Felicity: The Sixteenth Life

CHAPTER SIX: The Truth About Opal Mansion

"No, no, don't get scared! That's Kenley! He's okay, he won't bite you, just keep your distance," Ryder said as his siblings started to scream at the sight of the huge dog emerging from the cabin.

"A-a-a-are you sure that's the little fluffball in the portrait?" Hazel said as she held Ryder's shoulders as if using him as a shield. Ryder couldn't blame them for reacting that way since Kenley looks really intimidating from the perspective of kids their age. And is it just him or did the dog grow more in size since he first met him?

"He's gotten so big in six years," Carter said in awe.

"Are you sure he won't attack? Maybe he'll remember you?" Chase whispered to Ryder warily.

"He just met me once. I don't know anything about the memory span of dogs but I'll risk it," Ryder whispered back and immediately tried to make the dog remember him.

"Hey, it's me. It's me, Kenley. Don't you remember me?" he said in a much louder tone, trying to sound as appeasing as possible.

However, Kenley responded by growling lowly, with his front leg shoulders tensed up as if he's about to spring onto them any moment.

Hazel and Chase whimpered in fear whilst hiding behind Ryder, Liam and Carter. The three of them held their arms up as if to barricade their scaredy-cat siblings from the agitated dog.

Fortunately, the person that Ryder hoped to interfere in the situation finally arrived. "He does remember you but you brought unfamiliar people with you, thus he's being cautious," the familiar, soothing voice of the girl said, immediately stealing the attention of both the dog and the group of kids.

Liam, Hazel, Carter and Chase all held their breaths upon laying eyes on the girl. Her lovely deep-blue sapphire eyes were just as they were in the portrait but her hair had grown considerably longer, reaching up to her waist in a wavy, tangly-looking way. Her complexion had gotten darker as well but the overall features gave only a decimal of error that this girl standing before them and the baby in the portraits were one and the same.

Kenley immediately went to his master's side with tail wagging as if reporting that he did a good job and thus has to be praised for it. The girl's hand automatically found the dog's head and gave him a couple of pats.

"I don't think you're here by mistake this time," the girl added, sighing.

"You remember me?" Ryder asked incredulously.

"I'm not so forgetful that I would not recognize someone whom I just met three days ago..." the girl answered. "Well, are you here by mistake or not?" she repeated her earlier question.

"We're not here by mistake; I came here on purpose," Ryder said, stepping forward. "I-I realized I didn't thank you for last time and- and I didn't even ask for your name so..." he stammered.

Behind him, his siblings exchanged curious looks. Ryder was never the type to stumble upon his words. He's not very talkative but he's pretty eloquent for his age. They had never seen him stutter talking to anyone, not even to their tutors, the head maid and butler, and their own father.

Meanwhile, Ryder slowly bit onto his lower lip and cursed himself for stuttering. It wasn't that the girl intimidates him or anything but he has not yet recovered from the memory of himself crying pathetically while she treated his wounds. He had never cried like that in front of anyone in his life and that alone made him pretty embarrassed to look at the girl in the face. She's obviously younger than him yet he showed such unmanly weakness towards her and she even called him a wuss.

"I see," the girl replied calmly. "I accept your gratitude but I don't see that as a proper reason for you to be bringing your playmates to my house so suddenly like this. I actually thought we'd never meet again... I'm also not curious about who you are thus I'm not willing to exchange names with you..."