Rewind Villainess!

IX

Rewind Villainess

Chapter Nine

The silence has changed

I awkwardly stood on my place, still waiting. A moment has passed and he still hasn't responded to my request. Priggs might be wondering where I am right now. "Is it okay?" I asked again, tapping my foot on the floorboard impatiently. It seemed to wake him up from what looked like a trance.

His attention went back to me.
When he realized I was still there, his face reddened in embarassment. "D-Do whatever you like!" And with that, he ran off to another direction, leaving me by myself. So it turned out like this. Very much different from what I had originally imagined. Which includes fire coming out from his mouth. I shook my head.

Now is not the time to think about that. Alright then. I have taken a step forward towards a safe future. A very teeny tiny one at that. But even so, it's still progress.

•■{《》}■•

"We'll be leaving the docks of Lione after breakfast." Priggs told me while he sautéed the onion and garlic in the pan. They got it from the public market early in the morning. A pleasant smell wafted in the air. He says that the recipe came from the northern islands, where he was born and raised.

"So, where are we going next?" I asked, chopping up the cabbage into smaller pieces and transferring it to a clean bowl. I pushed it to the edge of the table so that he could reach it. "No idea. Maybe to Rieshe or Drensvalt. I heard that they needed help with corruption there." He answered, and grabbed the bowl, dumping it's contents into the metal pan. He then proceeded to mix it in with the spices.

Standing up from the chair, I drew near the sink and washed the utensils. The lukewarm water splashed on my skin. It was summer in Lione right now which explains it's temperature.  "Oh. Will we drop by the Adventurer's guild before that?" I shook off the droplets of water before placing the chopping board and knife on the tray to let it dry. He nodded at my question. "Yep. The more quests, the more money we get. Someone might even give a lot of bounty." Priggs responded matter-of-factly. "And the more quests, the more I'll be spending my time here on the ship." I added and he chortled at my comment. I wiped my hands on the small white apron that I wore.

"Don't worry. The new kid...What was his name again?"

"Xion." I corrected him, taking off the apron and hanging it on the hook on the wall. My work was done so I just wanted to watch Priggs cook. "Yeah. Yeah. That Xion kid would keep you company. Go on and arrange your playdates with him." He ushered me out of the kitchen using his hand to shoo me.

"But I want to cook with you! It's more efficient!" I tried to argue with him. "Listen here Lydia." He patted my head, messing up my neatly combed hair. "You can't get your childhood back so you should enjoy it." He said the words so seriously before returning to his usual smile. I won't deny the fact that I think Priggs would be a great grandma. With his cooking skills and everyday life-lessons. A grandma with a bald head and a beard.

I decided to give in to his request. "Alright."

•■{《》}■•

And thus, the road to friendship began.

"A playdate?" Xion raised his brow in question, grabbing the eraser at his side.

"Exactly." I answered and drew another curved line on the paper. It was now in the late afternoon and we were sitting face to face inside my room. I had invited him in and offered to draw together. He had reluctantly came inside but since he said that he has nothing to do, he eventually agreed. I can say that we were at the threshold of getting to know each other.

"Do whatever you like." This time, his reply was in a monotonous voice. Xion blew on his paper to get rid of the residuals of the eraser.

"It's the same reply that I got the last time that I had asked you." I stopped drawing and fully focused my concentration on him. He didn't reply and just continued on. Awkward silence would have fully occupied the room if it wasn't for the strokes of the pencil on his paper. Because of this, I got up from my chair and went to Xion's side. I snatched away the pencil from his hands.

"Hey!" Xion glared at me, puffing his cheeks.

"You may be cute but I'm not giving this back!" I rebuked him. Pink dusted his cheeks upon hearing my words. He fell silent. I creased my eyebrows and rubbed both of my temples. Wait. Adult's only have this behaviour! I slapped either side of my cheeks to break my train of thought. Anyway, back to the main subject.

"You aren't a slave anymore Xion. You have free will now. So "Do what you want" should not be your lifetime quote. You're here with us now. Where you'll be safe." I tried to encourage him and smiled. With my index fingers, I lifted up the corners of his mouth. Because of my help, a goofy smile appeared on his face.

But the smile was replaced by a sad expression. Before I even knew, tears were brimming at the corner of his eyes and it came down like a waterfall. Shocked, I retracted my hands. "I'm sorry! Did I hurt you?" I panicked. I have done it again. Internally screaming, my future is doomed. I breathed deeply. This is just overreacting. I inspirited myself to stay calm. Surely there is another way!

Without thinking, I wrapped my arms around his body. Freezing, I abruptly uttered, "My father does this when I cry. I hope it's fine with you." He didn't respond and instead clutched to my sleeve, continuing to cry. What I said was true. Although that rarely happens, my father does the same when he pesters me. His tears dampened my clothes but I didn't pull away.  Xion's whimpers were still very audible. Right at this moment, he felt so fragile and helpless.

I nervously brought up my hand to his head, running my hands into his white hair. We stayed like this for a while. Just until his crying turned into small sniffles. I released him from the hug. "Hey. Are you already okay?" I asked him to which he nodded in return.

"Don't ever speak of this to others." It was probably supposed to be a warning. I chuckled when I heard this and couldn't help but to joke. "Don't worry. They might have heard you crying before I even tell them." Alas, the glare returned.

"Then, what would you like to do now?" I asked him. He glanced at his unfinished drawing and I understood right away. I placed back the pencil into his hands and focused on my drawing. It wasn't like the ankward silence before. Instead, it was comforting. It seems that we have gone closer than before.

End of Chapter Nine