Aron caressed the ring hidden in the palm his hand and then looked at the girl walking beside him, chattering at a mile a minute about all the things she had done since they had last seen each other and gave a fond smile. Every time he returned, the first half of the day would be spent simply listening to her. It always gave him peace, to listen to her carefree ramblings.
To anyone who’d be observing this scene, it would seem as though he was merely humouring her, listening but not really interested. After all, his face did not show any other expression. Yet as she continued talking, demonstrating bits of magic as she went along, the expression in his eyes shifted more than once, betraying the fact that he was paying far closer attention than it appeared.
At one point, he stopped walking altogether and turned to her, asking sharply, "What do you mean the Mistress would have punished you till your bu** was sore?"
Mira rolled her eyes as if the answer should have been obvious. "Well, you don’t know this, but the Mistress likes to punish servants when they don’t follow her orders. She told me not to read books or learn anything, because the master had forbidden it. I know the master said I can learn formally only after I come of age, but he never forbade me from learning at all, did he? So I didn’t pay much attention to her warning."
She paused only long enough to catch her breath before continuing. "One morning, she caught me reading. I was sure I was going to get a beating that time like the other times. But this time, I used a little trick." Mira grinned as she gave a proud smile. "I changed the written words into funny illustrations of flowers from the magic I had learnt. She didn’t think much of it after that and even said it was good of me to look at picture books."
She let out a small laugh. "Since then, I cast a spell on all of them. Now, whichever book she sees, she thinks it’s a picture book." She beckoned him close then, and when he did," But, you know I cannot control the magic well, so once, one of the picture books turned into pictures of something shameful..."
Mira blushed for a moment at that but then quickly shook her head and looked up at Aron and gave him a small hopeful expression, like a small puppy waiting for praise after doing something clever. Instead, she met his cold gaze.
Her smile faltered, and she frowned up at him. "Are you angry with me for fooling the Mistress?"
Instead of answering her question, Aron bit out, "You are not a servant."
Mira blinked. Her steps slowed, and she looked up at him in confusion. "What?"
Aron stopped again and this time fully turned towards her as he repeated in a firm voice, "You are not a servant. How dare the Mistress hit you?"
Mira shook her head at once, her earlier cheer slipping away. "This... Aron... don’t be angry," she said quickly. "Her strokes never hurt much, okay? And she is my mother."
His jaw tightened. "She can either be your mother or your mistress," he said coldly. "She has never allowed you to call her ’Mother.’ She has never treated you like her daughter, either. So she has no right to discipline you like that. And a servant is paid in wages, which you have neither received as well. So, she is not your mother or your mistress."
Mira felt a knot form in her chest. She had never seen this look on Aron before, it looked as if he might just kill someone.
Worried that he would say something he could not take back, she hurriedly reached out and took his hand, holding it tightly between both of hers.
"It’s really nothing," she said as she forced a small smile. "I’m used to it. Truly. Please don’t be upset. It’s not worth it."
But Aron did not respond. His hand remained still in hers, his expression unreadable, his eyes dark and fixed somewhere beyond her. It was as if nothing she said could move him.
Mira bit her lip. She searched his face, unsure of what to say next. Had she said the wrong thing? Should she not have mentioned it at all? Her fingers tightened around his hand without her realizing it and just as she was about to run away and fetch Shiqi and ask for her help in calming him down, he let out a slow breath.
His shoulders eased, just a little. He looked down at her at last and the sharp edge in his gaze dulled.
"Mira," he said, more softly now. "Let’s have a talk."
She nodded at once, relieved by the change in his tone. They resumed walking, this time at a slower pace. For a while, neither of them spoke until the reached the shore by the lake, where they had sat countless times as kids.
However, as Aron sat for the first time, Mira felt hesitant to sit by him. That small glimpse had somehow scared her, making her feel as if she didn’t know him at all.
"You shouldn’t think of this as normal," Aron said after a moment. "Being hit. Being afraid. None of that is right."
Mira shrugged lightly. "It’s just how things are. I don’t really think about it much. You shouldn’t too. Its only a matter of time. Master has already made arrangements for me to study, I am sure..."
Aron sighed. "Do you really trust Master so much?"
Mira frowned at the question," You are behaving quite oddly today. Are you sick?"
Aron shook his head," Have you never really thought about why Master adopted you after knowing the prophecy?"
Mira shook her head. She had never really given it much thought, just thankful for having a roof on her head. Also, Master was a righteous man. Why would he adopt her if not for caring for her?