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Mira and Jack walked towards the rendezvous spot. Jack half expected her leave his hand as they neared but she didn’t. Alina and Jason were sitting canoodling each other under the tree. They didn’t expect Mira to come early. “Cough… cough…” Mira cleared her mouth to make her presence known. Alina and Jason repelled away from each other as they though had been stung. “Mira, dear…” Jason called out in shock. He didn’t expect to come seeing what she did. Mira took a step back, holding on to Jack’s hand tightly. “Mira, we …” Alina feigned a sorrowful expression “I was only pacifying him.” “Mira, why is he here?” Jason asked restraining his anger, his eyes looked at her accusingly. It didn’t matter that he was canoodling Alina a minute ago… that was all well and above board. But Mira to be holding another man’s hand was unacceptable. “Why can’t he be here?” Mira asked with an innocent expression before sighing “He is my legal husband after all.” “Mira ..you…” Jason pointed in anger
Mira and Jack started their day the same as every other day. Mira remembered the shelves Jack made for her that were still sitting in the backyard as she was feeding the rabbits. She walked over and pushed them into space making sure there were no prying eyes. Since discovering that working in space made her less tired, she decided to work in space. She worked all morning finishing almost half of the last piece of work she had and went to soak in the hot spring, a luxury she could afford. She wished she could share this secret this Jack but didn’t know how. Before leaving space, she arranged everything neatly on the shelves. She used one of the single shelves to put the freshly skinned furs, currently there was seven. On the next one, she kept the pot of cornmeal mash she had prepared the other day along with the basket of mushrooms she had picked. The one with three shelves was currently empty. Jack returned in the afternoon and set to work on his frames as soon as he finished drin
Mira sat in the backyard after Jack left for work and she finished her morning chores. She looked around making sure there was no one around and snuck into space with all the stuff she needed. She was right. Her speed was much greater when worked in space. She finished 4 portions of 2x 2 yards. She snuck back and dragged them to the shed before stirring the four pails of furs and heading into the kitchen. She locked the doors and entered space again to relax in the hot spring. It was really relaxing for her muscles. She relaxed her mind wandered back to events of her previous life. Day after tomorrow was the day, she harmed her mother. She had to avoid it by all means. She got out of the hot springs with a determined gaze ‘In this lifetime, no one could hurt her mother.’ Jack returned in the afternoon and the duo continued working on the hutch. Jack walked over to the plot that Mira wanted to build the hutch and started lying the foundation. While Jack wasn’t paying attention, Mira p
Aldrin and Thomas entered the room to see Mira stomping her feet childishly muttering “Not fair!” “My beloved is the most fairest in all of King’s land.” Thomas chuckled as he kissed Almera’s forehead. Mira bit her tongue with a sheepish smile as she snatched her work basket and ran. She had no where to hide. Running was the best! “What was that about?” Aldrin was curious. The Mira he saw was a serious, miserly but beautiful woman. The one he just saw was a childish cute version. Almera ignored him and wrapped her arms around Thomas’s neck “Dearest, if luck is on your side, then his majesty will be truly pleased with you and your crusade will be a success.” “My luck is by my side… what fear do I have?” Thomas chuckled as he tapped her nose suggestively. “Bbllawwwhhhh” Aldrin made a nauseous expression “Can you respect a single man’s feelings?” “Just letting the two of you know” Almera hugged her casserole “This is mine. I am just sharing. No snatching and running.” Aldrin’s eye
Martin and Oden told their parents and everyone else that Jack’s barn needed fixing, and they were lending a hand. No one thought much about it. It was common in the countryside to help each other. Everyone knew that Jack had been sharing food with the family. They worked hard from morning till dinner. For dinner, Mira made fish pie and a light soup. The men had been working hard. She made a fish each. They were a few more from Jack’s catch. “Cousin, let me know if you want a free laborer. All I charge is food.” Martin laughed as he ate. Jack rolled his eyes when Mira asked “How’s Anne-Marie? Why didn’t you bring her along?” “She’s too small to know the danger.” Oden shook his head while Martin chuckled “Mom must be having a hard time with her.” “We ran away before she woke up.” By late afternoon, the sides of the hutch were successfully finished. All that was left was the top. Mira had weaved continuously for four days. She got after Jack slept and slid into space and kept weavi
Mira entered space with the bright cloth and started to work on her embroidery after Jack fell asleep. She decided to do a floral pattern with the hot pink as the vine and flowers with pink border and pearls inside. She embroidered such that the hot pink vine was closely followed by the dark green vine which was only slightly darker than the cloth and looked like a shadow of the hot pink vine. Just like the growth and breeding time of the animals in space were enhanced, Mira’s efficiency was also three times more. She worked for 4 hours and finished the whole cloth which would have taken her two full days. She stretched and slipped back into bed after taking a quick dip in the hot spring. Jack subconsciously snuggled closer as he smelt his wife’s beautiful smell and buried his head in her neck. Both of them woke up early and started the day with a lot of energy. Jack milked and cleaned the barn after skinning 8 rabbits for Mira. They were going to have a full house of people today.
