Each step you took I felt

  But silence I spoke for I thought not in long of your Melt

  When soaring my peaks, to this wanderer I cheered

  Ignorance repced by guilt when I felt your Breeze

  …

  Winter was in full blow, the storm was raging outside, showing no signs of stopping. Snow and wind danced in chaotic swirls, tracing irregur but mesmerizing patterns in the air.

  The streets were bare, except for a few, going here and there while covered in thick coats, shielding themselves from the cold as their heavy steps left marks in the thick bnket of snow. Everyone else was at home for the past week or so. It was quite the fierce storm, unusually more fierce than the previous they knew.

  Inside a cozy two-story building, the contrast couldn’t have been more stark. The warmth from the crackling fire in the hearth and its orange glow casting spread throughout the main area of the inn. The scent of firewood and pinewood mingled together, giving off a nice aroma. All this combined created a safe haven against the harsh conditions. In the midst of all of this, a young man was busy cleaning the wooden pints with a clean cloth as he gnced outside.

  ‘There won’t be many people coming tonight either..’ he said as he gnced outside, watching the snowfkes whipping through the air. He could barely see a few meters ahead.

  Once all gsses were clean, he took another cloth and started wiping the chairs and tables, moving with ease and humming that same melody that accompanied him since day one.. a gentle melody that seemed to respond to the howling winds, filling the quiet room with a sense of calm and contentment.

  He carefully wiped down the wooden tables, his movements steady and deliberate. Each table glistened under the warm light, free of dust and crumbs, ready as a destination for the rare and foolish patrons who would valiantly brave the storm.

  This fragile bubble of serenity popped when the door swung open, letting a violent gust of wind that threatened to extinguish the fire. The fmes danced wildly, casting long, erratic shadows that accentuated the change of atmosphere.

  Edur watched as two hooded figures entered, closing the door behind them with a thud. Snow clung to their cloaks, a testament to their prolonged exposure to the harsh elements.

  The figures moved silently to a secluded table in the corner of the common room, not even bothering to choose one close to the firepce. They dropped their bags next to the table and sat in silence, a certain aura of mystery around them.

  Quickly, Edur swept up and collected the snow that had fallen from their cloaks before it could melt and soak the wooden floor. He hated having to deal with mold and the smell that would be hard to get rid of once the wooden floor was soaked. Once done, he approached their table, a professional but sincere smile on his face.

  “Welcome to our inn, how may I help you?” the young waiter asked, not recognizing the figures… But then again, he was pretty bad with faces and had a few issues remembering everyone in their vilge, so he didn’t question it for now.

  They stayed silent, not even bothering to look up.

  ….Maybe they were too tired to answer, Edur thought.

  Undeterred, he made his way to the kitchen and filled two bowls with the steaming soup -his favorite one- he prepared beforehand.He returned quickly and set the bowls before them, maintaining his friendly demeanor.

  He gave them a grin as he entamed the conversation again.

  “Must have been quite the journey to get here, right? I hear the blizzards at this time of the year are relentless. Eat up and warm yourselves”

  Finally, the figures reacted to his presence, slowly raising their heads. Two pairs of piercing bck eyes met his gaze, their faces partially covered by metal masks. From the simir soft features and hair strands peeking out of their hood, Edur deduced that they might be sisters.

  He was now certain that they were travelers, hence why their unfamiliar presence.

  He also noticed the slight eye twitch both of them had as they looked at him. He didn’t react. After all, the rare merchants who passed through were startled by his unusual appearance- each with their misguided theory, much to his quiet amusement.

  The strangers both gnced at each other, before the one on the left removed her mask, revealing a broad smile.“Sounds like a good idea, the road was long after all. Thank you for the food.”She nudged her partner as they both started eating, each spoonful was slow as they kept watching as Edur returned to his occupation.

  The storm continued to rage outside, which would be the case for many days to come. Its howl against the windows created an ominous sound, the only noises disturbing the silence was the occasional crackling of the fire, the clinking of the strangers’s spoon and their low murmur.

  It was quite te, the darkness outside added to the eerie atmosphere brought by the storm.

  ***

  Edur was tending the fire when the two women called him over

  He stood up and went to their table, which started to reek of alcohol.

  “Yes, how may I help you?”

  “Another two drinks!” The livelier one on the left shout enthusiastically

  He looked at her slightly flushed face. It had been a while since the two had removed their masks and lowered their hoods, revealing the small scars they had across their faces. Despite that, one could consider them quite beautiful.

  Edur suspected that they might have been shy around strangers, and the ck of other patrons in the tavern allowed them to rex a bit.

  As he took their cups in order to refill them, the chatty one grabbed his wrist.

  “Scratch that, how about three drinks and you join us for a bit?” She gave him a grin before continuing.

  “Aren’t you tired as well, buzzing left and right like a dwarf?”

  He smiled bashfully and replied softly- the kind of voice meant to soothe a child… or avoid provoking a drunk.

  “I would love to keep you both company, but I have a few chores left to finish. I will bring you two drinks, is that alright?” He refused politely.

  She whined a bit but soon let go of her hold, Edur going back to the back of the counter and refilled the pints with the barrel of liquor, before retracing his steps and handing them their drink.

  For the first time, the one on the right spoke to him. Although she had a simir appearance to her sister, her voice was a bit rougher and gruff,

  “Quite the nice inn, are you the owner?” she asked while sizing him up.

