Grace looked at him fumingly, her chair screeched loudly across the room and she stepped out of the dining room leaving only Damien, Penelope and Caitlin along with the butler.
“Food, Durik,” Damien reminded his clumsy butler who quickly nodded his head and left right away to the kitchen.
After a while, Caitlin said to Penny, “I shouldn’t have come here.”
“Don’t worry about what happened here. There have been worse things that have gone down in the dining room. This is the usual bickering in Quinn’s mansion. This is how we start our day. Tea?” he asked Penny’s aunt who gave him a puzzled look before managing a smile.
“Don’t take their words to your heart. You are not my friend but my family and family stick to each other,” Penny placed her hand on Caitlin’s hand, giving her a reassuring smile.
When their meal was done which was much more peaceful than having a full table, it reminded her of the time in Valeria where the meals were much more peaceful. She didn’t know if she missed this bickering or preferred the quiet atmosphere.
Turning to Damien she asked him, “How did your talk go with the witcher?”
“It will need a little more time than what I anticipated but we are heading there,” he replied, picking up the napkin to fluff and spread it on his lap.
“We have a witcher?” Caitlin asked, surprised.
“We met one last night. He is a little shy so I am trying to coax him to get him to talk,” one didn’t have to know what coaxing meant when it came to the pureblooded vampires along with the witchers.
Finishing their meal, Penny took Caitlin for a walk outside the mansion. They walked on the bridge with the wind gusting strong enough to have the leaves that had drifted from the forest move away from there.
Caitlin looked at the clouds that had begun to hover in the sky since the time she had woken up. She didn’t know for how long she had been living on these lands that she had lost the days and weeks and then the years that were only moving forward while she had stayed in the slave establishment. Even after meeting Penny for the first time, the thought of living a day outside the establishment, free like this was something she had never imagined. The thought had never crossed her mind, how could she when she found it to be more dangerous outside than being inside at that point of her life.
“The Quinn’s appear to be quite different,” Caitlin commented as they continued to walk on the bridge.
Penny smiled, looking down at the grey rock stones they were stepping on, “Lady Fleurance and Grace can be too much,” turning to look at the woman she said, “Don’t listen to them. They have a lot to speak when it comes to talking about people’s statuses and the creature they belong to.”
“Do they know they are a witch?” her aunt questioned to which she shook her head.
“They don’t know yet. I don’t know if I will be able to tell them ever about it.”
“Why do you say so?”
She tucked her blonde hair behind her ear that had escaped from her braided hair to fall on her face, hindering her sight, “Lady Fleurance is Damien’s stepmother. His mother, she hated the fact that Damien spent his time with Alexander.”
“That’s strange,” Caitlin murmured and said, “They appear to be close though.”
“That is because Damien used to sneak to meet Alexander,” Penny laughed softly at the thought of how things would have been for Damien. To sneak out to people with every opportunity to meet people he wanted.
“The other girl, she spoke about the defang. What was it about?” the woman asked her curiously. Caitlin wasn’t the kind to poke her nose where it didn’t matter but something told her that the incident was related to Penny.
“That…” Penny trailed and before they reached the other side of the bridge, she had iterated on the event of what had occurred between Grace and her during the absence of Damien. It wasn’t exactly a fond memory for Penny, she didn’t find the satisfaction as others did over Grace being defanged but that didn’t mean she opposed the thought of Grace being punished was wrong. The girl needed it and even after what happened she was still hell-bent on making things difficult for people in the mansion.
“All in all, I am glad that you have someone who truly cares for you. To give and receive love back only a fortunate soul is entitled to it, but sometimes even the unfortunate soul,” Caitlin said it thoughtfully, looking at the forest that came after the bridge which was the same path to the road that led to the other towns and villages.
“Um, Caitlin. Would it be alright to ask you to tell me how my father was?” Penny asked, her heart softly thudding in her chest.
In the past, it was as if even mentioning about him was a sin as her mother would break into tears at the thought of her father. In the end, as she grew up, Penny had stopped asking about her father and even mentioning him. Except for her own memory, she didn’t know anything about her father.
“Your father,” Caitlin started to say, her eyes looking somewhere far away as if going back in time, “He was a mischievous boy before our parents passed away. Always jumping around and I think it was something we both took on. He was a bright boy even when he was young and as he grew up he was quieter and tamer than when he was young. He was like the sun, Penelope. Always full of positivity even in the darkest hour of the days when we were stumped. The only sad part is that, though he was a smart man he ended up with a woman who was unfit for him,” Caitlin then put her arm around Penny to say, “If he was here with you today, he would be very proud of you and you make him proud.”
Penny felt warm hearing it. To think her father would be proud of her reminded her of the time when she had learned the words he had taught her. His smile was still radiant in her mind.
