Interest

I exited the shop. I heard the bells jingle again as the blond man exited behind me.

"Excuse me, miss?" he said.

I stopped and turned around to face him. I kept my head lowered, but a quick, curious glance allowed me to see his face. It was round, with small eyes, a wide mouth, and a kind expression. He looked cute, enough that I almost didn't notice the odd sensation of having a human address me with an honorific.

"What is it?" I said, my heart pounding. Was I scared that he might have realized my true identity?

"Well, if you want, I can sell you some hay for your bed. It's cheap", the young man replied.

I nodded. However, selling me some hay was definitely not the reason why he waited and watched me in the store. After all, he waited for many long minutes before I said anything about a filling for a bed.

"Then let's go to my dad's farm. My name's William, by the way. What's yours?" he asked.

"Vivian", I replied.

"Well, Vivian, nice to meet you. Follow me", he said and started leading the way out of the village. The people around us sent us curious glances as we passed them by.

I followed a few steps behind him, still feeling nervous even though I didn't have any reason to be. If he knew what I was, he could simply expose me in the middle of the village and claim me as his property by the right of grabbing me first. If he thought I was a human girl and wanted to assault me, I could protect myself just fine. Why then was my heart still beating so loudly?

"So where are you from?" William asked.

I needed to be careful with my answers. If I refused to answer that would provoke more curiosity, but if I said too much I might be exposed. Lying would be difficult for me. Lies were dangerous, and I've been trained my whole life to avoid them. I didn't know if I could lie convincingly, and even if I could, I was afraid of getting confused and contradicting myself. It was best to give truthful answers while leaving out any dangerous details.

"Hildar province", I answered. William whistled.

"That's really far away. What are you doing here?"

"Looking for a place to stay for a while".

"Are you alone?"

It was the kind of question that could have nefarious motives behind it, but he seemed to be asking innocently. In any case, it would be difficult for anyone to find my shelter, and difficult to sneak up on me without my noticing, so I gave him the benefit of the doubt.

"My family was murdered", I answered. If I was human then Trevor would be my adoptive brother, which would make Liliana my sister-in-law, so I was being truthful, although I was leaving out the fact that they murdered each other. "and the house burned down with everything inside, leaving me with nothing. Since then I've been wandering around, looking for a new home".

"Wow, that's tough. I'm sorry to hear that", William mouthed the usual platitudes one would say to a stranger.

"Thanks", I said dryly.

"So why come to Ordin? This place is like a hole in the middle of nowhere", he asked.

"I wanted to get away. A hole in the middle of nowhere is perfect for that", I replied.

"Well, it would be hard to find anywhere more 'away' than here, I'll give you that", William looked back and said with a playful smile. The corners of my mouth curved up, but I made sure to keep my lips sealed and my head lowered.

As we left the village proper and wandered into the fields of the surrounding farmsteads I started to relax and feel more comfortable with the situation, yet my heart continued to beat loudly in my chest.

"Here it is. Home sweet home", William declared when he saw a farm house in the distance ahead of us. He led me to the barn, which stood a little bit behind the house. There were large bales of hay stacked neatly inside.

"Go ahead and fill up. I think a silver would be a fair price, no?" William said. I wasn't sure about that, but I nodded anyway. Even if he was overcharging me, it wasn't by much, and I found that I didn't want to argue with him.

I took the cloth I planned to use for my mattress out of the bundles and started filling it with hay while stitching it closed. That made it large and cumbersome to carry, but at least I could get an accurate feel for exactly how much I needed and allowed me to put all the hay into one secure bundle. With the amount it took, perhaps one silver was a bargain after all. I took out a coin and handed it to him. He flipped it in the air, then put it in his pocket.

"Would you mind waiting a moment while I put my stuff in the house? Then I can help carry that home", William said.

"Thank you, but I'll manage on my own", I said. I couldn't help glancing at his face while I replied and noticed that he looked disappointed.

"Well, I guess I'll be seeing you around, then? I can help you find the best people to sell your rabbits to, and stuff". He spoke in what was almost a mumble while scratching his head and looking down. My cheeks grew just a little hot.

"Sure. That sounds lovely", I said.

I picked up my bundles and my new mattress and started walking away, then turned to face him again.

"See you later", I said. My words seemed to cheer him up, because he sounded more lively when he answered.

"Yeah, see you later".

I turned again and continued my trek back to my tree house. His eyes followed me until I was out of his sight.