Chapter 18

Elise was out of words. She couldn't make a move while the man in front of her rushed forward to hug her tightly. She didn't give too much thought to it while she was away, too many things had happened to even think about something else, but now that he was next to her... She realized how much she missed her father. 

"I am so glad that you are okay." 

Her father's gentle voice brought her to her senses. She hugged him back and buried her face into his chest. She couldn't say anything. She was not ready for this. Of course, the whole point of coming back here was to explain herself and leave on better terms. But not this way. Not while arrested for some stupid reason. And definitely not this early. 

He pulled himself back after a while and Elise had a chance to look at his face. Her father, Regory Vandenberg, had gotten old. He still had his square chin and warm brown eyes, but the lines on his face had deepened. His black hair had started to turn grey starting from the sides. It had been roughly about a year and a half since she left home. The difference shouldn't have been this much, right? 

His body was still the same though. His build and posture were still fitting for a warrior. His high-quality dark blue and grey jacket was showing his status along with the symbol of the Vandenberg Family, a grey mountain under the blue sky. Some could say he was intimidating, but not Elise. To Elise, he meant home. 

"You have grown well, my daughter." He broke the silence between them and Elise realized she was still standing there without saying anything. 

"It is good to see you father. I was just not expecting you this early." She decided to not say anything about him getting older. 

"I came here as soon as I heard the news about your arrest. I arrived in the Capital three days ago." 

If he was here, there was a chance that she too will... "What about mother?" 

"I came before with a few men. I think they will be here after three more days." 

"They?" 

"Ah, yes. You don't know, of course." He seemed a bit disturbed and paused for a moment before he continued. "You have a little brother now." 

Well, that was a pleasant surprise. She was the only child and she always asked for a sibling when she was little. But her parents were not exactly on good terms, so it wasn't the case then. She wondered what had been changed, were they getting along now? 

"It was your mother's idea. She thought that you..." He didn't finish the sentence but it was obvious, considering her mother. 

"She thought I would not come back, and the Family needed an heir." 

Her father didn't say anything but his expression was telling that it was the truth. Well, she hated to admit but her mother was not entirely wrong. 

"She was right, father. I don't intend to come back home, at least for now." 

He tensed up a bit, he was never good at hiding his emotions in the first place. That was her mother's specialty. 

"If it is about the engagement, don't worry about it. Even though the Royal Family still wants it, I can call it off, if it is what it takes for you to stay." 

Calling off an engagement with the Royal Family. It was not something one could do. They were royalty after all. It would cost too much influence from the other family. But the Vandenberg Family could get away with it, they were an important piece of this kingdom. 

"Thanks, Father. But it is not the case." She tried to find the best words to put it, but she was never good with the words. Her pause made her father reach another conclusion. 

"Is it about the man they put in the dungeon?" 

"You could say that." Yes, she could use the Traveler to convince her father. If they could meet, he would understand. 

"Elise... I heard about the rumors, but I wanted to hear it from you." His discomfort about the topic was clearly showing. "Are you and this man in a relationship? Is that why you ran away?" 

"Ahh, this again! Of course not, father. He and I are just... He is my... I am his apprentice. He is teaching me how to... Travel." She was not expecting her father to bring up that topic. If she could get her hands on the guy who spread those rumors... 

"I am relieved to hear that. But, teaching how to travel... What do you mean by that?" 

"It is a bit hard to explain. But if you talk to him, you will understand." She headed towards the door. "Come, let me introduce you." But her father held her shoulder and stopped her. 

"You should rest, my daughter. You have come a long way. I will go and look into those rumors' sources. I already have a rough idea of what is going on but I need to confirm." 

That's how her father was. He was always thinking things through and acting according to the information he took his time to collect. A slow but sure process. Maybe she could be helpful in this situation too. 

"I think there is a connection between these rumors and the bandit attack on the way." 

"You got attacked by bandits? Why didn't anyone tell me anything? Are you okay?" He could sometimes be a bit overprotective about his daughter. Elise wanted to assure him about her safety. 

"I am fine, father. Don't worry, we took care of them quickly." 

"You? They made you fight?" Well, it was not going well. 

"Father, I am okay. Please stay on the topic." She tried to change the focus of the subject. "They attacked us on the main road, and some of them came directly at me. I think it was to capture me. We have their leader, who is also in the dungeon right now." 

She could see from her father's face that he was having a hard time to process the things she said. But he quickly got himself together. 

