In a corner of his huge room, John starts preparing tea on the table, in the other hand, Lania is sitting on a three seater couch, she has a poker face expression, but her mind is absolute chaos.
Lania: (WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING?!! I EXPECTED HIM TO BE A LAST YEAR STUDENT WHEN HE TOLD ME TO MEET HIM HERE NOT A FIRST YEAR STUDENT LIKE ME; AND WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS ROOM?! WHY DOES HE HAVE ALL THIS SPACE IN HIS ROOM?!! AND- HUH? HUH!?! IS HIS CAT READING A BOOK?!!!).
Suddenly, while John is still preparing the tea, he already used the arcane arts and saw the hidden knife.
John: Ms. Lania.
Lania: y-yes?
John: sorry to disappoint you but you'll need more than that knife you're hiding to deal any kind of damage to me.
Lania: it's just to make me feel safe (HUH? HUUUH?!! HOW THE HELL DID HE KNOW ABOUT THE KNIFE?!).
John finished the tea and pours it in two cups, he puts one on the table in front of Lania before he sits on The opposite side to her.
Lania stares at the tea cup, she doesn't even hold it.
John: Ms. Lania, is there something wrong?
Lania: sorry, but I don't think I trust you enough to drink anything you made (heh, trying to poison me huh? Well good thing I've read too many dark romance novels; an old trick like that won't work on me).
John: I understand how You feel Ms. Lania, I would've done the same thing, I'll take a sip from it to prove my good intentions.
After this he stands and takes her tea cup and drinks a sip from it then returns it, after seeing all that, Lania is now sure that the tea is safe.
John: here you go Ms. Lania.
Lania: T-Thank you (heh, I guess he wants to use a different method, Hmph, show me what you got).
John: by the way, my name is John shon, nice to meet you Ms. Lania.
After they finish the tea, the real talk starts.
John: well then, I guess it's time to talk about business; I'll ask you a few questions and I'm expecting you to answer them with complete honestly.
Lania nodded in agreement while she's still wearing a poker face.
Lania: mhmm, go ahead.
John: well, let's start with something simple, how did you end up here with those people?
Lania tightens her fist from the Weight of his question, it's really hard for her to share the tragedy that happened to her with anyone, especially if that person was a stranger she just met this day, but even with all that she pulls the words out of her throat.
Lania: . . . .!
John: (is this something she dosen't want to share?).
Lania: a few years ago.
John: (. . . .!)
Lania: I was living with my family and tribe in the Southwest of the Kingdom, my village was hiding in the woods away from anyone's eyes, our life was simple, if we needed something from the human shops, we would send one person to get all what we need, it is as I said a simple and happy life, but one day everything shifted to absolute horor, we were waiting for the person we sent to come back with some medicines since it was winter season back then, but instead of the medicines, we got war, apparently the person we sent was captured by the snow Elves and was tortured by them.
John: snow Elves?
Lania: the three male Elves you saw in the woods, they're leading an army of their kind, and my tribe was unlucky to be attacked by them, we tried to fight back but they have more fighting skills than us, after they won, they didn't kill us, but instead kept us as slaves, as for me, they made a deal with me, if I can help them find something they're looking for, then my tribe and family will be free.
John: sorry to hear that.
Lania: thank you.
John: you mentioned that those Elves you met in the woods are snow Elves, but I don't remember seeing their names in the Elves book, and I don't think I heard about them before.
Lania: well, I'm not surprised, that book is very old, and a lot of things changed in the Elves race; the reason why you didn't hear about snow Elves before is because they're a branching tribe.
John: huh?!
Lania: yeah, in the past 200 years, a lot of those branching tribes start appearing, the book you read is older than 500 years so no wonder you didn't hear about them.
John: oh, I see, so what's wrong with those snow Elves? Those three I saw earlier seemed pretty strong to be a branching tribe.
Lania: those three you saw are the Princes of the snow Elves tribe so it's natural for them to be this strong.
John: huh?! Princes?
Lania: yes, the one with the bow is Bukke, he's also the youngest among them, he has bow skills on a whole other level than anyone else, the one with the great sword is Danish, the middle child and one of the strongest snow Elves, he can use that great sword with ease, as for the one with the daggers, his name is Baldur, he is the oldest and the most powerful of them, and he's the one who conquered my village; just because they're a branching tribe, that doesn't mean they are weak.
John: I see, by the way, you mentioned that they are looking for something, do you know what it is?
Lania: to be honest, the only thing I know is that it's a spell that has some connections to the snow.
John: hmmm, do you have any idea what could they need it for?
Lania: hmmm, well the only thing I can think of is that snow Elves become stronger in the cold weather, it's something like a boost to them.
John: (looking at how they are ready to attack a Kingdom's property to get their hands on that spell, it must be something very big, hmmm, I can start looking for it tomorrow, as for now, I need to check on that legend) Ms. Lania, can I ask you something kinda strange, but I'll really appreciate if you answer me seriously.
Lania: hmmm? What is it?
John: is it true that your tribe has an ancient way to forge weapons?
Lania: Ah . . . .!!!
Lania looks at the ground, breaking the eye contact between them, a worried expression appears on her face while she tightens her fists on the cloak.
John: (only she can confirm that it exist).
Lania takes A deep breath then.
Lania: it's true.
John: (hehe) well Ms. Lania, I believe you know why I asked you that.
Lania: . . . .!
John: now listen to me carefully, I'll defeat the snow Elves and free your tribe, in exchange, after you and your tribe get your freedom, I want to learn how to make a weapon, so what do you think?
Lania looks at the ground again, then she adds one more condition.
Lania: I don't have a problem, but I want to add just one more condition if it's not too much.
John: hmmm? Sure what is it?
Lania stands from her seat and on her face is a serious expression.
Lania: I want you to make them feel the fear of death in their final moments, for all the blood they Spilled, for all the suffering they caused, please accept my condition.
John smiles gently after hearing that strange condition, but he agrees to it.
John: heh, consider it done.
With that, the two of them are now partners, John walks Lania to the door and updates her on the next move.
John: do you want me to escort you to your room?
Lania: thanks, but I'll be okay on my own, by the way, what's the plan? You're not going to face an entire army of snow Elves on your own, not to mention the three Princes.
John: don't worry about it, I already have a plan.
Lania: (huh?! This fast?!).
John: now go and get some rest, tomorrow, first thing you need to do is head to the main building and go to room "B-12" some people I trust will be there, I'll explain my plan then.
Lania: well, if you say so, good night Mr. shon.
John: good night to you as well Ms. Lania.
With that, John closes the door while Lania is leaving the place and heads to the other building where her room is.
In the hallway, Lania realizes that she did something embarrassing.
Lania: (Wait a second!! I JUST DRANK THE TEA FROM THE SAME PLACE HE DRANK FROM, THAT MEAN WE HAD AN INDIRECT KISS!!!).
To be Continued . . . .