"Question. How long was I asleep for?" I asked, breaking the sudden silence that had fallen over us.
"Well, I saw you in the lawn two hours ago, and thought you were lost. I was about to go and ask if you were looking for help, but then you disappeared down the path. When I realized I hadn't seen you for an hour, I asked Skull Boy, Frank and Len, and Doom to come with me and find you. We found you sleeping under the tree, so we went back home for a while," explained Ruby.
I hadn't slept long at all. At least not long enough to be concerning. I deserved it though.
"Oh. Okay. So your house isn't too far from here then," I smiled.
"Nope. In fact, here's the door," Ruby smiled in return, and opened it.
Instantly, I could tell someone had been baking. The smell of what I assumed to be cake wafted throughout the hall. She led me to a high-backed chair, and I sat down. I wasn't far from a nice, lightly crackling fire. It was warm. So warm, in fact, it felt like I'd been teliported back home.
"Would you like a piece of cake?" Ruby asked, her smile never fading.
"Sure. But not to be rude, what is in it? I'm allergic to wheat," I replied, a little tentative.
In my culture, it is not very polite to turn down an offer. Sometimes, the guest may reply, "Oh, no problem, I'm good," but they'll give you the offering anyway.
"There isn't any wheat. We stopped using it when we found out Misery was allergic to gluten. She gets severely sick," answered Ruby, her face turning into a small frown.
Misery. What kind of name is Misery? At the moment, I didn't really care, for I was too tired and hungry. Ruby came over to me not long after with a beautifully crafted plate. On it, was a medium-sized piece of chocolate cake. It looked so crumbly that I thought it would break just from the touch of a finger. I dabbed the fork that had been placed carefully beside it into the rich chocolate pastry, eagerly taking a bite.
"Can we have some too, Ruby?" asked Frank and Len in unison.
"Sure," she replied, handing them a piece, and cutting one more for Skull Boy.
"Wow!" I cried, moving my tongue around my mouth, savouring every bit of chocolate I could.
"Thank you! I'm glad you like it!" laughed Ruby, just as a crash was heard at the other side of the house.
"I'm good!" called a young, gleeful-sounding voice.
"That didn't sound good," I laughed as I swallowed another bite.
"That's Iris for you," laughed Skull Boy in return.
"Hey! New visitor! OOOOOOOO! You're so pretty!" cried Iris, bouncing up to me on shoes that appeared to have springs at the bottom.
"Oh. Hello, Iris," I greeted her, laughing as I watched her bounce up and down, up and down.
"Don't you just love Ruby's baking!?" she cried.
"Yes!" I smiled in return, suddenly gasping as the little girl bounced back, crashing into one of the chairs at the other end of the room, bringing it down with her.
"I'm okay," she said, getting up almost immediately, and picking up the chair.
I frowned slightly. It saddened me to see such a young girl hurt herself that often.
"You sure you're okay? You fall an awful lot," I said, my voice low.
"That's not the worst I've been through," she laughed, and I shuttered.
"Iris will be fine, Karina," assured Skull Boy.
"Wait a sec. You only have one eye!" I cried suddenly, quickly slapping my hands over my mouth in shock.
"Yeah! It's because I'm a cyclops! What are you?" asked Iris, beginning to bounce again.
"I'm a kinnari. Kee, nah, ree. I am part bird, part human. I look down on the well being of others. I am a symbol of good luck," I explained, watching the little cyclops go up, down, up, down.
"Cool! You could help Misery!" she shouted, just as she fell again.
"I guess I need to get these looked at," she muttered, taking them off and walking away.
Misery. There was that name again. But Why the name Misery? I didn't feel she deserved such a name. A gluten allergy, and maybe a little bad luck was the only thing I was picturing.
"What are you thinking so hard about?" asked Len, snapping me back to reality.
"Misery. That's all that's going through my head," I admitted.
"Well, why don't you head for the basement. I'll show you where it is. I'll clean up here and be down with you in a minute," suggested Ruby, coming over to me.
"Alright," I said, getting up to follow her.
