ELENA's POV
The clinking sound of the ring against the metal bar, followed by the rustling sound of the fabric, echoed near the end corner of a second-clothes shop as the beige curtain was drawn closed. Not long after, the same sound reverberated again as someone stepped out of the fitting room, dressed in loose black pants that barely reached his ankles and a stoic cactus print woven button-down shirt.
"The pants are too short. The shirt doesn't suit you. Next," I said, watching the curtain continually drawn open and closed by the same person. In front of the small fitting room, I sat with my ankle propped on one knee and leaned back on the chair, clearly finding amusement in the busy curtain.
"Too tight. Another," I commanded when Oswin came out with another set of clothes.
Five minutes after stepping in again, he emerged behind the curtain of a fitting room. Beads of sweat were all over his forehead and eyebrows, waiting for just another slight movement to trickle down the white-skinned face.
"This is the last one. Don't bother saying another," his guttural voice embedded annoyance even though he tried not to let it show.
I uncrossed my leg with a sigh and rose to my feet, encircling and eyeing him up and down as if I were purchasing a mannequin that needed a thorough inspection. "Not bad, Oswin."
I couldn't help but be impressed by the handsome figure before me. Despite the clothes on his body being hand-me-down and not the designer's clothes, Oswin still looked stunning in the pair of charcoal grey flat front straight-cut trousers and a loose button-down Oxford white shirt. If he were to tug the shirt in, he would kill it with this look.
"These clothes seem weird." he scrunched his nose as he looked down at himself.
"Please, I can assure you that they aren't as weird as your silver robe." I rolled my eyes, remembering how I almost crawled down the sewer when the two of us walked here.
My memory recalled our recent trip where all pairs of eyes were fixated on the pointed-ear guy with hair longer than all the females in the neighborhood and a silver robe that totally showed a time-traveler from the who-know-when era. Though the distance from my apartment to this second-hand shop wasn't that far, I felt like it was the furthest walk I had ever taken in my life. I kept begging in my head to arrive at the destination faster. If I could, I would have used magic to shorten the length already. When we finally arrived, I couldn't be happier to see the shop wasn't as crowded as it had always been. Or else, I would have to crawl under the racks of clothes to save myself from another embarrassment.
"Now, stand right here and don't do anything, okay? I'm going to pick a few more clothes this size and style." Walking to the hanging clothes racks, I couldn't help but snicker to myself at how tamed the elf king was today. As per our agreement, he promised to listen to every guidance I gave him.
And by every, it meant everything.
I tried my best to suppress a beast that was about to release its claw from inside me, a monster with the name 'Vengeance.' Although I planned to execute my revenge 101, I couldn't bear to do it after seeing how sincere and committed Oswin was. For a king to swallow his pride and decide to work to support both of us was utterly unprecedented.
Instead of a pay-back time, I chose to put my heart and soul into teaching Oswin, using my own experience as a waitress. I committed to training him until he mastered the art of waitressing before exposing him to the actual job.
And training lesson one began with blending in with the human race.
The early Sunday morning started with us going to several second-hand stores to find clothes for him. However, it wasn't an easy task, given his towering and built size. The shop we were in right now was the fifth one already, and we could only find two sets of clothes.
"Wow! Look, who's that? He's so handsome," shrilled a girl's voice next to me, snapping me out of my thoughts.
"I wonder if he has a girlfriend," joined another voice.
I stopped rummaging through the rows of clothes and looked to the destination that everyone, mostly females, was looking at. The once quiet shop was filled with women from who-knows-where or when. The only thing I knew was that I couldn't find what, or rather who, I was looking for.
If it weren't for the towering height, I might have forgotten where I had left Oswin.
Now that my eyes landed on where he stood, I saw females of all ages crowded the area that was emptied a few minutes ago. Some of them were taking photos, whereas some were giggling shyly. As for the person who caused all this commotion, he was seen frowning and muttering something that I couldn't hear.
The moment my eyes registered this situation, a heavy wave of irritation hit me. Perhaps it might be my boiling blood that seemed to overheat. Dropping whatever I was holding, I strode to where I left the elf king and parted the crowd, having difficulty grabbing hold of the king's wrist. I could hear the voice of complaints muttering behind us when I dragged Oswin out of the store, which I ignored.
During our walk back to the apartment, I kept quiet the whole time. I neither looked nor talked to Oswin, and I refused to let go of the hand I was holding.
