When class was over, Zyphera escorted Thad down to the kitchen where he would meet with Miss Mirdy for his home economics class.
As they drew closer to the door, Zyphera heard a familiar voice. “I think I have had enough of him today,” She groaned rolling her eyes, “I’ll see you later.”
“See ya,” Thad waved. “And thanks,” He added.
Thad pushed through the kitchen door. As usual, Miss Mirdy had everything they could possibly need scattered across all available counter space.
“Good morning Miss Mirdy,” Thad greeted her politely as he entered the room.
“Good Morning too you as well Thaddeus,” She returned in a cheery voice.
“Taking cooking lessons today Romeo?” he asked Leath with a sly smile.
“As a matter of fact I am. Miss Mirdy has been kind enough to grant me the privilege of study under her, reaping as much knowledge as possible from her extraordinary culinary abilities,” he replied buttering the old woman up. It had taken his a year to find the key to unlocking Miss Mirdy's soft side.
Miss Mirdy’s cheeks blossomed to a deep red. “You and you’re ridiculous flattery Leath.”
"So what are we learning today,” Thad wondered, eager to get on with the lesson.
“Today I am going to teach you about the different kinds of herbs and how they compliment different meats, veggies and even fruits. And as a test to see if you have been paying attention, both of you will be in charge of preparing dinner for everyone tonight,” She added her eyes sparkling.
Thad and Leath groaned as if in considerable agony.
“Boy did I pick the wrong day to join,” Leath mumbled with his head in his hands.
Miss Mirdy chuckled as she pulled an assortment of freshly cut herbs from the shelves signaling the start of the lesson.
Not your garden variety
As soon as Leath and Thad were dismissed by Miss Mirdy, they bolted for the kitchen door eager to leave.
“We’re doomed,” Thad wailed dramatically, throwing his hands in the air.
“What do you mean us? No matter what happens you will still be a cute, eight year old.”
“Almost nine,” Thad interjected.
“Eight, Nine, Whatever, people will still think you are cute even if the dinner tastes disgusting. I will forever be remembered as the twenty seven year old bachelor whose cooking is a menace to society,” Leath groaned.
Thad pondered that for a moment, “That is true. Well I guess you should kiss your dreams of a wife, kids and white picket fence good bye then,” Thad grinned slapping Leath on the back.
Leath stuck his tongue out just as Mathias and Zyphera came walking in.
“Hey you two,” Zyphera called out, “how did your cooking class go?”
From the mischievous glint in her eye they knew Miss Mirdy had already taken the liberty of informing the house of their dinner plans.
“Splendid, thank you for asking,” Leath responded batting his lashes at her.
The right side of Zyphera’s mouth turned up in a half smile. “I just can’t wait to see what sort of poisoning we’ll end up with.”
Leath made a sour face. “I don’t recall you ever cooking anything spectacular,” He shot back.
Recognizing the argumentative direction the conversation was leading, Thad excused himself from the group. In the short period of time that he’d been alive and able to understand any sort of chatter, he’d been exposed to more than enough of their bickering. He looked back at the pair as he headed for the porch. “Wouldn’t it just be easier to admit your feelings,” he thought to himself.
Outside, Thad could still hear their arguing. He felt sorry for Zyphera. She was the only young woman in the house. She only had one week, three times a year to leave the house to visit friends and family. “Hardly enough time to start a relationship.” He murmured.
The familiar stomp up the stairs and classic slamming of the door broke through his ponderings. He peered in the window. Sure enough Leath was relaxing in one of the oversized armchairs, a bucket of grins.
“You know, aggravating her is not helping your cause.” Thad heard Mathias start in on his usual lecture that followed one of these epic Leath and Zyphera fights.
“What…huh…..I don’t know what you are talking about,” Leath stuttered.
“Oh come off it. I see the way you look at her. You get all stupid whenever she’s around. I am not the only one who’s noticed your eight year crush,” Mathias stated with slight annoyance.
“Almost nine,” Leath corrected, not attempting to deny anything. “And like you don’t find her…” he paused for a moment to find the right word “Enchanting. She has this, this aura about her. I just can’t….” He threw up his hands in defeat. “Everyday I see her, my feelings grow,” Thad heard Leath reply. “Whenever she’s around she brings out this stupid teenage attitude in me. I don’t know what to do anymore. I am in love,” He admitted, shooting Mathias a look of desperation as he slumped deeper into the arm chair.
“Why don’t you just tell her how you feel?” Mathias asked. He knew full well what would happen, but it would provide some wonderful comic relief.
Leath laughed with despair. “Are you kidding. A woman like that would never fall for someone like me, even with my brains and irresistible charm,” he added half jokingly. “Besides, she’s a guardian. It’s against all rules for her to even pretend to harbor romantic feelings.”
“Are you positive she will reject you?” Mathias threw the question out casually, playing with one of the knick knacks on the shelf.
