Chapter 05

ELENA's POV

The shadow on the pavement was shorter than usual as I walked to my workplace, for the sun was up relatively higher than usual. Even before I left home, I knew I was going to be late. However, I didn't want to remind myself of the reason why.

Because if I were to think back, I would lose not only my mood but also my mind.

Despite having a giant figure who might have consumed half the space of my shoe-box apartment, it looked no different to me that I was handling a three-year-old who knew nothing better to do than ask questions.

"Seriously, did he live in the cave back then? Did he just come out from a thousand-year meditation? Why does everything look so foreign to him? I bet the knowledge of a three-year-old child is better than his," I said, groaning in annoyance, ignoring the glances people threw at me as they walked past.

Like how my feet were sprinting, my brain was also busy dealing with the nonstop questions that kept popping up inside my head. I couldn't stop thinking about the childish elf king at my house. Not until I arrived at the destination.

Heading through the alley towards the blue door, I turned the knob and let myself inside through the restaurant's back door, only to meet my boss coming out of his office.

"Oh, morning, Elena," said James, greeting me with a warm smile while closing the door of his office.

"Good morning, boss," I replied with a slight head bow—a symbol of respect to someone older and of a higher position. "Sorry, I am late."

"Nah," James waved his hand, dismissing my apology. "Don't worry about it. You are not late. You just arrived later than usual, but there is still time until the working hours start."

I gave him a weak smile. "I'll go change now."

"Sure," he nodded.

With another quick bow to James, I walked past him and headed to the employee's room, where rows of lockers were lined up. Arriving at my very own on the far left, I opened the door, using it as a shield for privacy while I changed into a crisp white long-sleeved shirt and tailored black skirt. After tucking my shirt into the skirt and rolling up the sleeves to my elbows, I tied a black waist apron into a bow at the back and pulled my hair up into a high ponytail.

"Okay, Elena. Time to get to work." I took a deep breath and glanced at my reflection in the mirror attached to the inner door of the locker. "Stop letting that elf king take up space in your head when he's already living rent-free in your house."

Closing the locker door, I stepped out of the room and began my usual duties, which involved cleaning and setting up the tables. I could wait for my co-worker, but he was known for being late. That was because he always stayed up late studying. That was why James didn't fire him. Since I didn't want to wait, I decided to tackle the job myself. I could just let my co-worker handle closing the restaurant instead. With that in mind, I began to get to work.

My muscles seemed to move on their own, even without me commanding it. It was like my body remembered all the movements perfectly well. However, when I was at the third table, my action faltered because someone unexpectedly decided to occupy my brain again.

And that someone was none other than the elf king, Oswin Alvingham.

As I was lost in thought, I failed to notice James approaching me until a voice echoed next to me.

"Hey, Elena. Are you okay?" asked James.

"Oh, boss." I snapped out of my thoughts and turned to look at James, who looked at me with his eyes emitting worry. "I'm okay. Sorry. I'll get the job done quickly. Don't worry. There were only two more tables left."

"Nah, I'm not asking you to hurry. Take your time. We still have an hour left until the opening time," he smiled as if to reassure me not to worry about it, but it quickly disappeared when he repeated his question, which was left unanswered. "But are you feeling alright?"

"Of course I am. I'm perfectly fine. But why are you asking?" I furrowed my brows in confusion, wondering why he asked.

"I can clearly see dark circles under your eyes. Did you not sleep well last night?"

"Oh, about that…" I trailed off as a fresh memory from last night flashed before my eyes.

What do you expect, boss? I couldn't even have a peaceful sleep last night because some elf king came to my house and claimed my bed. I had to sleep on the small couch even when it was MY OWN house. If that wasn't unfortunate enough, he even woke me up early to make breakfast for him. When I made him fried rice and gave him water, he interrogated me as if those two foods were alien to him. Even before I left for work, he kept asking questions that even a kid could answer!

Although these words were processed inside my head, I knew better than to say them aloud. James would think I was crazy. After all, no one had ever seen an elf nowadays. Never even mind the king of elves. Besides, it would be a long story to explain. I was already mentally exhausted and didn't want to spend my energy sitting down to narrate everything, especially since the chance of my boss believing me was next to zero.

