Goodbye to the Knight✔️

39. Who is he?

We don't have to wait long, Alice reappears quickly with a bag in her hands.

"Here we go lass, everything you wanted will be in here."

"Thank you, do you need me to try anything on?" I ask.

"No need, it will fit," Alice sends me a friendly wink.

"Thank you Alice, and how much do I owe you?" Gisela says standing up and taking the bag.

"You do not owe me anything Gisela, you have helped me out far more than I can ever repay you, this is on me." Alice refuses Gisela, and they share a knowing look.

"Alice, I keep telling you to treat me like any normal customer,"

"That will never happen G," Alice laughs, "now on with you two, I have other things to get too."

We get gently shunted out of the building, with Alice calling out, "I shall see you too tomorrow at the celebrations!"

"Goodbye Alice!" Gisela calls back.

Once we are out of earshot I turn to Gisela, "Why won't Alice treat you like a normal customer?"

She looks at me, "Let us just say, I gave them a helping hand when they were starting new here."

This women has me in constant awe.

We make our way back along the streets, occasionally popping into buildings and buying an assortment of goods because apparently this trip is a full on gathering of all things trip and when I say all things, I mean it. From packages of food, to oddly shaped candles and other items, we have it all, carrying them in our arms, no wonder Gisela wanted me to come along with her.

By the time that we have finished gathering things, it is beginning to get dark and people are beginning to head indoors and close up their shops.

"I do believe that we have now got everything that we needed," Gisela says.

Inwardly I sigh in relief, my feet and arms both now beginning to ache.

"Then it is time for us to return to your house?"

"Yes, and we shall hear of what the men did this afternoon over supper."

Surprisingly, throughout all of our wandering the village, up and down streets everywhere, we have not bumped into Sage and Killian.

"That sounds perfect."

Thankfully we are already near Gisela's house so it is only a short walk back.

"Do you live alone?" I ask her, partly just to make conversation and partly because I am actually curious. Early I didn't spot anyone else there but in my mind it makes no sense for this little, energy filled, old lady, living in alone in such a big house and by the looks of it, a lot of money to her name.

"I share the house with my daughter, Cecilia, and before you ask," she looks at me, "she is not my daughter by blood, I never met a man who was ready to settle down with me..." She trails off, a forlorn look in her eyes making me wonder what happened in her past.

"How did Cecilia come to be part of your family?" I ask.

"A rather sad story indeed, happened mid winter many years ago. Snow had fallen to a point where the village was expecting no more travellers until the spring when in melted but one morning we were all surprised to see a young women barely stumbling through the snow, late with a child in her womb."

My heart sinks, many women do not make it through childbirth.

"I and a few others took her into my house where we warmed her up and gave her food but she was still weak when she started going into labour. Cecilia was born that evening, alive and well, after many long hours but the mother, poor thing did not make it so I raised Cecilia as my own."

"That was very kind of you to take her in,"

Gisela smiles, "It was definitely the right choice,"

"What happened to her father?"

"The girl was pregnant out of wedlock so her family banished her."

"How families do that, I don't understand." Although I myself have run away from my own family, it is not as though I will never see them again. My decision was to escape joining another family but I would still keep my original one.

If I got disowned... the horrifying thought itself sends a pang of pain to my chest.

Shaking off the feeling, I turn back to listening to Gisela.

"It is such a shame, but I got a beautiful daughter out of it which is the silver lining to this tragedy."

We reach Gisela's house and she opens the door and we get hit by welcoming warmth from the fire and the candles dotted everywhere.

"Mother is that you?" I hear a voice call out from the kitchen.

"Yes! Come give us a hand," Gisela calls back.

A women appears from around the corner, short dark hair tumbling freely around her shoulders. When she sees me she stops in surprise but recovers quickly.

"And who might you be?" She asks.

"My name is Ell, your mother has kindly taken us in for a few nights."

"Us?"

Gisela jumps in before I can answer, "She's with Kai and another man called Sage."

"Ahh, you are with Kai! How is that young man, we have not seen him here for a while now!" She exclaims.

"You can ask me yourself." Says a strong voice from behind us just outside the door.

"Kai!" And just like her mother she runs out the door and embraces Killian.

My curiosity is at an all time high, how does Killian know these people?

Who is he?

Sage and I still barely know anything about him.

"Everybody come inside! We are letting out all the warmth," Gisela chimes from her now place in the kitchen where she has placed everything we got in a pile in the corner. I go into the room and place my armful of items there too and look back to see Killian, Sage and Cecilia walking through the door.

Sage gives me a grin and I smile, relieved that he's okay.

"Now as much as everybody wants to catch up," Gisela speaks, "the guests need to be shown to their rooms and made welcome."

"Of course, of course, I forgot my manners in my excitement," Cecilia replies, "I can do that, or do you need help preparing supper?"

"No, go show them to their rooms, then we can regroup in here for supper, before then you shall just be nuisances under foot if you stay in here."

Cecilia nods then turns to us, "Come, I shall show you to your rooms."

A/N:
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SouthernAlps over and out...