Chapter 8 - Mysterious origins "revealed"

Ethan and Amira made their way downstairs. Once they reached the ground floor they encountered Ms. B who was busying herself with sweeping the entryway.

Upon seeing them, Ms. B flashed them a dazzling smile "Well hello, could it be you came down in search of food?"

"We did indeed." Ethan replied with a smile of his own while Amira simply nodded her head.

"Okay, you two can take a seat over there and I'll go russel something up in the kitchen." She said while pointing to a group of four small tables that acted as the dining area.

The two of them then found a place to sit while Ms. B walked through a swinging door behind the counter that led to the kitchen.

Once seated, Ethan and Amira sat in awkward silence as neither of them knew what to talk about. however, they both soon opened their mouths to say something at the same time.

"where-" said Amira

"How-" said Ethan simultaneously

Hearing each other speak they both stopped in order to allow the other to continue.

Sensing another awkward silence approaching Ethan quickly said "Go ahead, you can ask first."

"Are you sure?" Amira asked

"Yes, my question isn't that important, at least not immediately." He stated

"Okay then. I was going to ask where are you from? I know it may sound rude but I noticed you use some strange sayings I've never heard before. Also you seem to lack a certain amount of common sense that someone from the Syrena Kingdom should have. I thought you might be from the Embershroud Empire or the Free Trade States in the south but now i'm not too sure."

Ethan was prepared for this topic to come up but he wasn't expecting it to be the first question out the gate. Then again, wouldn't a woman who agreed to marry a man want to know of said mans origins? of course she would.

After taking a deep breath to calm himself "Would you believe me if I said I wasn't from the Empire, Kingdom or the Trade States?"

Ethan's answer to her question left Amira reeling. Not from the Empire, Kingdom or Free Trade States? Was that even possible?

It was at this moment this moment that Ms. B returned with two bowls of something that resembled beef stew and some mugs with golden liquid that smelled mildly like alcohol.

"Enjoy your meal. please let me know if you need anything else." she said before leaving them alone again.

Amira was staring blankly at Ethan as he took a few bites of stew before saying "Then where are you from? there are no other countries on this continent that I'm aware of. Unless..." A sudden thought flashed through her mind "The West? are you from the legendary Mercian continent accross the western ocean?"

Ethan didn't want to lie about where he was from originally but with such a possibility presented before him he decided to let Amira to believe her own line of reasoning. Therefore, instead of correcting her false assumption, he simply nodded with a guilty looking smile. In his mind it was better this way since 'I'm from a different continent' and 'i'm from a different world' were two completely different things.

"Unbelievable..." Amira said in a daze as tried to process the revelation she had just "discovered".

However, before she could inquire further Ethan suddenly said "You should hurry up and eat before it gets cold."

realizing that her food was as of yet still untouched she picked up her spoon and began to eat as well.

when they were done eating, Ethan and Amira left the inn since they still had to go to Janessa's Fabrics to get Amira's measurements taken for her clothes. As they walked they continued their conversation from earlier.

"So if you are from the Mercian Continent how did you get here?"

"That's what I would like to know myself." said Ethan

"What do you mean?" Amira asked puzzled

"Well, in short the last thing I remember I was walking down the street when suddenly everything went dark, when I came to I was inside a cave in that forest where we met." he decided to leave out the part about dying as well as having the Imperial System.

"I see..." said Amira in a soft voice "Perhaps it has something to do with your family? Kidnappings in Noble families due to feuding is very common in the Embershroud Empire to the east."

"While my family was well off, I don't know if you could consider it nobility." Ethan replied simply

"What about a family name? do you have one of those?"

"Yes. My family name is Specter. My full name is Ethan Romulus Specter." He said nonchalantly. Before Amira could say anything in response "Ah, here it is, Janessa's Fabrics. Shall we go inside?"

Due to the severity of the bombshells Ethan had dropped on her today, Amira was unable to think straight and simply him followed inside. She was completely absorbed in her own thoughts and it wasn't until she heard an unfamiliar voice that she snapped out it.

"So this is her? your female companion?" said Janessa quickly approaching the young pair. "You didn't tell me she was so lovely, or did you want to surprise me?" she said with a wry smile

"Haha, yes this is her. This is Amira. Oh, my name is Ethan, sorry I forgot to introduce myself this morning." he said politely.

"Well, let's go get you measured." Janessa said with a smile and led Amira away by the hand.

Amira gave a quick glance back over her shoulder as she followed Janessa to the back where there would be more privacy. She had more questions for Ethan, so many in fact that it made her head hurt. unfortunately now was not the time for that. perhaps she could get more information out of him later.

In the back room Janessa once again brought out the ball of twine and began to take Amira's measurements.

"You two look so good together. With his princely features and your beauty, it's practically a match made in heaven." she said with a wide smile

Amira blushed red as a rose when she heard that "What nonsense are you saying?"

"Ha! No need to be shy. I could see right away that you two like each other. So on the honor of my shop I promise to make you look just like a princess. When I'm done with youhe'll be struck dumb or he's not a real man!" Janessa proclaimed

"Besides, with the silver piece he paid me with I should be able to buy a bolt of silk to make you a dress. so you can look forward to that."

"Wait! he paid with a Silver Coin? Not Bronze?" Amira asked incredulously

"Indeed. I told him it was too much but he said it was all he had."

Amira was once again left speechless. It was just too much crazy information too quickly. She hadn't even gotten past the other things but now she heard that Ethan had paid in Silver. All she could do was shake her head in surrender or else she feared her head would explode.

"Alright, your all set. We shouldn't keep that young man waiting." Janessa said finally then led Amira back to the front of the shop.

When Ethan who was browsing the clothes while he waited saw the two ladies approaching he put down what he was holding and said "All done?"

"Yes. You can come back in two days to get your orders." Janessa replied with a smile

"Then I'll thank you again for your hard work." Ethan said honestly

"Yes, thank you." agreed Amira

"No need to be so serious. This is going to be more fun than I've had in ages." Janessa said with a polite laugh

When Ethan and Amira left the shop she said quietly "Truly a Prince deserves a Princess. If only I were 40 years younger...*sigh*...oh well, time to get work."

After Leaving Janessa's, Ethan suddenly turned to look at Amira "Do you want to look around the other village shops before heading back to the inn?"

Knowing that the time for questions had passed, at least for now, Amira nodded her agreement and said "Sure, that sounds like fun."

And so they began to wander around the village. There weren't that many places in Lorik as it was a small village. It had a Blacksmith, Butcher and a small restaurant. But just when they were about to head for the Blue Moon, a small object at a stall caught Ethan's eye.

"Wait here just a moment." he said before running off

Amira was confused but decided wait patiently.

Ethan Returned shortly after with his right hand clenched tight "Close you eyes." he said with a wide grin

She didn't know what he was thinking of doing but the only way to find out was to go along with his wishes. Once her eyes were closed, Amira suddenly felt Ethan take her left hand in his as something was slid on to her third finger. When she opened her eyes she saw it. A ring. Unable to control her emotions anymore, tears began to flow like rivers.