“I… well….I’ve…...Hey why are you suddenly on my side,” Leath asked, eyeing Mathias curiously. “If you want to dress in a grass skirts and coconuts while playing the ukulele so badly, you don’t have to wait for me to sweep Zyphera off her feet to do so,” He replied, referring to the bet he and Mathias made a few years ago. Leath grinned at the thought of seeing someone as big as Mathias playing a tiny ukulele while doing the hula.
“For someone who teaches on the subject of people and interaction, you sure do suck at it,” Mathias shot back playfully.
Thad, who was still half listening out on the veranda, had to agree.
“HAHaHaHa” Leath chuckled dryly, crossing his arms.
“Just talk to her. I think you would be generally surprised by her response,” Mathias suggested standing to leave. “Beside the rest of us are getting extremely tired of your teenage bickering,” he added leaving the room.
“Everyone?” Leath groaned.
“Everyone!” Thad yelled as he opened the veranda door and ran across the room after Mathias.
Leath sat there, his head a jumble of emotions. Lately he could barely remember to breathe let alone make any life altering decisions. “A good lungful of clean spring air might help clear my mind,” He thought.
He wandered the estate grounds mulling over his options. “I could be all traditional and buy her flowers,” he thought. “Traditional to a human maybe,” he replied shaking his head. “I could write her a song and woo her like that Cyrano De bergerac guy,” He thought with a smile.
He knew no matter what the outcome, he still faced a rather large obstacle. She’s a Guardian and he is a “mere human being”. They were literally worlds apart. It was against everything in her culture to court or wed outside the bloodlines of the Guardian race.
“Rules are made to be broken,” He stated firmly, grasping at any thread of hope.
He had never met anyone like her and he was not going to let her escape without a valiant effort. She is more dazzling than he ever dreamed a person could be. She’s brave, smart, an incredible fighter, and not to mention unspeakably beautiful.
Her 5’5 frame was built the way a woman should be. A slender waist, nice rounded hips and shapely legs. Her skin hugged her like a stunning silk dress. The intensity of her blue eyes was so mesmerizing. When he stared into them, he felt he was being swallowed by the ocean. He didn’t know if was the way her rich brown hair danced arou
nd her perfectly formed neck when she moved, or the way she made martial arts look more like a graceful dance than a defense style. Perhaps it was the way her rose lips parted into a captivating smile. Whatever it was, she was intoxicating, and he was drowning in love.
Exhausted by the mental battle being fought on the front lines of his brain, Leath stopped to rest under the big oak tree on the east corner of the property. Unable to halt all contemplation, he closed his eyes, leaned back hoping when he awoke some amazing solution would be revealed. Suddenly the trunk of the tree vanished. He fell backwards with a thud, knocking his head.
Leath winced as pain shot through his body causing stars to dance before his eyes. He lay for a moment completely motionless, closing his eyes trying to clear the dizzy sensation before attempting to sit up. When he opened them, he found a very large pair of green eyes staring back at him unblinking.
“Hello there young sir, I apologize for your fall. I had no idea that anyone was leaning on the tree.” The creature apologized, still staring down at him.
Leath gazed open mouthed at the being before him.
“Are you hurt?” The creature asked waiting for a response.
It took a few moments before Leath found his voice. “Who, or dare I say what are you?” he asked, his voice crackling.
“Why I am a gnome of course!” The creature exclaimed as if Leath should have known that. “The name is Remy, please to meet your acquaintance,” extending his hand.
“Leath,” he replied, extending his own. “A gnome eh, like those little bearded garden ornaments?” He was having a hard time wrapping his mind around the concept that gnomes were real and apparently lived in tree trunks. Perhaps the clonk on his head was causing him to be slightly delusional.
After all, Remy looked nothing like the little jolly bearded fellows. He stood just over two feet tall with large almond shaped green eyes that almost took up the entire top half of his face. Flaming red hair stood straight up on his perfectly rounded head making it look as if he had just been electrocuted. He had a small red beard nestled under his lower lip which looked like a piece of left over food, and his skin appeared to be scaly, but shimmered like a rainbow oil slick when it was bathed in sunlight. Toping off the look were large knobby ears protruding straight off the sides of his head.
“Are you sure you’re a gnome” Leath asked still rubbing his head. He pinched himself to see if he was dreaming. “I mean you just don’t, you know……” Leath said feeling awkward.
Remy laughed. He was use to this kind of reaction. “Last time I checked I was. Whoever made those little garden gnomes were greatly mislead,” he winked. “Now, how is that head of yours doing?”
“I’ll survive. It is just a minor bump,” Leath assured him, but still wondering if maybe he really was hallucinating.
“Glad to hear it! Now if you could kindly point me in the direction where I might find Professor Haynsworth, I will be on my way.”
“I am not sure where the professor is,” Leath replied picking himself off the ground. “But you are welcome to wait at the house for him,” he offered.
“Thank you, I would be happy to wait.”
