“Luke! Nick says you’re coming to Haverton! Is that true?” Her bright hair popped out from behind the turned back of her uncle, both of them coming to meet him at the door way — Mia leading the charge with Nick more calmly behind her.

Luke leaned against the doorway, taking every bit of rest he could get before their trek back to Haverton, where he hoped a soft bed and warm meal was in store. “Yeah. I figure there must be a hotel, or even a motel I could stay in until I heal up.”

“Hotel? What’s that?” Mia looked at him, dumbfounded.

“They are high class establishments, with rooms to stay in temporarily, and typically include dining venues, lounging areas, and other premium services. They’re quite expensive. You surprise me, Luke, even I have only stayed at them on a handful of occasions.” Nick looked appreciatively at Luke, not having appraised him as someone with the means to stay at a hotel.

“Oh, so like a fancy inn?” Mia pondered him as Nick continued.

“Not quite, but in theory… Similar, yes.” He nodded to the girl, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose with the pad of his middle finger.

“Um, I meant an inn. Just a… manner of speech of where I’m from.”

“And where is that?” Nick stared at Luke, almost glaring through him as his aura rose in intensity. Perhaps Luke was not as free of suspicion as he felt he was. Though Mia was someone that shared with him a mutual gratitude — and to a certain extent, trust — for the other, Nick had not been through the same. And even if he had, something told Luke that Nick wasn’t like Mia, his trust was not so easily shared. Though he knew that lying to someone with such a discerning eye was dangerous, let alone for the fact he was capable of magic beyond the out-of-worlder’s comprehension. Still, he wasn’t about to come out and say that he had somehow been transported to another world. Instead, he thought up a story he read once, of a traveler in a world of swords and sorcery.

“I’m form the southeast, but I’ve been wandering for long enough that it wouldn't be home if I went back anyway.”

“Southeast? Only a couple of places that could be. Here, Let me guess. Town or City?”

“City, but like I said, it’s not really a place-”

“Nick!” Mia’s knuckles stabbed into his side, a pained groan coming from her uncle. “Stop interrogating the him!”

“I’m not! Please, I was just-! Aaagh!” her knuckles dug deeper into his ribs.

“Stop!” She asserted.

“OK, OK!” He begged, relief setting in as she pulled away. “Ow… We should be heading back anyway. The mist is almost clear and it will be getting dark soon. No need to hang around.”

“Dark?” The pair of youths said in synchrony, sharing a glance before turning back to Nick. Mia had come out mid morning and Luke — albeit uncertain to begin with — had guessed it to be sometime near noon by how the light diffused through the hanging fog. They stared up to the glowing yellow and orange hue in the sky from the sun approaching the horizon. It was Luke’s first time seeing the sky of this strange world, and it was no different to his own. The sun, the moon, and blue that was near identical to what he recognized. It was, in this place so foreign to him, a reminder of home.

“How… is that possible? You’re saying we were trapped in the Veil all day?” Mia questioned her uncle, unsure if the Veil had somehow altered her perception of time.

“Yes,” Nick confirmed. “Understand that the Veil isn’t a place meant for the living. A month for us outside will feel like a day for anyone inside, but you will age as if you were outside of the mist.” He stepped ahead of her, down the path, signaling the girl to follow him — a dark red violin case in hand, suede exterior giving it a textured look. Mia nodded, walking up beside him, but turning to Luke. He still stared up toward the sky, thinking of his home and all that he had left behind. Not much in the eyes of many, but everything to him.

“Luke!” Mia called to him. “Hurry up, we need to get going!”

The dark brown of his eyes lowered onto her green ones. Following her out of the woods and back to where her home was. In a way, following them meant resigning himself to accepting the reality that he would not be going home any time soon. He had always imagined that if he had the opportunity to get out of the life he led that he would jump at the opportunity. Here, the choice was made for him, yet he still hesitated. Odd as it was, fear of the unknown was more oppressive a force than any man who had ever held him down. But not enough to stop him.

“Right.” He stepped forward, joining behind them as they paced down the path, careful to not leave Luke behind as he walked with a heavy limp from his injuries.

“You sure you don’t need Nick to help you?” Mia slowed, leaving her relatives side to take a spot to the right of Luke.

“Please don’t offer my body to a stranger without my consent, Mia. I thought Elena taught you better than that.”

