"Chop! Chop! Get moving!"
Asty opened her eyes when she heard that familiar boisterous laughter and the obnoxious hitting of metallic pans. The lively atmosphere brought a smile to her face and she immediately hoists herself up to see what they were up to.
From above the staircase, Chaol descends while rubbing his head, irritated. "Would someone please explain to me what in the world is going on?"
"Oops— my bad. My Lord." Yvonne squeaks. "I was just trying to see what these drums are for."
"They are not drums for god's sake, Yvonne." he breathed in disappointment. "Those are cooking pots."
"Oh."
Asty and Owl burst into laughter as Chaol just humiliated her.
"You must be really, really... well, unknowledgeable huh. Do you not notice that Lana cooks with those?"
"S-She does not really have the time to go to the kitchen, Chaol." Asty reasoned out in her defense. "She doesn't have the vacancy to do so."
"Still!" Cha
"Ah! Yes! Finally some great space!"Yvonne stepped down from the carriage with her arms wide open. Chaol who was behind her, pushed the woman which almost caused her to trip. "If you want to stretch out, at least do it somewhere but not in front of the exit."Yvonne stepped aside for Chaol to finish his descend. The woman chuckled apologetically and rubbed the back of her nape."Don't be too harsh on her, Chaol." Asty told him as she slipped her palm upon the male's. It was already a common practice for Chaol to help Asty out of the carriage. Even though the woman is entirely fine with going down with her own, she appreciated the count's chivalry and smiled. "Thank you.""Of course." he replied at her.They have arrived at the village very early. It was 8 in the morning when their carriage had finally reached the foot of the mountain. The group has traveled at dawn, making sure that the exerted time of effort would pay off, and it did. They had re
Noelle could see the familiar group from afar. He heaved a deep sigh, seeing Asty getting chummy with that peculiar woman from the funeral once again. He emerged from the trees and waved his hands repeatedly in the air, trying to get the woman's attention."Asty! Over here!"Asty's head immediately shot in the direction of the male, to which she waved back cheerfully. "Noelle! Hey!"Noelle.It was that irritating, commonplace name again. Chaol slowly turns his head at the other side of the hill and found the woodcutter sprinting towards Asty. His blood started to boil. That miscreant and the King always steals his spotlight!"I didn't know you came back!" Noelle exclaimed, while catching his breath."I came here not long ago." Asty chuckled at his breathlessness.When the woodcutter finally got a hold of his breathing, he looked at Yvonne who was st
"Bye, everyone!" Asty waved her hands at their fading silhouettes. Noelle, Mrs. Pickinns waved back at the departing carriage. "Be careful, Asty. Don't lean out too much, you'll get hit by a tree..." Lana cautioned her. Asty withdrew from the window and properly sits on her chair. "Are we heading to the palace?" she asked them."Yes." Chaol confirmed. "The king will always want to see your well-being."Asty nodded. "Okay." It took a long amount of time before the carriage finally reached the capital, Asty was again, showered by that feeling of warmth as she gazed at the beautiful grandeur of the soaring palace towers. Every time she visits this place, it would never fail to amaze her. Every day the palace had always something new. And those new things for just simply wonderful. Owl parked their carriage inside the palace gates. It was already dusk, and Asty couldn't help but fawn over those
Chaol was still in a state of shock.'What in the world did I just hear?'Asty too, was stunned hearing the king's invitation for her. Her cheeks started to get flushed and she started to part her lips to speak."I cannot allow that," Chaol answered before she could. He started at the king with a dead expression and tapped his finger upon the table.The other Night Hallows were also very speechless to even say a word. Their mouths were hanging open as they observed the King's and Chaol's intimidating auras. They felt sorry for Asty for being sandwiched between the two."Why not, Count Chaol? It wasn't you who I asked for a dance. It's Asty." he sharply replied back, slightly amused at how agitated the count looked."Well, as her guardian and keeper, I won't allow it." Chaol firmly told him. "End of discussion.""You don't get to inside rules inside
Chaol assists Asty up in the carriage, before going inside. It was already seven in the evening and it was time for them to head back home.The country beside Asty and closed the door behind him. Yvonne who was now in charge of navigating the carriage started to lead the horse."How did you find today's visit, Asty?" Chaol asked the woman beside her, nonchalantly as he pulled a cigarette."Still fun as it was before, thank you for taking me out today, Chaol.""Of course."There was an awkward silence between them that Lana and Owl could see. At first, they tried to ignore it, but Chaol was too obvious to them. They pretended a cough to a little to signal him of his very obvious actions. Chaol glared at them and rolled his eyes.Asty stared at him for much longer which Chaol immediately noticed. He turned his head on her and raised a brow. "What is it?""N-Nothing..."Chaol nudged Owl's foot and dilated his pupils, asking him wh
"I want to see my little sister." Everyone couldn't move a muscle because of what they had just heard. Chaol stared at him, closely. How did he not notice? Othello was a tall man, with spiky bright red hair, almost similar to Asty's color palette. He was reckless, very challenging, and witted, which very much like her. But his eyes couldn't still believe it. He slowly turned his head to check Asty. Instead, she found her staring at Othello, her eyes wide open and her brows furrowed in puzzlement. "I'm sorry, what?" Owl broke the silence that went on for minutes. Othello stretched his limbs casually, feeling good about his grand entrance. "I'm Othello Cortell, Asty's older brother." he said with a dead tone at Chaol, asserting his dominance and responsibility over him. Chaol took a step back, shocked beyond belief with a hand on his mouth. "Are you playing with me, Othello?" "No, dumbass." he instantly replied. "I was bo
Being a brother is always hard. Not only that you have to remain as the father figure of your younger siblings, but you are also the strength of your mother to assist her when your father is away.And despite all that, Othello had nothing to worry about.It wasn't hard for him, because he never experienced becoming one, as he had already left the side of his sister when she was born, and came back late to see her.If he had the power to go back in time, he would. He would leap down from the trees and approach her playing with the sand and sticks. He would tap her on the shoulder and tell her that she was her brother.But he couldn't.He didn't want Asty to get involved with the things he started when he left. He didn't want Asty to get caught in a situation. He didn't want Asty to see him and reject him, for he was a Night Hallow.But one night, after 19 years of looking after her from behind the shadows and keeping her from ha
"Excuse me,"Othello stood up and abruptly dragged his feet outside the dining hall, leaving his plate of food half-full. Chaol, who was bringing a few portions of salmon in his mouth, looks at Asty.He saw how her eyes lowered and how her shoulder slumped down. She had already finished her food, thankfully."Chaol," she called out to him, to which he immediately responded."I'm listening.""Would you tell me more about my brother?"Chaol puts down his utensils and wiped the stain from his lips gently with the napkin. He then fixed his robe, making sure that he was feeling comfortable for the storytelling."Your brother, is a handful man."Asty looked at him apologetically. "I'm sorry about him.""Disciplining him was tedious and kept doing things that nobody in this household wanted him to do. He sucked at every chore he was assigned to and only exploited us of food and shelter. He did nothing to contribute and was rath