webnovel

Like Family

"You're quiet today," Cloella commented between bites of roast goose. She'd taken both a thigh and drumstick, and she used her fingers to pull crispy skin and savory meat off the bone in bite-sized chunks that she then popped into her mouth.

Dante lifted his eyes from his own hunk of bird, which he'd been adsently stabbing his fork into. Upon looking up and seeing how she was eating her own portion, he set aside the gold-plated utensil and picked up the breast to bite directly into it. "I slept weird last night," he said as he chewed, "and had some weird dreams."

"Want to talk about them?"

Dante took another bite of goose, ignoring the grease that dripped down his chin. "Maybe later," he said.

"So they were those type of dreams, hm?" Cloella winked playfully at him.

Dante coughed to avoid food going down the wrong pipe and hoped that the heat in his face wasn't too obvious of a blush.

"You don't have to tell me either way. I was just curious. And also trying to start the conversation. You were the one who wanted me here as a conversation partner. Unless you just wanted to admire me today, but I find that hard to believe when you spent the last five minutes staring at your plate."

"Sometimes, my eye wanders to a different type of breast," Dante quipped. "But no, you're right. I should've come prepared with things to talk about."

Cloella popped another bite of meat in her mouth. "I can carry the conversation today if you're not up to the work," she teased.

"Go ahead."

She smiled. "Well, there's word spreading through the servants that there have been increased patrols of armed guards, especially at night, and I've heard rumors that we've been invaded by spies. Have you heard anything about that?"

Dante blew out a sigh of relief upon learning that this was how people were gossiping about the shapeshifter situation. "There aren't any spies," he said. "It's just Diego running drills. Tell them it's nothing to worry about."

She stared at him. "I get the feeling that you're hiding something from me."

Dante cleared his throat. "I'm pretty sure we're both hiding things from each other. We only just met and deserve some things kept secret for now."

Cloella chuckled. "I can't argue with that." She picked at her meal, shredding the meat from the bone and leaving it in a pile at the edge of her plate.

"But that doesn't mean I don't want to know more about you," Dante said quickly. "In fact, I'd be more than happy to hear about your life before you started working here."

"And I don't mind sharing, but only if you do the same," she said.

"I wouldn't bring it up if I wasn't ready to tell you all about myself," Dante assured her.

"Well then," Cloella said. "I guess I should start with where I was born. The forests around this castle are thick and feel as though they never end, but there are actually large and busy cities once you break through to the other side. My mom worked in the castle while growing up and eventually earned her Chimera. She went into retirement after that and explored the other worlds, as far as she could travel. She wandered for many years, only returning home after realizing she was pregnant with me." Cloella resumed eating, but it was with less gusto than she had been eating before. "She came back home to the Nascent and married a miller. However, she left again when I was young. As soon as I heard that I could get a Chimera by working in the castle in the forest, I hurried here."

"So, you're working here so you can get a Chimera and go find your mother in the old worlds?" Dante prompted.

"And my father," she added. "I never met him. I always called the man who raised me 'dad,' but we share no blood. I love him, but I want to know my blood father, too."

"I never knew my dad, either when I was growing up," Dante said.

Cloella looked startled. "Oh?"

"Yeah. He left when I was really little, so I remember nothing about him. My mom told me stories about him while I was growing up, but he always sounded more like a hero of legend than a real person. When I learned that he was a noble from the Nascent and had superhuman abilities thanks to his Chimera, I realized she'd been right about him all along. And then Garrick brought me here, and I haven't been back to my homeworld in sometime."

Cloella grinned. "Seems like we have more in common than I first thought," she said. "And even yesterday, I had a feeling we had a lot in common."

"Similar but also different," Dante said. "I think you know more about the Nascent than I do."

"You did say that you weren't born here," Cloella said. "And you have a Chimera. Those make you live longer, right? So you have time to catch up. But what about your mom? Did she come here too?"

Dante shook his head. "She died of the plague when I was a kid. My uncle raised me."

Cloella's face fell. "I'm sorry, Dante."

"It's fine," Dante said. "It was a long time ago, and I have my dad now. Well, when he's around, at least."

"Blaine, right?"

Dante nodded.

She smiled knowingly. "Yeah, I heard that he has a habit of vanishing."

"Last time he was here was when I first showed up," Dante replied. "I heard he comes and goes, but the past several years, he's been absent more than he's been here."

"Why not go find him?"

"You think I haven't tried?"

Cloelle frowned. She swallowed her last bite of food and pushed her plate away, focusing instead on her mug of coffee.

"Sorry. That might've come out harsher than I meant."

"No, that's not it," Cloella said. "It's more that I'm now worried that I won't be able to find my family. What if they're dead, or they're like your father and don't want to be found?"

"I could try to find them for you if you want," Dante offered.

Cloella shook her head. "I don't want to trouble you," she said. "Besides, if I find them now, I'll lose my motivation to get my own Chimera." She drained her coffee and set the empty mug on the tray. "I should get going," she said, standing and placing empty dishes beside her mug. "I'll be back tomorrow for another talk, if that's alright."

"I wouldn't say no."

Cloella picked up the tray and flashed him a smile. "Tomorrow, then," she said, and then she left.

Dante slumped in his seat and resumed his eating, not caring how much food he dropped onto his clothes.

Later that night, he drifted off to sleep to the sound of distant howling.

Next chapter