“Oh? How would you know that, Nick? I haven’t seen you in years, Mr. ‘I’m never playing music again, so I can’t possibly teach you.’” She rolled her eyes at the blond man, his hair a similar color to Mia’s but darker near the roots and far curlier.

Nick cringed at her words, unable to refute her. “I, uh… Luke, are you sure you don’t need me to help you?” He stopped, letting the pair catch up to him and standing to Luke’s left so as to use him as a cover from Mia. Nick’s glasses peered over from the top of Luke’s head, the frames carved in an intricate shape, almost like branches of a tree coiled together, the gold and silver crossing around behind his ears with a snug fit. The gifted musician stood a good 4 inches taller than Luke. While he was in no way the twig-like figure that Crow was, Nick looked comparatively weak standing next to the hard, robust frame of the boxer.

“I’m good, actually. Feel free to help Mia, if anything. She’s been through a lot too.”

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“Yeah, Nick. Come here for a moment.” She smirked.

“No, I do not think I will.”

“Nick, I said… Oh! The river!” Mia pulled away from Luke, dashing onto the unsteady, lumpy ground and over the bank, water smoothly traveling down the stream. The clean smell felt so familiar to her, searching down to her left and right for a crossing and spotting the large, wooden posts, standing upright that signaled a way across.

“This way! We’re almost there!” She trotted ahead, turning back every now and again to wait for Nick and Luke who were on a much more leisurely pace. Passing over the bridge and down the path once more, Mia hopped off the dirt trail to a spot along the ground where her bag was… neatly packed together, ivory music box on top.

“What? How?” She recalled tripping over her back, knocking everything out when the mist had first appeared. “How did…?”

“What’s wrong? Are those your — wait a minute! You still have this old thing?” Nick rushed over to her bag, reaching out to take the music box, snatched quickly away by his niece as she she hugged it in her arms.

“Yes, I do, actually. And no, I don’t use it t-to… to sleep anymore, OK? I just like the song and use it to practice my singing.” Her face was scrunched up in anger, like a snake ready to strike at the first thing to move.

“Woah, woah. I was just surprised. It’s really well kept. I can’t believe you’d take such good care of it.”

“Of course I would… It was dad’s.”

Nick stared down at Mia, her eyes locked on the box, checking it to make sure it wasn’t scratched or broken after she had just gotten it repaired. He placed a hand on her head, messing up her hair and reaching up to take the girl’s bag. “You’re right. You should take care of it.”

“Hey! Stop!” She smacked his hand away. “What are you doing with my things?”

“Mia, you know as well as I do that if we show up with you looking the way you do and still carrying all of your things, Elena will kill me. I’m not kidding. I will not live to see tomorrow.”

“She won’t-” Mia caught Nick’s stare, as if refuting his statement was logically impossible. And it was. “No, you’re right. She’ll kill you and I’ll never see the sun again.”

“Thank you,” he agreed, pulling the pack over his shoulder, violin case in hand.

“Who’s Elena?” Luke asked, recalling them having mentioned her previously.

“My mom,” Mia answered, eyebrows furrowed as she thought how to explain her. “She’s…”

“Protective,” Nick finished.

***

“Mia! Oh, my baby!” The young woman was smothered in the instant they entered Haverton. “Muah! Mauh! Mauh!” Mia’s forehead and cheeks, now covered in the slight red of her mother’s lips, flushed in embarrassment. Still, her hug was tight as Elena pestered her daughter with affection. Luke and Nick watched as a small group of people huddled together around them.

“Oh, thank the gods. You found her, Nicholas.” Agnes, the elderly woman, patted the far taller man on the shoulder.

“I really didn’t do much. It was mostly Mia and Lu-”

“Nonsense!” An elderly man, back folded over a walker he used to slide up next to them, his white hair nearly gone at the top, but relatively full around the sides. “That rascal could have gotten herself hurt out there, wolves and such roaming around these days.”

“No wolves today, Mr. Gentry. Fog must have put them out of sorts. But really, it is thanks in large put to Lu-”

“Ah! But she could have fallen into the river. Wouldn’t be the first time someone did so. What a tragic day that was… Poor kid must have been scared, all alone out there.”

