Charades

Chapter 8

     I awoke to the smell of fresh eggs and bacon. Stretching out my tired body, I sat up on the couch and glanced down, noticing there was a blanket over me. It hadn't been there when I went to bed and surprised, I looked to the kitchen, watching as Ronan cooked at the stove. His back was to me and my eyes went to the dining table, where Indira and Devan sat, eating eggs and bacon.

     "Good morning, Amara!" Indira exclaimed. "Go brush your teeth quickly. The food is best when it's hot."

     I smiled and got up then, and scurried over to the washroom. And after brushing my teeth and washing my face, I went to dining table where Devan was chugging down his food and Indira was waiting.

     "Good morning," Ronan said, glancing at me. "Sit. I'll bring your plate in a moment."

     I smiled appreciatively and settled down at the table. Indira was bouncing excitedly and Devan had his eyes lowered to his food. It was strange having breakfast with a family I just met. But, I wasn't uncomfortable like I thought I'd be.

     "Here you go," Ronan said.

     He went over to me and placed a plate of eggs and bacon in front of me. The scent wafted into my nose and I inhaled. Closing my eyes, I welcomed the lovely smell of a fresh breakfast.

     And when I picked up my fork, Indira picked up hers as well and we began to eat. The food was lovely. A perfect juicy taste of bacon and the eggs were salted to perfection. I glanced at Ronan, impressed.

     "This is incredible," I said. "You're a good chef."

     Ronan glanced at me and smiled sheepishly. I smiled at his reaction and Indira giggled.

     "Right!" Indira said. "Ronan's so good at cooking. He's been cooking for us for the past year."

     "That's incredible," I said. "I don't know how to cook. I should learn."

     "Really?" Indira asked. "Who used to cook for you before?"

     I grew quiet. Lowering my eyes, I didn't know what to say. Chefs and servants always cooked for me. Always taken care of me. I never needed to learn to cook.

     "My parents used to cook for me," I lied. "And after they passed away, I stuck buying food that didn't need to be cooked. Like fresh fruit and vegetables."

     "Oh, wow," Indira said, amazed. "How was your life in Narakha? Did you live within the town."

     "Yeah... I lived in the town with my parents. We lived in a small house. We weren't very wealthy."

     Indira's eyes flew wide with amazement and guilt tore at me. I hated lying. Especially to Ronan's family, but I had no choice. There was no way I could let anyone know about my past. Not when my uncle would be hunting for me soon.

     "Your family sounds like mine," Indira said. "We used to live in a small house with our parents back at Vispur as well. Well, until... our parents died. Then we ran away and came to Edolas."

     "Why Edolas?" I asked.

     "We heard good things about it." Indira shrugged. "Queen Diana is known to care for her people. And same with King Alexander. When they combined their kingdoms, their people prospered. It's the best place to live at in our world."

     I nodded, understanding that. I heard good things about Edolas, too, which is why I chose to run here. And after meeting Diana and Alexander at Flynn's castle, I was confident they were kind people.

     "Have you heard the whispers of the town?" Devan asked. He finally rose his head to look at us. "Everyone's been talking about it."

     "What?" Indira asked.