It took two more days before Tamara allowed Eldric to leave his bed despite his protests that he was feeling a lot better. The good thing was, he was an easy patient to deal with. He was would allow them to deal with him without any fuss at all. He followed every instruction and obeyed every reminder.

Tamara was fond of him, she treated him almost like her own son. Lia had a suspicion sometimes that Eldric reminded her of her lost son. It did not sting her but it surely made her feel sad for her mother.

On the other hand, Eldric loved being doted upon like it was his first time having a mom. The commanding judge from the contest was gone. In place of him was a fawning son. Lia watched their exchange in amusement.

But all things considered, Lia hated how he turned out to be an agreeable person. He acted like their shabby cottage was a luxury inn, their food as if from a world-renowned chef.

“Is this the one you brought in the contest?” He poked his head in the kitchen just as Lia was preparing his food.

Tamara went to the middle of the forest on the opposite side of the clearing. She mentioned about a new plant she found there in an accident. So she went back to study them and ordered the two to eat without her.

He pulled a chair and sat. watching Lia placed the food in front of him. His eyes glittered from anticipation.

He looked as if he fitted right in their home.

“Close. This one was different. It only has meat, not the bone marrow I used then. It’s pretty cold lately so I thought you needed soup and this is good for someone recovering.”

Eldric smiled. And Lia regretted opening her mouth. That was the worst of it all, how he was so easy to talk to. He turned to whoever he was talking to with his full attention as if whatever you were saying was the most important thing in the world. And his responses were neither condescending nor patronizing.

“You know some unique but delicious dishes,” he noted his voice full of approval as he took a sip from his soup.

Lia shrugged, acting cool. “You have to be inventive when you are living out here in the wilderness.”

Eldric winced as he sipped his soup. His hand trembled as he held the spoon. Lia was quick to dab a handkerchief on the spot where the soup spilled. “Careful. Do you need help? Do your wounds still hurting?”

He waved her off dismissively. “During the contest, you said your mother… passed away. Yet you call Tamara, Mother?”

Eldric eyed her, gauging her reactions. Lia knew, without even knowing why that he would not pursue the topic if she showed even an inkling of disapproval. But somehow, she wanted to tell him this.

“Tamara adopted me when my parents died.”

Eldric studied her face. He seemed to have mistaken her detached tone to that of someone trying to hide her grief. But Lia was not hiding anything. While she was sorry for the death and the childhood of the original owner of the body, she had not met her parents. To her, they were more of a phantom, a figment of memory. She would go as far as calling them strangers.

“It doesn’t matter. It’s been a long time,” she said in an attempt to dismiss his pity.

“Why do you wear like that?” he said not unkindly, only trying to change the topic. She knew but she got defensive anyway.

She had gone to the town that day to buy ingredients and to deliver as usual. When she came back, she went straight to cook and forgot about her clothes until he pointed them out.

“Why? What is wrong with my clothes?”

“No, you can wear pants or anything you’d like. Though that’s unusual but who cares. But you know what I mean,” his eyes pleaded.

Lia found honesty there and something that might be close to curiosity. She sighed. “People know our faces. If they see me in town, they would flog me. What, why do you look like that?” She asked when she saw Eldric furrowed his brows.

“I know it’s good that they haven’t figured it out yet, but it’s also their lost for not seeing your beautiful face.” He smiled.

Lia pushed down the urge to throw him anything so she settled with rolling her eyes.