Cale, still deathly terrified of Ron and not liking that he waited for them at all, let out a quiet, "Yes, Ron."
Adara snorted at that. Cale was so obviously scared of Ron, no wonder Ron had been looking at the cup weirdly earlier today. Adara didn't know what to be expecting. Cale had sort of blown up at him to not wait for him earlier, but then again Ron is Ron.
Ron's gaze turned to behind them, where Choi Han as standing a bit awkwardly. Adara watched Ron's face intently as it stiffened when seeing the stranger behind them. Adara had almost forgotten about Choi Han's aura. But seeing Ron's mood change she remembered it was there. She was calmer after realising it was not his, but Ron did not have that knowledge.
"Young master, what is going on? I will take care of this guest if you tell me what is needed," Ron spoke, not taking his eyes off Choi Han. Choi Han stared back just as intensely. Adara wasn't sure if they were going to hit it off like Cale described back at Billos's shop. But then again, he did mention that they were always at each others throats, and it was mainly Beacrox who wanted to follow Choi Han. Because he beat up Cale. She took one look at Cale next to her, her expression calm and cooled, though she felt despair reach up in her chest and block her throat. My Cale.
"No need," he responded, starting to walk towards Kitchen No. 2, where Beacrox spent all day sharpening his knives.
Ron raised an eyebrow, immediately following behind.
Though as they walked, Choi Han, the knight, and Ron following behind the two, they heard a perky voice speak up, "Young master and Mistress!"
They turned, seeing Hans looking at them with a bright smile. "You both came home after drinking!"
Cale raised an eyebrow at the emphasis. Adara only shrugged, subtly. Sometimes Adara needed to dispose of scum so she stayed a bit longer. She rolled her shoulders again, the feeling nagging her. In hindsight, she should've been used to it by now. Trying to get rid of her thoughts, she lifted the bottle to drink some of her wine, only to be disappointed when she realised she had drank it all. Sighing, she handed the bottle to Hans, Cale following with her.
Hans flinched hard, raising his hands to cover his face as he tried to protect himself from the two troublemakers. He peeked from between his fingers, confused as nothing had come in contact with his skin. Red flush creeped up from his neck to his face as he realised what he had done, and what they had instead wanted to do. But a shiver ran down his spine as he saw Adara's eyes. Cold, like her eyes earlier when she had broken the glass. He also noticed her knuckles turning ashy as she clenched hard on the wine bottle's neck. He quickly snatched the bottles from their hands.
"My apologies, Young Master and Mistress!" he squeaked. Ron rolled his eyes discreetly.
Cale rolled his eyes less discreetly. "Next time I'll actually throw it at you."
Hans paled.
Adara started walking away, already done with the conversation, Cale quickly caught up.
Hans paled more at that. Finally seeing the group of people following the two his eyebrows raised. There was a stranger, Ron, and a knight. Ron was expected, but why was a stranger and a knight following the two? Turning to the two nobles walking away he called out, "Young Master? Young Mistress? Where are you two going?"
Upon hearing no response, Hans only joined the crowd and started walking with them.
As they reached the door to the second kitchen, Cale lifted his hand on the door, hesitating to open it. His heart was beating so hard that she could hear it. She rolled her eyes, opening the door instead. Beacrox was inside, sharpening his knives with a smile on his face. He looked up, confused on who was coming through the door, before the smile fell off his face as he looked at the faces of the two trash.
"Hey, Beacrox," she greeted casually, yet no smile on her stoic face. "Give him something to eat."
"Excuse me?" he asked, a stiff expression on his face as he twisted the knife slightly, making it catch the light.
"You heard her," Cale said. "Give him something to eat. He's hungry."
From behind them, the knight let out a gasp of surprise. Adara couldn't see what was so odd that they were feeding Choi Han when it hit her that in front of these people, she had only been trash. They were not used to seeing her being charitable, not that she was often.
Choi Han and Beacrox made eye contact, intensely staring at each other. And Adara was again wondering if they would hit it off and leave. Maybe we should arrange a scenario where Choi Han beats someone up, she thought. Before disregarding the thought. Too much work.
"And prepare something for me, I'm hungry. The steak you made yesterday was delicious. Make something like that steak," Cale commanded.
