About an hour later, I was gently shaken awake by Lucia.
“Hey, wake up, Otto. We’re here.”
Lucia said softly while poking my face.
“Huh? We’re here already? I thought we had another hour until we reached our destination?”
“Well, we did. An hour ago.”
Lucia remarked with a smidge of confusion present in her voice before opening the curtains of the carriage and helping me disembark.
The moment that the two of us left the carriage, we were greeted with a picturesque cottage that looked like it was straight out of a painting.
It was mostly constructed of brick, and had a couple of cramped windows, and a chimney with smoke coming out of it.
And more importantly, there didn’t seem to be any sign of Ameil being there at all...
“Huh, I guess he’s late. Figures.”
Lucia said in a somewhat expectant tone.
“You aren’t worried?”
“Nah, shit just tends to happen to that guy for no reason, and he’s always somehow gotten out of it, unscathed.”
“So, what you’re telling me is that during the first dinner I’m gonna ever have with your parents, we’re gonna be accompanied by someone who is known for unfortunate events happening near them?”
“We’ll be fine. Usually, the unfortunate stuff just affects him specifically.”
Lucia replied before taking my hand in hers.
“If you say so.”
I said, incredulously before shrugging a little.
“Besides, if it turns out that his luck is contagious, it would be better if we met my parents before he got here, right?”
“I hate that you’re right.”
“Doesn’t change the fact that I am.”
Lucia said simply before taking me to the front door of the cottage and giving it a light knock.
A few seconds later, the two of us heard a couple of footsteps rushing towards the door.
And then, the door swung open.
We came face to face with a woman who had blue hair and green eyes and looked to be in her early fifties.
Moreover, her clothing, while definitely plain by this world’s standards, was far more fancy than what I saw on a daily basis in my previous world.
“Lucia… don’t tell me, you actually brought a boy home?”
The woman said with disbelief evident in her voice.
“Yes, yes I did mom…”
Lucia replied in a bit of a worried tone.
Ah, here go… I knew things couldn’t just go smoot-
Before I could finish that thought, Lucia’s mom grabbed both of my wrists.
“She’s not pressuring you to be here, right? No death threats or blackmail?”
“Uh… no? I came here of my own volition.”
I replied, highly confused.
“Oh my god, it’s actually happening. I need to tell your father, he’s gunna so happy when he finds out!”
Lucia’s mom said quickly before releasing me from her grip and running back into the cottage, leaving Lucia and I alone, completely stunned at what just happened.
“Hey Lucia… what was that?”
“How the fuck should I know? Everytime Ameil brought someone home, they always got pissed off!”
“Wait, hold on, you were planning on bringing me here, despite knowing that?”
“Oh, don’t give me that, you know that even if they hated you, I would’ve had your back right?”
“Of course I knew that! I just didn’t want the two of us to become fugitives on the run for the rest of our lives, had we needed to resort to that!”
“Well, we’re not! Since, it looks like they’re pretty okay with this, all things considered.”
You didn’t even try to deny my argument this time…
A couple seconds later, Lucia’s mom came running back.
This time she was accompanied by someone else.
He appeared to also be in his early forties, and had blonde hair and red eyes and was dressed in overalls and work boots.
And just like Lucia’s mom, he immediately grabbed my wrists the moment that he saw me, albeit with a little more force.
“Son, please tell me that you weren’t lying about being here of your own choice!”
The person said, in an almost pleading voice.
“Why does everyone keep assuming that I forced him to come here?”
Lucia interjected, before I had the chance to answer her father.
“Shush, let the boy speak! I need to hear this for myself.”
Lucia’s dad said before looking me intently in the eyes.
“Um yeah, I’m here solely because I love your daughter.”
The moment that I finished saying those words out loud, Lucia’s parents embraced me in a hug.
“So, you were real! And here we were thinking that you were made up, Otto!”
“Wha… how do you guys already know my name?”
“We got a letter from Lucia in the mail this morning that said you two were going to stop by.”
Lucia’s father answered, before pulling out a folded up sheet of paper from his pocket.
“Here, have a look for yourself-“
Before Lucia’s dad could finish his sentence, Lucia snatched the letter away from him.
“Dad, what the hell!”
Lucia said indignantly, while holding the letter close to her chest.
“What’s the matter dear, you don’t want your boyfriend to know all the nice things that you wrote about him in the letter?”
“Uh no, of course I do. I just don’t want you two idiots to be there gushing when I give him the details!”
“So, you want to keep it just between you two? Hah, you seem to have changed a lot, but you’re just as possessive as ever, Lucia.”
“That’s not what I meant!”
“Whatever you say dear.”
Lucia’s mom said in a mischievous tone before ushering the both of us into the cottage and towards the living room.
Then she had the both of us take a seat on the couch in the living room, before leaving to make some tea.
Her dad, on the other hand, rushed upstairs to grab something.
What exactly that thing was, neither of us could be sure.
Once again, Lucia and I were left alone with our thoughts.
“Hey, Lucia.”
“Yeah, Otto?”
“I think I’m more afraid of your parents, now that I know that they like me...”
I said before collapsing onto her lap, exhausted.
“Heh, yeah. I get that.”
Lucia said in kind before gently brushing through my hair with her fingers and staring into my eyes, longingly.