Mira came out of space feeling fresh and full of life. She baked some bread experimenting with cheese and tomato on it. Some she baked with mushrooms and cheese…. She kept her fingers crossed hoping there came out all right. She made a thick creamy mushroom soup. Cream, butter and cheese were abundant with Daisy’s steady supply of milk and space to keep everything fresh. She also picked a fish from space, cleaned and kept the head and parts they didn’t eat for the dogs in space and left space. She smeared the fish with butter and spices and roasted till closer to 2 so that it would be hot and just right for Jack. Once Jack came back, they ate dinner together. Mira told him about the chicks and asked whether she should keep them in the outer shed or send them back to the coop while they were relaxing in each other’s company. Jack told her that he thought it was best they went back to the coop. Mira chattered about nonsensical things as they relaxed and then went back to work diligentl
Thomas was still waiting for Mira to return. Mira forgot about her previous grudge by the time she returned. “Mira” Thomas called out as she entered Almera’s room “I meant no offence before.” “Um” Mira pouted. “In my defense, I wasn’t even aware of your conversation.” Thomas continued “Ferran said the meat was fresh, tender and top quality. He was the one who told me I would be lucky to get one with this quality for 4 gold coins.” “Oh” Mira nodded but narrowed her eyes as she looked skeptically at the black hearted couple who had tricked her previously. “You don’t believe me?” Thomas asked as he noted her skepticism. “You two have tricked me before.” Mira pouted. “Me??” Thomas asked in shock. He had never tricked anyone especially not one he considered friend. “She is talking about the watches.” Almera giggled; She knew Thomas had long forgotten about it. “Oh!” Thomas scratched the back of his head “That was an elder sister’s affection. How can I interfere?” “Um” Mira pursed
Thomas and Orseus stepped on their toes as they leaned over their father’s shoulders and read the scroll along with them; tears rolled down Cornelius and Baldwin’s cheeks as they saw the scroll in their sworn brother’s hand and read greedily.Their tears didn’t stop even though they finished reading the letter. The guilt of not being there when their sworn brother needed them the most was eating into their soul; they listlessly handed the scroll to Jack and Mira.“So now we have to find Esmeralda to cure Uncle Jerome.” Orseus pursed his lips. He called out to Jerome as Uncle Jerome smoothly, he had no difficulty as he grew up hearing these two names, Alex and Jerome; to him, they were family, more closer to him than Uncle Alaistair and his sons.“If we have guessed correctly, we don’t have to go anywhere searching for her.” Cornelius shook his head and added with an air of mystery “She is much closer than we think.”“Are you saying that the healer that we go to is, this Esmeralda that
“If only we knew….” Harry sighed regretfully “Then we could have followed that man’s trail and found Alex sooner.”“You think too beautifully... Alex would never lead a trail if this was his contingency plan.” Baldwin sneered before his expression turned serious “But we may have stumbled upon some unexpected luck in finding Alex.”“Did granduncle Zumerong shed some light?” Orseus asked, leaning forward eagerly.“Heh!” Corenlius scoffed “They were kept in even greater darkness than us.”“Then are you talking about the man who lives at Mer waters?” Thomas asked hesitantly; he really didn’t know why his father and godfather were so confident, just because he trained with Jack?“Son, you don’t know.” Cornelius shook his head “Leal can never be separated from Alex; wherever Alex is, he will follow, whether it is in life or death.”“There has never been a more loyal shadow.” Baldwin too sighed regretfully.“Then what are we waiting for?” Almera looked around curiously; Mira leaned forward a
Jack and Mira, along with the rest of their group, dragged their exhausted bodies and reached Southamberston palace at the break of dawn. Without making any noise, they all went to their respective rooms without any fuss. Everyone had a room at Southamberston palace even though they each had cottages specially prepared for them; both Martin and Oden went to the rooms that were prepared for them instead of their cottage.Early morning was unusually noisy with many unfamiliar faces around the breakfast table and yet it was as if no one noticed the familiarity of the unfamiliar faces at the table; the only exception was the three unfamiliar unfriendly faces as they sat through the farce as though they were watching a show and not part of it.Almera and Katherine joined them shortly after breakfast, as noisy as ever with Almera complaining that her husband didn’t love her anymore and that he was in love with his first wife, the estate responsibilities and that she always came second.Firs
Jack and Mira rushed back without stopping; their pace was originally fast, but it became even more rushed after they received John’s message which wasn’t much, just a short line written in a shaky hand ‘Matthew and Harry are back with three visitors’.Don’t misunderstand the shaky hand, it wasn’t fear… It was just John trying to write in his best hand. But unfortunately, it was bound to be misunderstood, due to John’s years of acting, acting timid, which was more believable for his son and nephew, more believable than his daring persona.Thomas had just entered his palace when his page rushed in and announced that he had a note from Southamberston and passed the note. It was the same note that was sent to Jack, written in the same shaky hand, 'Matthew and Harry are back with three visitors’. However, it evoked an entirely different expression from Thomas.Thomas stood up excitedly as he reached for his cloak that he had just hung up; he wrapped it around as he walked and called out to
