Villainess From the Stars

7. Frey

When Vienna turned six, a gem from the 'parade of the obtuse' appeared.

Frey Rhodon.

He was the sweetest cinnamon roll Vienna had ever met.

The sweet side of his personality she saw during the time he tutored her.

He was humble but not self-deprecating, and he was eager to learn. He encouraged her to talk about things she'd learned before. He would watch with a smile as she shared everything she'd learned. They would have discussions of the things she read about in the library in the Stronghold.

It was a little less than two months after Frey had arrived, Vienna found Frey closing their books with a long sigh.

He turned to her with a wilting grin, like a flower that turned itself up towards the sun but ended up with its petals inward.

"It seems there is no more I can teach you."

"Sure there is..." Vienna searched his features. Her stomach tightened, and she clenched her small hands in her lap. "We could have educational discussions. Education isn't just about reading books and writing assignments."

Frey shook his head, a small breath of air escaping him as he let out a small huff of laughter. His peach-colored hair sparkled as a small fragment of sunlight came from the library window.

"Well then, Miss Vienna, what would you like to talk about?"

They went on a walk beside the fields of the hamlet when Vienna asked for something that had been on her mind for some time.

"When I visited the Stronghold, I met Prime Minister Roark."

Vienna walked along the pathway that many farmers had trodden, walking back and forth between their fields.

"I sensed he had lived a long life, but he seemed..." She let out a breath as she remembered the bright azure eyes of Tarin Roark, so wise and sad.

Frey paused beneath one of the trees that dotted the borders of the farmland. His gaze upon the cool terra.

"It is no surprise that such a great Ôkren like Roark is so private with his feelings. He must be very lonely away from his tribe, from the stories I've heard. It no longer exists."

Vienna gazed up into Frey's eyes, which seemed to be far off. He glanced down, meeting her gaze, his face that was usually so bright and cheery solemn for the moment. He knelt on the terra and held a clump of it in his hand, letting the dark grains sift through his fingers.

"The Ôkren have always been a social race. We do not like being on our own. Our communities, and our families, are tight-knit. Each with their own traditions that they pass down on through the generations."

Vienna knelt upon the damp earth, her hands sinking into it. She glanced to the side at Frey and wondered what he felt. She closed her eyes and smiled. There was something so peaceful about sitting still amongst nature. She'd feel the most beautiful sense of serenity when she would sit with her father beneath their trees.

As if all her worries were for naught.

Frey's voice spoke up once more, no more than a whisper, "We feel close to the components of Terra. Some of us, like myself, can feel a kinship even to the core of this place."

"What's it like?" Vienna opened her brown eyes and gazed across the fields.

"The Ôkren have said it feels different for each individual. I've always felt..."

Vienna could feel her tutor glancing her way, and she could see his gentle smile even before she turned her head.

"It's always felt like home to me. No matter where I go, I can always feel at home if there is terra beneath my feet."