Dreams in the Distant Sky

Chapter 17 - Startled

Surprise surprise! Surprise update of this story! ;) Excited?? You should be 'cause there are some pretty intense moments to read about in this chapter!!

This chapter is dedicated to purple_Sapphire99! Happy reading! ^^

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Kaya pov:

"Kaya! Can you check on the stew please?" Elton called out from the dining area.

"Okay!" I responded. I left the half cut vegetables for the salad as they were and walked to the stove to stir the stew and check if it was ready to be eaten.

The stew looked like it was ready so I put out the flames below the vessel and moved it off onto a mat with the help of something similar to a baking glove. I covered the vessel with a plate and went back to getting the salad ready. I hummed a random tune that came to my mind as I did so and proceeded to help Elton set up the long dining table. Plates, cups of water, the variety of foods we had prepared as well as the special dessert Elton had made was arranged on the table before we gave the three bell call signaling that lunch was served.

All the other Arts joined us at the table and took their seats. They all complimented the variety that was set up on the table and some even dug in without bothering to wait until everyone had sat down. Of course, none of us minded it and Elton and I only felt happy because everyone liked the food so much.

"I'll give Hale his lunch." I said with a smile to the others while holding onto a plate on which I had served bits of all that had been prepared.

"Alright! Hurry back so you don't end up starving because of these people pigging out on all the food!" Elton called out causing me to chuckle with a shake of my head.

I headed to the room where Hale stayed in along with Becci. Apparently, she was the only one who seemed to have enough courage to stay in a close proximity to him. Everybody else seemed very uncomfortable being anywhere close to Hale and oftentimes avoided him. Becci too didn't prefer interacting with him so she never spoke to him or even acknowledged his existence when they were in the same room – or so I had heard from her. I was the only person whom Hale actually was nice to and showed some sort of concern towards.

I sort of felt bad that he was always being shunned away because of his cold attitude. I know that he was at fault for being so hostile to everyone because they didn't mind being around Supremes but he had been really nice to me and he had taken care of me on several occasions so I couldn't bring myself to treat him as the others did. Besides his apparent hatred towards Supremes and sort of aloof attitude, he was actually a pretty nice person. As a result, I took his meals to him before I sat down for my meals and I would try to have a casual conversation every now and then with him when we happened to pass by each other. It was difficult, awkward and sometimes uncomfortable, but I thought of it as a challenge to improve my people's skills.

Taking a deep breath, I moved the curtain out of the way and walked into Hale's room. As usual, he was standing next to the window, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed while looking out at the forest behind the castle. Upon hearing my footsteps, he turned to me and his expression softened. He even smiled just a tiny bit and pushed off the wall to take the plate of food from my hands.

"Thank you, Kaya. You seem to be the only person who thinks of me as a human....all the others resent me." He said in a slightly bitter voice, looking down at the plate of food.

I managed an awkward chuckle because I wasn't sure of what to say to that. He knew that people deliberately avoided him but he refused to even think of the possibility of his attitude to be the reason. I cleared my throat and looked out the window myself and decided to attempt a conversation with him again. It was just as awkward as always but I seemed to pick up a topic of conversation comparatively quickly today.