  The young man chuckled and shook his head,“No, the owner is currently ill, he has quite the severe cold. But you have my thanks, and I will pass along the compliment to him.”

  She gave him a short nod, discreetly exchanging another knowing gnce with her sister before shifting her focus back to her drink.

  The chatty one resumed “Come on, boy, there isn’t a single soul here except us! Surely you’ve got time to keep us company and for a small drink! Right, sister?”

  The silent one nodded at her words

  Albus, the owner, always warned him not to anger drunkards and to call him if things escated. But he wasn’t here tonight, which was rare for Edur to be left on his own.

  After much pleading, the young man gave in. He took a chair from the adjacent table and sat down facing them.

  The talkative one made a victorious smile before she gulped half of her drink in one go, letting out a satisfactory smile before speaking.

  “The name’s Narvia, and she’s Brielle. What’s yours, pretty boy?”

  “Edur, nice to meet you” he said, taking the hand she offered. Her grip was particurly strong, something he already noticed when she grabbed his wrist earlier. He turned to Brielle and gave her a polite nod, which she returned.

  “What brings you to such a remote pce? There’s only the ocean to the west and the mountains to the north. And you don’t look like merchants” Edur asked, intrigued.

  Narvia shrugged, then dodged the question by asking her own.

  “Just passing by… And no need to be so formal! Rather than that, tell me; what’s up with your looks? You a spirit or something? Can’t be vampire, you’re too short for that, so it gotta be a fairy or a bastard from some magic cn.” She decred, pointing at his hair, then eyes.

  He chuckled as he shook his head, used to such strange deductions from the people visiting town. Even some children of the vilge were still at it, trying to find out if he was some creature from those old legends and stories, or something like that.“No, nothing of sorts. I’m as human as one can be, I think”

  She raised her eyebrows

  “Wat’cha mean by that? Your parents didn’t have that?”

  He shrugged before answering,

  “I never met them, so I can’t tell you.”

  “Ah, I see, apologize. Must suck.” She said solemnly as she sipped her drink, taking a furtive gnce towards Brielle.

  “Don’t be, you can’t miss something if you don’t even remember..” he stopped halfway through his sentence.

  Even though he was the one who said it, the void he felt inside betrayed his true thoughts. His soul longed for his past, his past knowledge, experiences, senselessly stripped away from the young man… His soul longed for himself, to put it bluntly, which was quite ironic.

  It was a feeling he couldn’t quite put into words. He didn’t feel as if a piece of him was missing, a piece of the puzzle that constituted his existence.

  Neither was it the feeling of loss, a piece not lost, but rather destroyed.

  What Edur truly felt was as if that piece never existed to begin with, dooming him to be an unfinished puzzle for the rest of his life. In fact, even the puzzle didn’t exist. He just… was. No strings, no ties, no memories, no nostalgia, nothing to recall.

  He tried to drown that daunting feeling by observing others and their routine, he tried to iny himself in their lives. Perhaps then, he would feel a sense of belonging, and have a clear view of his life ahead.

  He had no result in this endeavor yet, but perhaps he was too impatient.

  He shook his head slightly and pushed those thoughts aside and stood up.“Will you be staying for the night? I doubt going back out is a good idea” Edur said, gncing at the pitch-bck outside, the ever-constant blizzard seemed relentless, showing no signs of abating.

  Both Narvia and Brielle followed his gaze to the relentless fury of Nature. Narvia’s answer followed after a long yawn. “Yes, we’ll stay the night. No sense in battling the storm any further.”

  Edur nodded. “I’ll prepare your room then. Please, make yourselves comfortable by the fire in the meantime.”

  As Edur went to prepare their room, he couldn't shake the suspicion in his mind. There was something strange about these sisters, they weren’t merchants, nor were they among the troupes that should be coming soon…

  Soon, he came back downstairs.

  “Your room is ready,” he said, guiding them up to the second floor. They followed in silence, their heavy cloaks rustling softly. Edur opened the door to a cozy room with a crackling fire already going. “I hope this will be to your liking.”

  “It’ll do,” Narvia nodded. She took the key and they both entered, closing the door behind them after handing him his pay.

  With a small pouch containing a few silver coins which was given to him by Brielle, he went downstairs, and counted the money. They left quite the nice tip. He’ll be able to buy the hat little Kiri wanted. Imagining her happy face already brought a small smile to Edur’s lips.

  Pleased, Edur proceeded to clean up the table, a clean cloth in hand. His movements were slow, calm, but his gaze was far from it.

  ***

  In the morning, Edur woke up to find that the storm had subsided, allowing the Sun-Crowned to gaze upon the mortal nd once again.‘...Strange, I could’ve sworn that it was going to st much longer’

  He swiftly rose and exited the room allocated to him by Albus.

  It was time for the morning routine. He began by inspecting the pantry, noting down items that had run out or were soon to be depleted.

  Next, the back bar.

  He added a brand-new barrel to the list , they sure made quick work of one of them st night… He mused at the thought.

  Next, the common room.Edur glided through the tables with an uncanny grace, meticulously ensuring that everything was spotless. Everything was neat, the floor was pristine, devoid of dirt, and the tables ready to use.

  ‘Now that I think about it, isn’t it weird to have an inn here? This vilge barely has any visitors.. Oh well, if it works, it works’

  Next, the chambers awaited.

  As Edur pivoted to ascend the stairs and inspect the chambers, a resounding trumpet bst echoed from outside, making him jump in surprise.