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Special thanks to PrincessEilonwy for the help she gave me! Lots of hugs to you Princess! And thanks again!

R&R!Please!

The Warmth of a Soul - chapter two

The Mule sat down on a bench and stretched his limbs. Yes, he liked this, he liked the way he felt now. Now, he was Lerol Merdon, an engineer on one of the Mule's ships, who was spending his free time on Kalgan before takeoff!

He leaned back and watched with half-closed eyelids as the Sun rose above the houses. He was a bit tired after dancing during the whole night. Then, he remembered the two girls in that bar. He had named them after their hair colours, Green-girl and Orange-girl. When he saw them, he hardly had any doubts about their jobs, and when they came closer to him, he realised that they were twins, and the only difference between them was their hair colour.

He smiled to himself as he recalled their faces when they saw him, especially his nose. They called him "funny-boy" and when they left with a half-drunk guy, Green-girl placed a kiss on his nose. Under normal circumstances, he would easily alter their minds to be attracted to him, but this time, he just let everything happen as it used to be, and he didn't care about it.

Finally, he rose from his seat to find a place where he could buy something for breakfast.

But before he could do anything, he sensed something. His mind sensed another on the deserted street. He could feel the urgency, and fear flowing from one direction. Someone was in trouble.

Then, he saw someone running at the end of the street. It was a young woman, with a big white dog. She stopped for a moment, as she saw him, but then turned to glance behind, and her fear grew stronger. She ran to him and grabbed his arms, while gasping for air.

"Please, help me! … Don't let them get me!" she cried and quickly stepped behind the Mule, as if she was about to hide behind his back.

But before the Mule could ask something, he saw two men in white clothes running toward him.

"Hey, you! Don't let her get away!" shouted one of the men.

"We'll get her now!" said the other.

"Excuse me!" said the Mule and pulled himself up to his full height. He quickly saw that these guys were big ones. He was quite tall, but they towered above him. And most of all, they were much more muscular than he was.

"What?"

"Why are you chasing this young lady?" he asked. Looking behind him, he discovered that the girl was still standing there, shivering from fear, not letting go of his arms.

"They want to take me to an insane asylum!" she cried.

"Shut up! That's no asylum! It's a home for, well, for girls like you!" said one of the men and moved to catch the girl's arm, but the Mule grabbed his hand.

"Gentlemen, don't you think that you should go?" he asked in a menacing way, and reached out his mind to the two men's brains.

"None of your business!"

"Oh really? I won't let you hurt this girl!"

"Oh, you won't? And what are you going to do about it?" the man asked while both of their hands tightened into fists.

"I don't know yet, but believe me, it won't take a long time to figure it out!" he said and he attacked, but not physically. His mind sent arrows of fear into the two men's hearts and a moment later, they were running away screaming hysterically.

Filled with pride, he turned and looked down at the girl. She was staring back at him with amazement.

"Are you all right?" he asked, when she didn't speak.

"Why, yes! Thank you so much for helping me!"

"It was nothing."

"Nothing? How could you say that? You all alone against those big bullies! I can hardly believe it!"

"They are not as strong as they look. So, why were they chasing you?"

"It's a long story," she said, and her face became sad. The Mule couldn't help but notice how pretty she was. She was short and thin, and she seemed so fragile. She wore a dark dress, which was very unusual in this season, except if she was mourning.

Her face was interesting. Her chin was wide and strong, which told him that she was stubborn. But then, her brown eyes were filled with emotions, kindness and love. He noticed that her eyes had the same colour as his.

Then, he saw her dog standing firmly next to her. It was a huge one, with eyes that only killers have. He was sure that this dog was a kind of bodyguard to the girl, but it remained silent and calm as they stared into each other's eyes.

"So, what's your name?" she asked.

"Lerol Merdon, and yours?"

"Zidor, Zidor Azure."

"Pleased to meet you, Zidor!" he said and shook her hand. Somehow, this girl was sympathetic to him. And with this, they started walking. For a while, there was silence. Neither of them knew what to say.

"So…" she asked finally, "what do you do for work?"

"I'm an engineer on the Mule's ship."

"Really? You work for the Mule?"

"Well, yes."

"And what does he looks like?"

"Uh, I…I haven't seen him yet," he lied.

"Why not? He never goes out to see his ships?"

"Well, as far as I know, he never leaves his home."

"Oh, that's strange!"

"And where do you live?" he asked to change the subject.

"Oh, not far from here. Come on, I'll show you!"