"Make two," she said. Not waiting to hear Beacrox's response, she left with Cale.
Hans, who was waiting patiently outside, confused, turned to them. "What should I do about the guest?"
Cale gave a small shrug. "I guess he is my guest. You take care of it."
Hans nodded.
Once Cale saw the nod, he turned around and started walking to his room, Adara also walked with him. She knew the way to the basic rooms, the main living rooms, the main dining rooms, most of the study rooms, Basen's room, Lily's room, Cale's room, but other than those she had no idea where anything was. She didn't know where any of the guest rooms were either, because whenever she actually got drunk, she could care less about the way any of them were directing her, and then she'd wake up in a guest room forever to forget the way there.
But Hans continued to walk with them and so was the knight. Hans kept asking questions, and she was getting more and more annoyed. Cale was also getting annoyed. "Hans. Stop annoying me and just bring the meal over to my chamber when it's ready."
Hans let out a chirpy nod.
They had reached Cale's room by now, and Cale had gone in with a quick goodnight. She had only smiled and wished him a dream full of lemonade. She had laughed at his annoyed face. But now she was standing in the hallway, with Hans and the knight. She gave a quick order to the knight, telling him that he could leave them, seeing as the stranger wasn't with them anymore. As the knight walked away, she looked expectantly at Hans.
"What?" he asked.
"My room?" Her eyebrow raised.
Hans looked at her, confused. "But, Young Mistress, it's the same room you stay in all the time."
"And please remind me which state I was in every time I've stayed over?" she spoke, annoyance hinting in her voice.
He thought about it for a second, before making a face. "You do have a point, you were quite drunk all those times."
"Hans," she started, getting his attention fast "when have you started speak so rudely?"
"My apologies, Young Mistress." He bowed down low. "I will hold my tongue on future occasions."
"No," she ordered. "Don't."
"What?"
"Bow. Don't bow to me. Just show me my room," she ordered. Hans nodded, only slightly bowing his head forward.
The walk to her room was in silence, Hans occasionally piping in and saying stuff. Stuff she didn't particularly care about, like the fact that Countess Violan herself had checked her room to make sure it was in prim order and that it was specifically chosen by Ron. She wasn't listening, not hundred per cent, she was actually memorising the route from Cale's room to hers for easy access. It wasn't that hard, just a few rights and a few lefts, nothing much. But as they reached the door, she realised she didn't have any clothes with her. She didn't really bring anything with her.
Turning to Hans, who was watching her with confusion as she hadn't entered her room yet, she pointed to her outfit. "I don't have any clothes except what's on me. I do not have anything to sleep in."
That makes sense, Hans thought, she only expected to stay a few hours. He put on a smile. "I'm sure I can find some night clothes that will fit until we can contact your father and ask him to send some clothes and possessions of yours."
Adara didn't change her face. Maybe her eyes grew a bit colder, but aside from that Hans couldn't see a change in her face from his words. She is good at this, he realised. "For now get me something that will fit," she said, twisting the doorknob and stepping in.
The room was almost exactly like Cale's, maybe a bit more extravagant since it was a guest room. It was bigger than her room in the Thornwin Estate, and more luxurious. The bed was bigger, and bouncier, it proved as she dug her hand into the mattress. She also had a mini-library, a bookcase adorned a wall, with books on shelves that reached to the ceiling, each one was perfectly straight, not a single book out of place. Except something was wrong with the library. She frowned, putting it out of her head. As she walked around a bit more she found she also had a separate bathroom, that was bigger and filled with more mirrors than hers. She scowled at her reflection, turning away from the mirrors and out of the bathroom.
She sighed, walking to the nightstand on the left side of the bed. She plopped down onto the bed, finally dropping her shoulders, and letting herself slouch. Having your back straight for the whole day really wore down on one's energy. She raised her hands high above her head, stretching, and trying to release the pain in her shoulders. Mother said never to slouch, she thought dully. Or well, that's what they have me believe mother would've said was she there.
She took off her many gold rings, bracelets, earrings and necklaces, except for her golden necklace with a coin-sized pendant that was circular in form with the sun etched into it hanging from it. Carefully unbuckling all the belts around her waist and the ones that went over her shoulder. The alcohol had made her get warmer, and now she was feeling uncomfortable with the heat and stuffiness of the room. But she couldn't open the window. Not now. So she only undid a few buttons of her already unbuttoned shirt.