“Well, that’s the thing, Mr. Gentry. She wasn’t alone, Lu-”

“That’s right, she had you, Mr. Nicholas! Proud and strong! Not physically, like Amir the Ox, but magically… You know, like a fairy or something.” Amir stood proud next to Nick, slapping him twice on the back, loudly clapping against him as Nick cringed from the pain.

“Ow. Thanks, Amir, I guess.” Nick adjusted his frames with the pad of his middle finger. “I played my part, sure, but as I’ve been trying to say it was Lu-”

“Well, now!” Agnes interrupted.

“Gods, give me patience...” Nick sighed under his breath.

“Who is this young man? Amir, he looks even stronger than you!” The wrinkled woman pointed at Luke, directing Amir’s attention to him.

“Improbable, but he does look like a capable man! Haha!” Amir slapped Luke on the back, appearing far steadier than Nick even in his weakened state. Luke half grinned at the eccentric bunch, somehow their energy tiring him even more.

Nick perked up, finally able to introduce Luke to the group as he had been attempting. “Yes, it’s great you mention him. This is Lu-”

“Luke!” Mia yelled, rushing over, holding Elena’s hand in hers and dragging her mother with her. “Luke, this is my mom, Elena. Mom, this is Luke.”

Elena was taller than her daughter by more than a few inches. She was around Amir’s height, just under 6 feet tall and only a couple of inches shorter than Luke was. Her hair was loose, but messy and a little wavy towards the back, as if it had been tied up into tail for a long while. Chestnut brown, it hung just past her shoulders, a straight line of bangs hanging softly at the brow.

“My daughter has been singing your praises, Luke.” Her voice was on the deeper end, smooth with a silken tone. “Thank you for helping keep Mia safe.” She pulled her daughter into her arms again, kissing her atop the now unkempt platinum blond head.

“Uh.. Yeah, no problem. Just, uh.. Just doing my part with everything that was happening out there. She helped me a lot too. Seriously.”

“What did happen out there? Mia hasn’t said a word about it.”

“Mom! I’m telling you, it wasn’t anything that bad.”

“Well… Um, I…” Luke struggled to find the words, unsure what he should and shouldn’t say and trying to balance his own secrets that even Nick and Mia were unaware of. Mia stared daggers at him, warning him not to speak. Nick stepped forward, placing a hand on Elena’s shoulder.

“Elena, don’t you think these two have been through enough, today? Let’s get them some food and rest. Luke needs some medical attention and Mia could probably do with an ointment or two and some fresh bandages. How about we step inside and get them taken care of first. I’ll tell you everything after, OK?”

She nodded after a moment’s pause, looking down at Luke’s wounds. “You’re right, Nick. Luckily, I was setting up the spare room for you to stay in, we can put Luke in there if you don’t mind taking the sofa.”

“That is perfectly fine with me.”

“Alright.” Elena turned to the rest of the group. “Agnes, Mr. Gentry, Amir. Thank you so much again for your concern. I really do appreciate it.”

“Of course, dear.” Agnes brought a wrinkled hand up to Elena’s arm and rubbed her warmly. “Go get them taken care of and if you need anything at all, don’t hesitate to ask, darling.”

“Thank you, Agnes.”

The three trotted off, only after Nick took another heavy slap to the back from Amir. Luke walked with Nick, Mia, and Elena, down what appeared to be the main street — cobbled with rectangular bricks packed tightly together — and past an empty market area. Around a few corners and through a small alleyway to cut across a long winding road, they made it to Mia and Elena’s home. A rustic looking building with dark oak banisters and fixtures, walls of a light cream almost white color, and windows decorated with black, ornate patterns. The light from inside shown a warm yellow.

“Is this the place?” Luke asked Nick. Mia followed her mother up to the doorstep and waited for her to unlock the front door.

“Yes, this is it. You should head straight for the guest bedroom. Take the first hall on the right and the second door on the left is the one you want. I’ll be in with some medicine once Elena gets you some clothes to change into. Then you can get yourself properly patched up.”

“She really doesn’t have to…”

“She wants to. Don’t worry about it.”

“Luke!” Mia called from the now open doorway, stepping down and taking him by the wrist. “Mom’s going to make dinner so we should get ready. I’ll show you the guest room.” Her grip was light, soft, nothing like the blood-letting hold she greeted him with when they first met. This was warm, thoughtful, and — for the first time since he had found himself in this unfamiliar land — Luke felt himself relax in the hands of the bright girl that shared, partially, in his experience.