A/N: Photo of Reonan, but with scars and shorter hair :D

***

Right after Darcy and his friends left, Zoe excused herself and found her way back to her room, trying every locked door until she finally stumbled with her open door. She locked the bolt and removed her boots, allowing the cold to seep through her black socks. She marched towards the bed and grabbed the white pillow, quickly bouncing off in her bed with a groan. She was famished but didn't feel like eating after all the drama that happened.

A lot of questions still paraded in her mind, but she knew that staying in the old Inn would bring her more freedom to move and find answers.

But where would she start?

Maybe she should ask Reonan for help?

Then a horrifying idea dawned on her - she was left with strangers. Even if Darcy trusted them, she could never be sure. She was fond of Reonan and felt at ease in his company, yet the idea of staying with strangers punched a hole of anxiety in her stomach.

She sat up and turned to the wooden door. The thought of running away whisked in her mind, but she swatted the stupid idea. She doubted that she could even survive for a week, given the fact that there were people hunting redheads. The least she could do was always lock her room and be skeptic about everything before trusting them.

Zoe rolled on her belly and gazed at the window, frowning from the bright, blue sky. Her thoughts wandered to the plane of empty space as her eyelids started to become heavy until she let them closed and dozed off.

That night, she was awakened by Reonan's call, inviting her for dinner. She followed him downstairs where Dilinjer was serving the food at the center table, engulfing the room with rich aromas that made her forget how to exhale.

Finally being able to observe the cake shop, Zoe had no idea how she missed all the details when she ran away. A few feet from the stairs was a single counter, which was connected to a wooden cake show case. The interior was just the right size to accommodate twenty-five people, and despite the fact that it was simple, the whole place was homely and welcoming.

Different books were piled on the shelves hanging on the walls, while below them were racks of potted flowers and assorted colorful stones in jars. The floorboard was old, yet it still had that sparkle that reflected the warm glow of yellowish circular lamps floating a few inches from the ceiling.

"Did you rest well?" Reonan asked, filling a huge dinner plate with what Zoe assumed as lasagna. "I've been trying to wake you for thirty minutes." The shadows made his scars stand out, yet they didn't bother her. Or even scared her.

But she chose to be careful with her words and said, "I'm sorry." While maintaining a safe distance from them.

"Why are you apologizing?" he laughed.

"For bothering you?"

The older man snorted.

She had grown up always being reprimanded, and she knew better than answering back, especially to adults. She didn't know exactly what else to do aside from apologizing.

The chef handed her the huge dinner plate with no available space for another food. "You're being too serious, duckie. No need to apologize for things like that. We understand that you've been through a lot and you needed time to rest and adjust to your new surrounding." He patted her head and before she could glare at him, he pulled a chair and beckoned her.

She took her seat and thanked him.

Even though it was already past eight, Zoe could see a lot of passers-by through the two huge windows in front of the store. The street outside was brightened by the colorful lanterns suspended in the air as though a festival was being held. It was supposed to be loud and noisy, yet the whole room resonated with nothing but the blissful music - a duet of violin and piano.

"Is there a festival?" she asked, watching Dilinjer to take a seat in front of her. His disheveled hair was in contrast with his wrinkle-free, all white attire.

The healer looked up at her and followed her eyes to the glass windows. "Ah, that's normal," he explained, "because the market never closed."

"But why can't I hear them?" She studied a fruit vendor calling out to passers-by.

"It happened way back," the healer went on, "when we first moved here and couldn't sleep because of the noise. Right then, Lucio used a minor seal to protect the whole Inn from any sound coming from the outside, and up to now, he's maintaining it with little effort."

Reonan settled on the chair beside her and pointed at the ceiling. "Then he composed this music for the store."

Somehow, the Great Magician gained her respect in the field of music. "It sounds amazing," she said.

The two older men nodded then rubbed their palms together and began eating. Taken by the mood, Zoe also rubbed her palms and dived in.

***

While having dinner, Zoe didn't expect to be in the hot seat. Somehow, the tension from her earlier childish act flew out of the window. She expected to be scolded and to be engulfed by a sea of words of wisdom.

Instead, they talked about Earth's History, Mythologies, Religion, Science, and Technologies that her brain was about to explode. Both Dilinjer and Reonan seemed enthusiastic with her every word that she barely even touched her food.

Taking her chances, she also introduced them to the world of Anime and to her surprise, the two older men couldn't wait to hear the next part of Naruto.

During the past, she tried doing the same trick to Gilbert. She persuaded him to join the legion of Otakus and pushed him to watch Animes and read Mangas for years. She even bought him custom made T-shirts with printed anime quotes, but Gilbert was like a rock that simply wouldn't budge.

"Your world is truly fascinating," Dilinjer said after wiping his mouth with a paper towel. "It's such a shame that we couldn't share such work of art."

"Who knows?" Reonan said, taking another mouthful of chocolate cake. "Someone crossed the barrier, two people could wield the Sword of Yraj, and those In Between walked with the living." He swallowed. "It only means one thing - war is coming. And maybe . . . just maybe, if those that wished for peace prevails, then the two realms could live side by side again."

"You made it sound so easy."

"I'm merely stating facts and my opinion. Besides, it's something to look forward to." Reonan served himself another slice of cake and glanced at Zoe. "Right, duckie?"

Too busy eating her meal, Zoe simply nodded while mentally strangling the chef. Pet names could wait, but she would see to it that his would be much worse. In the mean time, she wanted to concentrate on the feast before her. There were pasta, casserole foods, soups, vegetable salads, freshly baked bread, and cakes that her plate was never empty. Although she wasn't familiar with the majority of them, Zoe was thankful that they didn't taste like a puree of vegetables, unlike some heavenly-looking cake with a horrifying background.

"That reminds me," Dilinjer started, but was cut-off by the sound of footsteps coming from the stairs.

***

Dedicated to unsolvedestiny

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