A Mystified Night

Louis sighed. He cringed as he saw the unostentatious building built from bricks and wood that Chandra pointed at.

"You living there?" He put one of his arms on his waist and the other hand was busy rubbing his forehead. He inhaled deeply. Turned his head around and all things that he could see was a forest with some big trees. The worst thing was he didn't have many skills and knowledge of how to survive in wildlife. He glanced at her and exhaled in some uneasy way repeatedly as he realized that the day was going to become dark.

Chandra nodded her head. She was busy tying the horse on the stilt near the hut where Rose usually dried up their laundry. "Won't you come in or not?" she asked him.

Louis seemed to be hesitant in deciding to follow her steps. Chandra kept looking at him and waiting for his decision. Louis drifted to the hut door as Chandra walked to.

"Rose, it's me! Please, open the door!" Chandra knocked on the wooden door. A girl's voice came out from the sneaked-open door.

"That's the monster that you saw?" Chandra asked her while Rose met Louis for the first time.

Rose dilated her eyes and turned her head to Chandra, "It's a man!" she whispered.

Chandra scorned her. "As you see by your own eyes!" she inhaled and walked into the hut.

Next, in a short time, Rose seemed to act shyly as Louis introduced himself with a hypnotizing smile and a wink of his right eye.

Chandra turned her eyes to Louis, "Don't even think to try it, Louis!" she glared at him.

Louis stopped his flirting with Rose and took a seat on a wooden chair as Chandra did. He spread his eyes around as the hut was not larger than that the room where he used to sleep in his place at The Kernelithum. The floor was only some plastered stones, with two beds, a kitchen, and a long wooden chair with three small chairs. He also saw two tables. Fortunately, the room looked clean enough and smelled nice as he saw some flowers that were picked up from the forest for sure.

Chandra inhaled deeply and looked at Rose, "Would you please make us something to drink?"

Rose nodded her head and smiled at Louis as the man kept his eyes on the young woman until she disappeared into the other room.

Chandra hung her sword on the wall and put a leather jacket from a wall hook. "Wear this, let Rose wash your shirt tomorrow! Honestly, I can stand its odor no more!"

Louis took the jacket and he put off his shirt. He cringed as he smelled the shirt. He put his odorous shirt on the tiny desk next to him.

Chandra put her cloak off too. Louis stared at her as he could see that Chandra was a woman with a good slim-shaped body. He cleared his throat at the time Chandra caught him staring at her. Louis tried not to make any gestures that could provoke any confrontations. 'A woman with a sword is a really bad day to be messed up,' he breathed calmly.

"What's your next plan, Louis?" Chandra asked him as she took a seat on the long wooden seat next to him.

They paused to talk as Rose came into the room. She brought them two glasses of warm chocolate. Chandra took some sips of it, then she turned to Rose, "Thank you, Rose!"

Rose smiled at her and took a seat beside her on the long wooden seat. She caught Louis' face in some timid behavior, as she, many times, smiled and played with her ponytail hair. Louis, again, grinned at her in a teasing gesture of a charming gentleman.

Chandra looked at Louis and two of her eyebrows were lifted as she disapproved of what Louis acted to Rose.

Louis cleared his throat again and Chandra turned her head to Rose, "Would you please prepare us a dinner?"

Rose left the room for the two of them after smiling at Louis.

Chandra took some deep breaths as she eyed Louis again, he grinned in a mysterious way as he kept staring at Rose. He sniffed clumsily as he found that Chandra was observing him.

"Listen, I don't mind if you're living in this hut, Louis!" Chandra paused, taking some breaths. "But, please, don't ruin someone's life here! She's still young!"

Louis leaned his seat backward, trying to relax. "Anyways, I am a son of a knight!" he sniffed.

"You were!" Chandra corrected his statement, "Now, you've lost your privileges as a nobleman, you said, haven't you? Accidentally," she asked him to clarify.

Louis didn't answer her question, he wiggled his legs.

"I don't ask you much, a young gentleman!" Chandra tried to emphasize her statement. "It's a condition that you should take or leave it!" she stared at him. "I could sense that you're a good-hearted young man!"

Louis stopped wiggling his legs and looked into her eyes. "I'll take your condition, Chandra!" after thinking for some seconds, he agreed with it.

At that time, Rose came out from the kitchen. She was preparing dinner on the wooden table in front of Louis and Chandra. Both Chandra and Louis smiled at her as she finished preparing that night's dinner courses.

They were having some boiled sweet potatoes with some bird eggs cooked with vegetables. Louis ate the dinner hungrily.

"Is it delicious?" Rose asked him with a curious expression. Louis nodded his head, "You're a fascinating cook, Rose!" he complimented her as he scooped the smashed sweet potatoes with cheese grains.

Rose smiled in a shy manner. Chandra only observed the interaction between the two of them, she just didn't want the charming nobleman playing his drama and ruining Rose's life.

After finishing their dinner, Chandra let Louis and Rose had some chit chats on the long wooden bench outside while she chose to keep herself away. She was staring at the blue sky. She was looking at the brightest star there. 'Where are you now? Could you hear me?' she whispered in her silence. The fire of the campfire was burning and she put up her collar-leathered mantle. 'It's quite cold tonight!' she turned her eyes to Beauty, 'She looks calm there, but I will stay outside tonight with Louis, we'll keep watching you, Beauty, from any nocturnal predators!'

She sighed as Louis approached her. She saw Rose had closed the hut door as she slept inside.

"Hi, what're you looking at?" He tried to start a conversation. Chandra smiled at him.

"Sleep well, Louis. Tomorrow we are going to work to make a place for Beauty!"

Louis started to lay himself down next to her on the wool mattress and before he closed his eyes he said, "Good night, Chandra."

Chandra grinned at him. She put her sword beside her.

The night was getting darker. There were some stars hanging in the sky. Chandra still kept herself awake. She took some sips of water to clear her throat and she found Louis had been sleeping not too far away from the place she was sitting.

She was about to recline her back on the ground when she saw something move the leaves of trees that were not far in front of her.

She halted her breath for some seconds and took her sword. In a few seconds, there was something big tried to appear behind those trees and bushes. Chandra got up and she saw Beauty looked quite frightening, its eyes kept watching in the same direction as she did. She saw Louis was still sleeping. She tried to touch his feet to wake him up but he only groaned softly and turned his back from her. She hit her feet on his shin gently to wake him up but it seemed the silent night atmosphere had cradled him with some beautiful dreams.

'Damn,' Chandra whispered in silence.

She decided to move from her position and walked forward not too far to investigate.

She saw the part of the big snake's body slithering around the bushes. She tried to move backward and made no moves as she touched her sword. She was shocked by the measure of the snake. 'It must be bigger than a pine tree,' she kept being alert and regulated her breath.

She was waiting and kept to stand in her place without making any moves only trying to keep her concentration to anticipate.

Suddenly, Chandra saw a very bright light appearing in front of her and she almost felt blind about it. She covered her face with her arm and turned her eyes away from the light. 'God, what is that?' she whispered curiously. The light only took a few seconds before Chandra felt anything could possibly happen to her and the snake…she tried to calm down but her heart was beating a little bit faster than its normal beating rate.