Heroes of Dreamland, Book 6: Kirby and the Fountain's Fate (OLD)

~Other Time~ Orion, Twill, and Allistair

Petal's POV:

A little while later:

Well, a short walk into the village later, I still haven't had a chance to talk to Orion about anything yet, thanks to both Twill's fond-but-a-bit-overwhelming questioning and little Allistair's amazement at my being a soldier. It must really be peaceful around here, because he really seems to have no idea of what being a soldier actually entails.

Orion and Twill's house, which is where we are now, is a decent-sized log cabin like most of the houses around here. It's cozy and smells like fresh air. Everything's tidy, except for the occasional Star Warrior-shaped wooden soldier peeping out of random places to keep watch and several picture books about King Arthur and knights and dragons strewn around, I'm guessing by the little guy. Oh, and on the walls are several expertly-woven tapestries, which I bet are Twill's work, just going by the half-finished one on the well-polished loom in one corner.

"Sorry to have so much cloth hanging everywhere," Twill apologizes as she tries to scoot Allistair off to pick up his things. "This main room also doubles as my weaving shop, so I display as many of my finished works as I can fit on the walls."

Grinning, I assure her, "Don't worry about that at all. They're lovely, ma'am. I can tell you have real talent."

"Pssh, it's just what I happen to be handy at. And stop calling me ma'am, dear, if anyone should be ma'aming anyone it should be me ma'aming you."

With a laugh that I just can't help, I start to follow her to the kitchen, but suddenly have my cape tugged on eagerly.

"So, Miss Lieutenant General Petal, you've killed tons and tons of monsters, right?" Allistair demands excitedly.

I know he doesn't mean any harm, so I just shrug and play along, although this isn't really a favorite topic of mine to dwell on. "Uh, yeah, I guess so. More than I ever hoped to kill, anyway."

After nodding a bit, he questions with a huge grin, "And I bet you're some kind of hero, right? Father used to be a hero in the army, but then he quit and came here to protect our village."

Orion clears his throat and looks away, slightly embarrassed, which is one of the first times he's made any sort of noise since he greeted me earlier. Looking away from him and back at the little one, I reply, "I don't know about my being a hero, and is that so? I'm glad to hear he's found a good occupation." With a glance over at the father of the house, I add, "I worry about him a lot and hope he's found somewhere good for him to be. It seems like he has." He just clears his throat again and continues to not look at me.

Irritated at having my attention stolen from him, Allistair climbs on top of my head and peers over at me, upside down. "You use a lot of big words for someone who smiles so much, Miss Lieutenant General Petal. By the way, can I- I mean, may I please see your sword? How many battles have you fought in?"

Chuckling a little bit, I gently shake him off my head, making him tumble forward onto the floor with a annoyed-but-unhurt grunt. "I've fought in a lot, and not right now, kiddo. Why don't I just go ahead and show you my battle stats sheet?"

His face lights up like Christmas. "Yes! I mean, yes, if you please."

"She doesn't actually have such a thing, Allistair," Orion shakes his head with a bit of a laugh. "Don't hound her so; it isn't proper."

Allistair seems to take his father's advice very seriously, because he instantly straightens up and steps back from me a little. "Right. Gentlemen never hound anybody. Better, Father?"

Smiling warmly, Orion affectionately pats his head once and agrees, "Much."

"In his defense, he really wasn't bothering me," I assure them both. Grinning at the little guy, I add, "I haven't gotten to spend any time with a little tyke in forever. He's not hurting anything."