Chapter 11 - The Wanderer (2)

Claire closed her eyes, trying to understand everything that Sharon had just told her. She chose to lie down after they had talked for quite a while. 

The rain outside was still pouring, the sound of trickling water added to the calm atmosphere in the old cottage. However, an approaching footstep made her open her eyes slowly. At that moment, her gaze fell on a man who had just entered the room.

'Who?' Claire thought.

He remembered the man that Sharon had told him about earlier, his eyes immediately turned towards Sharon who turned out to be sleeping on a sofa by the door.

'Is this the man that Sharon had mentioned?'

The man turned out to be looking at Claire too, smiling softly through his thin lips, creating a warm feeling that eased the confusion that haunted Claire.

Finally, the owner of this old house came.

His brown hair and mahogany eyes gleamed inside the room that is only lit by some candle. His calm gaze continued to be directed towards Claire until the soft voice came out filling the room.

"Ah, you are awake?" he asked, concerned. "How are you? Sharon and I found you lying on the ground in the forest. You seem to suffer from a lot of injuries."

Claire stared at the man, trying to process his words. This was the first time she had seen his sweet face, even though every word that comes out of that lip was arranged so gently.

Wait. Forest?

'They found me in the forest?'

It was hard for her to piece together every broken piece of her memory, the last thing she remembered was her looking at the bodies around the execution board and the red sky along with a red full moon in broad daylight. Her heart began to thump loudly again.

"Uh … I'm fine already," Claire answered softly, even though she wouldn't be able to forget everything that happened before.

The man slowly walked towards her, Sharon suddenly woke up from her sleep, standing from the sofa and quickly dragged a chair to let the man sit down.

"You can tell me what actually happened, I don't think you are already fine from the looks of it." He said softly.

Biting her lower lip. Claire was still hesitant to explain what really happened to her, but the man's gaze looked very convincing.

"Ah, that's right!" He suddenly said in a cheery voice. "I haven't introduced myself right?" 

Extending his hand towards Claire, "I hope knowing me would make you more open to me, lady– my name is Ethan. I have no surnames as I am only a wanderer."

The sweet smile on his face looks mesmerizing.

Claire looked at his hand, there were many scratches and calluses on his hand, in contrast to her luxury life of being a noble child, albeit a bit restricted. He looked like a hard-working man. 

"I am–"

"Claire, isn't it?" Ethan guessed, Claire's mouth was still open as her eyes widened in shock and anxiety by how the man knew her name.

'Eh?'

Ethan chuckled softly. "I knew your name before you were asleep. I was in the house before, but I don't want to disturb your rest, so I let you sleep for a while."

'Even though I only rest my eyes for a minute…' An awkward smile plastered on her face.

In Claire's opinion, Ethan talked more than Vincent—her brother. Ah… she remembered him again. Her heart ached so much because of the betrayal by the person she had relied on, and also his sudden death. 

"Vincent …," She mumbled in a low voice, almost inaudible to everyone.

Ethan looked at her seriously. "Hmm? Your lover?"

She spontaneously shakes her head. "No, he's … my brother. He… he did not make it out of that weird attack at the execution."

Her words made the atmosphere around the room heavier. Sharon and Ethan looked at each other, either confused or in a different opinion.

"What did you mean by execution, Claire?" Sharon asked in surprise, she occasionally glanced at Ethan who apparently preferred to keep his mouth tightly shut. Turning toward Sharon, Claire's eyes briefly showed surprise, but not hiding that she was the Crown Prince's scapegoat.

"I … just want to know how I arrived here. Everything that happened on top of that gallow felt so … real." 

Ethan then opened his mouth to speak, a frown on his forehead.

"I'm sorry but I think me and Sharon don't really understand. We found you unconscious in the forest."

Claire, who was wavering from all of her sudden experience, finally got her mind in order. In the end, she explained everything that had just happened to her.

She bit her lip, confused.

"There is no way no one wouldn't notice it. The blood red sky, the rain of arrows, the scream of terror from those that died there … and the crimson moon that appeared in broad daylight …"

As she looked at Ethan and Sharon, her heart began to fill with anxiety. Did they really not know what was happening? 

Even Ethan, who had been smiling, was now frowning worriedly at Claire. He seems to not understand what Claire had just said.

"What are you talking about, lady?" Ethan asked in a confused tone. "I've never heard about the rain of arrows or the red sky, I barely heard about any catastrophe that killed that many lives too. The capital is doing okay, well depending on your perspective of 'okay' it is okay of course."

Claire gasped at the answer. 'Doing okay?' Claire's mind reeled. 'How could no one notice the sudden death of that many nobles? I clearly remember the incident.'