"I'm fine, boss. Nothing to worry about. I just didn't sleep well last night. But I'm totally alright," I replied, plastering my usual cheerful smile upon my face, hoping it would convince my boss to drop the subject.

"Are you sure?" he asked skeptically, his face depicted genuine care. Ever since the first day I worked for him, he had always cared about my well-being. He said that he had always considered me as his own kin.

"Yes. Everything is alright," I maintained a smile as I answered.

"Okay. If you say so." Though unconvinced, he decided to stop inquiring further, which I was grateful for that. "But remember, you can always come to me anytime if you have any problem." He stepped closer and gently patted my head, much like a father would with a young child.

"Thank you, boss," I said, bowing my head with the utmost respect. I had always regarded him as a father figure since I had never experienced the warmth of a father's care.

After all, I was an orphan.

He smiled before returning to the kitchen to resume his duty. My eyes followed my boss, watching him walk into the kitchen until the wall completely hid the man from my view. Only then did I take a deep breath.

"Everything is alright, right?" I murmured to myself.

*******

THIRD PERSON's POV

"What is this strange thing? Why doesn't the whole Aldous Kingdom have it? Not even my castle." I turned the remote control on his palms and looked at it in bewilderment. Suddenly, his finger pressed the green button that was labeled 'on' unknowingly, making a black TV screen filled with moving pictures.

It was a movie with a medieval theme where ministers were having a meeting with their king.

"Finally, something I'm familiar with," he murmured as he stared at the screen.

For the entire morning, he found not a single object he could recognize. He blamed himself for never visiting the human realm. Not even once. If he had done it, he wouldn't find himself at a total loss like this.

Now that the genre of the movie was a medieval one, with the scene showing the interior of an ancient castle, he finally found himself at home somehow. The design was similar to his residence in Aldous, although it was smaller. The room was rectangular, adorned by dark violet tapestry and human-height large windows of no less than six; each had lavender-colored curtains drawn to let sunlight in. The ceiling was not that extravagant, given it was just made of simple, bare wood with no carving made. Even the size of the room was two times smaller than that of Aldous's great hall.

The luxury of the castle on TV was pale in comparison to the one that he resided in. However, he had no time to criticize its design or its size, for he was engaged in a heated discussion between the ministers and the king. He didn't even wonder why he saw people and heard voices from the small box that was glowing light. He even forgot to question why Aldous didn't have this object.

In a jiffy, a scene on the TV switched from peace to chaos. The once neat rows formed by ministers standing were messed up as they argued and began shouting at one another, causing an uproar to arise.

"You incompetent king, you deserve to die! I'll be the one to put an end to the misery of this kingdom," echoed a man's voice from the movie.

"What?!" Oswin watched in horror as the sword pierced the king's heart, soaking the golden robe with a crimson hue.

Not only did the uproar happen on television about the king's assassination, but it also happened offscreen. "How dare you rebels assassinate the king in my presence? I'll teach you a lesson myself," he growled, heading towards the screen with his brows furrowed in exasperation.

No one had to guess what happened next, for the sound of smashing and glass shattering reverberated throughout the entire house.

After he took care of the noisy TV, the house dropped dead silent. However, it didn't take more than ten minutes before another voice cut off the quietness.

"The rice is cooked! The rice is cooked!" echoed a soft, cute voice resembling that of an anime female protagonist's dubbing.

It was a voice-navigated rice cooker. But Oswin didn't know this.

"There's an intruder?" he looked sideways in alarm. "Where are you? Show yourself!" He cautiously walked around the house in search of the source of the voice.

"The rice is cooked. The ri—,"

"Found you." He picked up the rice cooker from the counter and threw it to the floor, silencing the cute voice from making any more announcements. "Now, are there more intruders?" he muttered to himself as he roamed off from one room to another as if searching for a lurking enemy.

During the twelve-hour wait for Elena to come back from work, Oswin found himself bustling within the small house.

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.

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