Lyla had managed to successfully sneak the large cat into the mansion without anyone noticing her, and the next day, she relied on Ismene's help to take care of the cat when she was busy with her lessons.
Her new room, which was on the second floor, made it easier to hide him since most of the servants worked on the lower floor, and before she knew it, five days had already passed, yet no one had discovered her secret.
That was cut short when she returned from her lessons with the Paisios and heard a scream piercing through the house. She followed the servants who rushed to the source of the noise.
Pinned against the wall by an invisible force was Lynx, together with the cat, they had settled on the name after lengthy suggestions. Lynx hissed and growled at the servant holding him with his magic, and in response, the man held him tighter.
A few steps from the cat was a worker she had seen cleaning these corridors several times. The woman was now shaking, holding onto a part of her arm that was bleeding from a nasty scratch.
Lynx hissed again, and she moved.
"Stop," she told the man, "you're hurting him. Stop"
"That thing pounced on her," he said, his eyes never moving from the cat
"He was just scared. Look, I'm sorry for what he did; he was just scared." She faced the woman, "I'm sorry, ma'am, I'm sorry for what my cat did to you. I'll have someone tend to you and do whatever you want to atone for this. I'm so sorry."
The woman and man glanced at her
"Your cat?" the woman asked curiously
"Yes, he is mine, and I'm sorry for what he did. I take full responsibility for it."
"Oh, you will," an all too familiar voice said
Lyla looked to where the Keeper was now standing, an undeniably angry look in her eyes. The staff who had crowded shifted without a word and quickly dispersed, leaving only the man holding Lynx and the injured woman behind
The Keeper walked to the woman, "Merida, please head to my study, I'll be with you shortly."
She left without another word, although she gave Lynx a wide berth
"Simeon, you may leave to" the man was hesitant, "I'll take it from here, go," she nodded to him in assurance
Lyla moved to Lynx as soon as the man released him. The cat hissed at him, but she stood before him, blocking his view and trying to comfort the rattled animal
"Explain"
"I found him some days ago; some man was hunting him, so I decided to help."
"By bringing him here without my knowledge."
"I'm sorry for that, but where else would I have taken him. Plus, whoever that man was had held him captive before there were signs of injury and trauma on him. I wouldn't just abandon him."
The Keeper's gaze again landed on the cat curled on her side
"You said there were signs of trauma. How did you know this, since only a healer can determine that?"
Lyla cursed internally
"Ah, I see you, little friend, helped you."
"This is all on me. If you need to punish anyone, punish me."
The woman smirked, "How noble. As for your punishment that will be later, you still have your lessons, but before that, clean up this mess and make sure that…cat stays out of sight, lock it in your room if you have to."
With that, she walked off, leaving Lyla curious. The pause she made before saying the word 'cat' caught her attention. The way she said it made it seem as though it wasn't fitting to call him that, and the way she looked at him, her eyes were filled with suspicion and curiosity.
It was rare for anything to make the woman visibly curious, so she wondered what it was about Lynx that elicited such a reaction.
*
Lyla stood before two men, glad in official navy blue attire. The two stood beside the door of the carriage arranged for their trip, neither of them faced her.
"Lyla, this is Rueben and Markus," Aeneas introduced. The men finally turned, she smiled awkwardly, and she could have sworn the eyes of the man with ginger hair sparkled – Reuben.
Markus, on the other hand, had a calm and stern look on his face. He simply nodded before looking away.
"Men, this is Lyla, she'll be accompanying us."
"Hi," she greeted as Lynx, standing at her feet, purred, dragging all their attention
"Pardon me, that is Lynx, he will also be travelling with us," Aeneas quickly added as if sensing the disapproval in the sound.
Reuben's eyes danced in amusement
"Let's head out," Aeneas announced, and the two moved to pack her luggage before riding at the front
Aeneas had earlier rushed inside her room with a bright smile on his face and announced she would be accompanying him on an official duty. She couldn't believe it, especially not after the incident yesterday, but the Keeper had relented because of the Paisios, Aeneas had said
The trip consisted of her and Lynx looking outside the little window, taking in every inch of the town as it faded away.
They briefly stopped in the next town to allow her to do a bit of exploring. One of its unique sites was the naturally flowing waters emerging from different rocks at different points of the town.
Lyla and Lynx had wandered around in amazement on their faces. During their walk, they came across beings whose skin shimmered and had intricate markings running all over their bodies, much like veins.
Aeneas explained that they were known as Seraphides, beings that played roles in healing, agriculture, and maintaining the knowledge of their realm. Because of their reserved nature, they rarely engaged in violent tendencies, making them the more trusted race. He also mentioned they were known as travelers since they tended to constantly move and preferred that to settling in one place.
Their last stop had been one of the larger water points in town, which was closer to a small forest. Water flowed like a mini waterfall between two rocks, blue and white, before ending in the large, formed pool below and continuing as a tiny river.
Lyla had been standing by the edge, watching those glowing waters, when she noticed some movement, a ripple, then a larger disturbance before something burst out. Both she and Lynx bounced back instinctively. Aeneas, who had drawn a sword, placed it back and smiled at the creature…being who had just come out of the waters.
The being looked alarmed and embarrassed.
"Apologies, we didn't see you in there," Aeneas said
The being just looked at him before her eyes moved to Lynx and then to her. Lyla's breath hitched at the intensity of those orbs. They stared at each other for seconds before another movement in the water pulled her attention, and that's when she noticed the tail
Lyla looked back at the being, then to the tail, then back. Was that…was this being a mermaid? Her eyes filled with shock and surprise, to which the woman in the water just tilted her head in wonder
"I should be the one apologizing. I didn't mean to emerge so suddenly," she said, but something in her eyes told her she was possibly lying. Was she trying to scare them? "You do know it's rude to stare," the woman said directly to her
"I…" she started, "well, you are also staring," she said, stopping herself from apologizing
The woman smiled
"Apologies again, we'll take our leave."
Aeneas said quicklu pulling her away, but Lyla took another look behind at the woman, and this time she found her smiling even brighter
The smile was unsettling, and the look in her eyes chilling