Both their hearts were thumping fast, but for different reasons; Sora’s with excitement and Jake’s with perturbation.
The car seemed to go on for quite a while. They passed acres of neat lawns with well-snipped bushes planted besides the pathway. Soon, the main building was in sight.
If the Guild headquarters was majestic, this one was purely jaw dropping. It was like a modern day castle. It was pretty dark now, so they couldn’t see how big it really was. But Sora was sure that it was truly gargantuan in size.
There was a fountain with a statue of a big marble phoenix in the centre. Water gushed out of its open beak and outstretched wings.
The entrance to the building was a colossal glass door. The chauffeur got out of the car and opened the door for them.
Zack gestured towards the building and said, “Welcome to the Titania manor.”
The path towards the manor was filled with water and stone blocks to walk on. Small fishes could be seen swimming around.
As they entered, Jake saw a couple of curved stairways; something he had seen only in movies. A sparkling glass chandelier lit the scene, giving it a graceful look.
As a maid came by and collected their bags, Zack said, “Hey, do me a favor and don’t mention anything about Katie while you’re here.”
Both Sora and Jake gave an evil grin and said, “We’ll try.”
Zack scowled and said, “Wait till you guys get a girl you like.”
Sora said, “That won’t be any time soon, seeing as I’ve made an enemy with almost every young girl in the guild.”
Jake smirked and said, “I’m not the boyfriend type. Also, I have never fallen in love with a girl–”
“Brother, you’re back!”
All three of them looked up to see a young girl descending the staircase.
“–yet,” finished Jake, his eyes wide.
Walking down the steps with dignified grace and nobility, a young lady approached them. She was a beautiful girl with silky, chocolate-colored hair.
Zack said, “Ah, Elena, I would like you to meet my friends, Sora and Jake. They are from Lucifer’s Fall as well and will be staying with us for a while due to various circumstances. Guys, meet my younger sister, Elena Titania. She’s two years younger than us.”
Elena cast an appraising look at them. She seemed a bit amused.
“Friends, brother? They seem to be nothing more than common boys of low status.”
Sora grinned and said to Zack, “She’s your sister alright.”
But Jake greeted her with a statuesque bow and kissed her hand gently and said, “Of noble blood or not, I am not your normal commoner, my lady.”
Sora and Zack stared at Jake’s sudden metamorphosis. Elena was taken aback as well, but she seemed pleased and said, “Well, you are quite a gentleman. Jake, was it? I feel like I’ve seen you somewhere before, but I’m not sure where.”
Jake said, “You may have mistaken me for someone else, my lady.”
Elena nodded and turned to Zack, saying, “Brother, I was told that mother wants your ‘friends’ to join us for dinner. Please tell them to freshen up and be at the table soon.”
She took another look at them and said, “And might I suggest that they change into a more suitable attire?”
She bowed and left by climbing the stairs.
Zack called out, “Henry, could you escort my friends to the guest rooms and provide them with new clothes as well?”
A middle-aged man, who Sora presumed to be the butler, came up to them and bowed saying, “Of course, young master.”
Zack too walked up the stairs but looked back at Jake, shrugged and left the room.
Henry, the butler, guided them through a door to the right. There was a brightly lit passageway, with a carpeted floor. The ceiling was a beautiful work of complex architecture.
There were a large number of paintings, which Sora could not make head or tail of. But Jake, who appreciated them from every angle, said, “You need to be an artist in heart to know the true meaning of these masterpieces. Each of these paintings is worth a fortune.”
Sora grumbled, “Now I know what I have to do if I’m broke; take on modern art.”
Henry stopped in front of a door and said, “This will be Master Tyler’s room and the one next to it will be Master…”
Sora waved his hand and said, “Just call me Sora.”
Henry seemed uncomfortable. “I cannot address an honourable guest of the Titania family by his first name, sir.”
Sora was a little embarrassed on hearing this. He said, “Don’t sweat it. You can call me Sora. I’m not a noble or anything.”
