There was something about Xander that Airin could not decide, not yet at least, whether it was bothering her, or it was comforting her.

He had told a lot about what had happened to him, to Halgard, but there was more than what he had told. Untold parts of a grand story that may be important.

She just could not get Xander to willingly tell her those parts. She held her breath as another realization dawned upon her: But how about if she was wrong? If it was just her overstimulated anxiety that made her feel like there was still more that Xander had not told her? How about if Xander had told everything indeed?

Airin took a long, deep, breath, tried to withstand the invisible arms that pulled Airin closer, floating against gravity, all the way to the foreigner in her living room. She wanted to know more about him, she just could not yet figure out how to even begin to ask the questions.

She was relieved however, that every strand of her being now seemed to have come to an agreement: Xander was not a killer, or a robber, or anyone who would make her regret her decision of bringing him and Lyanna here, into her home. She was just being helpful, she was doing the right thing. A rush of relief made her smile finally. A smile that did not escape Xander's notice.

Those mesmerizing light blue eyes relaxed, though his expression just became slightly less grim.

Xander took a deep breath, his lips quivered as if more sentences that were about to flow out were suppressed again. He wants to tell me more, Airin whispered inside her head. Her gut feeling was too stubborn to be calmed. There was more to Xander, much more, than what he was willing to tell.

"Go rest, Airin. It is late. I will guard you and Lyanna," Xander finally said.

"There is no need to guard here, Xander. There is no enemy here. It is my universe, my home. Maybe sometimes some drunkards pass by down there on the street, shouting some profanities, throwing empty beer bottles to the pavement. No big deal."

Xander thought for a bit, then nodded. "At least have a rest, sleep in your room, with Lyanna. I do not think she will mind at all. She seems to like you a lot. I will be out here."

Airin did not want to sleep. Not yet. Her right hand clutched her engraved skillet, brought it close to her chest. Slowly her left index finger traced the engraving Xander made on it. The realization became more and more intense, more unavoidable, for her. "You are really, really, not from here, from my universe, are you ... Xander?" she whispered.

Xander shook his head. "I am not, Airin. I will not be an inconvenience to you. Do go about your life as if Lyanna and I are not here. I will take care of her."

"Have you had any experience taking care of a young child?" she inquired out of curiosity.

Xander shook his head. "No, not at all. May the gods help me."

<<<>>>

Airin spent the rest of the night on her airbed, single-sized small airbed that she took on her camping trip to the mountains with some friends in the summer a couple years ago. She opened up the futon couch for Xander, but he was too tall to be perfectly comfortable on what Airin realized now too, that she had a tiny futon couch.

Lyanna slept restlessly. It would seem like she was having some dreams as she groaned and tossing and turning on the bed. But she continued sleeping anyway, and Airin would sit up and check on her from time to time.

Airin did not really fall asleep. She could not. She finally checked her phone. No message, nothing from Dad. She did shed a couple tears as what had happened streaming back to her consciousness now. Dad and May. Two years. Two long years.

Dad cheated on Mom.

Dad cheated ... .

She wafted in and out the thin border between sleep and wake.

She could hear Lyanna turning on the bed, but her body felt limp like she was in some sort of a dream. She was exhausted, but she could not sleep. Her brain raced among thousands of topics, of worries, of hurts, and memories.

When morning came, she had finally drifted off to sleep, until a small hand shook her shoulder gently and she heard, "Miss Airin? Are you awake?"

Airin struggled to put together all that had happened, startled gently when her eyes caught the soft gaze of a little girl just inches away from her face.

Lyanna.

"Yes, I am now ..." she answered, tried to sit up even though that was not that easy on a shaky airbed.

"I am hungry, Miss Airin. Can I eat something? Please?" Lyanna was gentle and polite, and from where she sat, Airin could hear the rumble in her guest's stomach.

Airin smiled, and nodded.

Lyanna held her hands as they walked out of the bedroom. To Xander who did not seem to have slept at all.

