Reiner – Simple Happiness

“Are you sure that it’s ok for us to be here?” I asked, still feeling unsure.

“Of course. We’re not trespassing. I know the owner of this place. He’s…a good friend,” Reiner said to reassure me.

Now that he mentioned it. I thought that someone must be living here to keep the place so well maintained.

“Does he live here?” I asked, referring to his friend.

“Why do you think so?” Reiner asked, cocking his head to the side as he looked at me.

“The place seems very well maintained…” I replied softly.

“Good observation. He doesn’t live here but I guess he’s nearby. If you’re lucky…or unlucky…you might run into him,” Reiner said, and I couldn’t tell what he meant by that.

“I see…” I murmured.

“Want to get changed? We’re going outside,” Reiner said.

I looked down at the flowy dress that I was wearing, and I got his point immediately. I guess something more suitable for walking around in the forest might be better for the day that Reiner had planned ahead for us.

“Ok. Please wait a moment…” I said as I rummaged through the bag to find something that would work.

“No rush…” Reiner said.

I smiled at him. It was good to see him relax a little like this. He’s always a little too uptight and serious while we were in the mansion together. Plus, today Reiner was in his casual clothes, and I couldn’t even begin to describe how well it suited him. Jeans and a simple shirt looked amazing on him and gave him such a homey vibe that felt so different from when he was in his butler uniform.

Reiner showed me to a bedroom with an attached bathroom and that was where I changed into my new set of clothes. When I was done, we went out of the mansion together. It was late in the morning by this time and the sun was brighter than in the morning. The leaves and branches of the large trees gave us decent shade though. The wind was strong, and the atmosphere felt pleasant. It was like the air was clean and I could breathe deeper than when I was in the city.

Reiner held my hand as we walked side-by-side, just enjoying each other’s company in silence. I looked around at the nature around me and then at the man by my side. I guess, this is what they mean when they refer to peace bringing you happiness. I mean, we weren’t doing anything and we weren’t even talking and yet, I felt so happy just being by his side like this. I didn’t know where he was taking me and truthfully, I didn’t care.

Perhaps, happiness was that simple.

“I’m surprised that Lucien agreed to this,” I said while I walked by his side.

“He didn’t,” Reiner said curtly.

“What?! You brought me out without telling him?” I said in shock. This didn’t seem like something that Reiner would do at all.

“I told him that I’ll be taking you out. I didn’t tell him about this place, though. As far as he’s concerned, you’re at some hot spring place that’s supposed to help heal your injuries and relax your muscles,”

Reiner explained like it was no big deal.

“Oh…I see. I’m still surprised that he let me out though,” I said softly.

“I was surprised too…” Reine admitted.

We both ended up laughing a little at that. I guessed I should have a talk with Lucien when I returned from this trip. I knew that he was just being protective of me, but I was sure that continuing this way wasn’t going to be healthy for him, for me or for anyone. Somehow, we’ll need to get over the incident and move on with our lives.

It has been around a month since I was allowed to leave the house, so I fully intended to enjoy this trip outside. I never knew that freedom tasted so sweet until it was taken away from me.

After a while of walking and a part of that was uphill, we arrived at a waterfall and a stream. I mouthed the word ‘wow’ and I guessed my eyes sparkled at the sight before me. This must be nature at its best.

I’ve never been an outdoor person as far as I remembered and getting up close to nature like this wasn’t really my thing. However, I had to say that the small waterfall and stream in front of me felt relaxing to the eyes and ears.

“It’s a pleasant surprise, isn’t it?” Reiner asked and I could feel his presence close behind me.

“Definitely. I never expected that there would be a waterfall and a stream here,” I agreed.

“Do you know how to fish?” Reiner asked.

I think I’ve had a conversation similar to this one with him before. It was probably when he took me to row a boat. If I recalled correctly, back then he asked if I could swim. My lips curved into a smile as I recalled the events of that day.

“Do I look like I know how to fish?” I asked.

“No…I was just asking in case I’d get lucky,” Reiner replied with a wry smile.

“Guess this just taught you not to rely too much on your luck,” I said before laughing at him.

“I never rely on my luck…” Reine replied, sounding very serious.

“Aha…so are we going to fish?” I asked.

I could see that there were fishes in the stream but catching them was a different issue all together.

Can’t we just eat normal food? Now that I think about it, I wasn’t sure if Reine packed food from the mansion and clearly there were no restaurants around here either.

“Yes, but since you just told me that you can’t fish. I’ll have to teach you first,” Reiner stated matter-of-

factly.

“Is this part of my training?” I asked curiously. After all, we are at some type of training ground and a very large one at that.

“I guess…” he said with a shrug.

I watched him unpacking stuff from a bag that he had carried along with us on our walk. I didn’t know anything about fishing, but I could tell that those were probably fishing tools.

--To be continued…