He recognized that bell-like, clear voice.
It was Elara.
Arin quickly glanced back at Siel. The glow in the younger boy's eyes had already faded to give way to his usual, warm hues. The small frown he'd had, however, still remained etched into his brows.
The two of them locked eyes, and for the briefest moment, it almost looked like Siel had something he wanted to say to him. Instead, however, he just gave Arin a small nod, and Arin – who stood nearer to the entrance – reached out to unlock the door.
He then pushed it open.
The village headman's daughter looked as radiant as ever. Her bright green eyes were somehow sparkling in whatever little light made it past the curtained windows within the room, and a small, sweet smile was playing on her lips. Upon seeing the door open, she lowered the small, dainty hand she'd used for knocking.
'Ah! I am glad that I've found the both of you in the same place. As I said, there is something I'd like to speak to you about. Something rather important. I hope you have a minute to spare, Sir Rin? Sir Siel?'
Something important?
Arin nodded. He gestured for the girl to come into the room, where Siel offered her a seat. He then pushed the door fully open, and kicked down the simple doorstop to keep it securely in place. That done, he reentered the room, and once again, took his place by the wall.
'Truly, I do not mean to take up too much of your time,' Elara was saying. 'However, there is something else I'd like to know first; have the two of you relented and agreed to my father's wishes?'
Arin arched a quizzical eyebrow, and noticed that Siel also looked as confused as he felt.
'Lady Elara, what –?'
'Oh, I'm asking if you've made up your minds to remain in our Silvershade for the celebratory banquet. As I recall, you were on your way to meet my father earlier. Well, sirs?' The girl tilted her head to one side. 'Has he succeeded in convincing you to stay for a while?'
Oh. That.
Elara was looking at Siel expectantly. Even though the girl made an effort to address them both while speaking, it seemed she had already discerned that Arin – or well, Rin – was not the one to seek out for making conversation or answering questions.
Siel chuckled in response. 'No, lady Elara,' he said. 'I'm afraid that is not the case. To be perfectly honest, our discussion with your father earlier didn't involve any talk of the banquet. There were other matters that took priority.'
'Other matters?' Elara's eyes shone with curiosity. 'What kind of matters, if you don't mind me asking?'
'Well…' Siel paused for a heartbeat, before continuing, 'We were hoping we'd have the chance to study the remains of those cursed flowers. The ones my senior brother had destroyed. Our assignment requires us to identify potential threats and eliminate any further possibilities of harm, see?'
Elara nodded.
'Upon speaking with your father, however, we were informed that doing so wouldn't be possible, since they were already burned and disposed of. It really is a pity…' Siel sighed.
Arin simply observed in silence. The younger boy was doing a good job of digging for more information, assuming the headman's daughter even had any.
Unfortunately, it seemed she didn't.
'Oh, how regrettable!' the girl exclaimed. 'I didn't even know he'd done that! I do apologize on his behalf. Father is an incredibly protective man. He's been even more so since my mother passed on a few - a few years ago.' The girl's voice choked slightly, before she quickly moved on. 'I suppose he was itching to dispose of something so foul and dangerous as quickly and thoroughly as he could manage.'
'I understand that his actions have hindered the completion of your assignment. I am well aware of the importance of seeing things through, especially to esteemed tower magicians such as yourself. I do, however, hope that you might find it in your hearts to forgive father for his thoughtlessness.'
Elara bit her lower lip worriedly, glancing up through her long eyelashes.
Clearly, that look was too much for Siel, who immediately waved his hands in a fluster and said, 'We don't blame him! We don't blame your father at all, lady Elara! I was merely explaining why our exchange did not include any talk of the celebration!'
...kid.
Arin had to stop himself from rolling his eyes.
'I see,' said Elara quietly. Then, she jumped to her feet. 'Well, I have something I must say to my father, so I shall take my leave now. Thank you for entertaining my questions.'
And then, as suddenly as she'd first arrived, she was gone.
The door to the room was still open, but Arin didn't feel like moving to kick up the doorstop just yet. He remained in place, leaning back to rest his weight against the wall.
Hadn't Elara said she had something important she wanted to talk about?
Huh. Looks like that was it.
Siel, too, looked to be lost in thought. A strange sort of silence seemed to have slowly blanketed the room.
'What's the matter?' Arin finally asked.
Siel snapped out of his thoughts, and straightened up look at him. His wide eyes held a hint of confusion.
'I feel like there was something I'd wanted to tell you, brother Rin. Something...' The younger boy frowned again, staring off into space. He then shook his head. 'I must've been mistaken. There was nothing, after all.'