVE NOT BROKEN MY FLOORBOARDS!" He looked up and smiled at me, raising his hand to the back of his head and scratching.

"Nah, Ashy – you're good. I've gotten enough training to land properly by now, ya?" I did not have that training. I climbed down the ladder to the ground floor. It was clean, it smelled nice… and the pantry was stocked! There was flour to make bread, some butter, jams, honey – AND CANDIED PEACHES! I shot towards them, but then stopped. I swallowed before turning around.

"Addy, you know I don't like you like that, right?" I blurted out. We both watched each other, the small embers of the hearth crackling and the stew still simmering. He had grown up. His face was always so easy to read, but now? It was calm, and none of his old tells showed up. No fear, no embarrassment, no staying near me like moss on a stone. His babyfat had given way to muscle. But his brown eyes were different. They used to radiate with this… thing. It was absent now. He lowered his shoulders and sighed.

"Ashy, it's not always about being in love. I made a promise to Ma, and…" That was Adrian's 'real' voice now. The Oakheart drawl was completely replaced with the pronunciation of the Capital.

".... for your information, I earned my rank on my own. All my father did was give me the education…" He bit his lip, and closed his eyes.

"... Like how Ma and Pa sent you to the academy." I couldn't meet his eyes. My head lowered till I looked down at my feet.

"Then I'm going to pay you back, all–""689 silver coins, 8 gold pieces, five hot meals – this would be the sixth – and one broken wooden sword when you get back on your feet, right?" he finished for me.

"... What do you want, Addy? I don't want your pi–""The funny thing is," Adrian interrupted me. It felt wrong to me, and I could see Adrian suppress his discomfort too." I wasn't keeping track of that debt. You were. Every time I gave you anything, you'd tell me you'd pay me back. The exact number."

"--ty," I finished. My nails dug into my palm and my eyes narrowed down at him. I opened my mouth to retort – but he cut me off. Again!

"I saw you as my sister, the cute girl next door who was smarter than me. We looked at the stars, and how you wanted to be a [Scholar] like your Ma wanted to be. And how I wanted to be a [Knight] like my father. I would have liked – and maybe still would – to have you by my side, but…" The cottage was empty. It barely counted as a dowry of any sort, even more when Pa was dead. The pantry was only restocked because of him. Carrots – stupid carrots – were only planted and watered because of him.

Torment, my most prized possession was neatly tied in fake-gold string.

"... You seem to think I'd never measure up to you, that you'd be settling. I don't know what went wrong in our childhood to make you feel that way, Ashy, and I'm sorry If I've never lived up to your expectations, but you're still my friend. And if I have to pretend to not have changed to get you to talk to me, I'll do it. I made a promise to Our Ma –""My MA!" Adrian's eyes appraised me. He raised his hands, palm outwards, and waved them off.

"The food is for you. I restocked it all, and I left something in Ma's special spot." He glanced down at the floorboards.

"Take it as pity. Take it as friendship. Take it as love, or add it to your infinitely tracked ledgers of debts you owe to the world and the world owes to you… Ms. Hart." His hand reached up to pat my shoulder, but I brushed him away. Or tried too. Addy must have let me do so in the past, since my arm didn't have the strength to deflect his gauntlet. His fingers pushed into my shoulders as he stared up towards me. He opened his mouth, but no words came out. He released my shoulder and turned around.

Once again, he raised his hand in departure. He had always done this as a kid – "I'm too cool for you Ash to even say goodbye. Im leaving now." He whistled as soon as he got outside. His symphony was hard to detect for a layperson like me, but it felt orderly and like Amaril's Gaze. From the Gaze itself, A [Divine Steed] appeared – as white as snow, and eyes bleeding starlight. It radiated the same warmth that I could feel off Adrian. Saccharine. Falsely pristine.

"Let's go Mirchie," he said, mounting the saddle.

"... You named her Mirchie?"

"It's not always about you," Adrian said. He looked at Amaril as it set beyond the horizon, its Gaze fading over the hilltops.

"I have a question for you, Ms. Hart."

"I'm not going to–""Have you been to Matthew and Amelia's grave yet?" Amaril slowly descended, and The Watcher raised in compliment.

"I didn't think so," he said. He pulled Mirchie's lead and they galloped back towards town. That left me, and my Dead Fields. I turned back to my house and slammed the door shut – and the entire frame shook. Who the hell did he think he was? The iron cauldron simmered and my… I wasn't strong enough to push it over. Besides, I was famished. It smelled like Ma's cooking. Another thing he was better at than me. I could just have accepted his pity. Having a hot meal wasn't bad. And it's always been like this.

He notices I'm sad, I'm not doing well… I'm in a rough spot, and he makes me something to eat. I took the ladle and my wooden bowl and poured a hearty serving into it. The chicken bobbed, flanked by vegetables that I wasn't able to grow. The bowl crashed against the wall, stew spilling over the clean floor. My chest heaved, before sanity caught up to my outrage. That was my only bowl. I ran over, picking up the bowl to inspect the damage. I rotated it around my hands as a pale, white light shimmered off the clay.

There wasn't a crack, a chip, or anything – the bastard had used [Fortify] on it. Couldn't even let me have my own 'unexpected' anger. I just wanted to be a [Scholar]. Not a [Farm Girl]. And I couldn't even be a [Farm Girl] without the help of some righteous, pious fuck. At least the carrots were beginning to grow, and the fields were watered. But… the soil smelled like a stillborn calf. Heifers, sometimes, give birth to calves that don't have a heartbeat. They need to push it out bad.

Pa calls it cursed, and that smell is what he calls the unborn dead. No life in 'em, a corpse inside a living body. Yet… The carrots were growing. All nine of them bleed black onto the soil. In a few days, they'd be ready.