After spending the next few minutes wishing that his parents were here to see this with him, he decided to go back downstairs and prepare a meal.

Apart from the closing of the giant metal door behind him, it was quiet, which was a little eerie for Jon. He knew that Hector and Mallory were in their rooms, but the size of the building meant that it still felt like the house was empty. Jon figured he would just have to get used to the situation.

After reaching the kitchen on the bottom floor, he began searching through all of the cabinets, Even here, the house felt oddly bare. The cabinets were large and had lots of space, yet only seemed to be carrying enough materials for a few people. The seasonings were placed halfheartedly throughout the entire space.

Looking through the corner long enough, Jon was able to find enough to make himself a simple sandwich. He used a large serrated knife to cut through the loaf of bread before tackling some dry meat on its center.

Now that he was done, he felt odd. Making food for only himself made him lonely, even if it was just a sandwich. It also reminded him that this was his first meal by himself in a long time.

Maybe Mallory will want some.

Jon decided that it wouldn’t hurt to see if Mallory was still awake, and maybe he could convince him to have a quick sandwich. Jon left his plate at the counter and walked around the corner back into the long hallway.

He forgot which one of the rooms belonged to each person. So he decided to stick to the side which he remembered Mallory’s room being on, and he walked alongside of it, checking every door.

Along the way, he looked inside of an empty room with a door wide open before remembering it was Macy’s room and then quickly ducking out again.

He soon found Mallory’s door, which was the fourth on his side.

Mallory’s door was still open, and when Jon took a peek inside, he saw that Mallory had fallen asleep on top of his unpacked belongings on the bed.

Jon figured it would be best to leave it.

Is Hector awake yet? Maybe he wants some food.

Jon continued alongside the wall of doors, deciding that he would reach the end of the hall before turning back around and peeking in those doors as well.

When he got towards the end of the hallway, he spotted some movement inside a room.

He turned in, expecting to see Hector.

When he realized it wasn’t Hector, he made a bit of a whelp.

What he saw was a woman in a thin yellow dress sitting on a bed. She had red hair tied up above her head, but in no particular fashion.

She was humming to herself when Jonn whelped, and so she turned to him.

“Oh, hello,” she said, kindly.

Even when Jon understood there was no apparent danger there was sudden thumping on the ground announcing the prompt arrival of both Hector and Mallory at Jon’s side.

“Jon, what hap-” Hector stopped when he saw the woman on the bed.

“Hector!” she cried gleefully.

“Charlotte?” Both Hector and Mallory responded. They both seemed puzzled, but not nearly as surprised as Jon.

She stood up. Jon nearly lost his breath. His head must have only come up to her shoulder.

“Hector…” she opened her arms wide. Mallory and Jon moved aside as she trotted to Hector, grabbing him and smothering him in a tight hug.

She shook him side to side, Hector’s arm swinging listlessly at his side as she did so. Even though the swinging Jon could make out Hector’s warm embarrassed face. Jon didn’t think he’d ever seen Hector so embarrassed while also being so quiet.

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"I miss you, I miss you, I miss you..." she said while her brother hung uselessly in her arms.

She finally let go of Hector finally, who stood back up before he scratched his head and looked away in shame.

She went towards Mallory next.

“Hey girl!” he started, both speaking and holding his hands out reluctantly, “You know you don’t have to h-”

She grabbed Mallory and shook him side to side as well. He looked even more helpless than Hector did.

When she let go, Jon saw that Mallory was blushing a deep shade of red, maybe more than Hector’s considering Mallory’s darker skin tone.

She finally walked up to Jon.

Jon got a clearer look at her face. It was smaller and finer than Hector's, and like Lana Jon could see the age in her face, and yet, there was less stress about it. However, she still definitely felt older than both Lana and Hector. Not by much though.

“Hello,” she said, repeating her calm manner from earlier. “You must be one of Hector’s buddies from the King’s Guard. My name is Charlotte… well, I’m sure you’ve heard the rest before.”

Jon kept staring at her face. Even if she had a similar freckled face like her siblings, Jon still couldn’t understand why he felt different energy from her. Lana was regal, but Charlotte felt impressive in a way that was somehow gentler and scarier.

“I’m Jon,” Jon finally answered after a period of silence on his part. He had almost forgotten to introduce himself. He was still trying to understand how all of the siblings could feel so different. He was at least glad that she didn’t seem like her father.

“Aw, hell, you can get a hug too!” She said gleefully, dropping her cool mannerisms.

She moved in and wrapped her arms around Jon.

Jon immediately lost his breath as he was brought against her chest. Her arms pressed against his back, locking him in and making him realize why Mallory and Hector reacted the way they did. They had no choice.

Reminds me of Mercy…

She let go and brushed off Jon’s shoulder.

“So, Jon,” she said. “You a mercenary?”

“I’m a farmer,” Jon answered. “And a mercenary.”

“He’s a mercenary farmer!” Mallory exclaimed, “but he’s also a really good friend!”

“He is,” Hector explained. “He’s a great guy. He…”

He stopped talking when he noticed his sister's sad stare.

“It’s been a while, Hector,” she said. “I haven’t been back home in a while.”

“I know,” Hector replied. “Why are you even here? Shouldn’t you be… I mean…”

He coughed and mumbled. “I mean, good to see you home again.”

“Manners?” Charlotte scoffed at her own surprise. “Well, the world has truly whipped some shape into you!”

“Yeah,” Hector’s shoulders dropped to his side and he sighed. “Did Dad tell you?”

“He did.” Charlotte shook her head. “Dad’s a monster for that. I wish he wasn’t so… ugh.”

She continued shaking her head. “He shouldn’t put pressure on you like that.”

“It’s fine,” Hector remarked. “I can handle it. You don’t have to fight with Dad-”

“That’s not the point, Hector,” Charlotte replied sternly, though not towards him like Jon had seen in other encounters.

Before Hector could respond, she walked up to him and cupped his face with her hand. She picked up his head and flipped it back and forth, observing it. Jon couldn’t tell if Hector had a choice or not.

“You boys look famished, tired, and dare I say it? Even a bit broken.” She clicked her teeth. “I’ll just have to whip you up a meal!”

“No…” Hector protested half-heartedly. “You don’t have to treat me like a kid.”

“Ugh,” Charlotte dropped her shoulders to the side and tossed her head back, almost as if she was mocking Hector. “I’m not being your mother. “I’m being your sister. And better yet, I’m being myself. I could eat some of your hamfisted mediocre idea of what cooking is, or I could eat some of my own cooking. Which would you prefer?”

“Uh… your cooking,” Hector said, looking down at the floor.

“Exactly! Come on Take a seat!” She started walking down the hallway back to the living space and kitchen.

“Do you think she really argued with Dad?” Hector asked.

“I hope not,” Mallory said.

Mallory turned to Jon.

“Charlotte's the only one who can hold a candle to Luther who’s not Lana, but Lana would never dare strike back against her father. Last time Charlotte and Luther had it out… we had some casualties.”

“5 couches, a broadsword, a couple of shelves… and a wall.” Hector listed each of the items while counting off with his fingers.

“Well, things seem okay so far,” Mallory said. “At least we get to eat Charlotte’s cooking. It’s been a while.”

Jon saw the faint signs of a smile flash across Hector’s face before disappearing again. Jon was both surprised and glad to see that Hector had a sibling who seemed to be completely on his side.