Friends?

Delaney woke up at noon as ususal. She knew Malcolm had left and she had to suppress the anxiety rising in her heart about his whereabouts. She took a quick bath then went to prepare breakfast. While passing by the sitting room, she spotted the book he had left her and she took it. She perused through the pages and when she came across the dragon drawing, she looked at it more intently. That was the same dragon in the cave. Merikh!

It had the same blue electrifying eyes. The drawing was very illustrative and she couldn't mistake it. Below it, were some notes and names. She hadn't paid attention before but now she took a second look. Merikh, Gabriel, Azalea, Danika...

The names were all starred and then the structure of Merikh's family was described. She went to the other page, a pair of eyes and the name Keir. Didn't ring a bell at all.

She closed the book and placed it back on the table. As much as Delaney had many talents and hobbies when she was younger, reading was not one of them. She found it extremely tiring and she had never picked a book to read unless it was really very necessary.

After finishing her morning routine, Delaney prepared to go visit Mrs Wade, when she received a guest on her way there.

"It's you." Xander was grinning ear to ear, looking at the cold woman. He was dressed in a black tailored suit, knee length boots and a coat. His hair was combed to the back neatly accentuating his sharp features. Delaney had to take second glances, appreciating the man's beauty yet again.

"Can I walk with you?" he asked gentlemanly. Delaney eyed him and her lips turned up slightly. "What can I do for you?" she asked nonchalantly and walked ahead. Xander was overjoyed because of this new progress. She actually let him walk with her. When he realised how childish he was acting, his expression turned serious and the silly grin instantly dissapeared, giving the man a very different demeanor.

"Actually miss Delaney, I was hoping we could be... friends?" he grimaced, the word leaving a bitter taste in his mouth. Friends? When was he, Xander Coleman, reduced to begging for friendship?!

Delaney turned to look at him, brows raised in amusement. "Friends?" she asked sarcastically. "What is that?" Xander was dumbfounded. Was she pretending not to know the meaning of the word just to tease him. Or maybe the woman was too apathetic to know about human relations. He decided to brush it off, and forget about that for now.

"You seem to be in a good mood." he commented and Delaney shrugged. "Well, if you must know, Mark will be serving new wine today. He said he got it from the east. It's rumoured to be the best wine." She explained and Xander could notice the smile in her voice. What a joke! she's excited because she's going to get the best wine? He just hoped this would be over soon so that he could go back.

"I heard you love apples, may I know why?"

"Do you know that an apple is the root of sin?" she asked and Xander halted, raising an eyebrow quizzically. "But for me, apples are an act of kindness." By now they had reached the famous Koza Tarven and she went in. Xander waited for her outside. After visiting this place once, he realised that their customers, were a little perverted. He didn't want to dirty his hands.

Delaney came back, a few minutes later, sipping on her wine. "It's really good," she commented, savoring the taste in her mouth. "Here, have a taste," she said handing the hip flask to Xander. He was a little disgusted because it had just come from another person's mouth, but he still took it and had a sip. His eyes brightened as he savoured the familiar taste in his mouth. He knew exactly where this wine came from and the consequences of drinking it, but he said nothing.

"I heard you cursed your sister on her wedding day?" he asked as they moved to an alley that led to the market. "Well I hope it's permanent." she said icily. Xander found it amusing. Although this woman was very annoying and extremely frustrating to deal with, she had a non-human ruthlessness that even she did not realize.

She came to stop at a stall selling ginseng and studied it carefully, turning it back and forth. "How much is this?" she asked the middle-aged woman who was bewitched by Xander's beauty. She didn't even hear what Delaney was saying. "What?" she asked, snapping back to her senses. "Hiw much is this?" Delaney asked again and the woman smiled, "two silver coins miss."

"That much?" Delaney asked, shocked.

"Yes yes. This ginseng is very old. You may not know this but the older it is, the stronger the products and the more it costs." Delaney was still reluctant to part with her money. Two silver coins was a lot of money!

"If you won't take it then I'll buy it." a shrill voice suddenly interrupted, and Delaney's face turned gloomy upon seeing the woman. Elsie was carrying a basket in her hands, dressed in a simple blue gown, with the corset pushing her breasts out. She was a beautiful woman with green eyes and long blonde hair, just like her mother. She was not inferior to Delaney in terms of looks. She had a radiant smile gracing her face, which almost faltered upon seeing the man beside her sister.

"It's okay, I'll take it." Delaney said to the seller who hesitated. Everyone knew that Elsie was married to one of the richest families in Gatria. Collin's father was the village head so people would automatically favour his family members. Although they feared Delaney, she was nothing compared to the village head. Now coupled with the two women, she didn't know what to do so as to not offend any of them.

"What do you need ginseng for? It's not like you are taking care of any elderly people, didn't you abandon our father? Or are you thinking of starting a herb business? With your reputation I doubt anyone would want to buy from you." Elsie said in mockery. Now that she had a powerful family backing her, she did not fear Delaney.

Xander just watched silently. Delaney exhaled deeply, before taking a step towards Elsie. Elsie resisted the urge to step back when she saw the look in her eyes. Her nails dug into the dress, as she tried not to flinch.

"Don't think I will hesitate to cut off your hands just because you're my father's daughter." She said in an icy tone that almost crumbled Elsie's fearless facade. When Delaney saw she was about to speak she added threateningly, "And your tongue too." She was a head taller than Elsie, intimidating her even more when looking down on her. Elsie turned mute. Over the years, she had learnt never to underestimate her older sister. And she knew Delaney wasn't one to joke around so if she said she would cut off her hands, she would definitely do so, if further provoked.

"Delaney," they heard a familiar voice and Elsie saw Delaney's hands tremble lightly before balling into fists. She sighed in relief when Collins came to stand beside her. His eyes travelled to the man beside Delaney and his eyes flickered.

"Brother-in-law," Delaney called, forcing a smile. Xander almost laughed out loud. Humans! Collins on the other hand had a pained expression, hearing her words. At this time, Elsie snaked her hand around his, and looked up at him coquettishly.

"Collins, sister is bullying me. She won't let me take this ginseng even when I saw it first. She even threatened to cut off my tongue." she said, pouting and almost bursting to tears. Collins didn't react. His gaze never left Xander and he could no longer contain his curiosity. "This is?" he asked.

Delaney's smile deepened and she turned to look at Xander who smiled down at her. "This is... " That was when she realised, she didn't even know the man's name. As if reading her thoughts, he chuckled softly then extended his hand to Collins. "Xander. Xander Coleman." Collins shook his hand but his knitted eyebrows never relaxed.

"Brother-in-law, please teach your wife some manners. There's no use abusing her power to oppress commoners like us otherwise I can't promise to be nice next time." Collins looked at his wife expressionlessly then looked at Delaney, "I apologise on my... on her behalf." Delaney's smile didn't falter as she stared at the pair. She seemed pleased with the apology, and the angry look on her sister's face as her nails dug into her palm.

"I knew you're a reasonable man," she said giving the seller two silver coins in exchange for the ginseng. She then patted him on the shoulder while passing by him. Anger seethed through Elsie as she watched them walk away. She had wanted Collins to embarass her in front of everyone but it seemed like he couldn't get over her.