Chapter 2 - Home Sweet Home

A sweet scent of apple filled the air as Aurora closed in on the cottage. “My mother must be making apple pie. Let me tell you, that stuff might be the best you can get anywhere in Lars.”

Irelia laughed. “That’s a rather bold statement to make. You’re saying that she makes the absolute best apple pie in this whole country?”

“A bold statement I can say because of my absolute confidence in her. She might even be the best cook in Lars for all I know.”

“Sweety, are you boasting about me again?” a woman called from within the cottage. A small kitchen window opened up. Celine popped out her head through the window. Her skin was the same dark brown as Aurora’s, yet she had much darker eyes and some wrinkles on her forehead. “My apologies, I don’t think I can live up to what my daughter is trying to speak into existence.”

“Haha no worries,” Irelia said.

“This is Irelia.” Aurora yawned, covering her mouth with her hand before continuing, “She has nowhere to stay… Her stuff got confiscated b-”

“Stolen you mean.”

“Stolen by some of the grunts from the Song clan. Would it be okay to have her stay here for a bit?”

Celine frowned. “Those Song’s. Of course, stay here for as long as you like, if there’s something I can do against their tyranny, then I’ll do it.”

Irelia’s stomach grumbled.

“Come in, let’s not let the food get cold,” Celine said.

Aurora opened the front door of the cottage and walked in with Irelia. The inside of the cottage was rather spacious, with there being four rooms along with a kitchen and dining room. The dining room was merged with the lobby of the cottage, and thus the first thing that could be seen when entering was the dining table. A long beechwood table sat in the center of the room, along with six wooden chairs, each of which had a small velvet pillow on them. A lit candle was on the dining table.

Celine walked into the room and put down three plates on the table.

“Are dad and those gremlins coming home today or did they decide to take the trip to Uncle Peter?”

“Of course they decided to go to Uncle Peter. If only they’d made their minds up earlier, then I wouldn’t have made this damned apple pie. Does your father know how much effort it is to make this?” Celine stamped her foot. “He makes me go crazy I tell you.”

Aurora laughed. “Of course he does, the three of them are crazy beyond words.” She looked to Irelia and then explained. “You see, my dad and two brother’s have gone out to my uncle’s place, it’s a couple of hours away at a different village. They usually go there on the weekends to sort out some business. As you can tell, it’s Friday today… Those idiots just went to drink.”

“You have brothers?”

“Two of them. One is twenty and the other is twenty four. I’m sixteen by the way.” Aurora smiled.

“She’s sixteen years old and already smarter than those two boys of mine combined.” Celine went back into the kitchen. A moment later she came back out, holding in her hand a large circular dish. On the dish was an apple pie. The crust was a perfect gold, with multiple lattices woven by the dough. In Celine’s other hand she held a gravy boat which was filled to the brim with caramel. She walked over to the table and put the items on it. “Come now, at least we can enjoy this food without that stench in the house.”

Aurora and Irelia sat down next to each other.

“I’m telling you Mom, we need to get their feet checked out. There’s fungus growing on them for sure.”

“Athlete’s foot, you mean?” Irelia responded.

“Oh, you’ve studied medicine?” Aurora looked at the girl with her mouth wide agape. “Seriously, where are you from?”

“That…”

Celine pinched Aurora on the cheek. “Let’s not bother her with too many question’s at once. Come, dig in. The pie won’t be the best in Lars if you let it get cold.” Celine cut the pie into triangular slices and handed each girl a single piece. She then poured the caramel onto the pies.

Aurora rubbed her hands together. She picked up the fork next to her plate and dug into the pie. An ambrosial explosion charged through her mouth. The pieces of apple were juicy and sweet, each movement of chewing increasing the euphoria even further than the previous ones. Aurora grinned as she stared at Irelia who was wolfing down her portion.

Irelia licked her plate clean before asking for another portion.

What the… Is she even human? How much does she want to eat? Aurora was in shock after Irelia had eaten more than half of the pie, which had been meant to be a sizable meal for a family of four adults. Celine seemed to be in a similar state of disbelief.

Irelia sheepishly rubbed her head. “Sorry, the pie was just so good… I didn’t realize I was eating all of that.”

“No no, don’t apologize. I’m glad that you liked it. Now, why don’t you show Irelia around the farm? I’m sure there’s some things she can help you out with today,” Celine said.

The sun was barely visible in the sky. “Are you sure? We can quickly help you clear up,” Aurora chimed in.

“Don’t worry about it sweetie.” Celine walked over to the front door and opened it up. She badgered the two out of the building. “Come back before it gets too dark. I know how you love to stay outside for too long and worry my poor heart.”

Aurora rested her hands against her head as she walked through the area. “I wonder, where should we go?”

“How would I know? I’ve never been here before,” Irelia said. She chuckled. “You’re the host, you figure it out.”

Aurora rolled her eyes. She thought about it for a couple of minutes as the two wandered aimlessly. “Aha, there’s a lake like ten minutes from here. I usually go there to see the sunset. It’s a rather beautiful sight to be honest. How about it, want to go there? I’m telling you, it’s the best place to go to de-stress yourself. I’m sure you need that after your day.”

Irelia shrugged. “If you want to. My day hasn’t been stressful enough to need something like that, to be honest.”

“It’s sorted then, let’s go.” Aurora noticed the girl trying to hide a smile. She totally wants to go see it, doesn’t she. She grabbed Irelia’s hand and rushed through the plains. They soon reached into the depths of the forest behind the farm. Tall beech trees littered the area, along with dozens of species of birds that were constantly chirping in the area. Owls, falcons, finches and fowls were all present in the forest. Aurora knew this place like the back of her palm, and so was able to bring Irelia to the lake with ease.

I’m so excited. It’s been so long that I’ve been able to play with a girl my own age.

Aurora walked over to a moss covered boulder and sat down on it. She motioned with her hands for Irelia to join her. Irelia picked up a stone from the ground and threw it at the lake. It flitted across, bouncing five times before sinking into the water.

“Impressive, am I right?” Aurora said. She pointed up at the sky, a warm orange melting in the clouds as the sun disappeared on the horizon. The reflection of the sun could also be seen in the greenish lake.

Irelia’s eyes widened. She gasped. “Beautiful.”

“Haha I told you, didn’t I.” Aurora beamed and pat herself on the back. “So, where are you from? You still didn’t answer this before. Like, I can tell you where I’m from first, if that’s what you want.”

“Yea, tell me all about how you’re from here. That’ll be so interesting.”

“I-”

“I’m joking Aurora.” Irelia sighed. “I’m a nomad. Long story short, once you reach sixteen in our clan, you have to embark into the scary wide world on your own. I’m only allowed to even think about finding my family and friends again once I’ve reached enlightenment, whatever that is supposed to mean.”

“Oh… A nomad? I haven’t heard of that before.” Aurora rubbed her chin. “So you have nowhere to stay then?”

Irelia nodded. “Well, it’s not like I want to stay anywhere permanently in the first place. That is just what I’m used to, moving through the land like the wind. It gets too boring being stuck in the same place. I don’t know how you do it.”

“I don’t know either. This is what has always been normal to me. I’ve not even ventured far out of Capo, outside of where my uncle lives.”

“Is that so?” Irelia looked down at the lake and started humming. She paused and whipped her head up.

Aurora followed Irelia’s movement and glanced up at the sky. A small comet hurtled down from the sky, making a loud whooshing noise as it came down.

Boom!