Back at Southamberston, by late afternoon, a travel weary Matthew and Harry had arrived back at Southamberston with three additional unfamiliar men who were covered from head to toe, leaving only sharp eaglelike eyes.Without Harrison’s calm balancing act, the household was on the verge of being thrown into chaos when Beth walked in, in a hurry, ushered in by one of the maids who was flustered.The chaos resulted from the fact that there were three strangers who looked suspicious; the imaginative minds of the young staff who worked at the castle had worked themselves up with a theory they had concocted.Their theory was that the two elders who had gone to relax were held hostage, and they were unable to escape and were brought back here for the young Duke to save them; but the young duke wasn’t here; even Lazarus and Harrison weren’t here.The young maid who ran over to call Beth and gasped, almost out of breath “Lady…. Lady… Lady Beth, the elders have been held hostages by three sinis
Jack and Mira set off in the afternoon along with their men since there was nothing left for them to do here, at the manor and considering that they had been away from the duchy for almost a week.They first made a stop at the healer’s place as per Jack promise to Cornelius and Baldwin; however, there was still no one at the cottage. Jack quietly took the scroll that he had prepared previously and jumped over the wicket gate. He walked around the cottage a few times and returned as though nothing had happened.This was his agreement with the healer; he never understood why she was so paranoid, but he had always respected her rules in her place. When he returned, he no longer had the scroll in his hand. He had placed it in their usual place, inside one of the potted plants, one that looked just like the many potted plants that were placed in the backyard and yet she would correctly identify the one with message scroll.Out of curiosity, he had watched her once as she walked in through t
Everyone had rested at the manor after their late-night discussion and was up at the break of dawn, filled with vigor and new hope for answers to their decade long search. Somehow, they all had the feeling that they were closer to their quest, closer than they had ever been….After breakfast, everyone dispersed as quietly as they had arrived leaving behind Oden and Martin who were going to follow back with Jack and Mira.Corenlius and Baldwin decided to go by the healer’s cottage once more before heading back; Jack accompanied them while Mira stayed back to sort out and implement the plans she had previously discussed with Jack for their manor.However, both Cornelius and Baldwin were destined to be disappointed; the wicket gate was still locked, and the cottage desolate as ever, without any signs of life. Both Cornelius and Baldwin had a defeated expression as they considered what to do next.“I will come over once we have finished our plans for the manor and check on them.” Jack open
“Godfather, why was your interaction with the commander who came to our aid a bit weird?” Jack asked once he remembered their encounter with the cavalry that had rushed to their aid.“Che!” Cornelius sneered the disdain on his face couldn’t be more pronounced “Did they think that I Cornelius Richard the fourth am an ornamental fool to have sat firmly on the throne for the last decade?”“Didn’t you also note the abnormality?” Cornelius hooked his eyebrows towards Jack.“Whose they?” Orseus asked with a curious smirk, looking at his father who was riled up.“Who else, other than the Sorens?” Thomas shook his head helplessly as he answered even though he knew his good brother did not need an answer to his question.“Why would them helping us through the crisis annoy his highness?” Martin asked Jack in a whisper; even though it was a whisper, other than the woman who were not trained, everyone else heard him.Everyone’s gaze consciously or subconsciously turned to Jack to hear his response
Jack led everyone to their basement room under Mira’s workroom after dinner so that they could quickly get to the bottom of the reason for the waterworks. However, even before they all got into the room the doorbell rang.“10 gold coins that’s Martin.” Jack winked as soon as he heard the bell before shrugging “It’s a wonder he didn’t rush back with Harrison.“Your grace, he wasn’t there.” Harrison informed with a nonchalant expression although his lips were twitching non-stop “He was at the smithery when the carrier pigeons came in.”“Makes sense.” Jack chuckled as he walked towards the door.“10 gold coins that’s my pain.” Baldwin shook his head.“Mine would if he could sneak out…. but that’s going to………” Cornelius’s complacent expression has already started to crack; he hadn’t even completed his sentence when he heard Mira exclaim “Your royal highness…”Cornelius shook his head helplessly rubbing his forehead wondering if he was to eager to enjoy life and whether his son was ready fo