Your Love Frees Me

Hana's Family

Hi guys! Sorry that I haven't updated any of my stories in a while; I'm pretty bad about updating on wattpad, since I don't really have any readers, compared to the other site this is posted to. But I promise that I'll be better about updating, and hopefully gain some more readers. I'm working on getting wattpad caught up. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!

Obi stayed up in the tree by Hana's room; he was unable to sleep. But he was always more of the nocturnal type, anyways. He whittled away at the block of wood, thinking about Hana. There was something going on. Deep down, he knew that there was. It was driving him crazy. He wanted to help her, but she obviously didn't want to be open about it, either. But why? He sighed, putting his knife away. He needed more information.

"Obi?" Hana walked out of her room, the day still early, only to see Obi sitting against the wall next to her room, asleep. Had he been there all night? She approached him, squatting down. Her heart skipped a beat. He looked so peaceful, so calm. She smiled, cupping her hand around his cheek. His skin was surprisingly soft and so warm. She always felt so comforted by his touch; content. "Obi," she spoke softly, rubbing her thumb gently across his cheek. He brought his hand up and grabbed hers, "so you're up now, good morning," he said, opening his eyes. She smiled. "Good morning. Have you been here all night?" He kissed her hand, "not all night." Hana smiled. "What are you doing here so early?" Obi hopped up, bringing Hana up with him. "I was hoping to catch you early enough for breakfast." "Breakfast? But I... I usually start working this time." "Be honest. When was the last time you had breakfast?" "Oh... um..." Hana thought about it. Even at the bakery, she usually skipped breakfast for a few cups of coffee, anyways. "That settles it, take the morning off and eat with me. You're supposed to be working more reasonable hours anyways, remember?"

"So, what's life at the bakery like? Do you live there with your mother and Koji?" "I live there, yes, but Miss Rheul is not my mother. My parents... and my blood brother... they all died from the pox... I was 10 at the time, but I never became ill of it," Hana looked down, stirring her coffee, reliving those last moments. Tears began to well in her eyes. "I'm sorry to hear that, Hana." "Oh no, i... it's ok. That's life." She looked up and smiled at him, wiping her tears away with her arm. Obi stared at her, processing this new bit of information. "Oh, the food's here, it smells good," she said, hoping to distract from the subject. Obi knew what she was doing, but he wasn't done just yet. He took a bite of the eggs, before pressing on, "so what did you do? After your parents and brother passed?" Hana quickly washed her toast down with coffee, not expecting that he would bring it up again. How was she going to talk about her past without revealing what she was? "Well..." she sighed, thinking about it. She didn't like this. She never thought about it, let alone talked about it. She looked at him, biting her lip. "Well..." "Yes?" "My uncle took me in." It was true. But what she wouldn't say is that her uncle is the one who started the beatings. The abuse. The long work hours. The cycle of being sold over and over. Obi didn't need to know that. He couldn't know that. She had to protect Koji.

"What about you, Obi? What did you do before you worked at the castle?" She took a bite of salmon, clearing her bangs from her face, looking up at him. Obi smiled, being able to see her face more clearly. "Let's just say I took care of a lot of bandits, among other things, of course," he winked at her. She took another sip of coffee. So, he was a dangerous man. She got chills thinking about it, making her want to be even closer to him.

"Wow, still baking cakes, huh?" Obi asked, walking into the kitchen. Hana smiled and nodded. "There's only so much cake I can bake in a day, and they certainly need a lot of it. But I have been working on other things, too, of course." "Makes sense. Is there anything I can do?" Hana giggled, "I think you already know the answer to that, Obi." Obi smiled. He did know the answer. He watched her contently as she walked by him, carrying a hot cake pan with her little apron. She set it down, and wiped her brow with her forearm, leaving a streak of flour on her face. Obi laughed. Hana looked at him questioningly. "You're always a mess, you know that?" He walked up close to her, taking a damp rag off the counter. He gingerly wiped the flour off her, pushing her bangs out of the way, before gently kissing her forehead. Hana closed her eyes and smiled, feeling so warm inside.

The whole kitchen had stopped working and swooned at the scene.

Obi and Hana smiled at each other. "Obi... I..." "yes?" "I have work to do. I'll see you later, ok?" She took his hand, spinning him around towards the door. He looked over his shoulder questioningly at her. She stepped back, giggling and waved at him—how would she get any work done with his flirting? He smiled, "I'll see you later, then, Hana."