He felt it too, I could see it in his expression.
'Thank you,' he said with a smile. 'Maybe my gift is finding magic hunters in the middle of the woods. Or hiding them from the riders who are chasing them.'
'Comedy is not your thing either,' I said with sarcasm.
My pulse quickened at the suddenness with which his bedroom door opened.
Three sturdy, gigantic boys pounced on Russell. In a second, I realized that they must be his brothers.
Behind them, two identical little girls grabbed Russell by the legs. He couldn't even breathe, the way they were hugging him.
For a moment, I wondered how it would feel, to have so many people who were happy to see you. Sometimes I think if I had just had a little bit of my family's love, everything would have been different.
My thoughts were interrupted by the stares of those five people for whom I was still a stranger.
'Hello, I am Milaia,' I dared to introduce myself.
'Milaia has helped me hunt for dinner,' said Russell and added, 'she has helped all of us.'
To my surprise, everyone smiled at me and started to introduce themselves.
From what I could understand, the three brothers were named Aaron, Rich and Fredrick, while the little girls introduced themselves as Annette and Alyssa.
Aaron was the oldest of them all, about twenty-seven years old, a real man. He had brown hair, light grey eyes. Those eyes were apparently the family's personal mark. He was grateful that his brother had returned.
Rich followed him. In his mid-20s, he was the family joker. He had a joke for everything and the most contagious laugh I've ever heard. As for his image, he was practically the same as Aaron, only without the curls.
The one that caught my attention the most was Fredrick, the one who presented himself most calmly. A little bit thinner than his brothers, he seemed serene and cautious. His hair was more like his brother Aaron's. However, he had an extra peculiarity, on his left cheek there was a scar, a sign of a past injury. I was quite intrigued that at only twenty-four years old, someone would have hurt him in that way.
Then there was Russell, who, I had just learned, was twenty-two years old, two years older than me.
Last but not least were the twins Annette and Aly (short for Alyssa). They shared looks, light brown hair and big grey eyes, but not personalities. I could tell Annette was a little more mature than Aly who was bubblier and more expressive.
They were all talking to me endlessly, telling me a little bit about each other, not even letting me worry about the impending questions I was waiting for in terror.
Annette led me to her mother's room and with Aly's help, they dressed me and arranged me in one of the most beautiful dresses her mother had. It was purple, with silver details. It was an exquisite design, even if I didn't think much of it. They run to the garden and brought some flowers that were placed in my braided hair.
When Cara called us to dinner, I knew it might be possible for questions to arise soon. Nevertheless, I sat at that big table as calm as possible.
I noticed Russell was staring at me. This was the first time he had seen me clean and well dressed.
As soon as dinner was served, everyone ate quickly, I would even say desperately, as if an eternity had passed since they had tasted meat. I ate slowly, I wanted to savor every bite, plus I was quite busy observing and gathering in my memory that precious moment.
For the first time in so long, I was happy. Even if I was with people who had no idea who I was. They had welcomed me as one of their own.
We were almost over when Cara was quick to pick up the subject that Russell had left unfinished.
'So Milaia, how did you meet Russell?' Russell started coughing. Unable to create a lie, I accepted that there was no choice but to tell the truth.
'It's complicated, I just need you not to judge me before I'm done explaining,' everyone's silence was a sign of acceptance.
'My name is Milaia Pleiton, and I come from the Kingdom of Bieno,' when I pronounced that word everyone gasped, but respecting the promise, they let me continue.
'Last night, I escaped from it, Russell found me in the woods and saved my life, I'm more than grateful to him. You don't have to help me like he did, I just want you to know that I'm already happy that I had the chance to live another day. I know that being from Bieno is not something very well seen in this Kingdom, but in my opinion, this war is absurd. Anyway, Bieno is no longer my home, I don't think I can ever go back, I don't really have a home now that I think about it. Russell offered his home with all the generosity of the Gods. That's why I'm here, that's my story.'
There was a long painful silence. Everyone looked at each other in confusion. No one seemed to understand how someone from Bieno could be sitting among them, saying she preferred that unknown place to the place where she had spent her whole life.
Rich finally broke the icy silence.
'We hate that ruthless horrible place,' I knew they were going to kick me out, I was preparing for that moment. 'But you somehow helped us, you helped this family eat something that wasn't cultivated for once in months. And, because of that, I'll give you a chance.'
'Excuse me,' Aaron interrupted him. 'Am I the only one who wants to know why she ran away? Are you a murderer or something? Did you kill someone and they discovered your crime and that's why you had to run away and we're really your next victims?'
I didn't know if the question was serious or a joke. I took it as seriously as possible.
'No, I actually ran away from a duty.'
'I don't understand,' Aaron added, 'and I'm sorry to insist, but if I agree to let you stay in my house with my family, I want to know the whole story, not just your dramatic monologue about the enmity of kingdoms.'
It was definitely not a joke.
'I went to a ball where the King had to choose a girl to marry his son. Unfortunately, for no particular reason, the King decided that I would be the one to marry the Prince. Knowing that if I accepted I would regret it for the rest of my days and that if I refused I would die, I escaped.'
'So, all Bieno is looking for you because you didn't want to marry a prince?' Annette asked worriedly.
'I suspect the King is not very happy. So, yes, they are looking for me, not to escort me to the Prince, but to execute me for disobeying them,' they all looked at me with a certain empathy, as if they understood what I was going through.
'What about your family?' Asked Cara gently.
'They wanted me to marry the prince, it would be their chance to have all the wealth they ever wanted. They sold me. I don't think they want me to come back after ruining their opportunity.'
'Do you hate them?' Fredrick's question took me by surprise. I thought about it for a few seconds and answered in all honesty.
'I don't think I can hate my family, but I don't think I can forgive them either. And if you ask about my kingdom, I don't want anything to do with them.'
'Welcome to the Anti-Bieno Club then,' joked Rich, the whole family laughed sourly and sadly. 'You're certainly one of us. To those who disobey,' he raised his glass, though no one played along.
Without even waiting for me to recover from his last question, Fredrick asked me something that left me speechless.
'Do you know what the King does to our people?' That question silenced everyone at the table.
'I don't know what you mean. The truth is I don't know much about any of the kingdoms. Until today I didn't know that magic was real. We're just told not to go out into the woods at night, for protection. What we know is pure gossip, which, believe me, was refuted the second I set foot in this kingdom.'
'Do you want me to tell you what your King is doing to us? To all of us?' Fredrick questioned with hatred in his eyes and raising his voice.
'Enough Fred!' Cried Russell, imposing himself on his older brother. 'She's not to blame for what her kingdom does, she doesn't even know about it'.
Fredrick watched him and they connected for a few seconds. Staring at each other, they communicated in secret. Fredrick got up abruptly from his chair and walked to his room and slammed the door. I knew I had to say something.
'I... I feel more than ashamed about this. I never thought reality would be like this. In my Kingdom all I see is hunger and sadness day after day. I didn't think it possible that the King would deign to torture more than he tortures us. I have no words to express how much I hate being from that place and how sorry I am to have ever called it my home. If you want me, I'll leave right away.'
'Bieno is not your home Milaia, it never was and it never will be,' Russell said. 'You're here now, this can be your home.'