The Warrior of Avelyn

Ⅶ

Edwin entered his home which was illuminated by the moonlight, only to hear loud giggles and footsteps inside.

"Lila, stop running!" Clara scolded playfully, a smile apparent in her tone.

"Never!" Lila giggled, running and hiding behind Edwin. "Dad!! Hide me!"

"What's going on?" He laughed, turning around and picking her up.

"This little goblin refuses to take her bath." Clara walked up to them, throwing the towel on her shoulder and crossing her arms.

Lila laughed and stuck her tongue out at her older sister, who returned the favor, making the little girl cuddle into Edwin's chest.

"Well, you're going to have to catch us first!" Edwin exclaimed, laughing as he ran away with the bundle of giggles in his arms. Clara's jaw fell, letting out an overdramatic gasp, putting a hand on her heart.

"Oh you did not just do that!"

The young woman ran after her father figure and sister for a while, until Edwin gave up and they finally got Lila to take her bath.

"There's food on the table for you." Clara informed the older man with a smile, lifting up Lila into her arms. "I'll go wash her now."

"Close your eyes for me, butterfly." Clara said and the little girl complied, letting her older sister wash away the foam on her hair.

"Clara?"

"Yes, darling?"

"Is the prince nice?"

Clara thought for a while. She personally didn't like him, but she also didn't know him yet, and despite seeing his behavior with others a couple times, it wasn't enough to decide whether he was nice or not.

And she realized that she should probably be more respectful, and that she was also in the wrong throughout her first day as his maidservant.

"I'm not sure yet." she answered honestly. "I haven't known him long, but I think he can be nice." Especially when he wants to impress someone, she thought bitterly.

"Milly said she met him once, he was nice to her." Lila then got distracted by a bubble landing on her arm, her attention no longer on the prince.

Clara smiled at her adorable little sister, thinking of her words.

What if he wasn't as bad as she thought? She certainly hadn't given him any reason to be nicer to her.

Suddenly Lila gasped, turning towards her big sister, her eyes wide in awe; startling Clara when some water splashed on her.

"Does he have a dog?"

"No," she laughed, wiping away the foam from her cheek. "but he does have a horse."

"Like dad?" she grinned, and Clara nodded with a content smile.

Letting Lila enjoy the rest of her bath, Clara fiddled with her necklace; given to her by their real father. She missed him so much.

And she missed her mother, but she would never admit it.

She was happy that Lila didn't have to go through the same pain she went through, it would've broken her heart to see her butterfly cry over that.

That's why Clara wanted to train as a knight, to protect Lila from such a loss, to help prevent the same thing that happened to her from happening to other families.

Soon, Clara finished Lila's bath, drying and dressing her afterwards, then putting her to bed with her favorite story.

Once the small girl had fallen asleep, Clara went to the living room, seeing Edwin sitting at the table, overlooking a few papers.

"What are you working on?" Edwin looked up with a smile.

"New plans for the knights, to protect the castle." he informed her. "You saved a life today, you know."

"I did?"

Edwin nodded, gesturing for her to sit with him.

"The blade you found today was covered with the same poison that was going to be used on the prince this morning, but instead his manservant was the victim."

"That's what happened to him..." she mumbled to herself in realization.

"The physician was able to make an antidote for it, he's perfectly fine now." Clara smiled widely, feeling proud.

"That's great!" she let out a sigh of relief, letting her shoulders relax against the chair. "What's our next move?"

"Just got to keep an eye out for Victor at all times."

"As long as the assassin isn't a woman, he'll be fine." she rolled her eyes, laughing when she saw Edwin's face, who was trying to scold her, but unable to hold back his laugh.

"So how was your day?"

"Exhausting." she shook her head. "My eyes are tired of being rolled."

"I have to admit, this is quite amusing to me." Edwin chuckled.

"Oh is my misery amusing to you now?" Clara scoffed jokingly. "Great, I've got two Victors in my life now."

"You'll survive." he chuckled, taking a sip of his tea. "You can go back to normal as soon as we get rid of the threat."

Clara groaned, slamming her head on the table.

"Royals are always under threat though!"

"You're the one who wanted to become a knight." he raised an eyebrow, and in return Clara grinned widely, still overwhelmed from being knighted.

"Oh, I've been meaning to ask," she put her hair behind her ear, resting her chin on her palm. "How will I continue training if I'm going to be with the prince all the time?"

"You won't."

"What?" she stood so abruptly, that her chair would've fallen with a loud crash if she hadn't caught it in time. "But I'm supposed to always be prepared, aren't I?"

"And you are." he said calmly, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I can't have you away from him for long, but we can practice early mornings if you wanted."

"Yeah, mornings are good." she smiled softly. "I should go to bed then, goodnight Edwin."

Edwin smiled and hugged her back before she left to her room that she shared with Lila. His gaze fell on the bouquet of flowers sitting in a vase on the table, and he smiled, thinking of his two favorite knights.

He let out a breath, relaxing his shoulders, a tired smile evident on his lips. Soon, he too left the table to get a good night's rest, but not before he checked on his girls, placing the blanket back on Lila, who had pushed it off in her sleep, and gave her a soft peck on her forehead, then doing the same to Clara.

He stood in the doorway with a gleeful smile, and then he walked away, nothing but peace in his heart.

I don't know about you guys, but I LOVE writing about Edwin, Clara and Lila as a family. It just warms my heart so much.

What do you guys think? I'd love to hear your thoughts!! (or well...read is a better term in this case)

Also I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while, I wasn't feeling the best. But now I'm back better than ever and I will try my best to keep the updates more regular!