“Do you manage this place, Elwin?” She spoke with a reassuring tone. She probably sensed that Elwin was on his edge to not make any mistakes, and wanted to ease his concern. Elwin was grateful for it.

“I’m afraid not, ma’am. My mother and I run The Marlin together.”

“I see.”

The kitchen bell rang and Elwin hurriedly rushed to pick up the clam-chowder, trying his hardest to make every movement graceful to these guests who seemed important. As he walked, he could pick up faint whispers of conversation between the man and the woman.

“Anything out of place?” asked his mother.

“No, not really,” said Elwin. He paused for a moment and spoke again.

“I don’t think they will cause trouble for us. They seem sincere enough.”

“Who is it? Two men?” puzzled Anna, as she set down two stone bowls of clam chowder onto the kitchen counter for Elwin to take outside.

“One man and one woman. Only the woman has spoken to me so far.”

“That’s reassuring. How’s their age?”

“The man seems old from his beard. The woman, I dunno’ – seems like around you, maybe slightly younger?”

“Colleagues at the same ministry, perhaps. Most likely not married to each other, hmm?”

“Yeah.”

Elwin picked up the stone bowls of clam-chowder with gloved hands, steaming hot and aromatic with the fragrance of the sea and potatoes and clams and cream, lightening the weight of the soups with his power over water. He brought it out for the two guests before him.

“Your clam-chowders, sir and madam.”

“Thank you,” said the woman.

Elwin stood by and went near the countertop to grab his handkerchief. He could hear murmurs of acknowledgement from the two guests. The clam-chowder was indeed great, and they knew it too.

But his job was just beginning.

From a distance, Elwin could feel that their mugs of water were becoming empty, so he approached them at the opportune time in the break of conversation to inquire about their needs.

“Would you like some more water, ma’am?”

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“Yes, please. And perhaps some coffee?” she asked the man.

The man pondered for a moment as if to wonder whether he should reveal his identity to Elwin. Then he spoke.

“A shot of espresso, if you may.” He spoke with surprising eloquence that didn’t match his gruff-coated exterior, nor his voice which briefly rumbled the table.

“The same for me, as well.”

“Right away, sir and madam.”

Espresso at nearly an hour before midnight? Clearly, they had important business to attend to during the night, and late into the morning.

Coffeebrewing was Elwin’s specialty no matter the demand, so he slid into the kitchen all excited, passionately grinding the beans with his hydrodriven device until he could smell the aroma of the volcanic soil on which it grew. With instinctual movements of his hands, he swirled the minute chamber of superheated steam and shot it into the ground beans, extracting a thin rivulet of excellently infused espresso, perfect for two shots. He topped them both with crema, and brought it out to the guests along with two full mugs of regular water, lightening the load with his mind. Thank goodness his Maht was Water.

“We’ve decided on the mains.”

“Of course.”

“May we have the seared sea-bass fillets, and the king prawns in cream?”

They were going for the most pricey dishes on the menu.

“Right away, ma’am.” Elwin gave his mother the order note again and attended to the two guests.

But when he arrived, another seat was pulled up to their table. Were they expecting a third guest? From away, the woman gestured Elwin closer.

“Elwin, would you like to join us for a small chat?”

A small chat? With these two guests? Elwin had no way of knowing what could come next. He entertained people when necessary, but never ministerial guests like them. What could they possibly be interested in, especially in a serving boy?

“Please take a seat.”

“It’d be an honor,” said Elwin, as he carefully took the seat next to the two guests in the fashion that his mother had taught him since young, filled to the brim with the apprehension of the unknown.

“It’s nice to meet you,” said the woman, extending her hand.

Elwin took her hand and made a firm handshake. There was warm strength in her hands, and Elwin somehow felt the exhaustion of the day lessen from his arms.

“I am Dr. Hana Reiss, and this is Dr. Braus Brentley. You may call us by our first names.”

Elwin shook the man’s – Dr. Braus’s – hands as well.

“We couldn’t help but notice the watch in your pocket,” said Dr. Hana, pointing to Elwin’s waistcoat uniform. “How long have you had it?”

Elwin hesitated for a second. They weren’t planning to steal it or accuse Elwin of some strange theft, were they? He looked at Dr. Hana Reiss. Her expression was as patient as ever, and his intuition told him that she was sincere and without scheme. He spoke.

“It was originally my father’s, ma’am. He passed it down to me.”

“What is your last name, may I ask?”

Why did they want to know?

“Eramir. My name is Elwin Eramir.”

“...Eramir, you said?” she asked.

Elwin nodded. An expression of recognition came over her face.

“May I peruse that watch?”

Elwin hesitated to pull out the watch and hand it to the two guests. The situation was highly unusual. Perhaps the watch had some hidden technology or a power that people sought? But no one, not even Lucian cared about it, so why now?

Dr. Hana Reiss rested her hand on Elwin’s palm. He hadn’t noticed he was trembling. “It’s alright. You can trust us.” Elwin, unwilling and with some resistance, unchained the fastenings of the watch from his jacket button, reached into his pocket, and handed it carefully to her.

She had barely begun to read the first inscription when she turned to Elwin with a mixture of surprise and realization – perhaps both.

“Is your father... Carl Eramir?”