About an hour later, I was gently shaken awake by Lucia.
“Hey, wake up, Otto. We’re here.”
Lucia said softly while poking my face.
“Huh? We’re here already? I thought we had another hour until we reached our destination?”
“Well, we did. An hour ago.”
Lucia remarked with a smidge of confusion present in her voice before opening the curtains of the carriage and helping me disembark.
The moment that the two of us left the carriage, we were greeted with a picturesque cottage that looked like it was straight out of a painting.
It was mostly constructed of brick, and had a couple of cramped windows, and a chimney with smoke coming out of it.
And more importantly, there didn’t seem to be any sign of Ameil being there at all...
“Huh, I guess he’s late. Figures.”
Lucia said in a somewhat expectant tone.
“You aren’t worried?”
“Nah, shit just tends to happen to that guy for no reason, and he’s always somehow gotten out of it, unscathed.”
“So, what you’re telling me is that during the first dinner I’m gonna ever have with your parents, we’re gonna be accompanied by someone who is known for unfortunate events happening near them?”
“We’ll be fine. Usually, the unfortunate stuff just affects him specifically.”
Lucia replied before taking my hand in hers.
“If you say so.”
I said, incredulously before shrugging a little.
“Besides, if it turns out that his luck is contagious, it would be better if we met my parents before he got here, right?”
“I hate that you’re right.”
“Doesn’t change the fact that I am.”
Lucia said simply before taking me to the front door of the cottage and giving it a light knock.
A few seconds later, the two of us heard a couple of footsteps rushing towards the door.
And then, the door swung open.
We came face to face with a woman who had blue hair and green eyes and looked to be in her early fifties.
Moreover, her clothing, while definitely plain by this world’s standards, was far more fancy than what I saw on a daily basis in my previous world.
“Lucia… don’t tell me, you actually brought a boy home?”
The woman said with disbelief evident in her voice.
“Yes, yes I did mom…”
Lucia replied in a bit of a worried tone.
Ah, here go… I knew things couldn’t just go smoot-
Before I could finish that thought, Lucia’s mom grabbed both of my wrists.
“She’s not pressuring you to be here, right? No death threats or blackmail?”
“Uh… no? I came here of my own volition.”
I replied, highly confused.
“Oh my god, it’s actually happening. I need to tell your father, he’s gunna so happy when he finds out!”
Lucia’s mom said quickly before releasing me from her grip and running back into the cottage, leaving Lucia and I alone, completely stunned at what just happened.
“Hey Lucia… what was that?”
“How the fuck should I know? Everytime Ameil brought someone home, they always got pissed off!”
“Wait, hold on, you were planning on bringing me here, despite knowing that?”
“Oh, don’t give me that, you know that even if they hated you, I would’ve had your back right?”
“Of course I knew that! I just didn’t want the two of us to become fugitives on the run for the rest of our lives, had we needed to resort to that!”
“Well, we’re not! Since, it looks like they’re pretty okay with this, all things considered.”
You didn’t even try to deny my argument this time…
A couple seconds later, Lucia’s mom came running back.
This time she was accompanied by someone else.
He appeared to also be in his early forties, and had blonde hair and red eyes and was dressed in overalls and work boots.
And just like Lucia’s mom, he immediately grabbed my wrists the moment that he saw me, albeit with a little more force.
“Son, please tell me that you weren’t lying about being here of your own choice!”
The person said, in an almost pleading voice.
“Why does everyone keep assuming that I forced him to come here?”
Lucia interjected, before I had the chance to answer her father.
“Shush, let the boy speak! I need to hear this for myself.”
Lucia’s dad said before looking me intently in the eyes.
“Um yeah, I’m here solely because I love your daughter.”
The moment that I finished saying those words out loud, Lucia’s parents embraced me in a hug.
“So, you were real! And here we were thinking that you were made up, Otto!”
“Wha… how do you guys already know my name?”
“We got a letter from Lucia in the mail this morning that said you two were going to stop by.”
Lucia’s father answered, before pulling out a folded up sheet of paper from his pocket.
“Here, have a look for yourself-“
Before Lucia’s dad could finish his sentence, Lucia snatched the letter away from him.
“Dad, what the hell!”
Lucia said indignantly, while holding the letter close to her chest.
“What’s the matter dear, you don’t want your boyfriend to know all the nice things that you wrote about him in the letter?”
“Uh no, of course I do. I just don’t want you two idiots to be there gushing when I give him the details!”
“So, you want to keep it just between you two? Hah, you seem to have changed a lot, but you’re just as possessive as ever, Lucia.”
“That’s not what I meant!”
“Whatever you say dear.”
Lucia’s mom said in a mischievous tone before ushering the both of us into the cottage and towards the living room.
Then she had the both of us take a seat on the couch in the living room, before leaving to make some tea.
Her dad, on the other hand, rushed upstairs to grab something.
What exactly that thing was, neither of us could be sure.
Once again, Lucia and I were left alone with our thoughts.
“Hey, Lucia.”
“Yeah, Otto?”
“I think I’m more afraid of your parents, now that I know that they like me...”
I said before collapsing onto her lap, exhausted.
“Heh, yeah. I get that.”
Lucia said in kind before gently brushing through my hair with her fingers and staring into my eyes, longingly.
