The Training Grounds (1)

"Welcome to the training grounds." The old butler made a waving gesture with his right hand while keeping the left arm behind his back as the elevator's doors slid open.

Seeing the old man acting so chivalrous, Lillian frowned a little. Her eyes were fixed on his figure as he walked out of the elevator, asking her to follow the same course. Having no other choice, Lillian followed him out of the elevator.

Her steps were slow, yet firm, as she walked out of the elevator. Her eyes, filled with curiosity, jumped from one thing to another as they took in the new surroundings she was in.

It slowly dawned on her what the old butler meant from his words. She was now able to understand why they needed an elevator to reach the training grounds!

The training grounds was actually the name given to an entire floor which was somewhere in the middle of all those underground floors. The name didn't refer to a ground in reality. No wonder she was so confused when he had guided her to an elevator.

"This is why." Lillian sneaked a glance at the old man to see him smiling to himself. She could bet that the smile on his face had something to do with her even though he had his eyes looking elsewhere.

"Yes, and your coffee, Miss." He nodded his head in a yes, agreeing with her thoughts. At the same time he didn't forget to remind her of the coffee mug in her hand which was still half full.

"Thank you." Lillian thanked him hurriedly before bringing the coffee mug close to her lips. If it wasn't for his constant reminders, she would have forgotten about its existence in her awed and dazed state. She knew that it was better to have a good hold on her composure, but she kept losing it every time she came across something new in this place.

'Looks like it's gonna take me some time to get used to the place.' She thought to herself as she sipped on her rich coffee. She was more like gulping it down in big sips since it was no longer hot enough to burn her throat. She just didn't want to be drinking coffee before Blake. For all the reasons she could think of, there was only one which was reasonable to her mind.

Blake must have called her here to start with her training. She had seen how those men worked. The woman she had run into earlier looked no less than those men. It was only right for her to go through the same training as them and follow the same rules if she was staying back.

She was busy sorting out her own thoughts and finishing the coffee that she didn't hear the elevator doors opening again.

"Hi!"

The sudden interruption made her jump in her spot. She coughed out loud as the sudden scare had made the coffee go down the wrong pipe.

"Are you okay?" The man who was behind her misery, spoke up, taking a step closer to her.

Meanwhile the old butler who was standing by the side watching it all could only shake his head helplessly. He made his way towards Lillian and took the mug away from her head in case she would drop it. He wasn't worried about the mug or the coffee stains which would be hard to remove from the white marble lining the floor. He was worried that she would spill some on herself.

"Are you alright, young lady?" An amused voice entered Lillian's ears, but she was too busy coughing out the droplets of her coffee.

"I will get you some water." The old butler gave the man a firm nod, greeting him without any pleasantries and shoved the mug in his hand. He had a hunch that she would love to finish it later.

"I will keep an eye on her." The man spoke up with a nod in response, quietly accepting the mug.

Once the old butler was out of his sight, he continued to stare at the young lady who was still busy coughing. He heaved out a tired sigh. If he had any idea that his simple hi would put her through this, he would have kept his mouth shut. If she wasn't in his way, he wouldn't have even said it and continued in his tracks.

"I am so sorry." Seeing that Lillian was finally doing better, he apologized to her.

"It wasn't your fault. I should pay more attention to my surroundings." Lillian shook her head in a no, after recovering from her coughing fit.

"I still apologize for making you choke on your drink." The man refused to back down.

Lillian finally looked up at him, her eyes landing on his gray orbs. "I am sorry for blocking your path." She added with a shrug. It was only fair that she also apologized to him for her absentmindedness.

"Here's your coffee. Uncle Robert went to grab you a glass of water." He passed her the mug back while explaining where the old butler had run off to.

"Why did he go all the way up to get a glass of water? He could have found one somewhere in here." She waved her arm around. There was a frown marring her forehead while she shared her thoughts with the young man. It was only now that she had noticed the way he was dressed in a three piece gray suit which matched with his deep gray eyes.

He was looking completely out of place. Almost everyone she had come across so far except for the chef and the old man, was wearing a black shirt with matching jeans or trousers like it was a uniform for the place.

"You must be new here." The man spoke up in his crisp and clear voice. There was a faint smile which was hugging the curve of his lips.

"Yeah." Lillian nodded her head in a yes before taking a sip of her coffee. She let out a relaxed sigh as the warm coffee eased the scratch in her throat. "It's my day two here. My name's Lillian." She continued, introducing herself to the man.

"Oh! So you are Lillian. It's a pleasure meeting you, Lillian. My name's Adam." He recalled how Blake had mentioned the girl's case in the morning when he had called him to inform him of his arrival.

"It's a pleasure meeting you as well." Lillian added meekly. She didn't know what else to say.

"You must be here to meet Blake, right?" Adam spoke up only to see her nod. "I might have an idea as to where he might be. I will take you there while giving you a tour of the place. How about that?" He offered her politely.

Lillian pursed her lips together, contemplating whether or not to accept his offer. "What abo-"

"Uncler Robert will find his way to you. You don't have to worry much about the old man." He interrupted her, giving her a faint smile.

"Alright then. Lead the way." She gave him a meek nod and stepped to the side for him to guide her to Blake.