9. Breakfast With the Family

As soon as Asher's dark blue eyes opened, a young man no more than 25 was by his side. The man's hair was a light green color and his eyes were a beautiful canary yellow that contrasted greatly against his slightly tanned skin.

Asher was left unmoving as his eyes darted around the room. Where was his servant? Why was there a stranger is his quarters?

"Please forgive the intrusion, Young Master Asher. My name is Allon Oakley and I am the gardener," says Allon with an awkward smile. Asher kept staring at the intruder and narrowed his eyes, causing the poor gardener to shiver and apologize.

"A-apologies, Young Master Asher!"

"Why are you apologizing?"

Asher's blunt tone made Allon rethink his decision. Why did he let Archer convince him that taking his job for a couple of days would be fine? He isn't fine at all! How is he supposed to take care of a young master he barely even knows!

Allon sighed and began to pace around the room, not bothering to explain just why is he inside Asher's room. Better yet, he forgot to. "I knew I should've asked Archer for instructions. What does the young master do in the morning? Does he need help to get dressed? Ah, he needs to eat. Wait, what does he eat?"

As the gardener kept rambling on, Asher turned away and opened his windows. Outside, the sun hasn't risen yet. The sky appeared to be an endless sea of darkness with only a few stars to light up the dark emptiness. Asher felt his eye twitch of annoyance. He wasn't in his old world! He doesn't need to wake up this early!

Then, a small meow was heard. Pithos, who had been awake and observing Asher from outside the window, lept into his bed. His ruby eyes were bright with amusement as he saw poor Allon who still didn't know what to do with the young master.

As soon as all the rambling stopped, Allon noticed there was a new companion joining them. He had heard the rumors about how Young Master Asher had taken in a stray cat and had performed a naming ceremony. Also, he knew that Master Alejandro didn't want that cat inside and was about to decline the idea of his youngest son taking care of the cat. However, Mistress Nikola had jumped in at the right time and accepted the cat. Such gossip! No one, not even Master Alejandro, can handle Mistress Nikola's raw power!

Allon coughed before staring at the droopy-eyed boy. "Young Master Asher, you mustn't fall asleep. Master Alejandro has asked for you to wake up early and join them for breakfast."

"Where is Archer?" The young boy asked tiredly as he rubbed his eyes. Allon couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy. Is this the sight that Archer beholds every morning?

Eventually, Allon got a hold of himself and answered Asher's question, "Sir Archer has been sent away by Master Alejandro for some secret business. He asked me to take care of you for the time of being."

Asher, finally getting the explanation he had been waiting for since the beginning of the dilemma, nodded. He stood from the bed as he began to search for clothes. After not being able to conclude which outfit he should wear, he glanced at Allon who had been standing awkwardly next to his bed.

"You are my butler for the time of being, right? Choose which outfit I shall wear for the day while I take a bath."

Allon, not knowing his responsibilities as Asher's personal butler, nodded and followed the orders he was given. Asher, on the other hand, locked himself inside the bathroom as he held his racing heart. Taking deep breaths, he nodded to himself. Today will be the day he discovers whether or not Nikola is on his side. This will literally define his life for better or for worse, so it's understandable that Asher is feeling quite nervous.

After a relaxing bath, Allon helped Asher into his outfit with only a bit of difficulty (a lot, actually). Even after taking a bath and getting dressed, the sky was still dark. The only difference was that the sun was slowly starting to ascend, creating a beautiful swirl of purple, blue and red in the seemingly endless sky.

Without wasting any more time, Allon ushered Asher out of the room. Pithos decided to accompany Asher to breakfast to calm him down and to also serve as a warning to Alejandro that there was always someone watching over their every move.

Finally, after a few minutes, they had reached the dining room. Asher's erratic heart wouldn't calm down. His hands were clammy as he stared at the ground while trying to control his breathing. Allon wasn't paying that much attention to the young boy and was only focused on what he needed to avoid doing in order to not lose his job.

Pithos, who was by Asher's feet, purred while rubbing his head against his leg as a way to comfort him. Asher smiled gratefully even if the kind gesture didn't help him much in calming down. Breathe in, breathe out.

The doors were opened as Asher came face to face with his family. His father Alejandro was sitting at the end of the table and hadn't bothered about waiting for his youngest son before starting to eat. Ian, in order to appease his father, had begun to do the same and only sent Asher a menacing glance before turning back to his plate. Kio sat beside their mother Nikola and waited alongside her for Asher to arrive.

What Asher didn't know was that whenever the past Asher came to eat, Alejandro, Ian, and Kio would have already begun to eat. Also, Kio always sat beside their elder brother and never sat beside Nikola. This time, not only did Kio wait for him to arrive, but he also sat beside Nikola so that Asher would have to sit beside him. Also, this served as a test.

The Asher Kio knew would always stick to their eldest brother no matter how many harsh comments were thrown his way. However, Asher was now trying to get closer to Kio. While this is not a bad occurrence (in fact, little Asher has begun to grow on Kio), Kio still didn't trust his youngest brother. He left the seat beside Ian empty. If Asher chose to sit with Ian, then Kio would figure out what his true intentions were.

