A New House

Word of the mobilisation of the King's soldiers were whispered around the secluded town of Tefflander. Mikhail furrowed his brows as he cocked his head quizzically. How did they receive the news when the official city was miles behind him?

Who could the people the King was looking for possibly look like? For him to mobilise such a large troop just to track them down... Mikhail pondered on the question as his mother tapped onto his shoulder, telling him to pull to a halt.

"Stop. We're here. I'll talk to the village head."

"...? Okay..." 

Mikhail pulled the reins, bringing Brownie to a halt as he watched his mother jump off the cart. It was now evening, they had only stopped for that short break during breakfast. Whatever his mother was thinking about was unclear to him, except for the fact that she was willing to cast everything in the wind, just to leave Vogrant far behind her.

He then turned his gaze to the new surrounding, taking in the familiar view of grains glimmering in the evening sun. His gaze lingered for a tad too long when he was poked in his rib.

"Ack?!" Mikhail gasped as he inched away from the sudden gesture.

"Oh, sorry. Didn't mean to startle you. Hehe. Welcome to Tefflander Village. I'm Susie, the village head's daughter. My father asked me to inform you to follow after me. I'll lead you to an empty plot." a girl with ebony coloured hair that was pulled in a high braided ponytail smiled at Mikhail. Her eyes shone a brilliant amber.

"Erm... right. I'm Mikhail. Pleasure meeting you."

"No biggie." Susie replied as she hopped onto the cart, nudging Mikhail to move inwards as she sat beside him.

"Hmm? What is it?" Susie questioned Mikhail as she cocked her head to the side, grinning slightly. Her gesture seemed natural without a hint of hesitation, so Mikhail decided to put all thoughts of it towards the back of his mind. 

"... Nothing." He felt a little uncomfortable with how familiar she was acting with him but decided to keep himself in check.

"Okay then. Just follow my lead. Head on straight down that hill. I'll tell you once we're closer."

"Okay... but, what about my mom?"

"Oh, her... my father is discussing job delegations with her. Need to work to live and all that."

"Ah. Okay then."

Mikhail then followed Susie's directions until he reached a cozy looking home. It looked crude from the outside, with the door looking worn and covered with moss. The roof was lined with broken tiles and seemed dangerously close to falling off.

"Oh, I'm sorry the condition is pretty bad. However, this was the only house that fits your mother's request."

"My mother's?"

"Yeah. I'll just leave you to it then. See y'all tomorrow!" Susie said with a slight grin as she made her way up the hill, leaving Mikhail staring at the ruined house.

Mikhail sighed as he walked towards the house, opening the door warily. It looked like the whole door would fall its hinges. That was how worn and rotten it had looked.

The space within however was dusty but livable. Though the roof had signs of leakage from the outside, there wasn't a sign of mold on the ground nor on the ceiling. The bulky furnitures were covered with a large white cloth, covered in layers of dust.

That's pretty weird...I would have expected there to be some mold on the ground... or on the roof because of the hole... but... there's none... Mikhail thought as he swept his eyes around the room.

He then sighed as he stretched his arms and body. Since it was getting late, all he could do was some light cleaning. He'd have to fix the rest of the banged up house the next few days.

Mikhail then pulled off the white cloth, choking on the cloud of dust that wafted through the air as he hurriedly slammed the windows open. That was a mistake he would regret as the window pane fell from its hinges and onto the dirt floor. The window itself, now a hole in the wall with wooden linings.

"Ah... shit... Mom's gonna kill me..." Mikhail muttered, sighing at the scene. Due to the poor maintenance of the window and his clumsiness, the house would now be freezing cold every morning and night due to the high altitude they were at.

He decided to feign ignorance when his mother finally arrived at the house. She asked Mikhail where the window was and why there weren't window panes at the least. Mikhail shrugged and said that the house came like this, earning a frustrated groan from his mother.

As night fell, Diane and Mikhail were finally done sorting out their possessions and moving the furnishings about. The cold wind blew through the gaping window as they both shivered.

"Uughhh... those people... should at least have... the decency to make windows... its so colddddd...." Diane said as her teeth chattered. She reached into her suitcase as she hung a heavy robe against the hole, sighing in relief as the cold wind died down.

"I... um... agree... I'll try making some tomorrow! And maybe fixing the window..."

"Don't bother. The village head owes us at least that much. Giving us such a badly maintained house..."

"... Didn't you choose it?"

"What?"

"Didn't you choose this location? And gave a certain description for the house to the head?"

