A New Kind of World

Elisa eyed Victor curiously as she watched him go through the things inside the chest. From her position she could hardly get a look of whatever was held inside, given that the knight's back didn't allow her to do so. When he turned back to her, sheet in hand, her brow raised in response, a silent question on her gaze.

"H-hey" She complained, surprised, when he started to rub her head with the sheet.

He apologized and dropped his hands, and the young girl tugged on the sheet to pull it down a bit and off her head. Her hair, as she had feared, was completely tousled, with some shorter strands sticking up. She felt silly. Despite that, though, an unexpected smile had teased its way to her lips, before she laughed, a soft snicker that escaped her and relieved a bit of the tension she'd been building up inside "It's fine, you just surprised me" She admitted.

Next time, she didn't complain when he positioned his hands on her head again. Instead, she kept her mouth shut and her grayish gaze followed his hands before she stared directly at him. He had mentioned his sisters ... did it feel like that? Being taken care of a brother. For a moment she felt a pang of envy towards the Portswell sisters for having Victor all to themselves. She closed her eyes in reflex when his hands worked their way to her face, even letting out a silent and brief content exhalation while doing so.

Her eyes fluttered open when he pulled the sheet off of her. When he began to untangle her hair, she didn't even think of stopping him, even if it was something she could perfectly do on her own. For some strange reason, that act of being taken care of made her feel warm all over. Her eyes softened.

"You're not" She said quietly in response to his first statement. She had even grown ... a bit shy, something that wasn't all that common in her. Even less, when she, without thinking, leaned a bit into his hand when his fingers were close enough to her face. To the question that followed she just flashed him a sort of sheepish smile "I can always enjoy a good walk under the rain, but this time I was looking for a little girl's doll. She was dead worried about it"

With his arms still around her, Adam examined her carefully in case of anything that she might have hurt. He was exaggerating, some side of him knew that, but the other didn't want to overlook any minor injury by any chance. Without noticing it, he held her a bit closer when she spoke his name.

"Yes?" He asked, somewhat anxious.

They stared into each other's eyes for what felt like an eternity. Suddenly, it was only him and her there, with no people around. A little voice told him to look away and stop looking at her so intently. His body didn't obey.

"Let her go, mate! You're making the lady uncomfortable" He was snapped back to reality by a heavy hand that had fallen on top of his shoulder. The man who had spoke laughed, his gaze hazy and cheeks red.

"Better get a room!" Another one exclaimed.

The young man blinked before he too blushed. It didn't compare to Rebecca's flushed face, but it was enough for the people around them to burst into laughs. Adam cleared his throat before he quickly, but still delicately placed the young girl back on the floor.

"I apologize for my rudeness" He declared, almost stuttered. If he had made her feel uncomfortable he was indeed ashamed.

Elisa didn't mind Victor's touch, more like welcomed it. Somewhere in her mind a voice told her that the man was still a stranger, and a book character. Frankly, she didn't care. His hands were gentle on her face and then on her body when he proceeded to dry her clothes as much as those could allow. There was a strange lump on her chest that grew with each touch she received. It made it somehow difficult to breathe, but it was also nice and ... homey.

"She'd have gone outside herself eventually, either way" Elisa said in response to the knight's compliment "Better if I did, instead of her who could have gotten sick consequently" Truth to be told, the young girl wasn't all that used to receive praises, which is why she sometimes didn't know when to close her mouth and say thanks.

As Victor had said, she did consider herself somewhat luckily despite it all. She could've ended up there all alone if Rebecca hadn't gone to her house that day, they could've been found by a horrible person, or left there soaked and with no one to try to help them. "You're right" She nodded "We were lucky to be found by you two" She agreed casually. "And I'm ... better, thanks for asking" That was true, right now, she didn't feel bad, anxious perhaps, but it was for a whole different reason.

When he finished and stepped away from her, she found herself not wanting to, and his name left her lips before she could even stop it "Victor" When he turned around to face her, she had forgotten what she was meant to say. She shook her head after a second or two, and took a hold of the dress while she made her way over to him. Swiftly, she wrapped one of her hands around his arm and got on her tiptoes to press a soft kiss to his cheek. "Thank you" She said quietly, her lips brushing lightly against his skin as she did so. With that, she took a step back and flashed him a small smile before she was left alone on the room.

Elisa was sort of surprised at her own action, but tried not to give it much thought as she stripped off her damped dress. She tried not to think of the way her heart had started to pound on her chest, and of the way her body had naturally moved on her own to kiss the knight. Ah ... she tried not to. The new piece of clothing wasn't as silky as the other one, but it was warm and, at least, not as long as the dress she had been lent on Victor's house. This time she managed to adjust the bodice without needing to take a look at another person doing so, though the dress was smaller per se, and it was somewhat of a much more flattering one because it hugs the waist in a way that made her body look, at least appear to be, curvy.

She combed her hair into a french braid and squeezed her wet dress on the window before making her way over to the door. She opened slowly.

"All done" She stated.

Adam returned the squeeze just as gently, his eyes softening while he felt relief washing over when he was thanked. The young girl's hands were smooth, contrary to his, which were used to hold a sword and fight by now. Hers was also fair, while his was much more tanned. He liked the contrast between their skins. Absently, he rubbed his thumb across the back of her hand, before his face broke into a smile.

