I softly knocked on Catherine's door.

“Just a minute!” She yelled. After a short moment, I heard her unlocking before gently opening it. “Siya…” She smiled softly. I got the feeling she wanted to say something more, but she left it at just my name.

“Hey Cathy…” I tried my best to smile back, but the embarrassment I felt from everything that had happened between us mixed with the sadness I felt from making her so worried.

“Here, come in. I'll make you some tea.”

I hesitantly stepped into her room. Her armor was lying on the ground, strewn across the floor and her bed.

It was a complete mess. Weapons were also loosely thrown about, some even out of their sheaths. A couple of sets of clothes were loosely draped over various chairs and her bed frame.

Besides that, it seemed like she was in the middle of changing. When she opened the door all she had on was a loose fighting sleeveless shirt and a pair of thin shorts that were so tight they looked more like underwear. “ Cathy… Did you know it was me?”

She walked back over to her closet and pulled over a more modest shirt that had long sleeves and hung down past her hips. “No, I had no idea. I thought it was that brat Nillous again coming to whine about my responsibilities or some nonsense.”

“You thought it was a guy and really still opened the door looking like that?”

She had bunched her hair behind her head and was tying it up when she suddenly paused. “Hm? Well, yeah.”

“Would it have really taken you that much longer to at least put on that shirt?” It was a thick gambosen, a linen worn under a plate for protection and warmth. It also happened to hang down below her shorts, which she hadn't even bothered to button.

It actually seemed like it would have been less provocative if she had been wearing a bikini when she opened the door.

“What does that matter?”

I let out a sigh. “Cathy, you're practically naked, you're really ok with a guy seeing you like that? Nillous is 24 you know.”

She buttoned her shorts and began putting on her leather pants that went under her metal greaves. I almost felt like I should look away. “Your clothes are all too small too, isn't it uncomfortable?”

“The tighter the better, it keeps me locked down, and helps me keep my body tense for when I take hits.”

“Ok, but that doesn't change the fact that you should try to be more modest.”

She grimaced as she finished fastening her greaves. “It's not like I answered the door Naked. I did put on some clothes first.”

I raised a hand to my head and began shaking it. “The fact that you weren't wearing any clothes at all before I knocked actually makes it worse. The door wasn't even locked. I could tell from how fast you opened it.”

She scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Did you need something mom?”

I didn't like the fact that she wasn't taking it seriously at all, but I couldn't help laughing as she stuck her tongue out at me before grinning and rubbing my head.

“Whatever, that's not why I came here anyway.”

She slowly took her hand away from my head and narrowed her eyebrows. “Siya, what's this?”

She showed me her hand. There was a bright streak of red across it.

I raised my hand to my head, checking it myself. ‘It hasn't stopped bleeding yet?’ It hurt, but it felt more like a sore than an open wound.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

“And What's that on your arm?” She gently grabbed my fingers and slowly pulled my arm out so that she could look at it.

“It's uhm… From the stables. Calum was scared Fritz was going to hurt me and–.”

“I'll kill that brat.” She growled.

My sentence got cut short, and suddenly I found myself chuckling nervously to try and ease the tension.

A role of bandages appeared in her hand, and before I knew it she was bandaging my head and my arm. She was done remarkably quickly, and when she finished I could feel the dull aching lessen somewhat.

“I'll make you some tea.”

“You're… a lot different than Mara,” I said.

She looked over at me for a second before a big smile appeared on her face and she went back to lighting a fire for the tea. “Yeah well, that's probably why we get along so well. As well as why we don't.”

‘That's right, she was in the adventurers’ party with my parents when they were younger.’

“That is all in the past though. Tell me, what is it that you want from me in the present? Not often I get to see you, did you get the day off?”

“I did.” I had so many things I wanted to say that I didn't know where to start, but the truth was that I just wanted to see her.

‘I heard she wasn't doing well… But I guess I was worried about nothing.’ “Um, I guess I should start by saying thank you. You helped me a lot after I fought the monster outside the castle…”

She chuckled. “I'm just glad you're ok, you had me worried you know… You were so cold I thought you'd turn to ice and shatter right in front of me…”

As she set the pot above the small fire, the look in her eyes told me that it was something that had actually happened before. ‘Did she fight an ice witch sometime in the past?’