Steps echoed through the silence, and she recognised them as Hans. Getting up, she walked to the door, opening it as Hans stood in front of the door, struggling to open the door with the number of things in his hands. He looked surprised that she had opened the door, but Adara paid no mind. In his hand was a folded article of clothing, and the basket she brought with her this morning in the other. She took the clothing from his hands. "Thanks."
Hans blinked, she really looked different without her pieces of jewellery. "Of course, Young Mistress, it is only my duty as a butler." He looked at the basket in his hands. "This basket is yours, is it not, Young Mistress?"
She stared at the basket. "Yeah." She reached her hand out to the basket, thinking hard. What had she out in the basket, again? Lily and Basen's gift, two glasses, wine, oh, she stopped thinking. And the box. Maybe she did have something useful with her.
Hans smiled. "I found it in Young Master Cale's room earlier. I didn't think much of it, except there was a small box inside it. I thought it might be special to you, so I brought it along."
She felt a smile creeping up her lips. "Thank you very much."
He bowed. "If you require anything else, Young Mistress, then you must only say so."
She let out a hum, still deep in thought. Though she was considering multiple thoughts, she was most importantly contemplating whether to ask him for a glass of cold water. But, the closest Kitchen would be Kitchen No.2, and she had a strong feeling she knew what was happening there at the moment. "Goodnight, Hans," she said, retreating from the entrance and closing the door behind her.
She put the basket on a dresser that was near her. The article of clothing she now had in her hands, was not one article of clothing, but two. A white nightdress, and a slightly darker, long jacket of sorts. It was of thin material like it was supposed to be worn on top of the night dress. She made a face, the material was too thin to sleep in, so what was it for? Except, now that she looked at the nightdress, it was on the short side, and exposed her arms and collarbone a lot. The long shawl would cover most of her thighs and arms, even a bit of her collarbone. It wasn't meant to be worn while sleeping, it was meant to protect her womanliness if she went out of her room. She snorted.
She was walking to Cale's room, the shawl fluttering behind her. She wanted to have dinner with Cale, so she quickly got into her given clothes and went on her way to Cale's room. Except, when she opened the door, stepping into the room, she frowned at how dark the room was. Once her eyes readjusted, she realised he was passed out on the bed. She let out a small laugh, shutting the door behind her. Well, he's out of the way then.
Now, she smiled, for that glass of water. As she walked to Kitchen No.2, she thought about how things would go from now on. Cale had told her a bunch of things that would happen, how many people would die, how many children would die, and she couldn't stand it. So as she was listening to him, she turned it off. Made her face a cold statue, occasionally moving to sip at her tea. She knew some of the information would appear in her nightmare tonight, disfigured and deformed, all the bad things taken to the extreme, she rarely remembered a good dream. She shook off her thoughts, as she stepped into the kitchen.
As she casually walked in, the corners of her mouth quirked up as she saw what was happening inside. Ron and Beacrox were both attacking Choi Han. The door made a squeaking noise, and all three turned to look at her, frozen in their attacks. Her eyes run over the three of them, Choi Han had managed to cut both of their necks and not get hurt in return. That was saying something. "Am I interrupting something?" she asked, a bored look in her eyes.
The three immediately separated, Ron and Beacrox on one side of the room, closer to her, and Choi Han on the other, observing her silently. She is quite muscled, Ron noticed, her biceps and thighs were quite well-defined. I know the kitten Young Mistress can swordfight, but how long does she practise? I thought she was barely above average.
"Of course not, Young Mistress," Ron answered immediately, trying hard not to bow. He had heard the rumours circulating about her interaction with Billos; word got around fast when it came to the infamous Trashes.
"I would hope so," she said, indifferent, moving from in front of the door, to the kitchen. "I would hate to have one of those daggers flying at me," she turned her back on the trio, opening the cupboards to try and find a glass. She sighed, only finding the fancy glasses they used at breakfast. "Where are the normal glasses?" she muttered.
"Uppermost left drawer," Ron said almost instantly.