"Your knight in shining armour, huh?" Yeah, that sounded nice to him. His smile turned into a sort of grin as he got on one knee, holding her hand still while he used his free hand to press a fist to his chest "It's an honour to be considered as such, My Lady. Be sure, that as your knight, I'll protect you against everything" He exclaimed "And catch you every time you fall into my arms" His grin turned somewhat playful and sly.

The rest of the people had stopped paying attention to them, though some threw the strange couple a few amused glances. Adam didn't mind. He was beginning to experience a familiar feeling for the lady he had met barely a day ago, but it was also different in a way, which is why he couldn't quite place what it was.

After what felt like an eternity of kneeling and staring into her eyes, though it had been just a couple of seconds, he got back on his feet, a bit reluctantly letting go of her hand, his fingers tracing their way out until they touched her fingertips and fell back to his side. He smiled at her again as he took a sit, patting the spot by him for her to sit down.

"Would you like something, My Lady? Any food or beverage?" They hadn't eaten since breakfast, and it didn't feel right for him to be drinking his ale while the young lady didn't have anything of her own.
 

“Well … dry” Elisa replied with a low chuckle. She couldn’t really say ‘better', because she had not felt ‘bad’ before to begin with. Sure, the damped dress had clung to her body in a way which could have resulted uncomfortable if it hadn’t been for the knight who had wrapped the white sheet around her body. That didn’t leave her the time to dislike the fact that she had been soaking wet just a couple of seconds ago.

“The dress is really nice. It’s a shame the owner left it behind” She commented while shaking her head and smoothing out the hem of her dress carefully.

Just then, when she stepped a bit to the side so as to allow for the knight to reenter his room, she caught his stare on her. She saw his eyes going over her, almost as if studying her appearance, and far from being uncomfortable or bothered by it, she felt … flattered, pleased almost. She liked him looking at her, she had to admit. As to why, only God knew.

She studied him too, though briefly. Each time she looked at him, she noticed new things. She noticed the thick and relatively long black eyelashes of his, something she had always find much more appealing in men than in women. Strong jaw, yet somehow delicate but hard features. His shoulders were broad, and it was obvious that his body was most likely to be nicely built beneath his clothes.

“Your cloak” She finally diverted her gaze and stepped to the side to get a hold of the piece of clothing she had been given. She had put it away when she had entered the room, and she reached for it just to hand it out with a thankful smile “It didn’t get wet”

Adam eyed the girl curiously for a split of a second before nodding. “Right away” He stated while scrambling to his feet. The old lady with whom he had spoken before handed him a glass full of ale accompanied by sops, and received the payment from the knight after that. She was a rather slim and petite woman. Her hair was grey and braided on her back, it was surely long as it reached her waist. Wrinkles could be seen on the corner of her eyes and mouth, surely a cheerful lady since younger years.

Her gaze, dark like a moonless sky and deep and endless as the very own sea, was laid on him. Adam raised his eyebrow, but kept quiet. After a second or two, the woman’s mouth quirked up in a smile.

“It sure is nice to have such a young heart” She exclaimed with a sigh, before she turned on her heels and stalked off to take care of other things.

The knight watched her for a moment, dumfounded. What did she even mean by that? She was some strange old lady, amiable, but weird nonetheless. He took the ale with one hand and the sops with the other before he walked over back to where Rebecca was. He sat down by her before he gave her the glass and snacks.

“Your ale, My Lady” He said while the corner of her mouth raised into a lopsided smile. “And sops for you, as well” He didn’t say it, but if she was to take alcohol, she could at least feed her stomach with something in the process.

Elisa was somehow tired, but not quite to go to bed yet. Also, though she wasn't to admit it out loud, going to sleep meant parting ways with they knight for the night, and she enjoyed the company. She found him pleasant, and also found his very own presence relaxing, refreshing almost. Being with him a bit longer seemed much better than tossing and turning in bed without getting the chance to actually rest all that peacefully.

Even more, she was indeed hungry, starving actually. Having barely eaten anything yesterday, and left almost her entire breakfast on the morning, she felt a dull pain on her stomach. The knots had loosened up, and she felt as if she could actually get a bit of a decent meal tonight.

"Going downstairs sounds good to me" She stated "I swore I smell something delicious being cooked there" Elisa had a very sensitive nose, to be precise, and that caused for her to be drawn to scents even more easily. With that being said, she went down the hallway and to the stairs, throwing a glance back towards Victor once before she went downstairs.

Adam watched the girl empty the glasses as if they were filled with just water. He knew it wasn't proper for a lady, but far from judging her, he felt a bit concerned. She hadn't eaten any sop yet, and by the look of her slightly flushed cheeks he could guess how would it turn out if she didn't know how to hold her liquor.

Despite that, he didn't find it in himself to stop her. Her shoulders relaxed with each gulp, and she seemed like a totally different person from the weeping girl he had consoled that morning. He knew alcohol helped to relieve ones problems, but it wasn't always the best answer.

With that in mind, he reached out for her, and gently tuck a loose strand of white hair behind her ear, carefully not to touch her skin. "That's good to hear. But perhaps you should take it a little bit slower, Rebecca" He said as a suggestion, knowing that it was a better way of persuading someone else than demanding.

When he raised his head, his dark eyes met with a pair of greyish ones. Elisa looked at Adam with her brow arched, and he realised she had seen him with his hand still hovering near her friend's ear. He pulled back and nodded at her with a smile before he saw his friend going down the stairs too.