"Okay, I will also look into that. Maybe we can talk with the leader while we are in the dungeons. After you introduce me to your... What was his name again?" 

"Traveler. He calls himself Traveler." 

He seemed like he was about to say something, but changed his mind in the middle of it. "I will not question it. Let's meet at the dinner, then we head to the dungeons. Until then, you just rest. How does it sound?" 

"As you wish, father." 

He reached to Elise for a hug once again. They held each other once again. 

"We will talk at the dinner then, my daughter." He turned back and knocked on the door, waiting for the officers outside to open it, and left after giving her one last smile. 

*** 

Elise stood there and looked at the closed door. She had not realized she missed her father this much. Now that he was gone, the room felt empty despite all the luxurious furniture inside. Inside that emptiness, she heard a deliberate sound. The chambermaid was standing next to the door that connects to the second room of the suite. 

"Your bath is ready, my lady." 

Her 'prison' had two rooms. The one she was in had a couple of couches and chairs, a coffee table, and some bookshelves to pass the time; and the other one had a comfy-looking bed, a bath, and a dressing cabin that was separated by a screen. The room was filled with a light incense scent. The maid was in the other room while her father visited. Elise wondered how much she heard. If she was like the maids she knew, it was only a matter of time before their conversation spread. Not that it was some secret, everyone would know the truth soon. 

She headed to the cabin first. She still had her gambeson on and she couldn't even remember the last time she took it off. Or took a bath. Was it at the Rhiona Town... before it got destroyed? It had been almost a year! Her body must be dying for some care. Not that she had a choice, the circumstances did not let her. She wrestled with her clothes for a while in there. How the hell was that thing supposed to come off? Were the straps stuck or something? It shouldn't have been that hard. 

"Do you need help, my lady?" 

Great! Even the maid had realized how incompetent she was. The young lady of Vandenberg, can't even change her clothes by herself. 

"No, it is okay. I am almost done." 

If she pulled that buckle over there, it should have been loosened up and let it come off. But why was it not getting loose? That stupid thing... a sharp sound filled the room. Elise looked at the source of it and found out the buckle she was dealing with was not even connected to its strap anymore. The strap had broken and the buckle was a crushed lump of metal in her hand. Well, at least the gambeson had loosed a little. 

"Are you okay, my lady?" The maid's worried face came out behind the screen. 

"I am fine. It is just..." She dropped the crushed buckle to the ottoman next to her. "Yeah, I could use some help I guess." It was hard to admit, but there was no need to lose any more time just for some petty pride. 

"As you wish, my lady." The maid got into the cabin and immediately started working on the buckles. Her small but dexterous hands quickly loosened all the straps and took off the gambeson while Elise looked at herself in the big mirror of the dressing cabin. She could smell the maid's floral scent but after her gambeson was off both the maid's and room's pleasant scents were overwhelmed by her sweaty scent. 

She looked at the maid in the mirror, expecting to see her disgusted face, but the maid had a different impression on her face. 

"Oh, the rumors were true. You are indeed a warrior, my lady." She was looking at her body in awe. Elise also noticed after she got a good look at herself. 

It has been a while since she last saw herself. Was her body always this muscular? She has been training with swords ever since she was a child but she never noticed a change in this scale before. Her arms were thicker and her shoulders were wider. Her belly had lines that she never knew existed. But none of the changes were improper. It was like her body was built to be that way. Nothing more, nothing less. She always had been a bit taller than most women around her age. Now that her height combined with her muscles, she was kind of looking intimidating. 

While she was examining herself the maid had already taken off her leather pants. Her legs were not that different from her upper body either, if not even more. She had walked and ran and fought and walked again for months. Well, that workout proved itself useful. While she was deeply in those thoughts, she realized at the last moment that the maid was going for her undergarments. 

She held her hands. "I will handle the rest. Thank you for the help." Maybe her voice was a bit harsher than she intended. But thankfully she understood that Elise was uncomfortable being naked around her and backed off. 

"Then I will ready your dress, my lady. Ring the bell next to the bathtub if you need anything." She left the cabin and went to the other room. 

Finally, Elise was by herself after a long time. She got naked and took a final look at her body. She had never bothered herself with her looks before, unlike her mother, but now for the first time, she looked at herself as a grown woman. Grown to be the way she liked to be. An adventuring warrior. 

She went into the bathtub. The water was still on the hotter side. It felt like an ointment to her sore muscles. She slowly dropped herself into the hot water and let herself relax after a long time. Even though this was not the life she wished to live, it still had its benefits.