Arc 4: Chapter 72

Alec left in the middle of the night where no eyes fell on him. As for Elenor, she barely slept. No matter how much she tried, she couldn't. The sun was now slowly rising yet the building was awfully silent.

Giving up on getting some sleep, she decided to check on the young boy who she had brought back. He was now sleeping in Alec's room so she softly knocked on the door before carefully opening it, not wanting to wake the boy up.

She walked over to the side of the bed where he was sleeping soundly. It was dark in the room but her eyes had already adjusted to it. Her eyes fell on his right arm that wasn't covered by the blanket.

It had whip marks deeply scarred in it. There were burn marks as well as cuts that were barely healed properly. Elenor frowned at the sight. This was the reason why she came over. She carefully reached out to see if there were more injuries on his arm when a tight grip was wrapped around her wrist.

"Who are you!?" the young boy shouted, his ocean blue eyes glaring at her in the dark.

Elenor could only smile sheepishly before gently placing her hand on his head, "Relax. I came to check on you."

She could feel the boy stiffening up from her touch before relaxing at her voice. His eyes still gazed at her.

She spoke in a soft tone, not wanting to scare him any more, "You're safe with me. I won't let anyone touch you okay?"

"...How can I trust you?" he asked, voice shaking.

Elenor closed her eyes. She knew he held his guard up because of all the pain he had gone through when he was still in Hera's hands.

Her eyes fluttered open before gazing down at the ash blonde boy, "..It is up to you whether you want to trust me or not. But I am true to my words. I will never harm you or let anyone harm you. I'll protect you from now on."

"..."

Elenor chuckled, "What's your name?" she asked.

After a long pause, she heard him speak, "...Ray.."

"Ray. That's a lovely name." she brightly said before patting his head once then removed her hand away.

"Get some more rest. I'll see you tomorrow." Elenor said before leaving the room, returning to hers.

Ray stared at the door that was now closed shut. He brought his knees up to his chest and blankly stared at a distance. Elenor's words rang through his mind.

Can he really trust her? He had been stuck in that monstrous lady's place for so long. Now he's finally out but the painful memories still flashed by his eyes. He was going to be betrayed again. What was the use of trying to believe in someone?

Ray took in a deep breath. He'll see if that red hair lady can be trusted. With that in mind, he drifted back to sleep, his knees still pressed against his chest.

It was now fully bright with the sun coming through the windows. Richard had visited her room with a few papers in his hand. Elenor turned to her brother and greeted him.

"Here's the information you wanted." he said, handing her the papers.

She read through it and nodded. "That was fast, thank you brother, this will do."

Richard didn't leave just yet, he meticulously observed his sister before sighing. She noticed his dilemma.

"What's wrong brother?"

"Are you sure you're alright?" he questioned, his eyes brimming with concern.

Elenor nodded and offered him a smile, "I'm alright brother. If it weren't for Alec agreeing to her whims, we probably wouldn't be able to come back here."

She stared at the paper in her hand as she added on, "Besides, I'll get him back by my side."

Richard sighed once more before patting her head, "You must really like him."

She bobbed her head before chuckling, "Of course. He's my exclusive butler who promised to be by my side."

Elenor then remembered something she wanted to ask her brother.

"Brother, about that blood oath.."

"Ah I made it up."

"I see." Elenor lightly laughed before thanking her brother for what he had done for her.

"It's the least I could do for you." he smiled, patting her head.

Richard left her alone after that, allowing her to continue reading up on the information gathered on the papers.

"Hm..Elaelind huh…" she muttered to herself.

The report that she received from her brother wasn't much. It only explained Ray's basic information but what she couldn't grasp was how did he come here from Elaelind?

A knock was heard before Ray slowly came into view. He didn't have a look of trust in his face.

"You called for me? Master." he said, his hands holding his new clothes, crumpling it.

She had ordered someone to bring new clothes for him instead of those tattered clothes he had been wearing over all these years.

Elenor nodded and motioned him to come closer. He hesitated for a long time but she didn't say anything and patiently waited for him. Seeing how she wasn't going to get mad at him, he finally made his way closer to where she was sitting.