"Good morning," said Asher quietly before sitting beside Kio. These few actions surprised everyone at the table. The young boy always kept his head down and never said anything to them. Also, Asher had never approached Kio and was always following Ian around like a lost puppy.

As soon as Asher sat on the table, food was immediately brought out. However, probably due to Ian's presence (and him wanting to bother Asher), Asher's food was brought out cold. As soon as Asher bit into the scrambled eggs, he couldn't help but shiver. What was this? Why did it taste so disgustingly cold?

Ian grinned. "How's breakfast, little brother?"

"Cold," replied Asher almost instantly. In order to forget about the horrid taste of the scrambled eggs, he sipped on his fruit punch flavored juice. The juice was definitely not fresh. In his old world, this taste would be considered as the cheapest type of powdered juice.

Asher decided that it would be best to eat after his family was all gone. So, he stood up to excuse himself. Seeing this, Alejandro was furious.

"You useless child! After I ask you to eat with us, this is what you do? Insult the food you are given and walk out before we are finished? I didn't raise you this way!"

As soon as those words left his mouth, a fireball was flying straight to his face. This being his first encounter with magic, Asher froze up not knowing what to do. However, before the fireball was able to reach him, a shard of ice and stream of water blocked the oncoming attack. Despite this, the fire managed to burn the tip of his nose.

Slamming her fist upon the table, Nikola stood up and yelled menacingly, "How dare you treat our son in such a manner! He had only commented that the food was cold. Was this his fault? No! It's the kitchen staff's fault! Don't you ever try to hurt Asher ever again or be prepared to face the consequences."

Coming out of shock, Asher's body trembled as tears blurred his vision. His father hadn't hesitated in the slightest and that attack was about to burn him! He knew his father disliked him, but this is a whole other level! He could've been killed!

Trembling, Asher dashed away. Pithos, who had seen the whole exchange, glared towards Alejandro before following suit. Allon wasn't allowed inside the dining room for some reason and was told to wait outside by Ian's servant. He was extremely shocked to hear Mistress Nikola shout. Afterward, Young Master Asher hurriedly left the dining room. Knowing Asher was his responsibility for the time of being, he didn't bother wasting any more time and quickly followed the young master.

Kio stared at the place Asher had just been and frowned slightly. While Nikola and Alejandro bickered, he ordered a nearby servant to pack up another plate of breakfast and some orange juice. Ian quickly noticed what he was doing and sent him a glare.

"What do you think you are doing? Is that for the devil spawn?"

Kio refrained from returning the glare. Lately, he had become much more sensitive when talking about Asher. Whenever he heard someone bad-mouthing Asher (mostly Ian or his father), he always wanted to retort back and say that maybe they were all wrong about Asher. Maybe they misjudged him and that is what caused him to behave the way that he did. It wasn't his fault for wanting the love of his family.

"Of course not. This is for me. I don't want to eat here with such a ruckus," he said as he rolled his eyes. Throughout the years, Kio had perfected the art of lying. Only his best friend Silo could see past the facade.

After observing Kio with narrowed eyes for a few seconds, Ian grinned. "We are the only pride and joy of this family. Make sure not to mess anything up for us."

Nodding silently, Asher walked away from his bickering parents and from his elder brother. As soon as he was away from prying eyes, Asher rushed towards Asher's room while making sure no one was watching him, especially his elder brother.

Finally reaching Asher's room, he saw how Allon sat outside the room while sighing with his head hung low. Kio stood there silently while narrowing his eyes towards the gardener. Feeling the temperature of the room drop, he looked up and saw Young Master Kio.

He immediately jumped up and bowed. "Young Master Kio! Please excuse my rudeness! Young Master Asher won't let me in, so I decided to wait outside."

Seeing Kio nod silently, Allon sighed in relief as the anxiety he felt slowly left his body. Both stood there silently, not making a move. This prompted Allon to look at what Kio was carrying. His eyes widened in surprise as he opened his mouth to speak, however, Kio beat him to it.

"Please leave this matter to me. You should attend to the garden."

Allon had been waiting for a chance to go back to his precious garden and now he has the opportunity to do so! Nodding happily, Allon bowed before skipping away happily. After such an exhausting morning, the least he deserved was a visit to the garden!

Asher was inside his room crying. He had no other way to relieve the anxiety and fear he had felt at that moment. As soon as he had arrived, he let Pithos in and locked the door, not allowing Allon inside. While he felt a bit bad, he needed some time to collect his thoughts.

A soft knock was heard. Asher clumsily wiped away his tears before saying, "Go away, Allon. You are dismissed. Please leave me alone."

"I won't leave until you open the door. If you don't open it, I'll freeze the lock and come in."

Was that Kio? Why was he here?

Out of sheer curiosity, Asher walked towards the door and unlocked it. He slowly inched it open. His eye peered out the small crack and he saw Kio with a cold look on his face while carrying a silver platter. Was that food?

"Will you please let me in?" He begged. Who would've known that one day, Kio would beg to his little brother to let him inside his room? Still, even after this thought crossed his mind, he didn't mind it that much. If Asher was willing to change his ways, then Kio has to and will do the same.

Fully opening the door, Asher finally let Kio in. The sight of the poor and barren room left Kio speechless. Has his little brother always lived in such poor conditions?