Leath lead the way back to the house even though it was apparent Remy had been before.
“What business do you have with the professor?” Leath asked, extremely curious as to why he’d never encountered the creature before.
“He has requested my assistance regarding a rather delicate subject,” Remy replied, not relinquishing much information.
“Ah,” Leath replied. It was clear Remy was going to plead the fifth, so the two trekked on in awkward silence each wondering what the other was thinking.
As they approached the grand old house, they could here the veranda door bang open and shut. A shout came from around the corner, followed by the sound of hurrying footsteps.
“Remy! Is that you?” Zyphera called out as she rushed to greet their newest guest.
“Oh Miss Zyphera I had no idea you were here as well. It is so nice to see you again,” Remy replied, greeting her happily.
She bent down and swept him off the ground in a giant hug, planting a kiss on his rosy cheeks.
Leath felt his cheeks flush with a hint of jealousy. “A Gnome is having better luck with Zyphera then I am,” He grumbled to himself.
“Remy is here to met the Professor,” Leath spoke up, interrupting their little moment.
“Oh” Zyphera replied “He just arrived from running errands. He’s in the kitchen with the other boys. They are making lemonade from the lemons on Miss Mirdy’s tree.”
As they approached the kitchen they could hear Thad’s loud giggling through the door.
“Sounds like we are missing the fun,” Remy piped up as he pushed through the heavy kitchen door.
Thad’s giggling promptly turned into a terrified shriek when he saw Remy. He immediately ran and hid behind Mathias’s large legs.
“Its okay Thad, This is my friend Remy,” The Professor assured him, encouraging Thad to remove himself from behind Mathias. “I have asked him here to meet you. If it is okay with you, he will be visiting us from time to time” he continued.
Unconvinced it was safe to come out; Thad gripped Mathias’s leg tighter.
“Gees, I didn’t think I was that scary looking,” Remy laughed, looking at his reflection in one of the kitchen windows. “I always figured I was a ruggedly handsome fellow. You know easy on the peepers,” He chuckled, winking at Zyphera.
Leath rolled his eyes.
“Do you remember how I reacted when we first meet?” The professor asked, his eyes bright, hoping that his own story would put young Thad at ease.
“Indeed I do!” Remy exclaimed. “There was an intense electrical storm and a bolt of lighting had struck the house overloading the breakers. All the lights were out and Barty had gone to the basement to switch them back on. He was half way down the steps when I popped my head in to see if he needed any assistance,” Remy started to laugh, “When Barty turned around and saw me standing there he went as white as a ghost. He screamed like a little girl then fainted. And this was back in his prime years, so image a twenty-one year old, six foot and some odd inches tall, two hundred and thirty pounds of pure professor, crumpling to the ground,” Remy squeaked, barely able to speak as tears were running down his cheeks from giggling so hard.
With Remy’s perfectly painted image in their minds, the rest of the group joined in his laughter.
“Ha ha ha, yes it was all very funny. I had a goose egg the size of a baseball on my head for weeks,” The Professor added, acting as though his feelings were injured, but his eyes gave away the fun he was having.
“Good times back then eh Barty.”
“Yes many good times Remy,” The Professor agreed. “Now, back to the matter at hand,” he said turning to retrieve Thad from his hiding spot. But Thad was no longer there.
The Professor shook his head “Oh dear, I went about this all wrong.”
“Don’t worry,” Remy said “we’ll all split up and look for him. He couldn’t have gone far,” He added hoping to make the professor feel better.
They agreed to meet back at the house in an hour and make additional plans if Thad was still missing.
The hour passed and slowly the Professor, Remy and the members of the Sentry gathered inside the kitchen. With hundreds of acres to cover and sunset mere hours away the Professor became increasingly worried.
“Perhaps we need to search the grounds outside the estate wall,” he suggested.
“I can’t imagine him being able to get past the perimeter, but there is no harm in looking,” Mathias voiced his doubt, “It may be time to speak with Goliath. Leath, Remy, lets head towards the south border of the property and fan out from there,” he ordered, “Don’t worry, we will find him,” he assured the Professor.
The Professor said nothing, just nodded his head, his arms tensely crossed. He watched as the three men headed back onto the grounds.
; “What have I done?” The professor moaned, shaking his head sadly. “I did not expect him to react this way.”
“It is not your fault,” Miss Mirdy replied, “We could not predict how Thad would react to outsiders. This is his first encounter with someone who lives off the Estate,” She said, gently resting her hand on the Professors shoulder showing her support.
“But Remy isn’t just a stranger he is a completely different species. I have been so foolish. I won’t be able to live with myself if anything happens to Thad,” The Professor says turning to open the door and continue his search, “I would never forgive myself Mirdy.”
A glance at destiny
Outside, Thaddeus ran as fast as his little feet could carry him. He plowed through the woods and over the river bridge. Reaching the edge of the estate grounds he ducked into his secret hiding place.
Sentry Rising Page 9