"Training is done for today?" he asked once we were close to the apartment.
"What? You enjoy being surrounded and admired by those women?" I laced into his question without slowing down the pace or turning to look behind.
"What are you talking about?"
"Stop talking. Just keep walking. We have to hurry and get you trained."
Thankfully, the rest of the walk went back to silence.
Once we arrived, I fished out the key from my pocket and unlocked the door before pushing Oswin inside and slamming the door shut with a loud bang.
"What's wrong with you?" he asked once he found his balance, turning to look at me with his brows furrowed in confusion.
"What?" I glared at him.
"You're grumpy today," he said, the furrow in his brows grew deeper.
"I'm not!" I let out a huff and crossed my arms over my chest.
"You are."
"When?" I challenged him.
"Right after we exited that store. And even now. What happened to you?" he asked, wearing the same perplexed expression.
What's happening to me? His question made me ask myself, but no answer was given back. I stood still and stared at the ground, speechless for almost the whole five minutes if it weren't for his voice snapping me out of my thoughts.
"Hey, you're still in there?" he asked.
With a sudden, loud clap, I exclaimed, "Let's begin!"
"Begin what?" He blinked, still standing where he stood.
"What do you expect? Training, of course. Don't ever think of slacking off. With me as a trainer, you must be the perfect waiter this world has ever seen." Flumping on the sofa, I began with no pre-warning. "Get me a glass of water from the fridge in one minute."
Oswin remained rooted to the spot, his posture rigid and unmoving, with not a single muscle showing even the slightest hint of motion. It made me wonder if he was defying me or if he just didn’t hear. So, I tried again with a louder voice.
"Why are you still standing there in a daze? Now get going!" I said, pointing a finger toward the kitchen.
Narrowing his eyes in disbelief, he walked off to the kitchen while muttering under his breath, "it seems another weakness of mortals is emotional instability. How pitiful."
I suppressed the urge to talk back, knowing I had a professionalism to maintain.
.
.
.
<TO BE CONTINUED>
Does anyone smell jealousy in the air? Don't forget to #Vote Gems for the story. Thanks for reading.
ELENA's POVThree days passed, and the training continued as usual, with me as the trainer and Oswin as the trainee. It was harsh, but it was simply out of a professional manner. That was what I told myself. I was set on making my students master the art of waitressing, becoming the best waiter the world had ever seen. However, I knew deep down I was enjoying a little revenge for the time that he had me running around the house like I was his personal servant.But Oswin didn't need to know that, right?Every day after and before I left for work, I passed on to him all the waiter skills I had learned over the years. I was surprised that he was such a fast learner. He passed all the tasks and tests I gave him in a short amount of time. So, his technical skill was ready to be set into the real world, but not his disposition."I lose appetite. It took too long, and I don't feel hungry anymore," I said, pushing the empty plate—wh
ELENA's POVHow I managed to convince James to hire our glorious elf king is a long story. But to put it simply, the story went like this...I told him that Oswin was my childhood friend from when I was living at the orphanage. He came here to look for a job but was robbed of everything when he arrived. To make it even more sympathetic, I also added that Oswin was hit on the head when the thievery happened, making him suffer from partial amnesia. On top of that, I also mentioned that Oswin might act otherworldly and behave strangely because of his head's impact.In short, I told James that Oswin was occasionally crazy. However, I reassured James that he wasn't dangerous, so he wouldn't be a threat to the restaurant or the customers. I still vividly remember how James' eyes clouded with tears after listening to this tragic story as if he had just watched a soap opera. Thinking back, I wondered if I had a talent for writing dramatic fiction, the kind of heartbreaking story that puts rea
THIRD PERSON's POV"Excuse me, sir, you'll have to wait in line." said a gentle-faced boy with roundish-almond eyes and black hair, his hands holding a board of customers' waitlist. His thick eyebrows furrowed, forming a crease on the forehead of his round face shape. His brown eyes followed the three men who seemed to disregard his words."Why do I have to wait in line? I see that table over there is free anyway," said a guy in a grey T-shirt and light blue jeans. A three-day-old beard and mustache covered his oblong face, making his dark brown Asian eyes and the whole complexion more intimidating."No, sir. We are cleaning it for the next customer whose name is on the list here," replied the boy, pointing to a clipboard in his hand. "You need to register your name and wait for me to call you when it's your turn. Just like those—"."Oy, so noisy. Why does a waiter here talk so much? Did he not get trained?" said the young guy with a similar facial structure as the one from before but
