There were about seven children waiting near a bench in the estate's front garden. Most of them were about three to seven years old. There was also a single twelve-year-old, who had come along to keep his younger brother company.
'Karon,' he'd introduced himself, greeting Arin as politely as he could with his shy, three-year-old brother – Kalen – half-hugging, half-hiding behind his legs.
Theirs were the only names Arin had managed to fully remember amidst the chattering of the other children, as they playfully clamored for an audience with the 'kind and sweet' lady Elara. Most of them held small, clearly hand-picked bouquets of both wild and garden flowers, waving them around and comparing colors as they lounged comfortably in the headman's estate's currently unkempt garden.
It was quite clear to see how familiar these children were with the place. Their interactions with Lana were also relaxed and friendly, with even the shy Kalen smiling up at her from behind his brother's back. Visiting to meet their beloved lady Elara must've been a regular affair for them.
As Arin tried to decide how wide a smile he could wear without betraying Rin's personality, one of the children – a little girl named… Sora, was it? – finally locked her large, blue eyes onto him.
'We've introduced ourselves, sister Lana,' she said. 'But he hasn't yet. Who is he?'
Lana hid her smile behind a hand. She crouched down and lowered her voice in a conspiratorial manner, asking, 'Are you very, very curious? Are you all wondering why I've brought this handsome big brother to meet with you all in lady Elara's stead?'
'Yes!'
'We are! We are!'
'Who is he, sister? You must tell us at once! … please.'
Arin had decided he'd go with a big smile after all. He didn't want to frighten children this young by putting on a dour face. Taking a deep breath, he was just about to introduce himself, when the young maid beat him to it.
'This is… sir Rin!' she exclaimed.
For a few heartbeats' time, there was silence in the garden. The children stared at Lana with round eyes, then turned in unison to stare at Arin some more. They looked almost uncannily similar to a troop of meerkats from one of those nature documentaries he would sometimes watch on sleepless nights.
Finally, the oldest – Karon – spoke hesitantly. 'That… is sir Rin?'
Lana looked like she was going to burst from biting back her smile. 'The one and only,' she said.
'…the one we've been hearing of all morning?' asked another child, who was called… Lira? Or Mira. Something along those lines, anyway. Arin couldn't quite remember.
'I heard the crier yelling his name, calling him our savior early in the morning,' piped up someone from the back.
'Savior? This is him?'
'He broke the curse?'
'He woke us all up? Why!?'
'Savior!'
And all of a sudden, the children were hopping up and down like demented popcorn kernels.
'Savior! Savior! Sir Rin! Savior!'
Several of them crowded around him, tugging at his clothes and yelling excitably. The slightly older ones were making an effort to be louder than the rest while asking questions. Arin felt his shoulders relax and smile widen at the sight. He also half-knelt to join Lana where she crouched, closer to the children's height.
'You are a tower magician! Mother once said tower magicians fleece people like us clean! Will you fleece us clean? What does that mean?'
'Others might, but I shall do no such thing. I promise.'
'We've also heard the name of sir Siel. Would he?'
'No! He is even nicer than I am!'
'What is your – your talent?'
'Ah. Beast-bonding.'
'How did you break the curse with that?'
'Uh…'
'Who cursed us?'
??
?
Lana wasn't holding back her laughter anymore. Clutching at her stomach, she looked to be moments away from rolling around on the overgrown grass in her mirth. Well, it was probably a good thing she wasn't in any state to pay attention to which questions he was avoiding answering. Arin shot the girl a playful glare, and she responded by laughing even louder.
'Bear with it… a little longer,' she managed between gasps.
Arin sighed to himself, and continued answering the children's questions as best as he could manage without spreading misinformation.
His older sister – with her hefty background in political science – would never forgive him if she found out he'd misled the youth, regardless of which world they hailed from.
After a while, one of the children shoved the flowers he'd held in his face.
'…For me?' Arin asked in wonder.
The boy nodded. Following him, the other children also started offering him the little bouquets they carried. Even Kalen handed him a bunch of sweet-smelling primroses before scurrying back to the safety of his older brother's frame.
'Thank you. However… haven't you brought these for lady Elara?' he asked softly.
A girl shook her head. 'Lady Elara would not mind. You are our savior, after all.'
'And we shall bring her more flowers, later!' exclaimed one of the boys.
'And! And! She shall give us all a piece of honey cake!'
'Fruit tarts!'
'Spiced milk!'
Arin glanced at Lana. The young girl had, thankfully, succeeded in collecting herself. Catching his look, she grinned. 'You shall all be getting your sweets and snacks regardless. And, if you keep waiting here like good children, it might even be our lady who brings them to you! Ah, if I manage to find her this time.'
Standing up, she stretched. Arin followed, inwardly glad that Rin's knees were far healthier than his own, and didn't creak and groan like antique furniture.
'Thank you, sir Rin,' said the young maid, after they'd bidden the children goodbye. 'It's very kind of you to entertain them so, even when you are a reserved man at other times.'
'It's no trouble,' he inclined his head, smiling at Lana.
'Well, I really should go find lady Elara now,' the girl sighed.
Arin nodded. 'It seems that everyone within Silvershade loves the young lady,' he said. 'As do the people on the outside, who've had the good fortune of meeting her.'
'People on the outside?' asked Lana, raising her brows. 'Who are you speaking of?'
'The old maid, who was once the headman's nanny. I met her in Willowshade, and she seemed rather fond of lady Elara. I believe she was rather distressed about having lost touch with the family after leaving Silvershade all those years ago, to tend to her injuries.'
Arin paused. He had a feeling he was forgetting something from that conversation.
Something important.
'Old maid...' Lana wrinkled her brows slightly. 'Are you, perhaps, speaking of madam Seren?'
He nodded. He was pretty sure that had been her name.
'But, sir Rin, you must be mistaken about something. Madam Seren hasn't lost touch with the family at all!' the girl giggled. 'How could she, when her husband continues to remain here, and serve the headman's elderly mother as our head caretaker? If we put aside this past month or so - when we'd all been slumbering - they communicate regularly; I'd say multiple times a week!'