“Don’t worry. They’re here to ask for some water,” Kristoff, the elderly man, explained. “I’ll pour some for
them right now. Right, Darling, where was the honey I collected in the mountains? Where did we keep
it?”
“It’s in the cabinet,” came Beatrice’s, the elderly woman, weak reply. She pointed at a rickety cabinet in
their rundown abode.
Several minutes later, Kristoff returned to Vivian and Kurt, serving them two bowls of water that had been
heavily sweetened with wild honey.
“Please enjoy. You should leave once you’ve quenched your thirst.”
Kurt stared at the proffered bowl in silence.
Vivian hastily received the bowl on his behalf and thanked the old man, “All right. Thank you so much.”
She began gulping the honeyed water with gusto as Kurt stared at her in shock.
She grew up on the finest delicacies in the world, using utensils that cost some families their entire yearly
salary, not to mention she’s a borderline neat freak, too. How did she bring herself to drink out of that old,
broken bowl?
Kurt was still stunned as Kristoff asked, “Why aren’t you drinking, young chap? Are you worried about the
honey? Well, not to worry. It’s clean; I harvested it from the mountains myself.”
“No, no. I wasn’t thinking that all,” Kurt protested hastily before lowering his head.
He gobbled the bowl of honeyed water in an instant.
Meanwhile, Vivian smacked her lips and exclaimed, “It’s so sweet!”
“Okay, you should head back now,” Kristoff urged. “Your mother will be worried if you’re gone for too
long.”
Kurt was well aware that Kristoff’s insistence on their departure was rooted in concern. Like Beatrice had
said earlier, an association with the elderly couple could land Kurt and Vivian in trouble with the
surveillance party.
He pursed his lips in thought before asking, “Sire, may I borrow two sets of clothes from you?” Kurt’s
ears reddened as he introduced Vivian with a stammer, “This girl is m-my younger sister, and I’m bringing
her home for the first time. I’m trying to keep her visit under the radar for now.”
Vivian was understandably confused by his introduction.
Younger sister?
Her confusion worked in Kurt’s favor.
Kristoff understood the teen immediately. Smiling knowingly, he responded, “Of course! I’m afraid we do
not have much to offer, though. I hope you wouldn’t mind some dated clothes.”
“That’s fine,” Kurt reassured him.
With that, Kristoff disappeared behind a makeshift screen made from floral fabrics. He rummaged in a
wooden chest before returning to Kurt and Vivian with some clothes in hand.
He offered the clothes to them and elaborated, “Here. My daughter used to wear these. It’s a little old,
but it’s still in good shape. Oh, and my son used to wear this. I’m sure you’ll fit in these, young chap. You
can have all of these if you don’t mind their age.”
Lowering his head, Kurt stared at the clothes. He could not repress the shudder that traveled through his
body.
Daughter? Son? He’s talking about Mom and my missing uncle. I can’t believe my grandparents have
kept their belongings all this while.
With that thought in mind, he took the clothes with shaky hands.
Sensing that something was off, Vivian approached Kurt and asked gently, “What’s wrong? Are you
okay?”
“N-Nothing,” Kurt stammered, lifting his head to stare at Vivian with wet eyes.
“Then wha—”
“Do you want to wear this? It’s a little old,” Kurt barreled right over her question and changed the topic.
Hearing his question, Vivian was flabbergasted.
Why wouldn’t I wear this? How can I afford to be picky at a time like this?
Taking the clothes, she uttered, “Of course. Um, I don’t know how to put these on, though. D-Do you?”
Kurt was speechless, though Beatrice quickly came to his rescue.
Both of them successfully changed about fifteen minutes later. With Beatrice’s help, Vivian had
transformed into a young lady of Elysium.
“Beautiful.” Beatrice sighed from where she sat on the bed. Her eyes were wet with tears as memories of
her daughter in the same outfit flooded her mind.
Kurt remained silent for fear of exposing his true emotions.
Right before they left, Kurt took some money from his pocket and handed it to Kristoff.
“Thank you, Sire.”
Kristoff hastily rejected his gift, “There’s no need for social niceties. It’s just a pair of old clothes.”
Ignoring his protests, Kurt stuffed the money in Kristoff’s hand and sprinted out of the house with Vivian,
disappearing within seconds.
Kristoff sighed to himself at their gesture.
The elderly couple had been the subject of scorn and prejudice in their tribe for years, and few people
had shown them even a fraction of the kindness accorded by Kurt and Vivian.
Where did these young people come from?
Kristoff’s mind continued to be on their unexpected guests as he trudged into the hut.
To his surprise, Beatrice was still sitting up in bed, staring intently at a comb in her hands.
62fb1bb41dcb31934bd49bda