Dawn woke up early, as usual. After changing into her usual shirt and pants and refreshing, she prepared tea and crept toward Gale's room, only to find it empty. The bedding lay completely unattended, with not even a single crease on it.
Thinking he was already awake, she spread her awareness to find him. Her spiritual sense picked up on the adepts, most of whom probably hadn't slept after Gale's announcement yesterday. Even Jenni was asleep at her study table with her mouth open.
Perhaps he hadn't been back at all, she thought, remembering Gale's tendency to sleep outside, especially in hammocks. She came out of the house, holding onto the serving tray.
It was only a couple of minutes' walk. The first thing she saw was the enormous white crane resting soundlessly. Next to it was the elf woman, her hair dishevelled, skin red, as she ran her palm over her dress to smooth the creases.
The elf noticed her quickly, and her cheeks grew even redder. "Hello," she waved.
Dawn bowed curtly. She had no opinion about her, but it took only a little to be courteous.
"I'm leaving," the elf continued. "Please tell him I'll be back in a couple of days."
Why don't you tell him yourself? Dawn didn't voice the question, her eyes darting to the figure sleeping soundly in the hammock.
After giving up on her dress, the elf stepped forward to tap Dawn on the shoulder. "I haven't got time to talk with you really," she said. "I'll try to rectify that at our next meeting."
She likely wants to know more about Gale, Dawn thought as she nodded. "Tea?"
"Thank you, but I have to pass this time," the elf said, waking her ride to depart directly.
Dawn watched them leave and turned her attention to the man sleeping. She crept closer and fell into the conundrum of whether to wake him up or wait.
Like the elf, his hair was dishevelled, all over his face. Unwittingly, she drew her palm and eased the locks of white hair off his face. She worked slowly, worried about waking him.
Suddenly, Gale muttered something unintelligible and pulled her into his embrace.
Dawn's mind cried out, but she collected herself immediately. Her essence flashed, creating a semi-tangible hand that caught the tray of beverages, preventing the hot tea from spilling. She slowly let the essence hand disperse after resting the tray on the ground.
Dawn sighed in relief, then faced the actual issue. While she was dealing with the tray and teapot, Gale had pulled her completely into his embrace, his arms wrapped around her back.
Her head rested on his chest. Dawn could hear his heartbeat, which was so different from what she remembered. It was like a slow clock, barely audible to her superior senses.
The last time she was so close to him was just before the disaster. She had mustered all her courage to embrace him, though unable to express her true feelings.
Dawn looked at his familiar yet unfamiliar face, moving away the strands of hair, biting her lip.
I haven't seen you for two years, and you fell in love with another woman...
Dawn stroked his hair, causing Gale to move in his sleep. He pulled her up to kiss her on the head.
"I'm not going anywhere," he mumbled in a sleepy voice.
I won't let you, Dawn muttered to herself. She remained in his embrace for some time, feeling safe, and secure... until it was time to let go.
It was so hard to show your affection to a man who doesn't remember you.
Her face was like a porcelain doll, with pale pink skin and pale silvery eyebrows matching her long hair. It wasn't simply albinism, because something so simple like that could not made her cute beyond measure.
A memory resurfaced in his mind... of a boundless blue sky overhead, wind rushing along while he was sitting on a perch of a familiar home, and Dawn shaving his beard, massaging his head, while another young girl said something to her, causing her cheeks to redden.
He tried to go deeper into the vision, clutching whatever he could take with him. A pinprick of pain assaulted his mind, and he came back to reality. Gale clenched his teeth.
"Sir... um, Gale?"
"Yes?" he looked up at her, staring at the familiar face, a wave of familiarity growing in him.
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"Please lift your chin up, I need to shave underneath—"
Gale pulled her into an embrace. Dawn let out a mewling noise but didn't object. Her figure became rigid instead.
"You have told me about myself and showed evidence of who you are," he muttered, stroking her hair. "But I finally glimpsed what you truly are..."
"Mhmm..."
"Thank you for looking out for me," he said. "Thank you for finding me... I've been a pretty terrible lord so far, I guess."
He let her go, finding her face had turned another shade pinker, shaving cream smearing the side of her face. Gale extended his palm to clean it off her face.
Dawn's eyes turned watery as she stared at him, biting her lip.
"I..." Gale cleared his throat. "I should have... I didn't know what to say..."
"You did all you could," she said, releasing the weight off her chest. "You changed my life for the better... and so many others. Let us bear some of your weight."
He nodded slowly. Then both of their attention darted to somewhere else.
"OH!" Jenni yelped. "I have seen nothing... only two adults hugging... nothing serious..." Only then did she realise she should just shut her mouth. "I should come sometime after..."
Gale clicked his tongue. "If you run away now, I'll return you to your father."
Jenni's feet froze as she turned to glare at him. "I just came to show my improved design," she waved the graph paper in her hand.
He called her over and took the paper with a serious look on his face.
"You look weird with half your beard and foam," Jenni chuckled, trying to lighten the mood.
He sighed. "I don't think you're the gossiping type, nor do I care about you or anyone spreading anything about me... but make sure whatever you say does not affect Dawn."
Jenni nodded without even recognising the seriousness of his words.
"She had a hard life that you can hardly imagine," Gale continued. "And being unable to express herself truly only made it worse in some cases. I don't want anyone else, even the most insignificant person, talking behind her back."