The early morning light shone in through the windows of Dorehan Tower.
Having woken up early that morning, or rather, having never gone to sleep in the first place, Erica had decided to pay Caspian a visit. The young man had seemed quite off last night, and so she was taking it upon herself to make sure nothing was wrong.
Upon reaching the door to Caspian's room, Erica found Cassidy, dressed in her maid outfit, standing in front of the door. The young maid was staring at it with an expression that told Erica of her maid's conflicted disposition. Held within her hands was a silver tray containing a bowl of porridge and a glass of apple juice. It was, quite obviously, for the youth currently residing on the other side of the door.
"Cassidy."
Her maid turned to her as she strolled up to the door. From up close, Cassidy's distress was great enough to be nearly palpable. Impossibly wide eyes stared at her with the beginning of tears, and Cassidy chewed on her lower lip in worry. She looked like she might start sulking any second now.
"Mistress Erica."
"Is Caspie brooding in there?"
Cassidy sniffled. "W-well, I wouldn't say he's brooding, but I-I've been asked him to come out several times now and he's not listening to me. W-what should I do?"
Erica carefully pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. It was the day after the battle with those two elven assassins. The damage done to Dorehan Tower during the two simultaneous clashes had been repaired thanks to some powerful Spiritual Evocation, and everything had returned to the status quo... sort of.
As she stared at the door, a tiny frown appeared on her face, causing her lips to curve down. Almost as soon as Caspian had confirmed that she was unharmed, the young man had locked himself in his room and refused to come out. She wasn't sure what was going through his mind, but she would bet her sexy Sorceress ass that it had something to do with the elf he had killed during the attempt on her life.
Killing was, technically speaking, illegal. The act of taking another person's life was a capital offense punishable by a lifetime sentence in Sevizia prison, the place where the most insane and dangerous criminals were sent. Caspian would not be sent there, thankfully, because he had been acting in his capacity as the temporary replacement for a Sorceress's Knight.
The person he'd killed also happened to be an elf. They weren't considered people in human society. Very few people actually cared if an elf died.
Except for Caspian, apparently.
He knew that killing someone while guarding her was perfectly acceptable. Erica had been sure to inform him of this, after all of the other details pertaining to his temporary position had been taken care of. She had even gone above and beyond the call of duty, making sure he understood that no one would hold him accountable for such a crime, least of all her and her staff.
So then, just what is his problem?
"Caspie!" She called out. The frown on her face grew in prominence when no voice spoke up from the other side of the door. From the very moment they'd first started talking in their capacity as Sorceress and Knight, calling the young man by his christened nickname had never failed to get a rise out of him. That he was not falling for the bait now just went to show her how much the events of the previous night bothered him.
Seriously, what is this boy's problem?
Erica turned to Cassidy.
"How long has he been in there?"
"Ever since last night, I assume," Cassidy answered. "He didn't come down for breakfast this morning. Master Caspian usually arrives at the kitchen every morning and eats there while your meals are being prepared." Ho? This was an interesting tidbit of information. Erica had not known that her maid and her temporary Knight had become that well-acquainted. Perhaps she should keep a closer eye on them from now on. "I was worried when he didn't show up. I thought he might be feeling ill or something. I came to check up on him and bring him some breakfast, but he won't answer me no matter how many times I call out to him. The door is also locked."
So the young man wasn't answering, was he? That was troubling. Caspian was somewhat rude and kind of boorish, but he wasn't a bad person. He was actually incredibly kind, compassionate to a fault even, if a little rough around the edges. He didn't strike her as the type to ignore Cassidy, especially when she was just bringing him food.
Upon taking a close inspection of the young maid, Erica noticed the signs of stress; shifty eyes with bags hanging underneath them, slumped posture that showed she was overcome with worry and, of course, the way Cassidy constantly worried her lower lip. Was she worried about the boy? Well, of course she was. He had saved her life last night. That was usually enough to engender small amounts of affection from a person, especially someone like Cassidy who, despite her kind demeanor and friendly disposition, was rather simple-minded.
She turned back to the door, glaring at the inanimate object blocking her view of the young man, as if it was the cause of all her problems. In her mind, it was. If this door wasn't there, she would've already been able to deal with this young man's insecurities.
"Caspie! I demand you come out here this instant!"
No reply.
"Caspian Ignis del Sol! Get your cute little ass out here now!"
Still no reply.
Erica banged on the door.
"Caspian, if you don't come out here right this instant, I'm going to blast that door into spirit particles, come in there, and drag you out! OPEN THIS DOOR NOW!"
When several seconds had passed and Erica received no answer, a nasty scowl made its way onto her face. Erica was many things. Patient was not one of those things. She didn't know what was wrong with the boy, but she would be damned if she let him ignore her like this!
She rolled up her imaginary sleeves in preparation of going through with her threat. She wasn't going to put up with some brat, no matter how cute, loafing around in her tower, not doing his job, and messing with the hearts of one of her staff! This boy needed to be taught a lesson in humility!
"Alright, you asked for it!"
Erica opened her mouth, more than prepared to summon a spirit that would rip this door apart. She even had one in mind. Oh yes, she was going to blow that door wide open. And then she was going to drag Caspian by the hair, kicking and screaming, and then she was going to―
"Why don't you leave this to me, My Lady?"
"Eh?"
Erica's craned her neck, which twisted with an almost sickening crack. Her Knight, Derek, must have walked up while she was preoccupied. He stood beside her, his sickly frame looking a tad more refreshed than it had before. She then looked down at the large, calloused hand resting on her shoulder, which just so happened to belong to Derek.
How someone who looked like they might drop dead any second now had such large, masculine hands was beyond her. How such large, masculine hands could give her such pleasure was also beyond her.
Not that she was complaining.
"Derek?"
"Leave the kid to me." Derek, despite the bags under his eyes and the gauntness of his face, managed to make a facsimile of a smile. "I think I know what the kid's going through, so I'll handle this. Okay?"
Erica stared at her Knight for several long seconds. The aged-looking man met her gaze evenly. After several seconds passed, she gave him a nod. "Very well. I'll let you deal with Caspian. How do you plan on getting inside, though? Our guest has locked the door."
"Don't worry. I brought a key."
"Oh..."
Erica had the decency to look embarrassed. Why hadn't she thought of simply unlocking the door? She had a master key that could unlock every room in the house. She could have easily used it here.
Sometimes, being a Sorceress made her forget about how normal people operate.
"Yeah, so, let me deal with this," Derek continued, pulling out a key from his pants pocket. "I'll have him out of that room in no time."
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It seems Caspian is having some trouble coping with the fact that he killed someone. Will Derek be able to bring him out of his funk? Will Caspian ever go back to the way he was? Who knows.
This story is nearing its end. There's only about two chapters left. I would like to thank everyone who voted for this story. It really means a lot to me.
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