Foodwise, her guests were not in luck. She did not have much in her kitchen, thus she rushed to the closest convenience store, bought some grocery and rushed home.

Lyanna ate a lot for a five-year-old girl. Three slices of bread, she tried two with chocolate paste and one with sprinkles, a boiled egg, an apple, a slice of chicken ham, and loved them all. She drank a glass of milk, and by the time she finished it, she was full and was now turning her attention to the tv.

Airin spent some time explaining to both Xander and Lyanna what a tv was, then Lyanna was glued in front of a Saturday morning cartoon show.

"Thank you," Xander said half-whispering to Airin, he stole a quick glance at Airin, then his gaze was focused again on his niece on the couch, and the tv in front of the couch was showing a colourful cartoon with catchy music background.

Xander had been quiet, and from the way the futon couch looked, he had not slept on it last night. He ate a slice of bread, and Lyanna was so awed by the taste of sprinkles that she insisted he tried the colourful sprinkles, to which he reluctantly agreed. He grimaced at first at the sweetness of the sprinkles, but finished his bread nevertheless. That, an apple, and a cup of tea was all he had.

"I just introduced her royal highness Princess Lyanna, crown princess of Halgard, the future queen and guardian of elegarii, to Saturday morning cartoon on tv, sprinkles, and white bread. You might want to save the thank you until after you see the impact of those fun stuff on her preparing herself to be a queen," Airin replied with a smile.

"Do you think they are bad for her?"

"What?"

"That ... TV, sprinkles?"

Airin paused her eating, stared at Xander who stood in front of her across from the kitchen counter, realized Xander watched her intensely with those light blue eyes of his that seemed to get more tint of blueness in the morning light. Xander looked serious. "Well, could be. TV especially. My mom used to have to chase me away from the couch, away from TV, so I could actually have time to do some homework for school. I mean, it's fun ... but it gets harder and harder to stop watching, then it takes time away from other ... stuff," Airin explained then took a big bite of her apple.

'There are many strange things in your universe, Airin. Children in Halgard play outside a lot, or help their parents with the sheep and the farm."

Airin nodded. "A lot of parents in my universe would pay money for their children to be in a camp with farm and sheep."

A tilt of Xander's head expressed his deep bewilderment. He decided to keep quiet, before opening his mouth again. "Airin, what do you ... what do you do exactly in this world of yours? You seem to be very good with a child like Lyanna."

Airin nodded, thoughts of her students came and that made her happier. "I am ... a teacher. A teacher of the best kind, Xander. A teacher of young children, about the age of Lyanna," Airin knew she sounded proud, and she meant it that way.

Xander processed her sentences, and his eyes widened in curiosity. "So you mean ... you spend every day, every single day, with a lot of children Lyanna's age?"

"Yes. And I am loving every second of it."

Xander did not hide the expression of amusement on his face.

They were quiet for the rest of the breakfast. Only the sound of Lyanna's laughter and the cartoon music that played in the background.

The vibe of foreignness quickly dissipated for Airin with Lyanna. She was just a normal five-year-old girl who never saw tv before, and turned out to love tv.

Xander, however, remained quiet and foreign to her. He was clearly uncomfortable in talking about what he did in Halgard, and Airin decided to give him the space without asking too many questions. Xander did not try to harm her, was not a killer, and treated her with respect, so that was good enough for her.

Airin decided to do quick shopping after breakfast for some more "normal" looking clothes for both Xander and Lyanna.

Lyanna loved the jeans and shirt and hoodie that Airin got her, with rainbows and flowers and teddy bears on it.

Xander was not sure at first, but relented and wore the clothes that Airin got for him. Jeans and hoodie fitted him well, and Airin was happy she got the right size for him. Her last boyfriend, the ex whom she had not seen for two years or so now, was also tall, but not as solid muscular like Xander, so she used him as the size comparison for Xander.

Things strangely settled down like she had meant to meet the two guests from another world.

Airin admitted to herself that she did not really mind to have Xander and Lyanna in her life.