Saying that, Sora stepped into his room. Henry seemed troubled. Jake smiled and said, “Don’t worry about it. No one has called him anything except Sora for as long as he could remember. He’d prefer it not to be changed.”
Jake shut the door behind him. The room was way bigger than the room back in the guild. A comfortable four-poster bed was placed against the wall.
Jake entered the bathroom and marvelled at the sight inside. Almost as big as his new room, the bathroom consisted of a big bathtub with a fancy shower. Even the lavatory seemed stylish, with its marble finish. Jake shrugged and said, “Guess I’ll take a quick shower.
A few minutes later, Jake walked out with a towel around him. He was about to take some clothes out of his bag, which was on an extravagantly carved wooden table, when he spotted some clothes placed neatly on his bed.
Jake dropped the towel and picked up the new garments just as Sora opened the door.
For a second, they stared at each other till Sora shouted, “WHOA!” and shut the door.
Jake dressed himself in a rush and shouted, “Don’t you knock?”
He heard a reply from outside, “Sorry, I thought you were ready already. Can I come in now?”
Jake said, flustered, “Yeah, come on in.”
Sora slowly opened the door and peeped in. Seeing Jake dressed, he let out a low whistle and said, “Whoa, that suits you.”
Jake was wearing what would be considered as casuals for the nobles. The tag on the collar of the jacket and the shirt was that of a famous fashion designer. The synthetic fibres brushed against his bare skin like silk. The colours were a combination of crimson and black portrayed in volatile curves. Sora’s was similar with a touch of azure and black with a wave pattern.
Sora looked good, but Jake was truly dashing.
“That’ll be sure to turn a few eyes,” Sora said with a grin.
“Thank you, Sora,” Jake said as he examined himself in the mirror.
Sora leaned against the door and said, “You know, that performance out there was impressive.”
Jake turned to him and asked, “What?”
Sora cleared his throat and did an accurate imitation of Jake bowing and kissing an invisible hand and said, “Of noble blood or not, I am not your normal commoner, my lady.” He grinned and said, “Where did that line come from?”
Jake said coolly, “Being a psychic, I know exactly what a girl wants to hear and when she wants to hear it. Using that, I can nab any girl I want. And a girl like that is hard to come by.”
Sora thought for a moment and said, “But Kai told me that it would be impossible for a guy to understand a girl completely. Maybe it wouldn’t be as easy as you think.”
Jake said with a smile, “Just wait and see, my friend.”
They left the room and found Henry, the butler, waiting for them outside. He escorted them up the curved staircase, past the passages and rooms and finally opened a big wooden door.
It was a big hall with a dining table inside. Sora wondered how the table was brought inside; as it was far wider than the door they had just come through. Waiting for them at the table were Zack, Elena and a lady, who Elena resembled dramatically.
Sora knew that she was older than she looked, but most people would think that she was in her early twenties. Dressed in long robes and simple jewellery, she stood up an
d said, “Welcome! I have wanted to meet both of you ever since Zack told me about you. Please sit anywhere you wish.”
Sora saw that the lady was sitting to the right of the head chair and Zack to the left. Elena was sitting beside the lady.
Jake tactfully sat right across Elena, beside Zack while Sora took the seat next to him. Sora also noticed that Elena was eyeing Jake in his new clothes.
The lady said with a broad smile. “My name is Laura Titania. I am Zack and Elena’s mother.”
Sora cleared his throat and said, “My name is Sora and this is Jake, Jake Tyler.”
On hearing the name, Mrs. Titania acted strangely. There was a look of concern on her face as she muttered, “Tyler…”
Zack said, “Is something wrong, mother?”
Mrs. Titania smiled and said, “No, of course not dear.”
She turned to Sora and Jake and said, “Now, you two, I have invited both of you here to thank you for a splendid job of reforming Zack’s attitude.”
“Mother!”
“Oh, be quiet, Zack. Did you think that I didn’t notice your change in behaviour in front of our servants? It happened soon after he was hospitalized in the guild infirmary, though he didn’t want to admit it then.”
