As they were approaching Leon"s small hut, Leon felt that he was beginning to grasp this man"s character. He was a child in a man"s body, unlike himself. Well, strictly speaking this body was about eighteen or nineteen, but still a few years younger than his former self."This Lord feels as if we have walked far enough," the man complained. He seemed to have lost much of his grace as they trudged onward, but none of his arrogance. "Take out your flying sword and transport us to your abode."
"I d-don"t have a flying s-sword," Leon replied, with a sigh. He might not know what one was nor have seen one, but he could tell from the man"s words what it was for. If he actually had a flying sword, he would have long since left this man behind. "W-w-what about you?" If he could speak so freely about such a thing, surely he had his own.
"This Lord is weary, does not feel like taking his sword to the skies," he evaded. "And I do not know where it is you are leading us." Leon rolled his eyes, not convinced by the man"s explanation. And then he noticed the wind chimes, the first sign that indicated they were almost to his clearing. He touched the bark of the tree that held them aloft, before stepping onward.
The little hut was exactly as it was when he had left it the day before and the shed beside it was as much undisturbed. He watched as the man approached his small territory with a mix of interest and horror in his dark eyes. The man glanced at the hut made of wood and clay and the creaking shed and the strange little pieces of wood attached to both. He noted the small garden, which was now covered in various common herbs and the fire pit that was nothing but ashes.
"You jest right?" The man said, suddenly. "No man would live like this!"
No Lord perhaps, Leon thought, but welcome to the world of the commoners!
"Y-you don"t have t-to stay!" Leon replied, in the loudest voice he had spoken yet. The man even rose his eyebrows in surprise, causing Leon to tremble slightly, the fear rising in his chest. He swallowed it down and walked past the man to unlock the door to his home. Relief of familiarity relaxed him as he entered and he placed the basket upon the countertop as the man entered.
"I have decided that this Lord will stay here," the man said, shucking his boots and sitting upon the bed. Leon quickly grabbed the fallen boots and placed them beside the door with a sigh. The light was fading beyond the horizon and his food supplies were now scarce. It looked like tonight"s meal would consist of just fruit. The roots would need to soak a while before he could cook them and he did not fancy a meal of just onions.
As he grabbed a few fruit from the bottom of the barrel, he realised that this source was almost redundant as well. Well, they would not last much longer even if there were many, he mused, they were no longer so sweet and fresh. It was harder and harder to swallow their flesh. He took the fruit into his hut and saw that the man had fallen asleep upon his bed, taking up the majority of it. He frowned, then sighed and simply resigned to his fate, taking to sitting upon the floor, where he consumed one of the fruits before settling to meditate.
****
Leon roused much sooner than his house guest, whose name had not yet been shared. He decided for now to call him Little Lord sarcastically in his heart as he potted around the hut, placing the onions outside to dry out less they rot and washing the mushrooms so he could take them to claim the bag of rice. His mouth drooled at the thought of being able to eat rice daily… until he realised that he didn"t own a pot.
Perhaps he could enquire at the kitchens how to get one for his rice when he took them the mushrooms. It was they who had placed the request and asked for them to be delivered directly.
In the meantime, he decided he would go fishing and wash his inner robes and self. Seeing that the Little Lord had removed his outer robe, he took that also, before leaving a note that in carefully styled calligraphy, that he would be at the lake and indicated where it was.
At the lake, he fished for a while, his luck providing a couple of reasonable sized fish, before scrubbing the clothes and himself in the cold lake water. He felt that it was somehow warmer than usual, but he was not certain. The weather had never seemed warmer than mild and the rain was yet to form a storm. The wind, no matter how it howled was not cold either. Overall, the season could be considered pleasant. Shrugging off his thoughts, he ducked under the water to rinse the sand soap from his long hair, before rising to the surface and swimming lightly through the water.
This was how the Little Lord found him.
The wet clothes had been rung until damp and dripped quietly over the branches of trees, the two fish were pierced with sticks and placed at the base of the tree, for Leon had yet to come across large animals so he did not fear them being stolen. His interspatial bag also hung from the tree, his gla.s.ses safely tucked inside and his outer robes folded and placed on a rock near the lake. Naturally, without his gla.s.ses, he did not see the other man approaching.
The Little Lord had initially been angry, how dare that peasant steal his outer robes leaving him in a state of undress! The note did not exactly modify him. He was slightly pacified to see that the boy had at least attempted to serve him and clean his robes, so he would forgive him this once. He paused when he caught sight of the boy swimming in the lake. What girly arms that fellow had! Was he really male or actually a girl with an unfortunate voice and appearance. He answer was met when the boy stood up in the water as he neared the edge of the lake.