Chapter 10

Thud.

Conner's head perked up, and he looked around the kitchen and into the next room. "Did you hear something?"

"Hmm?" Ariel snapped out of her daze after Conner grinded her for information for a while. She only gave him a brief explanation of what happened, but promised she could handle it. How'd they even find out my name? Geez.

"A noise? A thud? I think it sounded like it came from upstairs."

"Oh." Ariel took a deep breath. Jade! I need to distract him. "Something must've fallen over. Maybe my backpack. On that note, I should do my homework—"

"But it's Friday! And I'm home, so do it later, or tomorrow. Better yet, do it on Sunday like most kids."

"You know I like to get it done and over with."

"That's no fun, and we both could use more fun."

There's no arguing with him. I wonder what the people in the army would think if they saw this side of him. Doubt any of them have seen it with how strict he can be. "Fine, we can do something, but I still want to get part of it done today."

"Good." He ruffled her hair, and she swatted his hand away.

"Quit messing with my hair."

"You used to love when I did that."

"When I was little! I'm not ten anymore."

"You'll always be ten to me."

Ariel frowned, puffing her cheeks out.

"That look is just proving my point." Conner laughed. "You got huffy and made that face at me all the time when you were little."

"Because you have a habit of teasing me."

"I'm your older brother; I have a right to tease you."

There's no such right! Ariel sighed and shook her head. "So, what do you want to do?"

"Have you forgotten what Friday night used to be?"

"Date night? Doesn't really involve me..."

"No, that was Saturday. How could you forget?" Conner sighed dramatically as he held his hand over his heart. "It's game night. Board game, video game, and everything in between. What do you feel like doing?"

"Hey, don't put this on me. You wanted to have fun, so you decide what you feel like doing." He always tries to do that.

Conner stretched out his fingers, locking them together as he thought, and then reached over to his bag, sitting by the kitchen entrance. "How about this game?"

"Oh, so you bought a new game, and that's why you're really home?"

"No, it was because I got a call, but this also came out, and it's got couch co-op, so let's play."

"If you had it planned, why'd you ask?"

"So you'd have the option of choosing something else."

"Fine, we can play your game, but I want to do the dishes first." She picked up his empty plate, and he snatched it from her.

"I'll do them later when you're working on your homework. Let's play now."

After a long gaming session, Ariel finally went upstairs to work on her homework and check on Jade. She closed her bedroom door and looked up the stairs to the attic that was left open. "Jade?" she called out to him, certain her brother couldn't hear over the sound of the water running as he did the dishes.

With a glass of orange juice in her hand, she carefully made her way upstairs. "Jade?" she called out to him again.

He sat at her desk, staring out the window.

"Are you okay?"

"Should you be up here when he's around?" Jade asked, his eyes still on the moon in the sky.

"He's busy with the dishes right now, and it's not like he'll come bursting in. Here, I brought you some orange juice." She set it on a coaster on the desk.

"Thank you. And I'm sorry for the noise earlier. I remembered I had some runes with me and was taking them out of my armour when it fell over." He had placed the stones on the desk in front of him, each with their own symbol.

"It's okay. Mistakes happen, and I told him my backpack fell over. Didn't seem to think about it after that, since there wasn't any more noise. Are you moon gazing?" she asked when he didn't turn to her.

"Yes, and still thinking about back home. We have three moons, not one."

"Three? Wow, that must be a magnificent view." I wonder how that affects the tides.

"It is, though it can be terrifying when things misalign or the witch messes with things and the skies turn blood red."

Ariel shuddered. "How strong is this witch?"

"She sent me to an entire other world that I never knew existed; you tell me."

"Sounds like she could rule the world."

"She probably could if she tried, but she works for someone else. I don't know if they\re holding something over her, or if she's just looking for something to alleviate her boredom. This witch is the most powerful in our world and several hundreds of years old, and yet looks like she's in her twenties." Jade glanced at her. "Not that I'm certain about age and looks here."

"I've always looked young for my age, and I find it hard to tell how old someone is." Ariel shrugged. "A lot of people seem to have a bias towards saying similar to theirs if they're not sure."

"Never thought of it. Do I look sixteen to you?"

"Your stature, no, but you have a youthful face." Though it's looks stern half the time. "By the way, my brother loved your food and ate everything that was left behind. Sorry."

Jade shook his head. "Nothing to apologize for. I know plenty of big eaters, and this is his house; I owe him much more than a meal." Jade sighed and took a sip of his juice. "We have a similar fruit to this that is both sweet and tart."

"I'd bet ours are sweeter; we tend to add a lot of sugar to... way too many things. Also, you might have to teach me how to cook, since my brother might be expecting homemade food when he comes home now. Surprised he even tried it with my previous failures."

Jade set his glass down and gazed at her with down-turned eyes. "Okay, I can try to teach you."

"Is something wrong?" Why is he looking at me like that?

"I was thinking about Orsted again. I'm the one responsible for cooking his meals. Instead of having a poison taster for everything, I was trusted to cook his meals."

"Oh, so that's why you're such a good cook. You're a royal chef. Wait, but what if the ingredients were poisoned before you used them? Wouldn't you still need a taster?"

Jade raised an eyebrow. "Well, that would be me anyway, since I make us the same meal using the same ingredients."

"And you're okay with that?"

"Better me than His Highness. Certain poisons I know the taste or smell of, so I can avoid them, and I have built up a tolerance over the years—"

"Is that your way of saying you've been poisoned repeatedly?"

"Not in a lethal way, obviously, but yes, as has His Highness."

They're crazy.

"Even with a tolerance, there are effects, and there are poisons that would be too lethal to do that with, but those are harder for people to obtain in the first place."

"Your world sounds way too dangerous."

"It can be, but I think these vehicles can be dangerous, too. People are all over the place, zooming down the roads, ignoring the street signs. What's the point in a stop sign if people don't stop?"

"I agree with you there. Anyway, I just wanted to check on you, and then do some homework. You're going to have to stay—"

"Quietly up here? Yes, I understand."

"Conner's planning to stay around in the morning tomorrow and go shopping with me, so you'll have to wait for us to leave first. Oh, right, the computer—"

"It can wait for another time, when your brother isn't around..." he trailed off, wishing he didn't have to hide.

"Sorry, again."

"You have no need to be sorry, Ariel." He kissed the back of her hand. "I will be eternally grateful for your kindness. Do we need to pull up the stairs?"

As long as I don't change in my bedroom, I should be fine. "No. It's fine like this, and Conner never goes up there. I'd rather leave it down, in case you need to use the washroom."

"Thank you, again." He released her hand. "Good luck with your homework."

Ariel nodded and headed back downstairs, gliding her thumb over the back of her hand where he kissed her.