"You're from Elaelind right?" she jumped straight in.

She noticed how Ray flinched before nodding. She smiled before taking a sip of her tea, placing the papers down on the table.

"I'll bring you back to your family."

"Really!?" Ray asked.

He noticed his bold move and quickly shut his mouth, afraid of what she might do to him. Elenor showed him a reassuring smile, hoping it didn't scare him even more.

"Yes, I promise. I'll bring you back to your family but only after we leave Vaidia."

"Do you really promise?" he quietly asked, fiddling with his shirt. He wanted to trust her. She had given him more things than he had ever received since he came to Vaidia.

Elenor laughed, reaching out to him. He shut his eyes, awaiting for what was to come but all he felt was warm hands gently patting his head. He slowly opened his eyes, looking up at Elenor.

"Yes. If I break the promise, I'll swallow millions of needles." she answered seriously.

"B-but won't that hurt?" he questioned worriedly.

Elenor grinned. Although he had his guard up and was still afraid of her, he was still worried about her.

"Is Ray worried about me? Don't worry I won't swallow any needles because I will not break our promise." she ruffled his curly hair, finding him adorable.

"I'll be your temporary guardian so don't be afraid and ask me anything okay?"

Ray nodded, finally dropping his guard down.

"Also don't call me master. Just call me sister." Elenor said.

"Okay...sister." he replied after a long period of silence.

Hearing it brought a bright smile on her face. She pinched his cheek before frowning.

"Have you eaten yet?" she asked.

Ray shook his head, "Not yet…sister."

Without waiting, she asked a maid outside her room to bring food into her room.

"You're too thin. You must eat more in order to grow strong and healthy." Elenor said, placing different types of food into his plate.

Ray blinked at how much food he had on his plate. He had never seen this much food on his plate. He always had barely anything as most of the people would have stolen his portion.

"Th..thank you." he shyly said before digging into the food.

Elenor watched as Ray continued eating more and more. She was satisfied just by watching him eat. He looked like a cute hamster as he continued stuffing his face with food.

Suddenly he stopped eating, putting his utensils down. His head was hung down so she couldn't see what face he was making.

"Did you eat too much?" she asked, looking over at him.

When she saw Ray's face, her eyes widened in panic.

"Eh!? Why are you crying?" she worriedly asked, her hands moving frantically as she didn't know what to do.

Ray continued silently crying, big watery tears rolling down his cheeks. Elenor quickly pulled him into a hug, hoping this would calm him down.

"It's okay..you don't need to cry, nobody will harm you remember." she tried to reassure him but she heard his crying growing heavier.

She decided to shut her mouth and rub circles on his back.

'Please stop crying...I don't know what to do..' she cried in her heart.

Finally Ray stopped crying, only sniffles echoed through her room. Pulling him away from her body, she looked down at him.

"Are you feeling better?"

He nodded, rubbing his tears away. "Yes.."

"Will you tell me why you cried?"

He didn't say anything at first, bringing himself back into her arms for comfort, "...I haven't felt this for so long..I'm scared it will disappear again."

Hearing his reason, Elenor immediately understood where he was coming from. Ever since he was thrown into such a terrible environment where he could barely survive, he had no one to rely on.

Suddenly receiving all this had brought more fear and anxiety instead of reassurance. He was only just a child, a mere ten year old child as well.

Elenor cursed at herself for her own fault. She stroked Ray's back gently.

"I'm sorry for putting you in such a burdensome state…"

Ray shook his head, "No..I'm grateful to sister. If you didn't pick me I would continue to be stuck there. Sister is my saviour." he said before letting out a hiccup.

Elenor smiled warmly before pressing a soft kiss on his forehead, "Then this sister will protect you from danger. You'll be able to go back to your family safely."

They stayed in that position until Ray fell asleep due to exhaustion after crying profusely. Elenor carried him to her bed and tucked him in.

She left him on her bed and called in the maids to clean the food away. She picked the papers she had left on the table.

"Could it be..." she trailed off, not completing her sentence as she got lost in her thoughts.

She suddenly had a feeling she wouldn't be able to leave Vaidia easily or anytime soon.