"Thank you." She reached on her tip toes to reach the drawer he described, and as he said, there were the normal glasses. Grabbing the first glass she came by, she filled it with water and started taking sips. Realising how quiet the room had become, she turned around again. Facing the three, who were intensely staring at her, she made a face as she leaned onto the countertop, the glass in her hand. "What? I just want some water."
Ron had a frown on his face. "But, Young Mistress, you could've asked me to get you a glass of water, or Hans. Why did you get it yourself?"
Such an odd question for a butler to ask, she thought, getting distracted. She blinked, stopping herself from dissociating. "Well," she started, taking another sip of her water, trying to get rid of the underlying dissociating feeling, "Hans is a sweetheart and doesn't deserve any of you. Also, the closest kitchen would've been this one, which would've had you guys found in a not-so-good situation. And, while you were busy, if you would've come, you would've brought me lemonade and I wasn't in the mood to argue with you over the health aspects of fucking lemonade." She took another sip. "But did you guys really have to fight in the kitchen? Couldn't you guys have taken it outside or something? I mean, most of the food is produced here, it's supposed to be hygienic. And with both you, Ron and Beacrox, bleeding, it isn't exactly being hygienic."
Ron bowed his head a bit. "I promise, Young Mistress, I will allow no blood to come onto any surface of this kitchen. There will be no sign of a struggle in the morning."
"Everything will be as clean as usual," Beacrox added.
"Good." She took another sip, looking expectantly at them. They were still staring at her strangely. "Are you guys going to continue staring at me like that?" she questioned them. "Or are you waiting for me to leave the room to continue your fight?" She shrugged off-handly, taking another sip of her water. "I'm fine with you guys fighting, as long as the bodies are disposed of, if there are any. And that there is no blood, of course."
"There will be no bodies in the morning, I promise you that too." Ron gave her a firm nod.
She didn't say anything at first, only drank the last of the water, and putting it on the counter next to her. She wiped her mouth with the back of her sleeve, muttering, "Better not be."
"Young Mistress," Ron started, a curious expression resting on his old face, "how long have you known?"
Adara raised an eyebrow. "That you and your son are assassins?" She shrugged again. "Too long."
His eyes were wide, a pleasant look on his face, but he was keenly observing her. "And the Young Master?"
What to do, what to do, she mused. To lie or not to? A small, giddy smile rested on her lips and Ron couldn't place it, why was she smiling? But then again, Adara Thornwin had always been a bit off. "Doesn't know," she lied.
Ron's eyebrows raised a bit higher on his forehead. "You didn't tell him?"
"Not exactly the best idea to tell your best friend that his only father figure is an assassin who doesn't really care for him and is capable of killing him with one move." Adara paused for a few seconds, staring up at the ceiling for a bit. "But," she paused again, dragging her eyes down to meet Ron's stiff gaze, "I think he's starting to figure it out, don't you think so?" Her smile was widening, sharp canine teeth on display, a slight mocking tone had also overtaken her voice. But the smile dropped a few seconds later. She hopped off of the counter, walking around the kitchen island and going to the door. "If you don't mind me, I'm going back to my room. Beacrox, Cale has fallen asleep so no need to prepare anything for him, but I would still like that steak."
"Of course, Young Mistress Adara," Beacrox spoke.
She turned around, putting her hand on the doorknob and twisting it, about to get out of the room, when a voice interrupted her. "What about me?" It was Choi Han. "Were you lying when you said you wanted to feed me? Did you only want me to come into your house to deceive me?"
Adara turned her torso, staring at him. "What?" she made a face. "Of course not. That's absurd. What use do I have if I deceive you? Ron and Beacrox were simply acting on their own because of your aura reminded them of something familiar." Ron's eyebrow went up again. "I do intend you to be fed, though. So Beacrox, if you could perhaps feed our guest without murdering him, that would be much appreciated."
Beacrox bowed his head slightly. "Of course, Young Mistress."
She let out another hum. Looking all three of them up and down. She turned around and walked out of the door.
~~~
[Fun Fact]: Before she disappeared, Adara used to be very nice and shy, never speaking a bad word, or thinking a harsh thought about her new step-brother and mother, nor her father for neglecting her pretty much all the time. But after a while, she found that her ideology didn't exactly work, and she changed it.