"... Yes... but still... they should at least be able to maintain houses they plan on selling." Diane sighed as she leaned against the wooden armchair that was left in the house. She shut her eyes and tried to calm herself, enjoying the heat from the brick fireplace in front of her.

Mikhail stared at his mother as he rubbed the back of his head. He then proceeded to a room at the corner of the house that he had claimed, flopping his now heavy body on the bed. His eyes grew hazy as he felt his surroundings growing dull, darkness enveloped his body as he drifted off to sleep.

***

Sounds of melodic chirpings and buzzings of cicada wings filled the air as Mikhail groaned, stirring from his sleep. He ran his fingers through his hair, only to find it clammy and wet.

His eyes fluttered opened as he sat up in bed. Mikhail dropped his hand onto his pants as he wiped them on it. The sweltering heat was too much as he felt his pants was slightly damp with sweat. He glanced at his shirt which now clung to him, exposing his pale chest. He furrowed his brows a little at the sight as he always assumed he'd be a little tan from the sun, but, apparently that wasn't so.

He blinked a few times, shaking his head as he allowed his eyes time to adjust. He then took in the seemingly foreign room, sweeping the barren room with his eyes. Oh yeah... I'm no longer in Vogrant.

Mikhail sighed as he stood up, pulling off his damp shirt. He tossed it on the side of the bed as he rummaged through his suitcase, pulling out a shirt likened to his previous one. He tossed it on and headed straight for the door, quickly grabbing his wooden basin that had been placed precariously on the wooden desk.

As he exited the room, his eyes fell on a woman dressed in a loose shirt and fitting dark pants, her hair tied loosely in a bun as she was kneeling on the floor.

"... Ah! Mom! What are you doing?!"

"Huh...? Oh, Mikhail! You're up! I've got lunch prepared! I kind of guessed that you would be waking up late today, just like me."

"Tsk! Don't ignore my question! Why are you not using a mop?!" Mikhail stated with a frown as he dropped his basin, heading straight to his mother as he grabbed her arms causing the cloth Diane was holding to fall onto the ground.

"... But... isn't the shine better? I just sort of polished the floor... and got a little carried away." Diane grinned as she backed away from Mikhail.

"Well... you're not wrong..." Mikhail's eyes swept the sparkling living room floor and then turned to the walls and kitchen, his face turning slightly red.

"Mom! You didn't sleep did you! Even the walls and kitchen are clean! And look! Your eyebags! The last time you even slept was back in the cart wasn't it!" Mikhail exclaimed, slightly upset. His grip on her shoulder grew a little tighter as Diane winced in pain.

"Aha... well... you caught me~" Diane chuckled weakly as she broke free from Mikhail's hold. It was really reminiscent of Xander. The face he was showing her. Xander always looked anxious.

Diane reached out and touched Mikhail's cheeks as she gently rubbed them with her thumbs. The corner of her lips pulled into a gentle smile as she stared into her son's eyes. They resembled hers, eyes akin to amethyst gemstones. 

Diane then stood on her toes as she ran her fingers through Mikhail's damp fringe, pulling back an opening to his forehead. She then placed a soft peck on his forehead before falling back the balls of her heels, standing up to her normal height.

"I'll take some rest, then. Make sure the house is fixed when I wake up." Diane giggled as she stared at Mikhail's face. He had a perplexed look on his face as he stammered to reply.

The kiss on the forehead had been a thing of the past. She often kissed him goodnight or as a parting gesture when she went to work back when he was young. The expression stopped when he grew older as he grew taller and was embarrassed of direct contact with his mother. Ah, puberty.

"Ah... erm... sure?" 

Diane laughed as she then patted his shoulder, a mischievous smile playing on her lips. She then moved to the opposite end of the room, heading to her bedroom.

Her lips pulled down into a frown, she didn't want to sleep as she feared the dreams would show her the similar scene from her nap the other day. However, the worried expression on her son's face scared her more. He was starting to resemble Xander a lot more than she thought. Her heart clenched as she breathed heavily, her hand reached for the doorknob and she entered silently.

Mikhail stared at the receding back of his mother as he ran his fingers across his forehead. It had felt strangely distant from how he remembered. He then shook his head as he ran a hand through his hair, ruffling it in frustration. 

He mentally sighed as he thought about the ton of work he needed to do to impress his mother. 

"Aah... Me and my big mouth..." Mikhail muttered as he glanced at the window which now had been letting a stream of light in.

He sighed as he picked up the wooden basin and the ragged cloth, heading towards the door as he proceeded to fetch some water. His sense of responsibility won't allow him to slack of. He said he would do it, and that in itself, was a promise he intended to keep.