On The Count of Three

part 2

When she resembled a human being once more, Twila opened the door to the hallway. In the bath, she had almost convinced herself it was all a smoke-induced hallucination. But all her attempts were squashed when she saw the boy sitting on the floor in the exact spot where she left him.

"I had hoped you weren't real," she admitted.

"Surprisingly enough," he said, his grin causing a strange sensation to occur in the pit of her stomach. "You're not the first person to say that to me."

Twila frowned. "Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

"Depends..." He shrugged and rose from the floor in a swift movement. "Now, why did you call me here?"

"I didn't." She gestured for him to follow her down the hall. "I was trying to communicate with my father. He..." She took a deep breath. "H-he's not of this world anymore."

"My condolences."

Twila didn't bother thanking him. It was all empty phrases, designed to make her feel better, but none of them worked. "Something went wrong," she said.

"Obviously," he muttered. "Where am I anyway?"

"The Pepper residence in southern London." Twila hesitated. "At least, what's left of it."

"And who might you be?"

"Twila Pepper, the daughter of the house." She opened a door and led him through to the kitchen. "And you, sir? I didn't catch your name before."

"Tristan Mitchell from the 7th legion," he said. "But you can just call me Tristan."

She had to concentrate on his words in order for them to make sense.

"Are you hungry, Tristan?" she asked as she reached for the bread. There wasn't much left, but it would have to make do for the two of them. At least until she could get a hold of Madam Rose.

"Actually, I am. You tore me right out of breakfast at home," he said with a smile.

"I'm sorry," Twila muttered.

"No worries, I prefer this company." Another wink.

She looked away from him. "You're kind of a flirt, aren't you?"

Tristan faked a gasp. "Who, me? I am the very picture of innocence."

His exaggeration made her snort in a rather unladylike way. They ate in silence after that, and Twila tried her best not to gawk at him. She didn't know how it was possible, but the more she looked, the more attractive he seemed.

It wasn't just his looks either. She was impressed by his bravery. Here he was, in a completely strange place, and he took it all like it was another regular Tuesday.

Of course, this could be a recurring event for him. The curiosity got the better of her. "Why are you not afraid?" she asked.

Slowly, Tristan met her eyes. "Do I have a reason to be afraid of you?"

For the third time, she blushed. Did he have that effect on all girls? Shaking her head, she looked at her empty plate. Of course, he had no reason to be afraid of her. She was just an inventor, and not even a good one at that.

A tingling sensation made the hairs on her arm stand on end. Alarmed, she looked up to find Tristan staring at her.

"What?" she asked. It made her feel self conscious.

"Why am I here, Miss Pepper?" Tristan narrowed his eyes.

Twila looked away. "Like I said, I wasn't trying to reach you. I needed some help for the chiller box." She scratched her head. "I'm not even sure how you got here."

"Chiller box?" The corner of his mouth twitched.

Great, a smirk.

Sighing, she covered her face in her hands. "I don't expect you to understand. It's the invention I need to apply for a scholarship. It's a simple concept really. I wanted to present a way to keep beverages chilled in the summer heat without having to dig a hole in the ground."

"You mean, like a refrigerator?" Tristan's entire face brightened with his smile.

"A reef-ridge-orator?" Twila sounded out the word. "What is that?"

He scratched his head. "Well... it's a... well... a chiller box. I think... You use it to store food and beverages so they don't go bad."

"You can prevent food from going bad?" Excited, she grabbed for his arm.

"Not forever, but for an extended time, yes." He shrugged as if he didn't hold the key to her entire future.

Squeezing his arm, she leaned closer. "Do you..." She licked her lips. "Do you know how to build one?"

It took a moment before he answered. His eyes were glued to her mouth. "Maybe," he muttered. "I can try."

Twila didn't waste any time before she pulled him towards her laboratory once more. The smoke had cleared, and she pushed some of the debris away to make room for them. "My father had a theory that we could use electricity to keep something cold. But I just can't seem to make it work."

"Let me take a look," Tristan said and moved to stand beside her. It didn't take long before he was deep in concentration.