~DISCONTINUED- Dadluc - One step forward don't step backwards

Three steps forward

Honestly Diluc was worried, Ophelia was quiet and he couldn't quite read her. Could she be a danger to his employees?

He felt guilty for thinking these thoughts knowing what it felt like to be violent when struck with grief. He knew that feeling all too well.

He had not spoken to the girl the entire walk to the winery. He sensed that she didn't trust him or actively feared him from the way she was shaking.

"Do you like chess Ophelia?" He asked surprising himself a little.

She looked at him with her deep green peepers in confusion.

"I guess so...... I haven't played in a while." She finally replies after thinking her answer out carefully.

"I play a lot with Elzer, my chairman, I'm sure he'd appreciate a new opponent if you'd like to play." She seemed a little calmer so at least the light conversation would make her less tense.

The two walked in peaceful silence past the cottages near the winery.

They were about to turn the corner when Ophelia crouched down to examine something on the ground.

Diluc looked over her shoulder to see that the girl was inspecting a mushroom. It was a red one with dramatic white spots and was yellow with a red gradient reaching the rim of the flat fungi.

She smiled a little. She reached for something in her pocket but hesitates before standing up again and gesturing for them to keep walking.

~

"Oh so you must be the Ophelia master Kaeya told us about you're a very pretty young lady." Adelaide remarked enthusiastically. Ophelia reminded her of when Diluc and Kaeya were little and you could tell she missed it.

Ophelia quietly nodded in respect.

"Not much of a talker huh? That's okay. Come let me show you to your room." Adelaide then led the girl up the stairs and down a corridor before coming to a small staircase. The steps were steep and it was narrow, there was a dinky door at the top with a small, brass handle.

Ophelia pushed the door open to find a generic room with a small, sturdy, mondstat-style bed, a small desk, a bookshelf next to a small window with a view of the grape field. She gathered that she must be in one of the turrets she saw when she was outside the winery.

The room had a decently sized floor space that was hexagonally shaped.

Adelaide followed her up the stairs quietly, causing Ophelia to jump a little.

"We could paint the ceiling if you want, just say if you need anything to make you feel comfortable wether it's decorations or some entertainment, just ask. If you want to go out for a walk tell me or master Diluc if he's in. Oh! And I almost forgot, we have a small drawing room downstairs with lots of books and things to do so go see it after you have settled." Adelaide finished her little speech and left Ophelia to entertain herself.

The girl flopped down on the bed and pulled out the book Lisa had given her. The librarian had somehow gotten the girl to talk and had found out that the girl had a fascination with plants, especially fungi, so a plant encyclopaedia from Fontaine sounded perfect.

She put the book down on her bedside table, wiping her glasses before glimpsing out of the window to see the delicate sunset outside.

"Maybe this won't be so bad."