THIRD PERSON's POV"I've heard someone is looking for me." A guttural voice reverberated throughout the whole restaurant, rendering everyone speechless. The customers who had always been told that the new waiter was mute were flabbergasted upon hearing him speak for the first time.However, the astonishment wasn't just because Oswin could talk. What truly surprised all the customers was how one voice could be so entrancingly mellifluous. Everyone in the room, especially female customers, almost forgot the tension in the air and the smell of trouble with the appearance of the handsome, blond-haired guy who stepped out of the kitchen and headed toward the trio's table.Of course, everyone except the three people who brought the problem."Oh, so that's the new chicken," said Eli, looking completely unbothered at the tall figure standing next to his table. "But didn't the owner say you were mute? How come you can talk normally? Has the old man here been lying all along?" He sneered, shifti
ELENA's POV"I'm so sorry. He is really new. There are many things he doesn't know yet." I stepped between Oswin and Eli, preventing the latter from jumping on our elf king. Judging from the anger emitting from his eyes, I knew his patience was at a limit.Well, not that he had one. The entire high school knew Eli's patience was razor-thin.I had heard people say that men were more patient than women because 'men have the patience of a rock.' However, this case had never been applied to Eli."What is this K-Drama?" Nick sneered, eyeing how I tried to hide Oswin behind me, although it was futile, given his tall frame. "A heroine arriving to rescue the hero? Shouldn't it be vice versa? Are we doing a new trend now?"Ignoring his sarcasm, I bowed my head to the three. "I am sorry for the trouble. Allow me to apologize on my colleague's behalf. He is still new, so he lacks many things. But I will try my best to train him better. Please, forgive us," I said, hoping they would stop causing t
ELENA's POV: Seeing Oswin's bloodshot eyes, my fear increased tenfold. I knew he wasn't the all-talk type. I had witnessed it firsthand in the alley. If I hadn't intervened, a murder case would have appeared on the news.And it seemed a similar case was about to happen again."Don't," I said, grabbing his wrist tightly and refusing to let go despite the pain in my hand was killing me."Let me go, servant. I'll deal with those scums. How dare they hurt you?" Oswin commanded, demanding me to let him go."No." I tightened the grip and shook my head vigorously. I knew he could break free easily from my grasp, but he didn't do it. Maybe he was afraid the force would hurt me? "Don't do it, Oswin. I'm okay," I said, trying to calm him down."How come you are okay? Look at your blood. It almost floods the entire room." He looked at my injured arms, his face filled with concern."What's going on?" James asked as he ran to the scene. When his eyes landed on my injured hand, he gasped in terror.
OSWIN's POVAt around midnight, an indistinct, trembling sound woke me up from my sleep. Sitting up on the cold, hard floor, I blinked and looked around, trying to find the source of the noise and comprehend the mumbling voice."Hmm... Cold, so cold."There, I saw movement on the bed. It didn't take me long to figure out where the noise came from. Springing to my feet, I rushed to the bed, only to find Elena trembling like a fledgling under the blanket. Her face contorted with pain, judging by how her eyebrows were drawn together and her rapid breathing. Her lips quivered, and her teeth chattered as she continued to mumble incoherently. It seems I made the right decision not to sleep on the sofa. Instead, I chose to sleep on the floor next to her bed, worried that she might feel unwell during the night and I wouldn't be able to hear her.And I was right.I placed my hand on her forehead, and my eyes widened in shock at the intense heat radiating from her skin.She is burning up. Is she
ELENA's POVI finally recovered and returned to my original state thanks to Oswin's intense care for two consecutive days. No one could even believe that our roles got swapped, with me staying in bed and him running around doing things like cooking, cleaning, and other household chores. Though the food he cooked almost caused a malfunction in the human body system, I still ate it till the bowl was empty, ignoring how my throat and stomach were wailing to spit the content out. I couldn't watch his effort going to waste.Besides, who else would be honored to eat food made by the glorious elf king? I bet people—I mean, elves—in Aldous would have agreed to do anything to trade place with me."Good. You really are getting better." His touch snapped me out of my thoughts.I looked up at his palm on my forehead and swallowed hard, trying my best to control the beat of my heart that threatened to jump out of my chest. "Y-yeah," I stuttered, though I didn't know why. Or maybe I knew, but I just