“You say it like it is a good thing, mother.” Everyone turned to Elena, who seemed quite annoyed.
Mrs. Titania sighed and said, “Not again, Elena dear…”
Elena said in a pompous tone, “Mother, you should stop treating commoners as our equals. We are of noble descent. Our ancestors were the subordinates of the great dragon. We were the chosen ones and are special. But now, the heir of the Titania family has degraded himself by treating commoners as his ‘friends’ and his guests. I have never felt so disgraced in my life.”
Mrs. Titania said in an irked tone, “Elena, that is enough. Where are your manners? Is that the way you speak to your guests?”
Zack turned to Sora and Jake and said fervently, “I apologize, guys. She is a bit stuck up but she means no harm.”
But they didn’t seem offended at all. In fact, Sora seemed quite amused and Jake had a vulpine grin on his face.
Sora said, “So… Elena Titania, you think we’re just a bunch of leeching, weak and worthless guys, don’t you?”
Elena said coolly, “Are you saying you are not?”
Jake leaned back on his chair and said, “Well, we are not going to force you into changing your mind, but maybe you can keep an eye on us during our stay here and see whether we deserve your approval or not.”
Elena seemed taken aback at this proposal, but then said, “Fine. We’ll see if you can make me change my opinion. But I’m warning you, I won’t be easily pleased.”
“You shouldn’t underestimate them, Elena.”
A tall man wearing a black coat entered through one of the doors. He had wavy black hair with a neat French beard. He was as handsome as Zack was, though with more lines on his face. He seemed to be quite stern.
Zack stood up and said, “Father, you’re back! Guys, I want you to meet my father and the Lord of the Titania family, Makarov Titania.”
They did not need to be told who he was. The air of authority around him was enough to show that he was the lord of one of the greatest noble families in Gara.
Mr. Titania took his seat at the head of the table. He said in a deep voice, “It’s a pleasure to meet you. If I remember correctly, you would be the boy who handled the heist in my jewellery store a couple of months ago.” He looked straight at Sora as he said it. “I never got your name though. I had wanted to thank you as well.”
Sora said, “The name is Sora. And I was just doing my job, sir. No need to thank me for that.”
By this time, dinner was being served. Mr. Titania chewed on his food, swallowed it and then said, “Just Sora? Don’t you have a last name to go with it as well?”
Zack sat up and said, “Yeah. I’ve been wondering about it as well. What is your last name? You’ve been hiding it the whole time.”
Henry, who was also standing near the table, serving food, also eavesdropped on the conversation.
Sora didn’t answer immediately. He took a bite from his salad and said, “Well, it’s not that I didn’t want you to know it. It’s because I never had a last name to begin with.”
Everyone except Jake looked at Sora awkwardly. He answered their queries by saying, “For as long as I could remember, I’ve been brought up in an orphanage. I had no recollection of my parents or any other family member. The people in the orphanage told me that I was found on their doorstep when I was less than a year old, wrapped up in a blanket and clutching a note.”
Sora drank from his glass of water and went on, “The note stated that my name was Sora and I had nowhere else to go. So the person who wrote the note asked the orphanage to take care of me. There was nothing else written there except my birthday.
“The orphanage never gave a child its last name till foster parents took them in. In the end, due to various circumstances, I was left without a last name. So, I stuck with it, calling myself only Sora till, by some miracle, I do find my family.”
The whole table was quiet, except for the sound of Jake’s knife and fork. Mr. Titania first spoke, saying, “I’m sorry to hear that. I apologize for bringing back unwanted memories of your past.”
Sora smiled and waved his hand as he said, “There is no need to apologize, sir. I know nothing about my blood relatives, but the orphanage was a great place. The people were very kind and I never really felt alone there. I was like an older brother to most of the kids there. You could say that all of us were one big family.”
Mrs. Titania seemed to be close to tears. Zack appeared greatly disturbed and even Elena looked sympathetically at Sora.