She let out another chuckle but it didn't seem like she thought it funny. “You were so delirious from all your injuries that you actually called me mom, that was when I really started worrying.”

“O-oh…” I felt as though I should have been embarrassed, or maybe saddened, but in reality, it didn't bother me at all. “Well, it's not like I was that far off.”

She snorted thinking I was making a joke. “Ha, you're funny, I don't look anything like Mara.” I wasn't sure how she did it, but somehow the hot tea was already done, and she was serving it. She set it down on the table before giving me a hug. “Hurry up and get stronger so you stop worrying me”

When she hugged me I tensed up, I wasn't expecting it and I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do. I just sat frozen until she let go and sat down across from me.

My brain started functioning again and my train of thought returned as the metaphorical ice around me began to thaw. ‘She is the opposite of Mara. Not just how she acts but everything.’

Catherine's hair was a solid golden brown. It was a bit on the darker side and hung down past her waist. She was even taller and larger, more closely resembling my father's stature. While Mara was toned, Catherine was buff. She was actually just larger in every way.

While Mara certainly had a more traditional beauty minus her scars, Catherine was bulkier, with even more curves, likely because she wasn't nearly as toned. She caught me staring. “Do I have something on my face?” she asked

“No no, I was just thinking how pretty you were.”

She blushed. It was almost funny to see her get shy over such a small compliment. Especially after the way she answered the door.

“Well anyway, I came to ask you a couple of things. I take it Finlo already talked to you.”

She crossed her arms. “Well… I am his captain.”

She looked angry and disappointed like she was about to scold me. I almost hesitated to ask anything else, but since I knew I didn't actually do anything wrong it wasn't hard for me to keep going. “So, do you know anything?”

She sighed. “I have an idea… If it's alright with you though, I'd rather not tell you until I'm sure.”

“It's just that it makes me uneasy…”

She looked around the room quickly. “I can give you a knife if you want.”

“A knife!” I screamed before quickly covering my mouth. I had never actually used a real weapon before, even in training the metal greatswords had always been too heavy, besides that, knives were dishonorable.

Just saying the word would have been considered a slur if it wasn't for the existence of eating utensils. Supposedly it was a disgrace to even own a combat knife.

“I'm only kidding…” She jeered. “Unless you want one.” She paused, giving me an opportunity to respond, but I was still shocked. “Yeah, didn't think so. Well, I wouldn't worry about it if I were you. If it's who I think it was then they won't poison you again. Just in case though Finlo made these.”

She pulled a small bag out of a pouch that was sitting on the counter and handed it to me. “These are the pellets Finlo made for you. Three should be more than enough. They help with more than just poison, if you're ever in a bind go ahead and eat one just to be safe. They help with everything a little bit, manna stamina, strength. He really outdid himself with those.”

“Thanks…” I took the bag and hung it around my neck keeping it tucked away under my shirt. Having something just in case helped ease my worries, but I still didn't like that she was keeping who she thought was a secret. ‘It couldn't be one of the guards, could it? No… That seems unlikely. No motive.’

“Was that all you wanted to talk about?”

It was the only thing I had planned to talk about, but when she asked me that it was almost like a gate opened up inside. “I am… Worried about other stuff too I guess…”

“Yeah, I bet. You're getting to that age now.”

I almost instantly regretted continuing the conversation. “That's not what I meant,” I said bluntly.

“Uh, oh. What did you mean then?”

Luckily, she was a rational person and believed me instead of pressing further. “I was just nervous about starting training again, that's all…”

She stood up and walked over to me patting me on the head. “Don't worry about all that, you survived this long, haven't you? What's a little bit of training after fighting that big monster.”

She continued rustling my hair, but my roots were so stiff it actually hurt when they moved around. “Stop, you'll get your hands all dirty.” I frowned, thinking about how Finlo had to wipe his hands off after tying it up for me.

She laughed and hugged me again. “Like that would stop me from picking on you, you're too cute.”

At first, I tried to push her away, but after a moment I returned her embrace, holding back my sudden urge to cry as the blood rushed to my face and I held my breath. “I wish…” ‘I wish you were my mother.’

I couldn't say that though. She was good friends with Mara. Even if she did understand, she would still scold me. I held back my tears and my words, leaving the conversation at that.