They walked a bit faster and passed the streets of the early morning Kalgan Garden City.

Soon, they arrived at a big, beautiful house, with a lovely garden. It was just like in the fairytales.

"This is it!" she said proudly. "This is my house, my home!"

"Wow, it's beautiful!"

"Thank you. Let me invite you to a cup of tea," she offered.

"Oh, really, it's not necessary!"

"It is! You saved me from those big fat bullies! It's natural that I invite you to my house!" she said and she almost dragged the Mule into the house.

The house was friendly and intimate. A perfect home for a loving family, thought the Mule. It was something he had never had in his life.

Then he noticed a family portrait on the wall. There was Zidor, with an elder woman and man, and a young man as well. The two elder were her parents, but who could that young man be?

"My family!" he heard from behind and turned around to take a look at Zidor. To his great surprise, she seemed sad.

"I see… It's lovely! Really, your mother looks very pretty." He wasn't sure what to say.

"Thank you! She would be happy to hear this."

"And where are your parents now?" he asked and Zidor turned away quickly.

"I hope they're in a better place now!" she said and started to sob.

"You're no Mule! You're an Ox! Now, look what you've done!" he said to himself and reached out with his mind, to touch the girl's. "Calm down." And the girl did.

"I'm sorry," started the Mule. "I didn't know."

"It's okay. It's not your fault!"

"How… how did it happen?"

"Accident. Two months ago."

"Oh, sorry. Can I … Can I ask, who is that young man in the picture?"

"It's my brother. He lives with his wife. Wife? I should have said slave-master-bitch!"

"Pardon?"

"Oh, sorry! You wanted to know, why were those bullies after me?"

"Yes?"

"Because of her!" she said and the waves of her anger reached the Mule's mind "Let's be honest, my brother is a fool! But the most idiotic thing he ever did was his marriage to that bitch! He never had a strong personality, he always did what other people said and in his marriage he became more henpecked than ever!

"There was no trouble while my parents lived. But when they died, Lula, the wife of my brother, wished that Aran, my brother would inherit the house, so they wouldn't have to live in a flat. But my parents knew this and in their last will, they left the house for me. Lula was angry and tried every dirty little trick she could think of to get the house, but she couldn't. Then, she used my weak point. You know, I have a little trouble with my nerves.

But don't think that I'm mad!" she said quickly. "Sometimes, when I'm tired and exhausted, I have a kind of attack. It's like fainting but I remain conscious. Then, sometimes I can feel the other people's emotions and … What's the matter?" she asked, because the Mule's face turned pale and his eyes grew wide. He knew the kind of feelings that the girl had described. Years ago, before he became aware of his mental abilities, he had the same attacks. Could it be? No! Absolutely not! She couldn't be another Mule! Or was she a Second Foundationer? Was she sent by the Second Foundation to stop him…or to kill him?

He had to be careful!

"Nothing. Do you really feel others' emotions? Can you read minds?"

"No, I can't! It's not what you think!" she said and blushed.

"I don't think I understand," he said cautiously.

"Let's see…I can feel the emotions of my beloved ones very well. I could feel my mother's presence in this house before she stepped in, little things like that. The other people are different. I have no bond to them. It's like the waters."

"Waters?" he asked, confused.

"Yes. For example, my mother was a clean ocean at the shores, I knew her, so I could see down into the depths. On the other hand, random people on the streets are muddy, rushing rivers. I can see shadows moving in them, and close to the surface, I can see more details. But I can't see the depths. Do you understand it now?"

"Yes, I do. And let me guess. Lula wanted to use all these things against you to put you in an asylum, so she can get her hands on your inheritance?"

"You're right! How do you know?"

"You know, your case reminds me of my old friend, who had very familiar problems."

"And what happened to him?"

"He stood up and fought back!"

"You're right! I'll do the same but…" then, she froze and turned her head towards the door, while her dog Pep rose from his place and started to growl, showing his huge fangs.

"What's the matter?" asked the Mule.

"Both Pep and I can feel the presence of someone. Someone we both hate!" she hissed and turned to him. "Please, Lerol, stay with me and stand by me!" she said and at that moment, the door flew open and a quite angry woman appeared in the doorway. If she could have killed with her eyes, Zidor would have been dead by now. After her came the same young man from the family portrait.

"Here you are, you lunatic!"

"Lerol, my friend!" Zidor said with a show of bravado. "Let me introduce you to my sister-in-law, Lula!"