But Sora said, “Please, you don’t need to sympathize with my situation. We should enjoy this splendid feast. Please apologize for my lack of etiquette, but I have a hard time controlling my table manners when I’m hungry and there is delicious food right in front of me.”
Mr. Titania raised his glass of wine with a smile and said, “Right you are, Sora. Now, you are yet to introduce yourself young man. I don’t want to be ignorant of my son’s first commoner friends.”
Jake wiped his mouth with the napkin provided and said, “My name is Jake, sir. Jake Tyler.”
Sora sensed that Jake’s tone was different from usual. He glanced at Jake and saw him looking straight at Mr. Titania’s face without showing a mark of emotion.
But Mr. Titania’s reaction was different, though momentary. He looked at his wife and she nodded gravely.
Sora did not understand the reason for such a reaction. But the Titania couple did not show any more apprehensive signs for the rest of dinner and Jake remained all smiles as he kept Elena engaged.
With their bellies satisfied, Sora and Jake excused themselves and were taken to their rooms by a slightly perplexed Henry.
Sora fell asleep almost instantaneously, despite his mind being muddled by the day’s happenings, thanks to the hypnotic qualities of the ultra-comfortable beddings. Jake stayed awake deep into the night; his head sorting out mixed emotions, till he finally gave in to the bed’s overwhelming powers and slipped into deep slumber.
The sun was rising when Jake jumped out of bed. As he finished his morning ablutions and changed into his regular clothes, Sora knocked and opened the door.
He said, “Glad you’re up already. Hey, what do you say to some morning training?”
Jake asked, “Morning training? Where will we do that?”
Sora replied, “Henry said that we could use the courtyard behind the house if we wanted to. That’s where Zack usually trains.”
Jake pulled on his socks and said, “Give me a minute. I’m coming.”
A maid guided them as they almost got lost trying to find the door to the courtyard. As they stepped out of the door, Sora and Jake gazed around the vast sea of open fields. A rose field could be seen a few hundred meters away. There was a
lready someone training.
Zack was swinging a bamboo sword. It had a few weights attached to the blade. Sora could feel the force exerted in every swing.
Zack noticed them coming and said, “I was wondering when you would find this place.”
He threw his bamboo sword to Sora, who caught it carelessly. He got a shock as he almost lost his balance due to the weight. He gripped the sword firmly and raised it.
“You’ve been doing some serious muscle training.”
Zack grinned and said, “After our spar two months ago, I noticed that what suited my style more was not speed or technique but power. So I’ve been enhancing that ever since.”
Sora swung the bamboo sword around a little and said, “I can see that you’ve done that. I should say that power wise, you far outclass me now.”
He threw the sword back to Zack, who asked him, “So, what did you train this past month?”
Sora looked behind Zack and said, “That’s a nice rose garden you have there.”
Distracted, Zack looked back at the garden and said, “Yeah. Henry takes good care of them.”
He turned back, to see Sora twirling a rose with his fingers.
Both Jake and Zack stared at him. Zack said, “No… no way! How did you do that?”
Jake said, “You disappeared for less than a second and appeared with the rose! What was that?”
Sora placed the rose on his ear and said with a smirk, “That would be the split step.”
Jake was not convinced. “Come on, Sora. That was nothing like what you were doing a month ago. You didn’t seem to use even half the ki you used earlier for the split step!”
Sora said, “That’s because the split step I used to do was bogus. Compared to how I do it now, that didn’t even deserve to be called a split step. That was just a simple high speed dash.”
Zack remained baffled by what he had just seen. But his excitement and urge to fight Sora started boiling over. He threw Sora two normal bamboo swords and removed the weights from his own.
“Well, let’s put our newly attained powers to test, shall we?”
Sora stretched his arms and said, “My thoughts exactly.”
Sora and Zack faced each other. The wind blew slowly past the courtyard and both of them took a deep breath. Just as the wind stopped, Sora disappeared.
Contractor: The Legendary Contract of Vento Page 17
